Sure, your black DualShock3 is clad in a timeless color. But this silver DualShock3 can match that pile of obsolete cellphones you have in the bottom of your closet. And it's available now at Gamestop for $55.
http://gizmodo.com/5302828/the-duals...ilver-oooohhhh ...

PopCap temple puzzler Zuma leads the PAL PSN update this week, and features glitzy 1080p visuals, bonus items, Trophies and remote PSP play. Zuma costs 7 Queenpounds.

Sony has also cut the price of Super Stardust HD for its first anniversary. The recommended dual-stick shooter now costs GBP 1.59.

Final Fantasy VII is still available for PSP owners, and joined by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Free Running. You'll need to shell out 16 pounds for the latter pair.

There's not a lot else of note, although a free Solstice druid costume for LittleBigPlanet is worth grabbing.

PS3 Games

Zuma - GBP 6.99 / EUR 7.99
Super Stardust HD - GBP 1.59 / EUR 1.99
PS3 Content

MotorStorm Pacific Rift: Wombat Livery - Free
LittleBigPlanet: Solstice Costume - Free
LittleBigPlanet: Jon Burgerman Original Sticker Kit - GBP 1.59 / EUR 1.99
Battlefield 1943: Wallpaper 1 & 2, Theme - Free
High Velocity Bowling: '60s Surf Ball Pack, Tiki Polynesian Ball Pack - GBP 0.79 / EUR 0.99 each
Rock Band: Maroon 5 Pack ("Little of Your Time", "Makes Me Wonder", "Wake Up Call") - GBP 2.49 / EUR 3.99 (GBP 0.99 / EUR 1.49)
Rock Band: Warped Tour 2009 Pack ("I Didn't Say I Was Powerful, I Said I Was a Wizard" by Chiodos, "Downfall of Us All" by A Day to Remember, "Reinventing Your Exit" by Underoath, "21st Century (Digital Boy)" by Bad Religion and "The Flood" by Escape the Fate) - GBP 5.25 / EUR 6.59 (GBP 0.99 / EUR 1.49 each)
Guitar Hero World Tour: Phish Track Pack ("Chalk Dust Torture", "Down With Disease", "Sample in a Jar") - GBP 4.39 / 5.49 (GBP 1.59 / EUR 1.99)
PSP Games

Final Fantasy VII - GBP 7.99 / EUR 9.99
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - GBP 15.99 / EUR 19.99
Free Running: GBP 15.99 / EUR 19.99
PSP Content

Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce Additional Quests 2 - Free
Rock Band Unplugged: "Afterlife" by Avenged Sevenfold, "Dr. Feelgood" by Mötley Crüe, "Constant Motion" by Dream Theater, "Sex Type Thing" by Stone Temple Pilots - GBP 0.99 / EUR 1.49 each

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/po...pal-psn-update ...

PopCap temple puzzler Zuma leads the PAL PSN update this week, and features glitzy 1080p visuals, bonus items, Trophies and remote PSP play. Zuma costs 7 Queenpounds.

Sony has also cut the price of Super Stardust HD for its first anniversary. The recommended dual-stick shooter now costs GBP 1.59.

Final Fantasy VII is still available for PSP owners, and joined by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Free Running. You'll need to shell out 16 pounds for the latter pair.

There's not a lot else of note, although a free Solstice druid costume for LittleBigPlanet is worth grabbing.

PS3 Games

Zuma - GBP 6.99 / EUR 7.99
Super Stardust HD - GBP 1.59 / EUR 1.99
PS3 Content

MotorStorm Pacific Rift: Wombat Livery - Free
LittleBigPlanet: Solstice Costume - Free
LittleBigPlanet: Jon Burgerman Original Sticker Kit - GBP 1.59 / EUR 1.99
Battlefield 1943: Wallpaper 1 & 2, Theme - Free
High Velocity Bowling: '60s Surf Ball Pack, Tiki Polynesian Ball Pack - GBP 0.79 / EUR 0.99 each
Rock Band: Maroon 5 Pack ("Little of Your Time", "Makes Me Wonder", "Wake Up Call") - GBP 2.49 / EUR 3.99 (GBP 0.99 / EUR 1.49)
Rock Band: Warped Tour 2009 Pack ("I Didn't Say I Was Powerful, I Said I Was a Wizard" by Chiodos, "Downfall of Us All" by A Day to Remember, "Reinventing Your Exit" by Underoath, "21st Century (Digital Boy)" by Bad Religion and "The Flood" by Escape the Fate) - GBP 5.25 / EUR 6.59 (GBP 0.99 / EUR 1.49 each)
Guitar Hero World Tour: Phish Track Pack ("Chalk Dust Torture", "Down With Disease", "Sample in a Jar") - GBP 4.39 / 5.49 (GBP 1.59 / EUR 1.99)
PSP Games

Final Fantasy VII - GBP 7.99 / EUR 9.99
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - GBP 15.99 / EUR 19.99
Free Running: GBP 15.99 / EUR 19.99
PSP Content

Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce Additional Quests 2 - Free
Rock Band Unplugged: "Afterlife" by Avenged Sevenfold, "Dr. Feelgood" by Mötley Crüe, "Constant Motion" by Dream Theater, "Sex Type Thing" by Stone Temple Pilots - GBP 0.99 / EUR 1.49 each

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/po...pal-psn-update ...

The Guardian's games blog convened a panel of engineers and other experts to talk about the current state of video game physics. A great deal of research is currently going on to make better use of multiple cores so that advanced physics tools and engines can take advantage of all the processing power available in modern computers. Many of those tools are being put to work these days to find more realistic ways of breaking things, and game developers are trying to wrap their heads around destructible environments. Mike Enoch, lead coder at Ruffian Games, said, "This idea of simulating interactions and constructing the game world similar to how you would construct the real world generates more emergent gameplay, where the game plays out in a unique way for each player, and the player can come up with solutions to problems that the designer might not have thought of." Another area that still sees a lot of attention is making game characters more human, in terms of moving and looking as realistic as possible, as well as how a game's AI perceives what's happening. "The problem is not necessarily in having the most advanced path-finding technique with large-scale awareness; we need to have more micro behaviors, with a proper physics awareness of the environment," said software engineer George Torres.

http://games.slashdot.org/story/09/0...o-Game-Physics ...

SCE boss hints at upgraded service that will integrate other Sony devices
Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai has revealed a new and enhanced version of PlayStation Network should be launched by next spring.
The upgraded service will build on the established PSN system but will be more open and broader in scale, Fortune reports. Hirai suggested the upgraded service will integrate with other Sony devices, including phones, cameras and televisions.
“It’s now a matter of what all the services need to look like for each device, and coming out with a rollout plan,” he said. “It’s like city planning here, and we can start small. We don’t need to build New York City overnight.”
The goal is to make it easier for consumers to manage media, transfer images from a camera to TV, and display, edit, share and store videos. It was also hinted that Sony’s loyal customers will be rewarded with discounts and premium services.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/34861/Hira...in-Spring-2010 ...

Trade body claims authorities 'cannot make informed decisions' about supporting industry

Tiga has insisted that the UK Government begins to accurately measure the public's expenditure on video games.

The demand comes in the wake of the news that the Government currently has no knowledge of how much UK Trade & Investment, the international business development organisation, spends on supporting the video games industry in the country. The issue became apparent as a result of a question by Philip Davies MP put to Ian Lucas MP, the parliamentary under secretary of state in the Department for Business Innovation and Skills.

“The UK recorded a deficit on trade in goods and services of £3 billion in April 2009 and a deficit of £52.6 billion in 2007," said Richard Wilson, CEO of Tiga. "We need to rebalance the economy and support those sectors with a high propensity to export in order to help narrow the trade deficit.

“The UK games development sector is export oriented.

46 per cent of a typical developer’s turnover is generated through exports. In 2005, the games sector contributed £200 million to the UK’s balance of trade.

Wilson praised the efforts of the UKT&I in helping developer, highlighting the Trade Access Programme (TAP), which is open to small and medium-sized businesses to enable them to participate in overseas trade fairs. Tiga is working with UKT&I’s TAP scheme in supporting UK businesses looking to exhibit at overseas trade shows.

“We need to support the game development sector, an important UK export success story," added Wilson. "However, the Government cannot make informed decisions about the level of support which it should give to the sector via UKT&I unless it begins to record expenditure for specific sectors to include games development. The Government must rectify this deficiency.”

http://www.developmag.com/news/32256...-game-spending ...

Sony's director of the PlayStation Home online community Peter Edward has detailed the success of the service with several statistics on its users.
Over 7 million PS3 owners have registered to use Home, 3 million of which are based in Europe, reports GamaSutra. 6 million virtual items have been purchased on the service, on which subscribers visit for sessions averaging 56 minutes in length.
80 per cent of Home users fall into the male, 18-35-year-old demographic; less than the 90 per cent Sony was expecting.

Sony has pointed to the success of much of Home's content as proof that the virtual world offers publishers and manufacturers of numerous products a wealth of oppotunity. Red Bull's free-to-play Air Race game has attracted 2.5 million visits, while the promotion for the Watchmen movie enjoyed 812,544 unique views, totalling 9.3 million viewed minutes of an exclusive video.
"For Sony, revenue isn't the main driver for Home. We're in this for the longterm," said Edward. "Home is the starting point for PlayStation 3 online, and that's something that gamers are going to expect as more games support Game Launch from within Home."
Edward also spoke of the merits of Home as a lobby for online PS3 games: "Players can set up their teams, choose the map and talk tactics before jumping into the game. This will become an essential component for all PS3 games."

http://www.casualgaming.biz/news/288...lion-residents ...

According to one of Ars Technica's reliable sources, the Xbox 360 lineup will see a marked shift this fall. And the PS3 Slim is still on its way.

This September, the Xbox 360 Pro (60GB, $299) will be replaced by the Elite (120GB, $399). So in one sense, the Xbox will see a price cut. In another, the 360 doesn't necessarily sound like it's getting any cheaper with some lower entry level price.

Also of note, Ars reaffirmed their claim that a PS3 Slim would arrive this fall along with price drops "on the hardware that's out now." Even with these rumors standing as they are, Sony cuts the price of the PS3, it's hard to imagine Microsoft not offering a true price cut as well.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...cts-early-2010 ...

Sony is to launch an online service based on the PlayStation Network across multiple hardware products.

The service, which could launch as early as spring next year, will be Sony's attempt to link web-based content to the home TV.

"TV is where we have to win," said head of strategy for Sony's entertainment business Robert Wiesenthal, speaking to CNNmoney. "We can no longer afford to only offer great TVs. Otherwise, we set the stage for someone to become the Google of the TV."

According to the report, the service will make sharing and manipulating content between devices such as TV, camera, and video easier to manage, with premium services and discounts offered to loyal customers.

Partly overseen by Kaz Hirai, newly appointed president of Networked Products and Services, spring could see a soft launch for such a service, with the company keen to take its time perfecting the offering.

"It’s now a matter of what all the services need to look like for each device, and coming up with a roll-out plan," said Hirai. "It’s like city planning here, and we can start small. We don’t need to build New York City overnight."

Howard Stringer, CEO of Sony, also hinted that acquisitions wouldn't be out of the question if it was to accelerate the planned service.

Sony's PlayStation Network offers game and movie downloads, as well as access to the PSN Store for sales, VidZone for free music video streaming, Life with PlayStation for news and weather access and Home, the online virtual world.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...cts-early-2010 ...