via joystiq

Hey Microsoft! It's me, Adam. Do me a favor, will you? Make Folding@Home available for Xbox 360 users. We saw earlier today how awesome the PS3 is at folding, so why not let your sweet console get in on the action?

While 99.999 percent of fanboy fights end up with everyone being a loser (similarly to how they begin), this battle of the consoles would benefit everyone. Xbox users and PS3 users could compete to see who could complete more Work Units faster, determining which console is superior. And at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter who wins, because it would allow for many, many more people to put what is a dormant computer when not in use into an Alzheimer's curing machine. And heck, since there are many times more Xboxes out there than there are PS3s, you'll start at an advantage and this thing could really take off.

So how about it? You don't want Sony to get all the good publicity that's coming from this Folding@Home business, do you? Let's make it happen. ...

via joystiq



In addition to having an awkward appearance, Thrustmaster's Run'N' Drive gamepad may run (and/or drive) away with the dubious distinction of most awkward name and capitalization schema for a gaming product. Our fingers pause, apprehensively, every time we write a brand name, fearful of mangling some marketing team's carefully focus-grouped formatting. Occasionally, we remain obstinate and refuse to conform (we're looking at you PLAYSTATION 3 and SIXAXIS), but we're at a loss with the Run'N' Drive. So, instead of complaining about the name, we'll talk about the controller.

As luck would have it, the Run'N' Drive (RND from here on out) claims to be "7-axis" making it exactly one more axis than Sony's gamepad ... too bad SEVENAXIS isn't palindromic ... that would be sixaneves. We're not sure where that extra axis comes into play; you see, the RND "does not offer a motion sensor" on the PlayStation 3. What it does offer is compatibility with the PS3, PS2, and PC platforms (note: the RND "only supports PS3 games" on the PS3) as well as an optical wheel for "spot on precision." ...

Xbox Live will be down next Tuesday for 14 hours from 3AM until 5PM EST, so you shouldn't plan any marathon sessions of online gaming with your Xbox ... because you'll be a very unhappy camper. Major Nelson said this is only for internal maintenance, and there won't be any new updates to the Dashboard or anything nifty like that happening.

So prepare for an all-night session on Monday right up until the plug is pulled if you really want to get your gaming on. Fourteen hours seems like a long time for internal maintenance ... could there be something else going on behind the scenes?

via joystiq ...

European PlayStation 3 owners now have something they can tout over their Japanese and North American brethren. Though they did wait months longer for the console's release, it seems that they are privileged to an updated version of Gran Turismo HD Concept, and version 2.0 sports force feedback support for racing wheels.

But force feedback is last-gen, you say? Vibrating controllers of Sony's past have won Emmys, we say. Racing fans who are dedicated to the genre enough to buy a wheel peripheral deserve to have as immersive an experience as possible, even if it's just one race course. This bodes well for future releases (as well as the unknown known Sixaxis with rumble). As of this writing, the U.S. version is still 1.1, but we expect to get our rumble shortly.

via joystiq ...

via gamesradar

In case you hadn't noticed, at 12.01am this morning, PlayStation 3 was finally launched in PAL territories around the world - places like France, Africa, New Zealand, and even our little island of England.

While - thankfully - it didn't trigger the sort of apocalypse-like drama of last year's American launch day madness, there are still more than enough quirky tales to fill your average news ticker. Or, in our creation below, a nice map.

Imagine we're slapping the tip of a lecturer's pointer onto the relevant geographical locations as you read for extra effect...

1 London, UK
Were you one of the 100 people who camped out in the Oxford Street Virgin Megastore for PS3's launch? If so, then well done. And Goddamn you.

Because each of the happy hundred early queue-sitters walked out with a grand's worth of HDTV, as a present from Sony for their "loyalty". They even got a free taxi ride home. The basta...

2 Swindon, UK
Things weren't quite so cheerful in Swindon, though. Well, less so than usual, at least. An unnamed woman there was attacked as she walked home with her newly purchased PlayStation 3.

Admirably, though, she held on to the console, forcing the muggers to abort the crime and scarper. Before being collared by the local Bobbies shortly after. It's not quite the same as "several hit in PS3 launch line drive by" though, is it?

3 Malta
PlayStation 3 sold out in Malta, and was the fasting-selling gaming brand in the country's history, with all 250 of the consoles sent to the small island snapped up almost immediately. Can Xbox 360 make the same boast?

4 Paris, France
Trendy Parisians could get their culture and their gaming in one place last night, as Sony bods in the French capital threw a PS3 launch event in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

There was a small irksome interruption though - by a huge riverboat chugging down the Seine with "Xbox 360 (heart) you" plastered across it. Oh, Microsoft, we love you too.

5 Everywhere, Italy
The Italians have the right idea - instead of waiting like obedient puppies for Sony to toss PlayStation 3 across to European gamers, stores in Italy began selling the next-gen consoles on Wednesday.

Small-scale retailer Darty first broke the barrier two days ago, before other stores hastily followed suit so as not to miss out. Sony is "deeply disappointed". We're just annoyed we don't live in Italy.

6 Sydney, Australia
Early adopters of PS3 got an early showing of Blu-ray's capabilities at Sydney's launch event, with Sony screening James Bond's latest cinema outing Casino Royale for the gamers stood in line. That's all 70 of them - compared with more than a 1,000 who queued up for Xbox 360's beachhead in Australia last year.

With other locations reporting similarly unimpressive gangs of customers, there can be only one answer. The Aussies are obviously displaying their disappointment with the choice of Daniel Craig for the role of England's greatest spy. Or, hang on...

7 Durban, South Africa
Pity the poor people who queued up outside Durban's branch of CNA. Not only was the Sony-sponsored launch party antics restricted to the cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg, but the retailer's PlayStation 3 order didn't even make it to the store, and the whole midnight launch thing was cancelled.

Still, at least the disappointed gamers could play on the many demo units stationed in shops around the city. Xbox 360 demo units, that is, since the PS3 ones haven't turned up yet.

8 Nowhere, India
Finally, spare a thought for Indian gamers. We might have had to wait two years since PS3 was announced, and four months since Sony launched the console in America and Japan, but India won't see the next generation of PlayStation until 27 April.

And as if that wasn't bad enough, it'll then cost a whopping £467, or 39,990 Indian Rupees. Count your blessings, readers... ...

via gamespot

Microsoft has strung together four consecutive weeks of Xbox Live Arcade releases, including Alien Hominid HD, Worms, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and the software giant today confirmed it was going for five straight. Next Wednesday is now confirmed as the release date for Jetpac Refuelled, Rare's update to its 1983 arcade-style shooter for the ZX Spectrum.

Jetpac Refuelled is a remake of one of Rare's earliest efforts, with 128 levels, high-definition visuals, simultaneous multiplayer action, and the Xbox 360 standard achievements and leaderboards. Players will also have the option of playing the original Jetpac instead of the remake.

Jetpac Refuelled is set for a worldwide release this Wednesday at 2 a.m. PDT. The game is rated E for Everyone and will sell for 400 Microsoft Points ($5). ...

The PlayStation 3 finally arrived in Europe last night, and there was a surprise in store for those buying a console at the official UK launch - a free 46" Sony Bravia television worth around GBP 2000.

The flagship Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street store opened its doors to the first customers keen to get their hands on PS3 at noon on Wednesday. Although only a handful turned up to spend the night in the store, by 11pm on Thursday the queue had grown to over 100 people.

With just 20 minutes to go until the console officially went on sale, Sony UK boss Ray Maguire stepped up to address the crowd in front of a large flatscreen TV.

"This is a 46-inch Bravia W series. It's an award-winning flat panel," he said. "And do you know what the good news, is guys? I'm going to give you one free."

The cheers were muted at first, but then the news began to sink in. When Maguire clarified, "Every single one of you in this queue is going to get one," the crowd responded with whoops and applause.

At midnight, the first PlayStation 3 was handed over to 17 year-old Ritatsu Thomas, who'd been waiting since 5am on Wednesday. He also received a Bravia TV to take home, but everyone else in the queue - 125 people in total - was told they'll receive their television next week.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz about the decision to give away the TVs, Maguire said, "PlayStation 3 is about the new generation of high definition. There are some people in that queue for whom the HD part is the more difficult part of the equation, and I think it's a way of just saying thank you.

"They've got the best console, and now they've got the best screen."

Maguire said he thought the launch had "gone great, considering that we weren't allowed to let people queue up outside and there were loads of restrictions".

"People waiting for 36 hours and sleeping overnight is absolutely unbelievable - it shows the affinity people have for the brand, and it's really humbling," he added.

Maguire's comments were echoed by Sony PR boss David Wilson, who told GamesIndustry.biz, "When retailers are going on record saying there's free stock, there's no point for any of these guys to come here and spend 36 on that floor down there - so I'm touched that so many have."

via gibiz ...

Any of you hoping to continue playing Pro Evolution Soccer 6 online using your shiny new PlayStation 3 will be disappointed to learn that the PS2 version can't do this yet.

Although Konami has confirmed that the single-player and versus modes in the PS2 game are compatible with PS3, it released a statement this afternoon saying that online play is incompatible.

The publisher blamed "alterations made to the console's hardware specifications" - certainly a reference to the loss of internal chips dedicated to PS2 emulation in the PS3 units manufactured for PAL regions.

Sony's backwards compatibility site currently lists PES6 as playing "with noticeable issues". Additional advice on playing PS2 games, posted along with the compatibility guide, notes that users should avoid the use of 60Hz and network modes "which may experience noticeable graphical corruption not present in the main game".

On the plus side, Konami said that it and Sony would let us know about changes "as soon as they occur", which suggests that they're not content to leave it at that. With no prospect of a PS3-specific PES game in the immediate future, we expect a solution is pretty high on Konami's agenda.

We imagine Sony's probably quite keen too, what with Xbox 360 having a version of its own.

via eurogamer ...

The PlayStation 3's relatively high price in the UK is down to "the cost of living" as much as anything, according to Sony UK managing director Ray Maguire, who also suggested that negative coverage of the console had been "lazy". "The old adage of never let the truth get in the way of a good story is probably more prevalent than it has been before," he told our sister site GamesIndustry.biz.

Comparing the US and UK prices of the console (US$ 599 and GBP 425 respectively), Maguire told gi.biz that whereas the US was a "massive land with cheap people", the UK was "a little island where rent and rates are at an absolute premium, and the cost of people is a lot more".

"The cost of retail is vastly more in the UK than it is in the US and that's before you even stop to consider the US doesn't have VAT at RRP, they put a small amount on afterwards. Whereas, we get stung by 17.5 per cent. And pity the poor Irish and places like Sweden," he added.

"But we have to remember this is no different to selling a cup of Starbucks coffee or a McDonald's hamburger. This is the cost of living in the UK. It just becomes another barrier for us to get more product into the marketplace because the price needs to be set higher to get from our factory to the consumer."

Asked why Sony opted for the slightly peculiar price point of GBP 425 rather than rounding down past the psychological 400 barrier and going for GBP 399, Maguire said: "We did consider GBP 429, but we wanted to get the best for the consumer."

Moving swiftly on, Sony's UK MD admitted that it hasn't been "smooth sailing" for the company. "Nowadays, with how the media works, not only does information fly around at the speed of light, so does mis-information," he argued. "With blogs on the increase, people's thought processes are transferred from one place to another and picked up by people who might be lazy when it comes to finding out whether something is true or not. The old adage of never let the truth get in the way of a good story is probably more prevalent than it has been before.

"You also have to remember that we're one of the most cynical nations on the planet and even if you're telling people the absolute truth they doubt whether that information is real or not. This is the world that we sit in and we have to accept it and make the best of it."

via eurogamer ...