The Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Trilogy is heading to the PS3 on Tuesday, October 4th 2011. The game will launch on Blu-ray and the PlayStation simultaneously. The trilogy includes Splinter Cell, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory all in one overstuffed bundle.
A new PS3 model is bring shipped out to retailers this week, but this new model features a slight change for the worse. The new model, referred to as “K” chassis, actually removes a video output feature preventing HD Movie playback using component cables. If you want HD support, you need to use an HDMI cable.
The PS3 is leading the way when it comes to 3D content and games, and 2011 is looking even more exciting. By the end of the year, there will be around 30 stereoscopic 3D games on the PS3, including favorites such as Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception and Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, among many others.
Now that 3D gaming is available on the PlayStation 3, the next step for Sony is to enable 3D Blu-ray movie compatibility. As announced by Sony earlier, the PlayStation 3 will require another firmware update to enable 3D Blu-ray playback, which has now been scheduled for September.
Sony has officially confirmed that PS3 will receive a separate firmware update to support new 3D Blu-ray discs. Sony says (via Andriasang) that the new firmware update will be released ‘by the end of the year’. Firmware 3.30, which was released in April, added 3D game support to the console.
Remember a time when everyone though that the Blu-ray format would fail? Since Blu-ray won over the High-definition format war (against HD-DVD), the format has been gaining great momentum. The latest aggregated sales figures from Home Media Magazine puts revenues from BD sales in the US for the first quarter of 2010 were $331.31 million, which accounts to an increase of 68.5% compared to the Q1 2009.
The capacity of the Blu-ray disc has been expanded yet again, but this time it has resulted in a new sub-format: BDXL. The new format can store up to 128GB (write-once) or 100GB (rewritable), more than doubling the capacity of the dual-layer BD, disc which can hold up to 50GB of data. Unfortunately, the PlayStation 3 will not be compatible with the new format, even with a firmware update.
A partnership between Sony and Panasonic spawns a new technology that increases the capacity of a Blu-ray disc layer from 25GB to 33.4GB using existing Blu-ray laser diodes. The good news is that the new technology will be supported by existing Blu-ray players, including the PS3, via a simple firmware update.
Owners of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Blu-ray Disc have something to get excited about this week. On December 12th at 8:00PM GMT live from London, the the world’s first worldwide screening of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will take place. Star Daniel Radcliffe and director David Yates will watch the movie and answer your questions during this live screening via BD-Live.
Its been almost two years since Blu-Ray Digital Copy was first announced, back at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2008. Finally, the first Blu-Ray movie to include exclusive PSP and PS3 digital copy will be available this week in the US. Some earlier movies, including Watchmen, have included a digital copy with the purchase of a Blu-Ray movie, but either require you to download the movie from the Internet or are on a disc not readable by the PS3. The Ugly Truth, on the other hand, is the first to have a PSP/PS3 compatible digital copy on the disc.
