Freeplay has released a new version of his Radio Player for the PSP, heres whats new:


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mirzab14 has released a new version of his create directorys application for the PSP Custom Firmware 3.80m33

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Having a free trial does not exempt a downloadable game from taking advantage of PR; not even in XBLA, where every game gets downloaded by a large number of people. Why? Two reasons. First, that "large number of people" could be a lot larger. 2x (or more times) larger, in fact. Just because a lot of people download every game that comes their way doesn't mean you can afford to ignore the people who don't. Plenty of consumers only think to download the titles they are familiar with -- that's why licensed IP is so popular with many publishers.

Second, conversion rates are influenced by anticipation. This is easy enough to understand. Imagine being faced with two games, both of relatively equal quality. One has been hyped in the press for months. One is unheard of. Your friends are all talking about the first game. You yourself have been looking forward to it. But the other game is just as good. Which are you going to buy?

The trial... it's not just the first five minutes of your game
It's surprising how many developers don't think about their game's trial experience until the very last minute of the development process. A downloadable game's trial is everything! If someone doesn't enjoy your trial, then they probably won't buy your game. It doesn't matter if you licensed the three greatest IP of all time and fused them into the holy trinity of game design itself. If the trial stinks, most people won't bother to lift the curtain on the full experience.
* Don't confuse or frustrate the player
* Don't make the player wait for the fun
* Don't make the trial too short
* Don't make the trial too long
* Intensify the player's curiosity
* Work that upsell message
* Show off your best features

http://www.edery.org/2008/01/how-to-...ll-more-games/ ...

Xbox 360 Drives the Video Game Console Industry in 2007: NPD data released today confirms consumers spent more dollars on Xbox 360 in 2007, with more than $13.7 billion in total consumer spending. Xbox 360 won 2007 with $4.8 billion in total consumer spend compared to Wii with $3.5 billion and PlayStation 3 with $2.2 billion. This wraps up a historic year, with NPD reporting consumers have spent nearly 45 percent of total industry figures on Xbox 360.

Here is a quick snapshot of what is driving revenue for Xbox 360, based on the latest reports from NPD and Microsoft data:

XBOX 360 WIDENS THE GAP OVER PS3 WITH CONSOLE SALES: According to NPD, Xbox 360 sold 1.3 million consoles in December alone, and has steadily widened the gap between Sony's PlayStation 3 console sales. In December, NPD stated that Sony sold 798,000 PS3 hardware units. Since PS3's launch in November 2006, Xbox 360 has outsold PS3 by nearly 2:1 on average, bringing a total U.S. Xbox 360 install base of 9.2 million consoles, compared to and installed base of 7.4 million Wii consoles and 3.3 million PS3 consoles.

GAMES DRIVE INDUSTRY GROWTH: Xbox 360 robust games portfolio spans across the highest-ranked AAA titles to the largest collection of "Everyone" and "Teen" rated games. According to NPD, of the top 20 best-selling titles in 2007 for this generation, 11 were on Xbox 360; while only seven were sold on the Wii and two sold on the PS3.
* NPD reported that this holiday's leading multiplatform blockbusters continue to sell better on Xbox 360:
o "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" for Xbox 360 was the leading game last month with 1.5 million copies sold, outselling the PS3 version nearly 3:1.
o "Assassin's Creed" for Xbox 360 was the fourth best selling title, having sold 894,000 units. It outsold the PS3 version more than 2:1.
o "Guitar Hero III" outsold the PS3 nearly 2:1, having sold 625,000 copies.
o "Rockband" continues to rock the charts, selling 463,000 units for the Xbox 360 platform, compared to 174,000 units for the PS3
* To date, 33 third party games on Xbox 360 hit the top 10 list across all consoles compared to five third party games on PS3, and four on Wii. These results confirm that third party partners create better games and reap more sales on Xbox 360 than any other platform.
* In its fourth month on the market, Halo 3 continued its strong performance and was the sixth best selling title in December, selling another 742,000 units. In 2007, NPD projects that Halo 3 has sold 4.8 million units in the U.S. since its launch in September.
* Xbox 360 continues to lead in number of games sold per console, setting another record with an attach rate of 7.0 games per console.

XBOX LIVE SETS NEW HEIGHTS: Xbox LIVE's network is 10 million members strong and growing, achieving membership goals six months ahead of schedule. Only on Xbox LIVE can members experience the largest catalog of on-demand, high-definition content in the U.S., including movies and television shows from our most recent partners: Disney-ABC Television Group and MGM Studios.

We're not slowing down in 2008. The next versions of powerhouse franchises like "Grand Theft Auto," "Resident Evil" and sports games like "Madden", "FIFA", and "Pro Evolution Soccer" open up a new arena for game play on Xbox 360. This year we will make great strides toward improving our brand appeal to consumers interested in more physical game play. With titles like "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock," "Rock Band" and "Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action" we're creating interactive experiences on Xbox 360 for the entire family. ...

According to a new survey conducted by product pricing site kakaku.com, as reported by Dow Jones, Japanese gamers care more about software than pricing. Of the 3,422 gamers polled 49.2 percent said their top concern when considering a console to purchase is whether it's "compatible with the games they absolutely want to play."

28 percent said they planned to buy the Wii next compared to 27 percent who said the PS3 would be their next purchase.

Perhaps, however, these numbers are so close because so many gamers have already purchased a Wii at this point. One quarter said they already own the Wii compared to just 10 percent who own the PS3. Another quarter own the DS, while just three percent have the Xbox 360.

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/ne...y/19106/?biz=1 ...

Supercomputing in education is a brand-new game thanks to a cluster of Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) consoles and some creative thinking.

In 2005, when University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth physics professor Guarav Khanna first learned of Sony's plans to release a new open-platform PlayStation device with a high-power microprocessor, or a "Cell Broadband Engine," he had a feeling the new video-game console would hold great promise beyond gaming.

Now, Khanna's suspicions have paid off, as he conducts high-level scientific research on a supercomputer he built with his colleague Glen Volkema late last year, using a cluster of eight PS3 consoles running Linux.

Because of the unique features and easy accessibility of the PS3, Khanna believes the console has huge potential for use in settings other than research institutions--such as in classrooms and school computer labs.

According to Khanna's calculations, each PS3 cell processor--which he dubs a "supercomputer on a chip"--is equal to about 25 processors in a traditional desktop computer. The PS3 has a "lot more legs" than other processors, Khanna says--"a lot more potential."

The raw power of Khanna's PS3 supercomputer is perfect for highly calculation-intensive research, such as his own on small stars and black holes. But it's the machine's low cost that is the real story.

Whereas a mid-range desktop computer with decent processing power costs about $1,000, a single PS3 console sells for about $400, even though the production cost of the device runs around $800. As with other gaming consoles, the cost of the PS3 is subsidized, Khanna explains, so Sony can make money from the sale of video games.

"We're talking about saving a tremendous amount of money," Khanna says, referring to the use of multiple PS3 consoles to create a supercomputer.

Khanna's eight-PS3 supercomputer has tremendous implications for the research community, especially as the wait time for supercomputer use has skyrocketed in recent years.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-...4b1&d=top-news ...

Remember when Sony took backwards compatibility out of the PLAYSTATION 3? That hurt. But, don't worry, it appears as though Sony hasn't totally given up on BC. A job listing for a development engineer has popped up on the Sony Computer Entertainment site. The job entails:

"Implementing and improving software emulation for the PS/PS2/PSP/PS2 for the PS3 and the next generation system."

http://kotaku.com/346279/yes-sony-st...ckwards-compat ...

Is it the rising Blu-Ray hype that is driving sales? Or a baser aspect of the techno-toy that is beginning to spur on the return of the PlayStation brand.

In my opinion the answer is a bit of both, sales have steadily increased arguably in line with the rise of HD TV. But similarly world-wide sales of the Wii and Xbox 360 have also increased almost in parallel.

The big jumps in PS3 sales have occurred on a regional basis because of significant software releases, for example, in Japan there were spikes of PS3 sales for the release of Virtua Fighter 5, Gundam Musou, Hot Shots Golf 5 and more recently for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.

Amongst the differing tastes of Western regions on the other hand, it is hard to find a PS3 exclusive that became a console seller. Unlike Halo 3 for Xbox 360, games such as Lair, Heavenly Sword and even Uncharted: Drake's Fortune caused only minor ripples of increased hardware sales.

No, the single significant event that has started the resurgence of sales in the PS3, which now matches the Xbox 360 world-wide, was the price adjustment in early November . Across all regions, the spike in sales and continued success of the machine has been simply due to making it cheaper.

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/16156/1092/ ...

Hardware Momentum
* December 2007 was the biggest month for PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) since launch, with 798K hardware units sold in December; this represents an increase of 60% over December of last year. With upcoming titles like Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Devil May Cry 4, Burnout Paradise, and HAZE as well as current momentum for Blu-ray, there is a great deal of enthusiasm for the PS3 as we enter the new year.

Software Momentum
* PlayStation total software revenue in December was $822 million, sales nearly doubled compared to last month's sales.
* PlayStation platforms had three software titles in the top ten list across all consoles for the month of December: Guitar Hero III for PS2 sold 800K units, Madden NFL 08 for PS2 sold 655K units and Call of Duty 4 on PS3 sold 522K units.

http://kotaku.com/346309/sony-respon...-seems-pleased ...