Small-scale retail chain has triggered a ‘chain reaction’

Retailers in Italy have broken a very sacred rule concerning gaming consoles: don’t sell before launch date. Not two days early
anyway. Small-scale retail chain Darty took out adverts in national newspapers. They said that customers would be able to get their PS3 at Darty stores from 7pm on Wednesday, even though the official launch date is set for Friday March 23, as everyone already knows.
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It’s the only way gamers will be able to enjoy more than one or two games

Again: buy your PS3 but rent the games. Don’t laugh. With a £425 price tag, UK gamers don’t have much of a choice.
Earlier this week, news about Gametart Direct having two offers regarding Sony’s PS3, immersed. The first one said: PS3 + 6 months of unlimited games rental at the incredible price of £499.99. The second: PS3 + 12 months of unlimited games rental at only £549.99. The store calculated that if you bought 3 PS3 games per month for six months, it’d cost you £810. They say their deals allow you to play the same amount for just £75, saving you £735!

Now, specific games rental site, rentps3.co.uk has been set up as a special outlet of PS3 games rentals, to help people get the most out of their PS3, after reaching so deep in their pockets for the machine. They also have some good start-up deals for people who still haven’t ordered their system. (more…)

Consoul looks directly at the lifestyle of customers bringing them new emerging girls…uh gadgets

“Welcome to high definition lifestyle” is the first subtitle in the new Consoul Magazine, launching in Germany on 06/03/2007 with a run of 500,000 copies. High definition all right, but I’m not so sure if it’s the gaming as much as it’s the girl sitting on the john with her panties pulled down, flushing
it at the same time. What is she doing anyway, flushing the toilet while still sitting on it? Oh…yeah. OK, never mind.

The press release was translated by Consoul Games for which we deeply thank. The new monthly trend magazine appears in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and is distributed through stores catering to the gaming & internet scene and other selected outlets free of charge. “With Consoul we look directly at the lifestyle of our customers. We address all, the fun of new emerging gadgets, the digital life of the internet, and naturally our outstanding games and films”, said Uwe Bassendowski, Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment Deutschland GmbH.
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The reasons why Sony went multiplayer on it, why they made it a downloadable title and so on

The real story behind Warhawk
and its not doing so good as a single-player game, but more as a downloadable multiplayer title for the PlayStation 3, is told by development team director Dylan Jobe in an interview with 1UP. He tries to defend as much as he can both Warhawk’s image and SCEA’s, admitting that the team had to juggle with resources in order to make the most out of Warhawk, to keep fans interested. He also admits that Sony positioned the game as a downloadable one, because it presents less risk: (more…)

Sony’s rivals: ‘been there, done that.” OK then, why doesn’t everyone feel the same?

This year’s GDC was about many things, but mainly about Sony’s “PlayStation Home,” which is a fairly good idea to give PS3 users a social network and an avatar creation system. Something
like this couldn’t go by just like that and it wasn’t only the press who had a say at this but also the rival companies, Nintendo and Microsoft. Yet, unlike the rest of the world who commented positively in regards to Sony’s new social service, the two rivals said they weren’t that impressed. In an interview with CVG, a Nintendo spokesman stated: “This is an example of Sony’s ‘Mii-too’ approach. Nintendo years ago considered and rejected the type of approach Sony is now taking.”
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God of War II will use the PS3 to the max

Looks like Sony execs are more than enthusiastic about their machine. You probably know the most lovable guy at Sony, Phil Harrison, but what you didn’t know is that he recently gave a interview to
MTV in which he revealed a couple of interesting things.

He talked about LocoRoco and he revealed that Sony plans to further evolve the franchise. Apparently, they want to bring this unconventional game back in a couple of new ways and LocoRoco will also get some new friends in the near future.
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Fight Night Round 3 features the same great gameplay the franchise is known for as well as a few minor, but appreciable, additions exclusive to the PlayStation 3.
The Good: Same great control mechanics found in previous Fight Night games; lots of great boxing legends to test your skills against; amazing-looking player models; gruesome sound effects make you cringe when you hear a guy get smacked in the face; get-in-the-ring mode offers a different, enjoyable way to play.
The Bad: Career mode lacks structure and feels like a series of loosely related matches rather than an ongoing fight to become a champion; long load times.
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PSP needs lower price, and not yet on board PS Network.

Electronic Arts took its sweet time in warming up to Microsoft and its Xbox Live Service, but now they’re one of the biggest profiteers of its online marketplace. You’d imagine they’d be right on board for PlayStation Network, as well, but that doesn’t seem to be the case — yet.

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Then tell Epic. Or don’t. But they’re considering it.

If Battlefield has taught us anything, developing a proper server browser isn’t easy — or maybe DICE just sucks at it. Anyway, Halo 2’s pairings based on skill makes the process incredibly easy. Just some friends, set a few variables for match type and a minute or two later you’re firing away. Turns out Epic Games thinks that might work for Unreal Tournament 2007, too.
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Koei makes Fatal Inertia and Bladestorm multiplatform, announcing both will come to Microsoft’s next-gen console.

It would appear that the PlayStation 3 may not have as many exclusive titles as previously thought. First came the announcement in September when Ubisoft said that the much-publicised Assassin’s Creed–which had previously been billed as a PS3 title–would be coming to the Xbox 360 and PC as well.
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