(very very very big read)

Via Hollywood Today

The result is the loss this week of close to 100 jobs in the U.S. following $2 billion in red ink

Sony Corp.’s disastrous launch of its next generation video player, the Playstation 3 (PS3), is a factor in the layoff this week of 80 to 100 U.S. employees of Sony Computer Entertainment, mostly at their headquarters in Foster City, California. This follows in the wake of the botched business plan for the PS3 that cost Sony about $2 billon last fiscal year and has raised questions about the long term viability of the Blu-ray hi def format.

Although SCE execs predict the unit will turn a profit this year, and Sony still strongly supports the Blu-ray format, questions have been raised about the long term viability of the Blu-ray business plan.

Sony Corp. was criticized at the end of last year for being late to market with the PS3 due to reported manufacturing problems. Even when they had a machine to sell, it was widely reported that Sony was losing as much as $200 on every sale of a $500 player. Sony called it an investment because the machine owners will then buy lots and lots of discs. It’s the classic theory of give ‘em the razor and then sell blades forever.

Unfortunately, so far it has not worked. It turns out most people who buy a PS3 actually want to play video games. Few bought it for movies alone simply because it was a cheaper way to get a Blu-ray player, which came built into each P3. Many who wanted cheaper players simply bought the competing HD DVD players at half the cost of the Sony units.

Some gamers were actually angry at Sony for sticking a Blu-ray player in the PS3 at all because it boosted the price at launch by an estimated $200. Microsoft sold the Xbox 360 for about half the price of a PS3, and then offered its high definition HD DVD player as an add on device for about $200 to those who also wanted to show hi def movies.

Going into the last holiday season there were three major video gaming systems hitting the market. Microsoft staked its claim with the Xbox 360 early. It sold well.

As the 2006 holiday approached, Nintendo launched the Wii, which quickly became the buzz toy of the season; and since has continued to deliver solid sales. The Wii comes with a technology that lets the viewer swing a tennis racket or hit a golf ball in cyberspace. It took video gaming off the screen and put it into the middle of the room. It was a sensation, and continues to show appeal with 360,000 units sold in April.

That compares to 174,000 units sold by the Xbox and only 82,000 units for the PS3, whose sales are no longer dampened by manufacturing problems that caused Sony to miss opportunities over this past Christmas when it couldn’t keep up with demand.

Sony was not just launching a new gaming system, but also a new video format that was to be a replacement for the popular and durable standard DVD, offering higher definition images to dazzle viewers, as well as lots of untapped potential to deliver interactive entertainment, and provide a link to the Internet.

The big sales pitch was that people would buy the PS3 just to get the Blu-ray capability to play movies. Those buyers were expected to then become major consumers of Blu-ray format program discs, as they sought more and more movies.

Sony spread Blu-ray out to all kind of other devices. It is already available in laptops and various wireless devices. It does offer a very high quality image. But it also came to market late last year with another problem – price. The first Blu-ray players hovered near $1,000 at a time you could get a perfectly serviceable DVD player for $40.

And for a lot of viewers, there isn’t that much difference between the two hi def formats, certainly not $960 worth, or to pay $30 for a Blu-ray disc when DVD’s are typically $15 or less, and HD DVD discs are $5 to $10 less each than Blu-ray.

When the VHS tape format gave way to DVD a decade ago, consumers could see a clear difference. VHS was tape that tore and got old. DVD was lighter, easier to use and a far superior storage medium. Within two years, the DVD became the standard. Last year most manufacturers finally phased out production of VHS tapes.

Sony was very smart in many ways preparing to launch Blu-ray. It got the majority of studios in Hollywood to support the format from the beginning, and got several – including Sony, MGM and Disney – to only offer Blu-ray as its high def format choice.

The roots of Blu-ray go back to the late 1990s when the DVD format was born. At the time, Sony had a competing format but after a bitter battle was forced to acquiesce, and accept the DVD as standard. They joined in an “open patent pool,” which is how DVD is sourced ...

Via Punch Jump News

Sales for Sony Corp.'s Playstation 3 fell 7 percent in the latest retail tally from Japan.

Media Create Co. on Fri. reported that the PS3 sold 8,998 units between May 28 and June 3, a decrease from 9,627 units the week prior.

Additionally, the PS3 did not rank any software titles in the top 50 game sales for the week.

Prior Playstation hardware offerings continue to hold stronger sales in Japan, with the PSP moving 26,358 units and the PS2 selling 11,814 units in the same period.

This week, Sony said that it will cut a portion of its U.S game workforce. The company restructure protocol comes amid slow sales for the console in the U.S. and abroad.

This, month Sony will release a $499 stand-alone Blu-ray player to the U.S., citing lower production costs for the high-definition disc drive. It currently retails sells the PS3 in the U.S. for $599.

The company has shipped 5.5 million PS3 units worldwide to date. ...

Via GameSutra

Microsoft’s Bill Gates has given the strongest hint yet that the company plans to introduce a new control system for the Xbox 360 influenced by the success of the Wii, although his somewhat vague comments suggest a very different approach to Nintendo.

As detailed by technology website All Things Digital, Gates was taking part in a live conversation with Apple founder Steve Jobs, when Gates began to discuss the use of 3D online interfaces and the increasing role of the PC as a home media and communications center.

He ended his comments by saying, “And as we get natural input, that will cause a change... Software is doing vision and so, you know, imagine a game machine where you’re just going to pick up the bat and swing it or the tennis racket and swing it.”

As the similarities behind his concept and that of the Wii were pointed out, Gates responded: “No, that’s not it. You can’t pick up your tennis racket. And swing it.”

“You can’t sit there with your friends and do those natural things. That’s a 3D positional device. This is video recognition,” he added.

Although the use of the phrase “game machine” implies Xbox 360 technology, no further details were provided by Gates, although others, including Xbox’s Peter Moore, have previously hinted at Microsoft’s interest in producing a motion sensing controller for the Xbox 360.

Gates himself has been the most dismissive of Microsoft executives on the subject of the Wii, repeatedly stating his skepticism of the format and its controller and regarding it as a novelty. In May 2006, he even went as far as to state that motion sensing controllers are “something that's not mainstream for most games.” ...

Via PSX Extreme

Given the new capabilities of next-gen consoles, MMOs are starting to pop up here and there. The latest is a spy-oriented MMO for the PS3 from Sony, entitled The Agency. The game will involve a good bit of espionage on a massive scale, and you can view the magazine scan here.

As you can see, they intend to deliver all the stealth/spy action provided by the likes of James Bond, Jason Bourne, and Jack Bauer. You'll follow certain missions in the game, but once you've completed the first round, you'll have the opportunity to "branch out," in true MMO style. You can take alternate routes by accepting optional missions and even recruiting other agents, and you'll be battling your way through Eastern Europe and other picturesque locations. It's an ambitious undertaking, to be sure.

"The game design comes from the core principle of living the life of an elite agent," said Matt Wilson, executive producer for The Agency. "We want to make an action, adventure, and intrigue game with betrayals, etc...the stuff that hasn't been tapped yet in the genre."

Being able to choose between two playable factions also adds to the freedom, and it gets one thinking about games like Mercenaries. A game like this in a massively multiplayer online capacity has been a long time coming, and it looks like Sony's The Agency might fit the bill nicely. We'll let you know when more details arrive; the game is still in the early phases, but we'll hopefully have a release date within the next few months. ...

Via Game Planet

THIS IS TRULY AN odd game. You are a "Remote-Unit" which can be likened to tadpole looking thing, which can shoot and destroy bacteria. You're based in an open environment, which is living, and starts out initially with a couple of cells (as in the white cells in your body). These cells can be used as protection by dragging them together to form a wall or they can be shot to get powerups to assist you along the way.

You basically swim around trying to fend off anything that comes your way. Initially it's only bacteria that come out first and as the game progresses, viruses are introduced. There are various strains of the virus and they pose more threat than the bacteria. They are a lot quicker, shoot back and when shot at are not destroyed, but break down into smaller and weaker strains.

For these tougher opponents you may need to release a protein bomb which can be very effective in tight situations. The protein bomb can be gained through shooting certain cells and collecting them up to a point where you can release it on intruding bacteria and viruses.

If you get tired of general play then you can try your hand at the various survival modes. You can choose to battle it out against bacteria while moving up through the body or choose to just try and survive an onslaught of enemies. Both modes are time restricted and provide for some light entertainment.

Visually this game looks pretty good. The living environment is designed in a way that gives you the impression that you're looking down on it through a through a microscope. The whole thing looks alive and very colourful, however at times it's difficult to see bacteria or viruses as they blend in with this unique setting.

Nucleus is not set for release until later on in the year. It sounds interesting enough and is interesting in weird way but the preview build does not hold our attention for long. Check out the screenshots to get an idea of what you will be in for when the game is finished.

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Screens of this weired game, can be found here with the above article ...

Via IT Wire

For the first time Sony's Blu-ray players are cheaper than its PlayStation 3 console, after the company announced a US$100 cut off the price of the BDP-S300 player to US$499. The move begs the question: can Sony now afford not to also slash the price of PS3?

One of the saving graces of the massively disappointing sales of PS3 to date has been the fact that it was the cheapest Blu-ray player on the market - at least the equal cheapest. Video buffs could not only get a high definition Blu-ray player for a relatively reasonable price but they got the added bonus of a gaming console.

In turn, it has been the PS3 that is arguably helping Blu-ray win the high definition format war against the HD DVD camp by getting Blu-ray players into the homes of gamers. Even its relatively poor PS3 console sales still outsize the fledgling but gradually picking up momentum high definition video player market.

All that changed today. By cutting the price of the BDP-S300, Sony has in effect severed the link between the PS3 and Blu-ray players. If a video enthusiast just wants a Blu-ray player, the PS3 is no longer an option because it's now too expensive.

In effect, Sony has just kicked out one of the legs supporting the table of its still struggling PS3 business. With both Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360 walloping the PS3 at the cash register, a lack of exclusive PS3 titles to choose from and still plenty of grumbling from gamers at the price, having one less reason for consumers to buy its next gen console is something Sony can ill afford.

Of course, all of the above assumes that Sony is not going to drop the price of PS3 to match that of the BDP-S300. After all the nightmarish blunders of the past year in the consoles space and still sluggish sales, it is hard to imagine that Sony could possibly believe that leaving the PS3 at US$599 is now a viable proposition. Then again, after what's gone on in the past year, it may not be that hard to imagine. ...

Via Redding


As it raced past rivals to become the hottest new video-game console, some analysts predicted that Nintendo Co.'s Wii was little more than a fad.

Try telling that to Geoff Allen, who hasn't grown sick of playing the Wii after almost five months. He, his wife and his father all have gotten hooked on "Wii Sports."

"Within minutes, I can have fun," said Allen, a 36-year-old technology entrepreneur from Potomac Falls, Va. "I don't have to spend hours crawling through dungeons and learning all the complex button combos to become proficient. I love the Wii. It makes me happy."

U.S. consumers have snapped up 2.5 million Wii consoles since they hit the market in November. It's a sharp turnaround since the last round of the console wars, when its GameCube was wiped out by Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox.

But Nintendo isn't taking its initial success for granted. At an event here last week, it unveiled a series of games, such as "Mario Strikers Charged" and "Big Brain Academy," aimed at keeping a wide range of players interested, not just teenage boys and traditional video-game enthusiasts. The Osaka, Japan-based company also is relying on girls, women and older players to continue its growth.

Some analysts think the novelty might wear off and, when it does, consumers will stop buying new games for the Wii. The difference between the Wii's graphics and those of its rivals, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, also might become more noticeable as developers create games that take advantage of the more powerful consoles' processing power.

"Its appeal is primarily to casual gamers, and there's a serious question about how long casual gamers will stay engaged with the platform," said Van Baker, a consumer technologies analyst with Gartner Inc., which is based in Stamford, Conn. "It wouldn't be surprising to see them lose interest after a relatively short amount of time."

So far, demand is outstripping supply. Stores are selling out of the Wii within hours of receiving them. Sales of the Wii are so hot, the Japanese company is widely expected to increase its annual sales forecast of 14 million units for its current fiscal year.

It helps that the Wii is $249, compared with the PS3 at $599 and the Xbox 360, priced from $299 to $479, depending on the features. Last month, U.S. consumers bought 360,000 Wii systems, versus 174,000 Xbox 360s and 82,000 PlayStation 3s, according to NPD Group. ...

Via IT Wire

Due to healthy stock levels, some industry pundits have claimed Sony will be reducing production of the PlayStation 3. Not so says Sony.

Rumours around the production levels dropping slightly and a possible market price drop for the Sony flagship have had industry Analysts busy all week.

Nick Sharples, Sony Director of corporate communications was on the front foot;
"I'm not aware of any cut in production. We have our forecast for the year for PS3 of ten million and that still stands. Of course, production is adjusted according to stock levels and requirements of different territories. The normal seasonal uplift towards the peak season will happen, but that's completely normal. "

"There's absolutely nothing that you can read from that. The idea of price certainly doesn't follow on to any adjustment in production. Analysts may wish to think so, but there's no basis of fact in any of it."

"We announce when changes in price will happen and we don't discuss them beforehand." (Source: MCVUK)

Indeed component costs of the PS3 - such as the blue diode used in creation of the Blu-ray disc drive laser - have had Analysts asking if a corresponding price drop at the market level would help the seemingly flagging game console.

But Sony have consistently maintained that no price drop is on the horizon, Sharples still confident that the PS3 will go on to sell tens of millions, putting it in the position to win the next-generation console war, for Sony, the third time in a row.

Recent reports from Japan give some basis to the Sharples claims as the PS3 gains a small increase in market share. The PS3 sold 9,627 units for the May 21 to May 27 week, up from 8,659 the previous week.

Still this keeps the PS3 in fifth position overall in the important Japanese game console market. Nintendo holds the top two positions (DS Lite: 127,461, Wii: 58,644), followed by the three Sony machines (PSP: 26,097, PS2: 11,311 and PS3: 9,627). Meanwhile the Microsoft Xbox 360 continues to struggle in the Japanese market selling 2,044 units for the same week. ...

Via N-Sider

A week after Activision's announcement that Guitar Hero 3 would be coming to Wii, Activision released the results of their past fiscal year. Gamasutra reports that Activision's sales rose to $1.51 billion from $1.47 billion the previous year, and they expect to see another rise this year to $1.8 billion.

Yesterday, Activision held a conference call to their investors. Company officials seemed extremely satisfied with the performance of Guitar Hero, saying they were only getting started and making note of consumers' "insatiable appetite for songs." They are especially happy with how well their downloadable songs have sold—almost $10 million in profit—and they expect those sales numbers to double this year.

According to Activision's expectations, the hardware sales of the PS2 and PS3 will both grow by 4 million units, the Xbox 360 and Wii by 5 million each, and the GBA, DS, and PSP by a combined total of 11-12 million. They expect the software market to grow by 12%, thanks to the expanding userbase this generation.

When asked specifically about Wii, Activision seemed hopeful for the future of third-party software. They said that for the past two console generations, Nintendo's hardware has been intimidating to third parties thanks to the idea that first party games are always better. Now that the Wii is doing so well, Activision is reinvesting in the system. Guitar Hero 3 will be the first product for the Wii that truly "leverages the physical interface," they said. ...