Sony Insights » Gaming

Sony at E3; Playstation Network, XMB and PSP rumours

Josh Tait — Wed, 19 May 2010 10:08:22 +0000

What will Sony unveil at E3 2010?

E3 is currently just under a month away and as per usual the gaming press is surmising what each of the major games companies will bring to the event. This rumour mill starts up at this time each and every year with journalists theorising what the Sony Playstation bigwigs and developers will be able to deliver for 2010 and 2011. Here at Sony insights we felt that a quick round up of the latest Playstation gossip would whet your appetites for the main event in a month’s time.

First are the rumours surrounding the release of a true second generation Playstation Portable system. Maybe Sony feel that the PSP Go has gone and that a new iteration of the device is required. If the rumours are to be believed, then the Sony PSP2 will have not only a touch screen but two cameras on the front and rear of the device, 3G capabilities and a stupendously powerful 4 core cell processor. Whether these features are correct will have to be confirmed but if production timeframes are taken into account then it is more likely we will see this device at the Tokyo Games Conference ( a theory added credence by the fact that as of yet this geographical area represents the largest market for Sony’s portable device.)

Whether or not the PSP rumours can be believed is a matter of conjecture, what seems more certain however is that Sony will be announcing a premium option for the Playstation Network. Up until this point the PSN has been free to users but according to sources within Sony the company is going to release an online gaming package that coexists with the free PSN costing around fifty pounds a year.

In terms of games fans can expect to see demonstrations of the Playstation Move controller with titles such as Sports Champions and Move Party. In addition it is likely that the latest version of the fabled Gran Turismo 5 project will be on show, (we may even get an official release date….. or not as the case may be). It is also likely that the latest episode in the Socom franchise will also be presented.

Finally, it is believed by many that the Playstation’s XMB (Xcross Media Bar) will be undergoing a major redesign, not just adding a few icons but re-hauling the whole look of the interface.

As always we’ll keep our fingers on the pulse so you don’t have to. Remember these are just rumours at the moment and predicting what will happen at E3 is traditionally like predicting the British weather so if you have any opinions, you know where to put them.

Sony Playstation to receive Blinkbox film streaming

Josh Tait — Fri, 14 May 2010 11:48:16 +0000

Blinkbox on the PS3

It has been announced that the television and film streaming service Blinkbox will soon be coming to the Sony Playstation 3. The Blinkbox service has been working on a version of the site that will work with the PS3 internet browser. In addition to adapting the service for PS3 users the company has also optimised the control system so that it works fully with the Playstation’s controller.

According to reports the service will offer both television programmes and the latest chart films. TV will start at around thirty nine pence whilst films will be available to rent from ninety nine pence and to buy from two pounds ninety nine. Not all the content however will be paid as a number of “ad-supported titles” will also be available to Sony Playstation users.

The CEO of Blinkbox, Michael Cornish emphasised the point that the company wants to “enable customers to use our service on their TVs for instant streaming” including the option to instantly stream “new blockbuster movies the same day as their release on DVD.”

The Sony Playstation Store also offers a similar service so Blinkbox will have to compete with this current option. However if they are able to offer a cheaper alternative to the Playstation Store they could well carve out a considerable amount of revenue from this streaming service.

PS3 now bigger than God? Well Zeus at least

Josh Tait — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 10:50:53 +0000

God of War 3!

2010 is proving to be a strong year for Playstation 3 exclusives with the latest release, God of War III taking top spot in the UK’s gaming charts. This top spot is across all platforms and if rumours are to be believed is helping to shift a large number of PS3 consoles worldwide. Sony has been stating for some time that gamers should be excited by the great games hitting the PS3 this year and March has certainly been a bumper for PS3 owners, with Final Fantasy XIII, Heavy Rain, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and now the impressive God of War III. Heavy Rain and God of War III now make it two number 1 spots in the UK charts for Sony exclusive titles.

God of War’s main protagonist, for those that have not played any of the games in the series, is Kratos, a Spartan warrior involved in a bitter battle for revenge with the Gods of Mount Olympus after Zeus demoted him from the position of God of War. The sheer scale of the game has to be one of its strongest elements although for many the jaw dropping aesthetics and simply the chance to become a true Spartan and take on all that Greek mythology can muster has to be a major draw.

The game aside however God of War III represents a shift for the Sony Playstation 3. Chiefs at Sony computer entertainment have been arguing for some time that the raft of console exclusives coming in 2010 will make this an extraordinary year for the PS3. Whilst it has been in the shadows of other consoles in recent years this year could be a turning point in the console war. With rumours of third iterations of the Killzone and Resistance franchises as well as the widely touted Gran Turismo 5 the games are certainly there to do it, what is certain is that after the impressive God of War III, expectations will be high for the rest of the year.

Move over Wii, The Sony Playstation Move has Arrived

Tom Pretty — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:01:23 +0000

Sony Playstation Move Logo

After so much rumour and speculation Sony have finally unveiled their motion controller, named the Playstation Move. Before the event at GDC 2010 many industry commentators had believed that the device would be called the Arc, these beliefs turned out to be wrong however as Sony spokespersons gave the official name as the Move.

The Playstation Move will hit the shops later this year and will be available in a range of different bundle options. Customers that already own a PS3 and Playstation Eye will be able to buy the Move as a sole peripheral to complement their existing set up. Customers will also be able to buy the entire package of a Move and Eye with a game and finally a bundle with a PS3 console and all the peripherals will be available. According to reports the Playstation Eye, Move and game package will sell for under $100 (£66).

At the GDC event Sony demonstrated a number of different games that will work with the Move and Playstation 3. One was a sword and shield fighting game, another was a table tennis game and finally a party style game was shown to highlight how the Move is able to augment reality by overlaying different items over the Move controller. Each of these games showed the deftness of the new Move controller, particularly the table tennis where slight adjustments in force and angle place spin upon the ball. It was also shown how the new controller may be used with existing titles Little Big Planet and EyePet.

As well as the single Move controller a second ‘nunchuk’ style sub-controller was demonstrated with an analogue thumb-stick and buttons. Expect to see a massive marketing effort prior to launch with all mediums from online through to PR and billboard campaigns as well as further information on how the Move will be incorporated into other titles at E3 later this year.

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Sony Playstation at GDC 2010: What we can expect

Tom Pretty — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:55:41 +0000

GDC 2010

This week sees the annual Games Developers Conference (GDC 2010) and all eyes on Sony ahead of the event despite the fact that they are not providing a keynote speech. The reason behind this intense interest in Sony is predominantly down to some of the rumours that are currently circulating in online and traditional media.

One of these rumours, now well established is that Sony is to announce the official name for the Sony Motion Controller that has been dubbed the ‘Playstation Arc’. This name has not simply been plucked from thin air however; industry commentators have taken everything from the acquisition of the PlaystationArc.com domain by Sony, the filing of a trademark for the name within Japan and even comments by Sony employees and external agencies who are now referring to the motion controller as the ‘Arc’. Sony are to hold a talk at the GDC titled “Introducing the Playstation 3 Motion Controller”, hopefully providing a real insight into how this new device will operate with the system and within games.

Another rumour that is now gaining traction is the GDC 2010 will see an announcement concerned with the sequel to Little Big Planet. After buying up the development company of the original title Media Molecule, speculation was rife that this would lead to another title in the Little Big Planet series. Despite Media Molecule refuting the rumours of LBP2 late last year we may see a new version of the fun platformer sooner than first thought.

Certainly GDC 2010 will be an interesting event. The eyes of the gaming industry will be on the Moscone Convention Centre in San Francisco, especially the Sony press conference on March 11th. Stick with Sony Insights for all of the latest GDC developments in the world of Sony Playstation later in the week.

Sony Playstation Arc to be Confirmed Next Week?

Naomi Roberts — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:32:41 +0000

The Playstation Arc controller

Rumours are still abounding that the PS3 motion controller will be labelled as the Playstation Arc. As previously reported, the Games Developers Conference next week is likely to be the place any official announcement will take place but in the last few days there has been further fuel to the fire due to one interesting development.

According to various reports Sony have now trademarked Playstation Arc in Japan; leading many to believe that Arc is going to be the name of Sony’s new motion controller device. Adding to the speculation reports are also filtering through that Konami have filed a trademark for a new game titled ‘Gradius Arc’. These latest developments join the newly registered PlaystationArc.com and hearsay evidence that some employees have been using the Arc title as the most forthcoming evidence for the name of the new Sony Playstation motion controller.

Due out in the autumn this year it seems that the rumours are gaining considerable ground with increasing evidence that Arc will be the name for the device. Our guess is that gamers and industry commentators will have to wait until the Game Developers Conference for any substantiated information on the title, if we are lucky we may even get to see more demos of how the “Arc” will be used.

Sony Playstation Network and PS3 Consoles Working Again

Tom Pretty — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:56:27 +0000

Fire up COD again, PS3 is back online!

After the panic that spread throughout the gaming world yesterday; the result of the old “fat” PS3 consoles seemingly being crippled by a clock and date malfunction with the error code 8001050F, it now seems that Sony Playstation have now fixed the problem according to a statement on the US Playstation Blog.

After warnings from Sony that PS3 owners should not use their consoles yesterday the all clear has now been given. The statement on the Playstation Blog announces that “[Sony] are aware that the internal clock functionality in the PS3 [older units] recognized the year 2010 as a leap year”. The problem seemed to occur due to the switch between February 29^th and March 1^st with the internal clock failing to carry out the date change successfully. This confirmed many theories that were espoused yesterday by industry commentators and gamers alike that the bug was a Y2K+10 issue and that because of the incorrect date on PS3 consoles they were unable to connect with the PSN servers.

The good news for PS3 owners is that Sony have stated that “the symptoms are now resolved and users are able to use their PS3 normally.” Unfortunately no information on how the fix occurred has been provided but as there was no firmware update many are surmising that the bug was either fixed internally or on the server network. According to reports, trophy data and game saves have been unaffected by the issue.

Sony understandably apologised for the inconvenience the issue may have caused and advised that if the time and date displayed on the XMB are still incorrect, manual or internet resetting will rectify the issue. Sony went on to say that any further information will be provided on the blog as and when it arises.

Sony Playstation (PS3) Error; Possible Solutions to the Bug

Josh Tait — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:04:13 +0000

Solutions to the PS3 Error

The wires are alive with news that the Sony Playstation Network has experienced a major error. The problem however seems to go further, with owners of the older PS3 (the larger, glossier version of the device) experiencing problems with not only accessing the PSN but also playing titles offline that use the trophy system. Reports also suggest that the error is also affecting purchases from the Playstation Network such as premium themes and downloaded games. The current error code is PSN 8001050F.

The advice at the moment is to leave your PS3 switched off until Sony has found a solution to the problem.

The cause of this malfunction is currently being debated across the entire internet; the general consensus is that the older versions of the PS3 have experienced a problem with the date. Specifically, the device, which has a hardware clock believes there to be a February 29^th this year and is experiencing problems when trying to rectify the issue internally. This Y2K+10 problem is believed by many to have led to the aforementioned issues.

As panic however seems to be spreading across the internet and various media outlets offer the usual “harbinger of doom” sensationalist opinion, there certainly needs to be some perspective taken on the issue. Sony has stated on their Twitter page that they are aware of the issue and are currently working on a solution.

As of yet the following seem to be the most likely. Firstly there is a belief that once the clock ticks over to tomorrow the error will fix itself as the clock will be able to “catch up”. Secondly Sony can produce a patch that will fix the affected consoles. It is likely this patch is precisely what Sony technicians are currently working on.

This patch should be available for download but if this patch cannot be downloaded direct to the console (due to problems accessing the PSN) Sony should be able to offer a PC download that can then be placed onto the PS3 using a USB stick. The other option is to produce a system disk that will rectify the issue once loaded onto the Playstation. The rumours of a mass recall or hacks are unlikely, this is a relatively minor, albeit a well publicised glitch. Owners should only trust official statements from Sony websites as there are now a growing number of misinformed articles and Twitter posts on the subject.

To recap, it is only the older “fat” PS3 consoles that are affected by this issue, PS3 Slim models are fine. Sony is currently working on the issue and will be providing owners with further information once it is available. Advice, for those that have not yet turned on the PS3 is don’t, the best course of action is to sit tight until official word from Sony has been released on how the problem can be rectified.

3D Blu ray on Sony PS3 without HDMI 1.4: It’s Possible

Tom Pretty — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:27:08 +0000

3D Blu-ray over HDMI 1.3?

With the many rumours and stories circulating the media of 3D TV and Blu ray players capable of 3D playback it seems that Sony have not forgotten the millions of PS3 owners out there. Earlier in the year it was announced that in the coming months PS3 owners could have a 3D capable Playstation by the way of a firmware upgrade.

This however led to some confusion amongst owners and industry commentators as it was highlighted that without a HDMI 1.4 connection, 3D Blu ray would be impossible as no update to a Sony Playstation’s software would change the physical makeup of the device. Gizmodo however have reported that this may not exactly be the case, arguing that a loophole is clearly possible.

The theory is that HDMI 1.4 can be split into four distinct sections; these sections carry an audio return channel, a 4K support channel, one for HDMI Ethernet and finally one for 3D. However, it seems that while HDMI 1.3 will not give support to all of these channels, it will still be more than capable of displaying a 3D signal; that is if your TV set is also 3D ready.

However there are sacrifices to be made when using HDMI 1.3 rather than 1.4 for the displaying of 3D images. The 3D signals will not be transmitted in 1080p Full HD although 1080i will be possible. 1080i images shouldn’t be a major bugbear for those thinking of forking out for 3D technology though, after all the PS3 remains one of the best Blu ray players on the market and with this 3D firmware update it should be possible to enjoy both fully immersive movies and games at home.

A Universal Controller Patented by Sony Playstation

Josh Tait — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:36:53 +0000

A rudimentary impression of the Universal Controller

According to reports, Sony Computer Entertainment, the business in charge of Playstation has filed a patent for a universal computer games console; the patented device could lead to an end of cluttered living rooms, filled with controllers for each of the major games consoles.

For many years now universal remote controls for televisions and peripherals have been commonplace, it seems that Sony may now enter the console accessories market in a big way, with a controller that can be used for a variety of different consoles.

The patent, published on the 18^th of February provides an idea of how this universal controller may take shape. A touch screen LCD display will be the main interface, changing to match the layout and attributes of the controller being emulated. So far the patent states that the Sony universal controller will be compatible with Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Nintendo’s Wii and the Playstation 3 as well as older devices such as the Atari Jaguar. One of the key reasons for this backwards compatibility is that the device can be used when “an older controller may no longer be available.”

Whilst no official announcement has been made, industry commentators are expecting to see the device in the near future, although how near an actual product release is remains a matter of conjecture. A statement regarding the product is likely to be made in the coming months.