For its PSP Minis service, Sony is doing away with many of the fees associated with other digital networks to attract the attention of developers. As discovered by GamerBytes, the PlayStation Network's bandwidth fee -- for which publishers are charged per gigabyte of data transferred over PSN -- is revoked for the PSP Minis service. It's a somewhat odd decision, considering each Minis game will be limited to under 100MB. Certainly, a bandwidth charge would be one of the smallest fees a PSP Minis developer would have faced.

The PSP Minis program also does away with many of the practices common to WiiWare and Xbox Live. Unlike WiiWare, there is no minimum sales quota for developers to reach before they get paid. Additionally, PSP Minis publishers are allowed to choose their own release dates, instead of joining the growing queue of games awaiting release on both the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Arcade.

It's clear that Sony is taking measures to make the Minis service appear lucrative to third-party developers, especially indie studios. The question is: Will PSP gamers buy into this new platform, or will Minis be a retread of the floundering Xbox Live Indie Games project?

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/08/24/so...psp-minis-ser/ ...

Pocket Gamer have got their hands on some developer documents for Sony's PSP Minis program, which reveal that - in one key area at least - lessons have been learned from the way Apple have done business on the iPhone.

While Apple's App Store has been lauded for its variety and scope, it's often criticised for the way in which applications are approved for sale, a process which is neither transparent or consistent.

This means some content that violates other people's IP can make it onto the App Store while others do not. Or some games that contain offensive material are cleared while others, seemingly more innocent, are refused.

Sony's PSP Minis program will differ from this in that it will remove the "requirement for content approval", meaning games only need to be tested to see if they work, not if they're somehow suitable.

Which is how it should be! It's the developer's place to decide what's suitable (and face the music if its not), and it's the market's place to decide whether they want to buy it or not. The platform holder, well, they should just be allowed to get on and provide the hardware.

http://kotaku.com/5343816/psp-minis-...pples-mistakes ...

Pocket Gamer have got their hands on some developer documents for Sony's PSP Minis program, which reveal that - in one key area at least - lessons have been learned from the way Apple have done business on the iPhone.

While Apple's App Store has been lauded for its variety and scope, it's often criticised for the way in which applications are approved for sale, a process which is neither transparent or consistent.

This means some content that violates other people's IP can make it onto the App Store while others do not. Or some games that contain offensive material are cleared while others, seemingly more innocent, are refused.

Sony's PSP Minis program will differ from this in that it will remove the "requirement for content approval", meaning games only need to be tested to see if they work, not if they're somehow suitable.

Which is how it should be! It's the developer's place to decide what's suitable (and face the music if its not), and it's the market's place to decide whether they want to buy it or not. The platform holder, well, they should just be allowed to get on and provide the hardware.

http://kotaku.com/5343816/psp-minis-...pples-mistakes ...

Pocket Gamer have got their hands on some developer documents for Sony's PSP Minis program, which reveal that - in one key area at least - lessons have been learned from the way Apple have done business on the iPhone.

While Apple's App Store has been lauded for its variety and scope, it's often criticised for the way in which applications are approved for sale, a process which is neither transparent or consistent.

This means some content that violates other people's IP can make it onto the App Store while others do not. Or some games that contain offensive material are cleared while others, seemingly more innocent, are refused.

Sony's PSP Minis program will differ from this in that it will remove the "requirement for content approval", meaning games only need to be tested to see if they work, not if they're somehow suitable.

Which is how it should be! It's the developer's place to decide what's suitable (and face the music if its not), and it's the market's place to decide whether they want to buy it or not. The platform holder, well, they should just be allowed to get on and provide the hardware.

http://kotaku.com/5343816/psp-minis-...pples-mistakes ...

A Japanese retailer claims to its shop will only be making ¥700 (US$7.40) on each PS3 Slim sold.

The reason for this, it seems, is buying the consoles from Sony and then selling the console at sticker price. We don't have any data other than this and do not know how the PS3 Slim compares to other newly launched hardware in Japan and aboard.

If anything, brand new hardware seems like a money pit — everyone is banking on software sales. We're confident as the PS3 Slim ages, it will become profitable for retailers and Sony. Be patient!

http://kotaku.com/5344035/japanese-r...s-off-ps3-slim ...

Can't say we're all that surprised given other sightings, but one anonymous tipster has sent us pics from a local Walmart of the 120GB Xbox 360 Elite in a shiny white package with a back-of-box chart that neglects to mention the Pro models, essentially striking it from the records. It's still scanning at $399 for now, but having seen multiple retailers' print flyers -- including Walmart's own -- quoting $299, the computers very well may be updating just after some official Microsoft announcement, which wouldn't surprise us at all if it happen sometime this week, just ahead of the PS3 Slim launch. Peruse the pics in higher-res format below.

Update: As several readers have pointed out, the back-of-box chart shows the Elite as having standard, presumably non-HD cables only, and there's no mention of bundled HDMI cables anywhere. Also of note is the wording for Xbox Live has changed from "Silver Membership" to "Free." Before you go thinking the premium Gold membership is going away, however, there's a superscript '4,' and if it's like the older box, it leads to a longer explanation on the Xbox Live's tiered plans -- not to mention there's an ad for buying into XBL Gold just under the chart.

http://www.engadget.com/photos/xbox-...ro-on-the-box/ ...

Admittedly, when we saw Game Informer's survey that pegged Xbox 360's failure rate at 54.2 percent, we were thinking that was a bit steep of a number, possibly bumped up a few digits from some possible sampling errors. So when we were gearing up to read Microsoft's statement responding to the data, we fully expected some harsh rebuttal of the number. Turns out we got disappointed. A spokesperson for Redmond pointed to its superior entertainment value, its "best warranty in the industry" and its "constantly improving design, manufacture, and performance." At no point is there a dispute or even direct reference to the findings, which is really something that could've helped public perception on a nagging issue. How about taking a page from Fujifilm, eh Microsoft?

http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/24/m...e-rate-report/ ...

id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead has said he believes Microsoft will be the first out with next-generation of hardware.

"Somebody’s going to do it, and - to me - probably the player who's in the best position to do so is Microsoft, because I do think they’ve recouped a lot of the costs of their console," Hollenshead said in an interview with VG247.

"Maybe they’ll push the [Xbox 360] to year six - maybe seven - but I've got to believe that they're already planning the transition now, and they have their eye on the ball as to what it is, because I think they see that there are some weaknesses that they can exploit with what's going on at Sony," he added.

The biggest problem facing the games industry at the moment, said the CEO, is the global recession. As such, each platform holder is faced with "major disincentives" to start another console cycle.

At some point though, he predicted, "the PC is going to gain substantial competitive leverage by virtue of superior technology" which consoles will no longer be able to compete with.

That is when the industry will be forced to handle the next console transition, he speculated. Even though the PlayStation 3 install base "is still a problem for Sony", and the price points for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 are atill above what can be considered mainstream or mass market.

Hollenshead also spoke about his company's recent purchase by Zenimax - an event which he said saw id acquire a publisher as much as Zenimax acquiring a developer.

There are issues with independent game development - especially for id, he said, largely caused by the decreasing number of companies in a position to work with the developer.

"Most of the publishers that were out there all had titles or teams that were internal that were in sort of our competitive area of shooters, so that created natural conflict," he explained.

"Also, the declining number of companies that we could work with - just because of companies going out of business or being bought, acquired, merged, etc - was becoming a concern."

Not that Hollenshead thinks id's situation applies to all independent developers, but he does believe it's become increasingly difficult for them to achieve a "mega-hit" alone.

"If you want a huge mega-hit, that's not a million seller," he pointed out, "it's a ten million unit seller. And to make a game that sells ten million units not only requires a lot more development time and effort to be put in the game - it requires other financial considerations as well.

"You've got to spend tens of millions of dollars - I mean, it's anyone's guess on how much Microsoft spends marketing Halo - but I have seen hundred million dollar figures bandied about. So you've got to spend huge money marketing a title. And when you take all these things into account, an independent, internally-funded developer is almost too much to ask for."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...t-gen-hardware ...

Wii Sports Resort has landed at the top of the latest UK chart for a second time around after sales of Ashes Cricket 2009 more than halved, while Activision Blizzard's Wolfenstein has made its début chart entry at number two.

After enjoying number one success for two weeks, virtual cricket proved less popular than the real life Ashes this week as the Codemasters game sank two positions to number three, with sales falling 56 per cent.

Activision Blizzard's resurrection of the classic Wolfenstein did much better however, with first week sales that almost matched those of the MotionPlus bundled Wii Sports Resort. The shooter tailed behind the Nintendo title by just 2000 sales.

The publisher's new game now gives it three titles in the UK top ten, with Wolfenstein joining Call of Duty: World At War, which saw price promotions increase sales by 36 per cent this week, and Prototype, which moved up one place to number 10.

Nintendo shared this accolade with three games of its own in the top ten - alongside Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii further proved their resilience taking the number four and seven positions respectively.

Ubisoft Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood dropped two places to number six this week, with a sales drop of 26 per cent, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 fell to number eight following a sales drop of 24 per cent.

Fellow EA Sports title and former number one Fight Night Round 4 re-entered the top ten at number nine, although sales were still down 5 per cent on last week, while Madden NFL 10 dropped all the way from number eight to 20, with sales down 43 per cent.

The full UK all-formats chart from Chart Track for the week ending August 22 is as follows:

01 Wii Sports Resort
02 Wolfenstein
03 Ashes Cricket 2009
04 Wii Fit
05 Call of Duty: World at War
06 Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
07 Mario Kart Wii
08 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10
09 Fight Night Round 4
10 Prototype

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...atest-uk-chart ...