Sony Playstation Portable
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PlayStation Store update hitting PAL regions on October 17th, North America on October 23rd
If you feel the current design of the PlayStation Store leaves a lot to be desired, then you'll probably be glad to hear it's being totally revamped. A new UI should do a better job of pushing fresh content at you, and its appearance will be consistent regardless of whether you're outputting in standard or high def. Searching has been improved to handle abbreviations and misspellings, and a dynamic list of suggestions will try to work out what you're looking for as you type. Also, Vita and PSP content will be separated, new filters will be available and content hubs will offer everything linked to a certain title, à la the Xbox 360 Marketplace. Sound good? Well, there's not long to wait – it'll be launching in PAL regions (Europe, Asia, Australia and others) on October 17th, while North Americans will receive it almost a week later, on October 23rd.
PSP gets its own homebrew online gaming network, outweighs Sony's own efforts (video)
Sony made much ado of the PSP's position as one of the first online gaming consoles, but unless your idea of online play involves Skype calls, there hasn't been a lot to go on since 2004. Team PRO is addressing that deficit through Prometheus, a completely community-driven rival to PSN. The hack lets PSP games with support for ad hoc WiFi play go online by wrapping the normal local-only multiplayer in an emulator library that broadcasts to other Prometheus players. It requires a second-generation or newer PSP as well as a wireless router that can expose the PSP in DMZ mode, but there's a live who's-playing board and even an in-game chat mode to coordinate that round of Fat Princess as it happens. Of course, using a wholly separate gaming network outside of Sony's rubric involves a whole lot of warranty-voiding risk; if you're willing to live on the edge, though, Internet games of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker or Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 will let you put off that possible PlayStation Vita purchase for a little longer.
Apple claims 50 percent of portable gaming market, iPod touch 'outsells Nintendo and Sony combined'
Nintendo famously called Apple the enemy of the future in the video gaming space, and by golly, it looks like the Japanese giant was right; Steve Jobs just told an audience that the iPod touch alone outsells Nintendo's DS and Sony's PlayStation Portable combined, worldwide. How many games iPod touch users actually play and for how long wasn't discussed, but Jobs said 1.5 billion "games and entertainment" apps have been downloaded -- again, on the iPod touch alone, never mind all those iPhones. Update: As many fine readers have suggested in comments, this particular statistic seems a little hard to swallow, given that the Nintendo DS alone sold roughly 132 million units -- a good bit less than the 120 million iOS devices Apple claims, and only some of which are iPod touch -- as of the Japanese company's July earnings report. We've contacted Apple for clarification and hope to be able to explain the discrepancy soon. Check out our liveblog of the keynote event right here!
Sony selling 'PlayStation Protection Plan' warranty extension for PS3, PSP
Sony makes some pretty resilient game consoles, and while you'll certainly hear about the occasional glitch, they aren't exactly plagued with RRoD. That said, there's always room for worry, and if you're willing to pay for peace of mind, Sony has a brand-new service agreement with your name on it. Dubbed the "PlayStation Protection Plan," it simply extends the full warranty on your PlayStation 3 or PSP for another year or two, and optionally covers your handheld's five-foot swan dive onto solid concrete for an additional fee. While replacement won't quite be no-questions-asked and the warranty explicitly fails to cover dead pixels, liquid damage and loss of data (among other things), we can still imagine some will pony up the $30 to $50 for extra insurance. Not us, though. Since you can only buy if you're still within the original warranty period, it won't help us replace our backwards-compatible 60GB PS3... and honestly, we think we've had enough of Sony's protection.
Video: High-res image enlargement tech for PS3 and PSP takes extreme closeups to a new level
The GigaPan has opened new doors in ridiculously high-resolution imagery, creating pictures so huge our feeble human minds can't hope to comprehend them. Sony's getting in on the action, not so much with the idea of capturing historic events at gigapixel resolutions, but providing the same sort of effect by linking multiple documents and items together and allowing you to zoom from one to the next. The video after the break shows a number of demonstrations, including what looks to be a release calendar that, inside each cell, contains high-resolution photos and even videos of whatever is releasing that day. Hidden advertising is also possible, like a mosquito on a man's face tagged with an ad only apparent after you've gotten uncomfortably close to the poor man's face. The adult entertainment opportunities are endless. Also demo'd is a new voice recognition library for the PS3, dubbed PS3VR, which can take you straight to your Cindi Lauper albums even if you're not a girl and are seemingly disinterested in having fun. That tech isn't quite so interesting, but it and the high-resolution libraries are intended for release to developers... eventually. Read - High-Resolution Enlargement TechnologyRead - PS3 Voice Recognition
IGN fans the flames of PSP vs. DS debate
Ah, fanboy debate. Nothing quite motivates those lurking in the darkest corners of the internet to pounce from their hiding places like some really intense debate over which handheld is the best. And, now IGN has just sounded the equivalent to a dinner bell, asking one and all to come and help them decide which is the better, the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP.How do they decide this? Well, through the games.
Sony's PSP-handset hybrid device patent
Is Sony working on a PlayStation Portable/cellphone combo? From a recent U.S. Patent Office filing, we're pretty sure the company is. While the prototype represented above is full o' buttons, we're salivating at the chance of having a PSP and higher-end Sony (Ericsson?) in one device. Past pure-play gaming handsets have not been that successful (N-Gage, anyone?). But, with a popular and portable gaming platform established already, Sony may have a winner should it choose to come to market with a device like this. Note to Sony: let's try to make it a tad more successful than the last try in this space by Nokia, mkay?[Via Howard Forums]
Boulder Dash rolls steadily on
Geology is a slow process. Making rocks takes time after all, much like game development. Meanwhile, classic action puzzler Boulder Dash - Rocks continues its glacial roll toward the DS and PSP.We first heard about this remake of the classic action-puzzler back in November. Since then a few new details have emerged. Rockford, our bling hungry hero, will be able to use lasers and bombs to help him on his underground quest for diamonds. We're also promised multiplayer modes, and platform specific game modes. No details on what these entail, but some kind of stylus based action seems inevitable on the DS - perhaps the ability to lift or smash rocks? That would certainly go some way to making the game a bit more accessible than the original, where a simple mistake could leave your precious diamonds buried forever under piles of rocks. We'll hopefully find out in late 2007, when Boulder Dash - Rocks is due for release.
