PSP Price Cuts for Europe
April 23, 2007
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has announced price cuts for the PSP in Europe.
The price of the PSP Core bundle will fall from €199.99/£149.99 ($271) to €169.99/£129.99 ($230). Earlier in the month, a price drop in the U.S. was announced (from $199.99 to $169.99), although the effect of this change on sales has not yet become clear in the latest NPD data.
Sony officials have also announced that the registered retail price of budget priced Platinum re-release titles will fall from £19.99 to £14.99 ($40 to $30). Five new titles will also be added to the range, in the form of Ridge Racer 2, Tekken: Dark Resurrection, Killzone: Liberation, LocoRoco and Moto GP.
“PSP is unique and is constantly evolving. It offers the widest palette of mobile entertainment, from gaming to video, music, photos and internet,” said SCE UK managing director Ray Maguire. “But now the exciting possibility of connecting remotely to PS3 makes PSP more relevant than ever. So what better time to offer a brand new price point, and the launch of five new Platinum titles?”
World Series of Video Games 2007 Details
April 5, 2007
Today, The World Series of Video Games (WSVG) announced today its plans for the 2007 season, including venues around the globe, a new circuit structure, $750,000 in cash prizes, and several titles never before offered in the world’s top gaming competitions.
In ground-breaking news, the WSVG will feature for the first time Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, which will be played in a PVP Arena 3v3 format. Also on console, the WSVG will feature Guitar Hero II and for the first time EA Sports Fight Night Round 3. Quake 4, a mainstay of competitive gaming since 1997, will be showcased, as well.
WSVG pres. Matthew Ringel said in a video announcement, “We are incredibly excited about our 2007 lineup of game competitions. The World Series seeks to support those titles that are the most fun for the players in competition, enjoy widespread community support, and afford the most opportunities for a much wider audience to view them online and on television.”
The second season circuit is scheduled to visit Wuhan, China (4/30-5/3), Louisville (6/21-6/24), Dallas (7/5-7/8), Orlando (8/23-26), Europe Major (October), and Jönköping, Sweden (11/29-12/2), which will play host to WSVG finals. A WSVG press release explains that “The Dallas date was specifically chosen so the WSVG could support Live Earth — The Concert for a Climate in Crisis, a 24-hour concert series taking place on 07/07/07 in 7 cities around the world that will bring together more than 100 of the world’s top musical acts.”
In addition to the circuit titles, other traditional eSports titles will be included in competition on an event-by-event basis including Warcraft III in China, Call of Duty 2 in Dallas and Orlando, Counter-Strike 1.6 in China, Louisville, and Europe, and Halo 2 in Dallas.
New to this year’s WSVG are a points-based system to determine seeding and Finals qualification, travel support for the top four teams in each game category, online qualifying tournaments prior to each Major, and massive LAN events at each US stop, to be powered by LANWAR, the leading organizer in the US.
Over 1,000 PS2 Compatible Titles for PAL PS3
March 1, 2007
Last friday, a Sony press release indicated that only a “limited” number of PS2 titles would be compatible with the PAL PS3 (to be launched in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Australasia on March 23), but Sony president of worldwide studios Phil Harrison has just declared that “over 1,000″ PS2 titles will be backwards compatible with the PAL version of the PS3, thanks to the removal of the PlayStation Emotion Engine from the hardware configuration and a new reliance on software emulation.
Nevertheless, European fans were pissed off wiht this news; the issue of backwards compatibility, for many, is secondary to the perception that PAL consumers were being forced to pay more for hardware that featured less functionality than its North American and Japanese equivalents. Apparently referring to the negative headlines produced by the news, Harrison responded, “It’s very easy to over-react. We’re working to introduce a resource on the Web to detail which titles will have backwards compatibility. And as we make firmware upgrades, we will be able to add to that list.”
Referring to suggestions from Datamonitor analyst Alex Kwiatkowski that the move to software emulation could see an earlier than expected PS3price drop, Harrison said that price reductions are “something that we wouldn’t comment on specifically. But you know the business model very well – we strive to get the cost of manufacturing down as soon as possible, and as soon as we can pass cost savings onto the consumers, we will.”
According to Sony’s own figures 2,451 software titles have been released in Europe in total, from a worldwide total of 8,571. Assuming that the figure of over 1,000 titles promised by Harrison includes a significant number of the more popular PS2 games, it seesm that the move to software emulation is unlikely to remain a contentious issue in Europe.
Modified PS3 Offers Less Backward Compatability
February 26, 2007
For Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Australasia, recent changes in the PS3’s internal design means that the console’s backward compatability for PS1 and PS2 games “is not going to be as good as in the U.S. and Japanese models,” a Sony spokesperson said.
“Rather than concentrate on PS2 backwards compatibility, in the future, company resources will be increasingly focused on developing new games and entertainment features exclusively for PS3,” Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president David Reeves explained.
A Sony press release confirmed, explaining that the PS3 to be launched in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Australasia on March 23 would utilize brand new hardware, the specifications of which include the Cell Broadband Engine, a 60 GB HD drive, a Blu-ray disc player, built-in Wi-Fi, and a SIXAXIS wireless controller. Most important, the press release stated that the built-in emulation would support only a “broad range of original PlayStation titles and a limited range of PS2 titles.”
The reliability of backwards compatibility on the PS3 won’t be as good in the European market to start off, but Sony will be releasing regular downloads through the PlayStation Network to increase the number of compatible games over time. An official list of working titles will be published on March 23.
Microsoft Extends Platinum Hits for Xbox 360
February 23, 2007
Microsoft has announced an new batch of discounted games for both the U.S. and Europe for Xbox 360’s ‘Platinum Hits’ line of titles, which was launched last fall. Microsoft also confirmed that the line will be extended to Latin America, Japan, and Asia Pacific next month.
Set for release on March 16 are Electronic Arts’ Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, Burnout Revenge, and Fight Night Round 3, Activision’s Call of Duty 2, Tecmo’s Dead or Alive 4, Ubisoft’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, 2K Sports’ Top Spin 2, and Rockstar’s Table Tennis.
The European market will get a similar collection of ‘Platinum Hits’ titles for an estimated retail price of 29.99 euros ($38.35), including Call of Duty 2, Dead or Alive 4, Project Gotham Racing 3, Table Tennis, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, and Tomb Raider: Legend.
In Japan, the Xbox 360 ‘Platinum Hits’ line will debut with Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, Burnout Revenge, and Perfect Dark Zero, Sega’s Chrome Hounds, each costing 2,800 yen ($23).
In the Asia Pacific region, initial ‘Platinum Hits’ releases in March will include Dead or Alive 4, N3: Ninety-Nine Nights, Project Gotham Racing 3, and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. Pricing for these games will vary slightly by region, Microsoft said.
“Platinum Hits not only lets gamers enjoy a broad portfolio of titles at an amazing price,” said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of Global Marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “It also ensures that existing and new gamers alike can get the most from their Xbox 360 by owning a great library of blockbuster hits. So if you missed playing a game the first time around, now there is a great reason to pick it up.”
Sony Europe Reveals PS3 Launch Specifics
January 25, 2007
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has officially unveiled its PS3 launch date and prices for the UK, revealing a 60GB-only March 23 lkick-off at £425 ($842). The continental European price for the console is 599 Euros ($778), and the Australian price is set at $999 Australian ($791 U.S.).
As previously rumored, the UK launch will only include the 60GB model (1 million units of which are being made available the first day), rather than the choice between the 20GB and 60GB models launched in Japan and the USA.
SCEE says the single model launch is in response to ‘retail and consumer demand.’ The 20GB model, says SCEE, will be offered later in the year.
SCEE has also said that the European PlayStation Network will offer a full selection of downloadable titles, including Gran Turismo HD Concept and a localized version of Tekken: Dark Resurrection, previously only available to Japan and Hong Kong. Go! Sudoku, Go!, Puzzle, Blast Factor, and flOw are also promised for day-one availability.
The full game list supplied by SCEE, including both network and Blu-ray-based games, is as follows (alphabetically!):
Blast Factor
Blazing Angels Squadrons of WWII
Call of Duty 3
Def Jam: Icon
Enchanted Arms
F.E.A.R.
Fight Night Round 3
flOw
Formula One Championship Edition
Full Auto 2: Battle Lines
Genji: Days of the Blade
Go! Sudoku, Go!
Gripshift
Gundam – Target in Sight
Lemmings
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
MotorStorm
NBA 2K7
NBA Street 4 Homecourt 2007
Need for Speed Carbon
NHL 2K7
Puzzle
Resistance: Fall of Man
Ridge Racer 7
Sonic the Hedgehog
Super Rub’a’Dub
Tekken: Dark Resurrection
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Godfather: The Don’s Edition
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Tony Hawk’s Project 8
Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom
Virtua Fighter 5
Virtua Tennis 3
World Snooker Championship 2007
SCEE has also made available pricing information for peripherals and accessories, as follows:
SIXAXIS Wireless Controller - £34.99 ($69)
Blu-ray Disc Remote Control - £17.99 ($36)
HDMI Cable - £17.99 ($36)
AV cable - £17.99 ($36)
Component AV cable - £17.99 ($36)
S Video cable - £12.99 ($26)
UK Gaming Academy
January 4, 2007
Shaun Woodward, the UK creative industries minister, has suggested that the gaming industry should sponsor an academy to teach gamers skills they need to become successful game developers, much like film or graphic design schools do.
The “best way for the videogames industry to have the talent and the skills it wants is to move into the hot seat itself; to come to the government and say ‘we want to put some money into an academy,’” Woodward said.
You might have kids who traditionally have quite a difficult time coping with traditional academic subjects but happen to be the most amazing gamers… you have to look very creatively at the kind of educational background you want.”
The gaming industry is moving beyond looking enviously at tax breaks and other state incentives offered to film companies, the minister said, to an acceptance that it’s now a multibillion pound industry in its own right.
“They’re now recognizing that ‘actually we’re huge, maybe we need to build our own institutional bricks’,” he explained. “You see television and films schools but we don’t have a video-games school. Why not? Because [the sector] is so new. And yet we’re the third largest manufacturer in the world. And that’s the sense of catch up here.”
Woodward went on to say that he is confident that private sector support will make the ‘game academy’ a reality. If this is true, look out for the anxious Americans heading overseas.
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