Archive for July, 2007
PS3Blog’s Favorite: More Rumor Debunking
1. PS3 Price Going Back To $599 Only
news.com, yahoo.com, IGN, and other news sites all “confirmed” that the PS3 will sell at $599 price after the 60GB models sell out.
Of course, Sony didn’t say this. They did say the 60GB hardware variant is being phased out and they are moving to a single SKU approach. While it’s true that the other SKU is currently announced at $599, Sony definitely didn’t confirm future price points or guarantee that there will not be any other price changes when the 60GB model is phased out. The bottom line is we don’t know what the pricing will look like after the 60GB phase out and we can only speculate.
But this sure didn’t stop sites such as IGN from running multiple week long headlines that this speculation was “CONFIRMED” as fact.
I was actually planning to stake a wager that news sites such as IGN were wrong, and the PS3 price would not revert back to $599 as they assured us was “confirmed”. However, Ozymandias, definitely stole the betting thunder by making a much more daring bet: Not only does he agree that the price won’t go back to $599, he is willing to be that the price will drop to $399. Very daring bet. And somewhat confusing given that he recently said, “You’re drinking the Sony Kool-aid if you believe a price cut occurred at E3 this year.”
(BTW, yes, I’ve read the heavily cited Kaz Hirai and Reeves quotes on this issue, but I will omit those for brevity)
2. Blu-Ray, Sony, Porn
Recently, from here:
Sony has finally cracked and allowed pornographic film makers to release their movies on Blu-ray . Sony has always been a staunch adversary to the porn industry
And here:
Sony appears to be weakening on the role of Blu-ray in the pornography industry.
The company has said that it will not allow its media to be used for pornography
This is completely, 100%, categorically untrue. I’d prefer to avoid publically discussing pornography related stories, but this is crazy. This is a completely bogus rumor that just won’t die.
There is a distantly related truth: Some specific disc manufacturers (not just Blu-Ray) won’t manufacture pornographic discs, but neither Sony or the Blu-Ray association have ever tried to completely ban pornography from the format.
Marty Gordon, Vice Chair of BDA US Promotions Committee says:
There is not a prohibition against adult content. The BDA is an open organization that welcomes the participation of all companies interested in using and supporting the format…
Also, I can go to adultdvdempire, and buy a pornographic blu-ray disc right now. Admittedly the selection is pretty lame. There are only three pornographic blu-ray titles listed (one is “coming soon”), while HD-DVD has twelve titles listed (three of which are “coming soon”).
It’s also true that this issue is of reduced relevance since pornography has shifted towards web sites and downloads and away from tapes, discs, and magazines. However, that doesn’t make this kind of widely circulated bogus rumor any less annoying.
New Blu-ray movies for the week 7/30/07
Posted by Tosh in Blu-ray Movies on July 31st, 2007
At last 300 hits Blu-ray! Reviews for the Blu-ray video and audio has been great. So go get it! There are some other movies on Blu-ray this week, but not as great as 300 
Here are the other movies on Blu-ray this week:
Shooter
Blue Planet (IMAX)
Roving Mars (IMAX)
For a full list of Blu-ray movies available, click here.
Buy 300 at Amazon.com
Buy Shooter at Amazon.com
Buy Blue Planet at Amazon.com
Buy Roving Mars at Amazon.com
Assassins Creed PS3 Preview
Posted by Gary in A, PS3 software on July 31st, 2007
PSM3 has a preview of Assassins Creed which has been posted on the C&VG website. The gist of the preview is that it could be a flawed classic let down by fiddly controls and a dodgy camera. 
It seems as though the controls will change depending on the situation you find yourself in:
It pays little respect to convention – instead of holding
to lock-on, you simply tap it on/off to engage combat mode, which takes adjustment, especially since you can’t always tell whether you’re locked on. All controls are context-sensitive, with different abilities available when you’re locked on. The
button is used as an ‘Aggression Modifier’. Your main buttons are displayed in a tiny icon (e.g.
to blend into the crowd,
for push,
to punch), but hold
Holding when engaged in battle puts you in defensive mode which allows you to counter attacks.
They also seem to confirm Assassins Creed’s time travel themed story line:
The rumoured ‘twist’ – that the game isn’t set in 1192, but contains futuristic elements, with you retrieving essential DNA strands – is confirmed by the demo. All characters ‘flicker’ with a Matrix-style code haze, and the screen almost fades to white when you lose sight of your target in the final chase – suggesting a break in the timeline.
Why can’t they just set the game in the Crusades timeline without adding in the time travel shenanigans. Saying that I’m a big fan of time travel movies so it may work out OK.
I’ve been anticipating this game ever since I saw the first gameplay demonstration so I hope the controls and camera aren’t as flawed or fiddly as they sound. I wonder if they will release a demo…
Metal Gear Solid Online Video
Posted by Gary in M, PS3 software on July 31st, 2007
There’s no actual gameplay footage in the video below but there are some details about what Metal Gear Online is all about:
I like the sound of the S.O.P. and especially the focus on team work. There is very little info in the video so I’m very intrigued as to how MGO will work.
Can you meet in a lobby and create a party/clan with your friends either in-game or from your XMB friends list? I hope so.
CoD4 – Last Stand Perk
Posted by Blackstaffer in C, PS3 software on July 30th, 2007
Just to make it a complete set, here’s the Last Stand perk from CoD4. (It’s really old, I know. But I wanted them all here.)
Killzone 2’s Lighting Engine
Posted by Blackstaffer in K, PS3 software on July 30th, 2007
Below is a link to an interesting article about Killzone 2′s lighting engine. Some of it, obviously, you have to take with a grain a salt. Like the fact that “The closer to the nozzle the wood fragments are – the brighter the light will be“. Well, duh! Even the very first lighting models invented 3 decades ago did that.
But what I found most interesting is that it said that none of the lighting effects are baked in. That is, if you turn off all the lights in a scene, you’ll get complete darkness because no lighting effects are in the textures. I wonder if this is indeed the case (given the somewhat sensationalistic nature of this article). But if it is true, I have to wonder if the developers will make proper use of this. Can I shoot out lights to make a room darker? If I shoot out a light above me before the enemy arrives, will the enemy see me? All sorts of possibilities open up…
Bad Omen for Lair
Posted by Darrin in L, PS3 software on July 29th, 2007
Some early review scores:
EGM: 6.0, 5.5, 5.0 out of 10
Play: 9.0 out of 10
GAMEPRO: 3.75/5 (7.5 out of 10)
That’s not a good sign. That Play score is good, but I’ve never even heard of Play. I wouldn’t be surprised if that EGM score is a little low since they did give low scores to other big name PS3 exclusives such as Resistance and Motorstorm (85 and 75 respectively), but now I’m expecting a 7.5 game, where before I was expecting an 8.5+.
I’m honestly disappointed that this would score so much lower than Level 5′s Rogue Squadron games. The flight effects still look amazing and the orchestral soundtrack sounds spectacular. I wonder if there were some serious game flaws (in a similar vein to The Getaway).
Obviously, I’m still waiting on more review scores, and ultimately, my own actual impressions when I finally get the chance to play it.
Edit by Gary: I thought you might be interested in this cool Lair video, taken from Sony’s presentation in Taipie:
Call of Duty 4 – C4 Perk
Posted by Blackstaffer in C, PS3 software on July 28th, 2007
Here’s a great video showing off the C4 perk from the upcoming Call of Duty 4. According to N4G, it’s actually from the PS3 version. Oh, and you have to watch this one to the very end.
Of all the games coming out for the PS3 this year, I’m looking forward to this one the most!
[Edit: This is definitely from the PS3 version. Take a look at the three symbols across the bottom. They represent what you can do with your d-pad. If you look at the Sleight of Hand and Double Tap videos, you can see that this display is changed to make it look like a 360's d-pad. So this is some pretty strong evidence that the PS3 version looks just as awesome as any other.]
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