September 19, 2007 - With Kaz Hirai presenting the opening keynote at this year's TGS, all eyes are on Sony to see what titles the company will present for its high powered console. At a pre-TGS press reception, Sony showed off a number of their key titles for the rest of 2007 as well as 2008. No announcements were made, which gave the impression that a larger statement would be made by Hirai to open the show, but most of the titles shown featured new content of some kind. Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction on the PS3 was paired with a new and previously unknown entry in the Ratchet universe for the PSP, Secret Agent Clank. There weren't many other PSP titles featured, although the redesigned PSP Slim was on hand, all showcasing the system's Remote Play functionality.

New levels of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune were placed next to stations of Little Big Planet, Wipeout HD, Lair and Gran Turismo HD Concept. While White Knight Story wasn't present at the event, Folklore held down the RPG side of things, while NBA 08 and Hot Shots Golf 5 covered the sports side of the games. Shooter fans were allowed to take on competition with Unreal Tournament III, while puzzle fans were able to check out LocoRoco Cocoreccho! on the PS3.

The PSN wasn't left out in the cold either, with titles such as Go! Sports Ski, Everyday Shooter and Pain highlighting what PS3 owners will be able to download and experience sometime in the future. These were supported by pre-existing titles such as PixelJunk Racers and the expansion to Flow. EyeToy functionality was also showcased, with the most prominent title being Operation Creature Feature, which had players sweeping blobby monsters into exits.

We'll have more detailed information on the various titles shown at the Sony press reception shortly.

[12:27] Ah, the big moment--Hideo Kojima comes out to present Metal Gear Solid 4. First, a new trailer. No English interpretation provided on this one. Bear with us, folks.

[12:28] First we see a character who's probably Naomi Hunter, talking frantically about the Foxdie virus into the camera, as if someone is approaching.

[12:34] Okay, we haven't seen that much concentrated craziness since MGS4 was unveiled. Give us a moment to digest. Konami has promised you'll be seeing a nice clean version of this trailer online once TGS starts.

[12:48] Yeah, so how about that MGS4 trailer? It was totally nuts. TOTALLY.

[12:49] Okay, we've got a script for that trailer right here in front of us. In English. Joy!

[12:50] In that first scene with Dr. Hunter, she talks about how Liquid Snake is holding her prisoner and forcing her to hijack the "system" because she knows how Foxdie works. She begs Snake to rescue her.



Hideo Kojima takes the stage to talk a whole lot about Metal Gear.[12:53] The next scene showed Meryl, the bald African-American character from previous trailers named Ed, and a few other armed soldiers moving cautiously through an enclosed car park. Meryl says "These guys are Liquid's private army. Shoot first, think later." They soon engage in a firefight with a number of soldiers in metallic, futuristic armored suits, before Solid Snake emerges from the shadows and saves the team.

[12:54] Meryl talks about the network of nanomachines in each of her soldiers' bodies, which allows her and her team to literally share each other's senses and "operate as one."

[12:56] All throughout these sequences, titles popped onscreen: "Final Chapter of the Metal Gear Saga."

[12:56] "Final Mission of Snake."

[12:56] "Finally, Everything Will Be Revealed!"

[12:58] Next up, we see Snake talking to a slightly shady new character who calls himself Drebin. The guy's a "gun launderer" who takes the genetically-encoded weapons of MGS4's future private military companies and unlocks them for use by anyone. The guy describes himself as "neither enemy, nor friend," but it sounds like his services will come in pretty handy. The guy apparently likes to keep a small primate around with him. Comic relief, anyone?

[1:00] Snake questions Drebin on the identity of the Patriots, asking if they're even human. "Not anymore, they ain't." Then we get shots of a strange little girl named Sunny, who Otacon says was taken by the Patriots at birth.

[1:03] Snake encounters an older, wrinkled blonde woman who compliments his close-quarters combat technique. She says "Call me Mama. Big Mama." But this script we've got reveals her name as Eva! Seems like everyone in any Metal Gear, ever, is showing up in this purported last installment.

[1:06] Excitement in the trailer reaches fever pitch by this time. Finally we see Snake taking a stand against Revolver Ocelot/Liquid Snake, who appears to be piloting the same Metal Gear RAY unit he was last seen escaping in at the end of MGS2.

[1:06] Lastly, dialogue between Naomi and Sunny, during which Sunny says "Her name was Olga... my mother." See? Every character ever.

This week, market research and analyst firm DFC Intelligence released its latest report, titled "DFC Intelligence Forecasts Video Game Market to Reach $47 Billion by 2009." As the title suggests, the San Diego-based research firm thinks the worldwide game industry's worth will increase by $14 billion in the next two years from its estimated $33 billion 2007 worth.

In addition to its pan-platform market predictions, DFC also handicapped the three-way race between the most recent crop of consoles. It predicts that sales of all three systems--the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360--will total between 180 and 210 million units by 2012. In the shorter term, DFC believes the Wii will continue its winning streak until at least the end of 2008, at which point the PS3 could start taking over.

"We could have a situation where the Wii sells more hardware units, but by 2012 the PlayStation 3 is generating more software revenue," said DFC analyst David Cole.

Cole also believes that although the battle is far from over, the Xbox 360 will likely be relegated to third place when the dust finally settles. He says Microsoft's dependence on the US and Canadian markets are hampering its efforts to make the console a worldwide phenomenon. "The Xbox 360 will need to build a strong base outside North America to avoid being in a fairly distant third," forecast Cole.

DFC analysts also looked at the portable market, predicting that handhelds generally and the DS in particular will continue to see strong growth. "Revenue from portable game software has more than doubled in recent years," said Cole. "We think that the Nintendo DS could eventually become the best-selling game system ever in five years."

The company also augured that the worldwide PC gaming market will be worth more than $13 billion by the year 2012.

Hello! Many rumors coming in today from 1up. Shane, an editor for EGM Magazine, known for previous Kingdom Hearts rumors, discusses some potential news on the series in the 1Up Podcast Show. Please keep in mind, these are rumors.

Apparently, Square Enix will be releasing multiple games in the Kingdom Hearts Series similar to the Compilation of Final Fantasy Seven. This undertaking has been dubbed Kingdom Hearts Zero. The first game to be announced for this compilation will be on the Playstation Portable.

We'll be sure to update you as we get closer to the Tokyo Game Show. Until then, feel free to discuss!

Tri-Ace's PS3 sci-fi RPG Star Ocean 4, this time the game allow 4 characters in the battle.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Sony Corp. (6758.T) plans to phase out the cut-priced $499 model of its PlayStation 3 video game machine, leaving only a higher capacity $599 model for sale in the United States, the company said on Monday.

The revelation undid some of the praise Sony won from the gaming industry last week for its 17 percent price cut on the machine, a move seen as leveling the playing field with Microsoft Corp.'s (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) Xbox 360 console.

But one analyst said Sony had left the door open to further price cuts, saying another would almost certainly happen when the cheaper PlayStation 3 sells out.

Sony dropped the price on the PS3, which comes with a 60-gigabyte hard drive and high-definition Blu-ray DVD player, by $100 last week in a bid to boost sales of the console by passing on lower costs onto consumers.

It also said it would launch a new model featuring a hard drive with 33 percent more capacity -- 80 gigabytes -- and a copy of its off-road racing game "MotorStorm" in August.

A company spokesman said Sony would sell the $500 version until "supplies of that unit are depleted," estimated to be months after the August debut of the new, pricier model.

"We have ample inventory to meet the immediate needs of consumers in this territory for several months to come," Dave Karraker said in an e-mailed response to questions.

"We won't be making any further announcements regarding our PS3 model hardware strategy in North America until the 60GB model is exhausted and market conditions are evaluated," Karraker said.

The statement confirmed remarks by David Reeves, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, carried last week on gaming news Web site GamesIndustry.biz saying the 60-gigabyte model would be discontinued.

Gaming circles voiced disappointment in the development with popular blog Joystiq.com saying it amounted to more of a "clearance sale" than an actual price cut.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter said in a research note that Sony had an estimated 2 million to 3 million 60-gigabyte models in inventory and that once they were sold out, it would lower the price on the 80-gigabyte version.

"Although we think that Sony's public relations gaffe was unfortunate, we do not believe that the company has ill intent, and we expect the $499 price point to be maintained until early next year, when the 80GB model will likely by cut again to $399," Pachter said.

The PS3 lags the Xbox and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s (7974.OS) Wii console in sales. The Xbox, which launched in November 2005, has sold 5.6 million units in the United States through May of this year.

The $250 Wii, with its unique motion-sensing controller, has become a surprise hit, selling 2.8 million units in just seven months after its November 2006 launch, compared to the PS3's 1.4 million units in that time.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 comes in three models priced from $300 to $480. The most expensive model, the Elite, comes with a 120-gigabyte hard drive but lacks the PS3's high-definition DVD player, built-in wireless technology and bundled game.