The PlayStation Network vs. Xbox Live debate has been going on for some time, with fanboys/girls from both camps arguing why one is better than the other. There’s at least one developer out there that believes the PlayStation Network is superior to Xbox Live. United Front Games, the developer of upcoming title ModNation Racers, wants “everyone who buys a copy of the game is able to get online for free and then share all this content.”
The FIFA 10 demo is hitting PSN and Xbox Live this week, now a demo for the new Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 game has been confirmed by Konami’s European PES Team Leader Jon Murphy. “Not long to go now until we release a demo for everyone to test. You’ll get a chance to see the new PES for yourselves and make up your minds about how we’ve reflected what the what fans want,” Murphy said in a recent blog entry.
The PlayStation 3 Platinum range has been expanded this month with a handful of new titles. Games that reach over 400,000 sales are added to the Platinum range for an unbeatable price of £19.99 / €29.99. This month, some very popular games have been added to the list including MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, Resistance 2, Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4. All the aforementioned games are available to purchase in the platinum range now.
According to VGChartz’s preliminary data, the PlayStation 3 Slim sold around half a million units in the first week, which is a 400% increase week on week. In Europe, some regions saw as much as a tenfold increase in PS3 sales, and over 200,000 units were sold in “other regions” (Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia etc) according to their preliminary data. In Japan, reports have already been independently confirmed from Famitsu magazine of over 150,000 units sold – twice as much as the previous best week for PS3.
Earlier this week, Firmware 6.0 was released to developers and it could soon be released to the general public. Allison Walter of NIS America said that firmware 6.0 will be released on or before September 10th 2009, while answering some fan questions regarding the Holy Invasion of Privacy Badman! demo.
3D gaming has gained some serious support over the past several months, and its clear that 3D is the way forward. Earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year when Gran Turismo and WipEout HD was shown to be running in 3D. There are already a few 3D games available, including Invincible Tiger and James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game. According to Engadget, a software update for the PS3 sometime in 2010 will enable it to provide a 3D viewing experience to “all” existing games on the system.
The PlayStation 2 has been around for almost ten years now, but it’s still going as strong as can be expected from a last generation console. It has sold more than any other console to date, but SCEE boss Andrew House believes that the PS3 will eventually trump it in terms of lifecycle. The PS3 is still in its infancy, will less than three years under it’s belt. It’s still early days to see if House’s theory comes to pass. Some industry insiders have predicted a new console generation to kick off in 2012, though the lifecycles of this generation’s consoles can still continue even further.
Capcom newest fighting game, Fate/Unlimited Codes, is now available to download from the PlayStation Store. It is also the first download only title Capcom have released for the PSP. The game is available from the US PlayStation Store and will be released in Europe next week. Fate/Unlimited Codes is based on the popular, if slightly crazy, Japanese visual novel/anime.
As you may already know, Gran Turismo is coming to the PSP on October 1st when the PSPgo launches officially. For the first time, you can take your favorite racing game with you on the go with an unprecedented 800+ car roster from the world’s top manufacturers and 35 tracks. If you’re interested in an incredible value and exclusive downloads, be sure to check out the new Limited Edition Gran Turismo PSP Entertainment Pack.
If you have experienced issues with playing games after installing firmware 3.00, then you are not the only one. There has been numerous reports of game freezes when playing Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and other titles. Though the issues seems to isolated, SCEA is actively looking into them. We can expect to see a minor firmware update within the next week or two to address the issue.
