The Final Fantasy XIIIdemo is hitting Japan on April 16 packaged with the Blu-ray Final Fantasy flick, Advent Children Complete. According to Famitsu, Sony will commemorate the release with a new 160GB PlayStation 3 bundle for ¥49,980 (US$550) that includes the movie, demo and specially marked console seen above.
Already got a PS3? ACC is also coming sans hardware for ¥5,900 (US$65) with the demo and ¥4,900 (US$54) without ... but let's be honest, is there really a market for people who want the movie but don't want to play and / or eBay the FFXIII trial? Square Enix recently said that there are no plans to release the demo overseas, so if you've been pining for a taste of the long-awaited RPG, we suggest you brush up on your Japanese.
Capcom has confirmed to Eurogamer that a demo for Resident Evil 5 is shuffling its way onto the PSN February 2. Astute observers will notice that the release date is a Monday, which is not the PSN's typical Thursday update day. We've contacted both Sony America and Capcom for confirmation of the date for North America.
The Xbox 360 RE5 demo will be available starting January 26. Both consoles will receive the same demo, which is the same as the Japanese demo and features two levels that can be played solo, split-screen or online co-op. Getting in plenty of practice time won't be an issue, as the retail version isn't expected until March 13.
Rumors of a PSP-infused phone (or is it a phone-infused PSP?) have been circulating since the dawn of time -- we figured if anyone would be working on this Frankenportable, it would be Sony Ericsson, the beleaguered mobile phone branch of Sony Corp. However, if a report from UK cellular phone industry news site Mobile Today proves accurate, we've been in the wrong this whole time -- according to them, Sony Ericsson was recently refused the use of the PlayStation brand by their parent company. A fairly sick burn, if true.
The story, which comes from several anonymous "sources close to the matter", claims that Sony will only license the PlayStation brand if and when Sony begins making handsets independently from Ericsson. A Sony Ericsson representative wouldn't comment on the report, but did say that "technical specs are not high enough to put such a prestigious brand on a phone."
When Sony rattled off at last week's CES that 17 million PlayStation Network accounts had been registered, we were at once both impressed and skeptical. That number happens to match Xbox Live's data that was released days prior, despite its one-year lead and more aggressive push in the field.
The Doubting Thomases over at MTV Multiplayer got in touch with Sony to clarify the figure and gain some more perspective on the issue. As it turns out, that number includes people who have created accounts via PS3, PSP or the official website, which requires a PSN ID to access the forums. While still impressive, we're happier to have some more context on this one.
2009 marks year #9 for Sony's aging PlayStation 2. Although hardcore gaming enthusiasts have largely moved on to current generation consoles, the system is still "important" to Sony's business model. With 50 million units sold in North America, it's clear why Sony will continue supporting the platform. John Koller, director of hardware marketing at SCEA, told Gamasutra that "the only way to kill the PS2 business is to stop supporting it." Koller claims that 25% of software sales in 2008 were on Sony's last-gen system.
Publishers are unlikely to ignore the sizable PS2 audience, and Koller agrees. "With the lineup for 2009 and 2010, the PS2 is not going away anytime soon." A quick glance at the PS2 release list shows dozens of games planned for the year, although most are licensed movie and sports games. 2009 releases include titles like SingStar, Guitar Hero: Metallica, Ghostbusters, Madden and The Beatles.
Sony will undoubtedly want the success of PS2 to continue as long as possible. With PS3 systems still losing money on each unit sold, the "positive margins" of the PlayStation 2 will help the manufacturer's bottom line. With PS2 sales still going strong, Koller insists a price drop is not coming any time soon. "It's a significant financial contributor for us and it sells very well at $129.99. We're comfortable with the current price."
The EA Store now has a listing for Command & Conquer Red Alert 3: Ultimate Edition for PS3. The publisher had previously announced that the PS3 version would utilize the "high-defness of Blu-ray" and now, comrades, we have a better idea of what that means.
The Ultimate Edition, which currently doesn't have a release date, features bloopers, new battleground maps, developer strategy videos and behind-the-scenes footage. The game's soundtrack will also be available, along with a "Unit Profiles video encyclopedia." The most titillating item on the disc is the "Girls of RA3" presented in full "HD Blu-ray with enhanced visuals." That's, like, twice the Blu-rays. Sadly, if the controls are anything like the Xbox 360 version, no amount of special videos will prevent you from begging for a keyboard and mouse.
A report from UK retailer GAME, citing Gfk-ChartTrack data, reveals that console sales doubled on the islands during 2008. Home console sales hit 10 million units last year, up from 4.7 million the prior year. The current next-gen install base is around 22 million units.
Of course, the Wii accounted for nearly half the sales during 2008, with a solid lead at 4.9 million units. The Xbox 360 and PS3 sold 3.2 and 1.9 million units, respectively. Although the Xbox 360 and PS3 should continue growing their install bases in the coming year, a recent report speculates that nearly half of Brits will have a Wii by the end of this year. We'd tell you what that number is, but we (including our very own Brit) always get confused by the differences between Britain, Great Britain, UK and Little Britain.
Reuters reports that Sony Corp "will likely" have an operating loss of approximately $1.1 billion this year, its first in 14 years. According to the wire service, some global economic slump that's going on right now has caused inventory for the company to stack up in all its divisions and prices to fall.
It was already expected that Sony would be cutting thousands of jobs and closing manufacturing plants, but an analyst quoted in the report believes the company will now "further accelerate its restructuring." There's no word on how the PS3 and PSP divisions of the company will be affected. The silver lining in this for consumers is that the PS3 is rumored to receive another price drop in the next few months.
The new-and-improved-but-completely-devoid-of-history-and-tradition Yankee Stadium will make its public debut on April 16, when the Yanks are scheduled to pummel the Cleveland Indians into submission. However, we've got a pretty good idea what we'll be seeing the first time we cross the threshold of Baseball's Cathedral 2.0 -- Sony devices and branding, as far as the eye can see.
Sony Electronics and the Pinstripers announced Thursday that they'd signed an agreement designating Sony the official consumer electronics manufacturer of the Yankees. What's this mean? Well, Sony gets a prominent advertisement on the right-field wall (as well as a number of diorama ads in the concourse), and the new stadium gets over 550 Bravia and LCD HD televisions for the high-roller suites, and a PS3 gaming area in the park's "Strike Zone." Oh, also, the Yanks' new mascot is Polygon Man. That's a fair trade-off, right?
Sony's a pretty big company. Shocker, right? They're busy putting out things like new digital cameras, wafer-thin displays, televisions that show realistic 3D images, and some new piece of tech that replaces your brain with a network of recycled Memory Sticks. Amazing.
Still, with all that going on they do still manage to churn out games. Only a tiny part of their booth at CES was dedicated to gaming, but they managed to fit in Patapon 2, Killzone 2, Resistance: Retribution, Flower and an in-progress EyeToy game. Check them all out in the gallery below.
Have you ever had one of those moments when you looked at the graphics being generated by a brand new console and suddenly knew without doubt that you wouldn't be able to go back to your old games without feeling like you were missing something? As we've gotten older and seen more consoles come and go, the intensity of that feeling has continued to wane. But as we checked out the PlayStation 3 games Sony was presenting in Real3D at CES we were struck by the surprisingly potent sensation that we were staring at the future through geeky tinted glasses.
The effect was shockingly good in the demo loop of MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, WipEout HD and Gran Turismo 5: Prologue. Seeing debris and opposing vehicles actually fly towards us instead of appearing to fly towards us is as much of a graphical leap forward as any console iteration of the past decade.
When we handed back our borrowed glasses (like good citizens) we have to admit it was with a little sadness. To see the future that closely and to know it's still a long ways out makes the waiting that much worse. Tomorrow can't get here soon enough.
Sony Asia has revealed two new striking "Carnival Color" PSP-3000 models for the region. The "Radiant Red" and "Vibrant Blue" handhelds will begin burning Asian retinas on January 17th for roughly $177 each.
There's no word on whether these colors will make it to other regions; however, CES is currently going on, so there may be an announcement buried in the circus. We've contacted Sony and will update with any new info.
Whether commanding starships or green aliens into bed, there's no mistaking William Shatner, even if he is a greasy smear on the side of a building. The man who invented the Corbomite Maneuver will soon put his body in players' hands in PAIN, reports videogaming247.
While still unconfirmed, Shatner's ragdoll alter ego would join The Hoff as the latest celebrity to be broken by the -- true fact! -- most popular PSN title ever. James T. Kirk is scheduled to smash into Sony Europe's PSN on March 19th, though a Sony representative tells us the release schedule "is for internal purposes only" and "subject to change." Khaaaan you believe it?
We here at Joystiq absolutely revel in statistics and can think of nothing better than smothering ourselves in warm, moist data. Did you know that approximately 54% of all posts written on our site contain frequently unnecessary statistics? And did you know that the only thing we like more than reporting on numbers is to make them up on the spot? Oh well. Here are some real ones, straight from Sony's CES 2009 keynote:
17 million! The number of PlayStation Network accounts ... accounted for. 17 million is a really popular number for online networking, apparently.
330 million! Numbering the pieces of digital content that have been downloaded through PSN.
2 million! That's how many users the Life with PlayStation service has. An updated version will be coming this Spring.
2,000 hours! The answer to the question, "How much video content is MTV Networks adding to Sony's video delivery service?" The deal, which manifests in February, includes shows such as "MTV's The City, Comedy Central's Emmy and Peabody-Award winning South Park, Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants and VH1's Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels."
4! The number of bullet points which encapsulate all that information! This one doesn't count.
From the "Did you know?" department comes an interesting tidbit regarding Sony's internal development studios -- specifically, the two behind last year's Wipeout HD (Liverpool Studio) and Motorstorm: Pacific Rift (Evolution Studios). According to veep of Worldwide Studios Europe, Michael Denny, it is Sony's intention to fully merge the teams, which already share a management structure and resources, in a single geographic location.
"Each studio has its own internal concepting group which will always be looking at new opportunities and new IPs," Denny told GI.biz, "and we'll continue to extend and innovate within our existing franchises as well." The move won't happen "overnight," but the synergy that would result is sure to be beneficial to off- and hovering-slightly-above-road racing fans. We only hope that the two studios don't fall into the same trap Team Joystiq does whenever united under one roof: hours upon hours wasted looking at funny cat videos.
