Archive for the ‘Gaming’ Category

Sony PS3 Motion Controller Announcement due at GDC

the Sony Playstation 3 Motion Controller

Rumours about the Sony motion controller have been rife for some time. Since the launch of the ‘unnamed’ product at last year’s E3 show, gamers have been eagerly awaiting this accoutrement to their Playstation 3 consoles. Recently a name has even been thrown up, the result of Sony purchasing the internet domain PlaystationArc.com. Some of the rumour however may be settled next month as Sony Playstation has announced a special panel at this year’s GDC (Game Developer’s Conference).

It is likely that this panel will provide game developers and the world’s media with some updated information on the Sony Motion Controller. Whether an official name will be provided is still a matter of conjecture but it is likely that we will see new software for the device as well as ways in which it can be integrated by game developers in new titles. Read the rest of this entry »

40 Million Online PS3 Gamers? Probably not.

40 Million users? Maybe not.

SCEA President, Jack Tretton, announced last week that “We’ve successfully established that we’re not just a disc-based powerhouse, but we’re also a digital powerhouse.”  While there aren’t many people who would discount that he followed this with an assertion that the Playstation 3 user base has inflated to “more than 40 million”.

This statement has been met with a big pinch of salt by Sony gamers who themselves openly admit to having many user names on their PlayStation’s.  Several gamers were openly discussing the virtues of having European, Japanese and US gamer accounts while some younger gamers even claimed they were using several accounts to accommodate adult content online and to by pass parental controls. Read the rest of this entry »

Gunners Football Comes to the Sony PSP

An Arsenal Fan's PSP

It is not often that Sony Insights delves into the world of sport for reporting news but in this case there is certainly an argument to do so. News has recently been announced that Arsenal F.C. (a London football team) has agreed a deal with Sony to launch an application specially developed for the PSP. The deal will allow Arsenal fans with a PSP to take the device along to games and use it once inside the Emirates Stadium.

The details of the deal between Sony and Arsenal have not yet been fully released but early reports suggest that fans will be provided with a special disk that contains information and data allowing connection to the Emirates Stadium’s wireless network. Fans will then have the option to study statistics whilst matches are being played but more importantly access will be granted to a live television feed as well as action replays of in-game events. Read the rest of this entry »

The Arc of the Convenient – Is this Really the New Name for the Sony Motion Controller?

The new Sony Playstation Arc

Regular readers will be aware that here at Sony Insights we have been keeping a close eye on the Sony Motion Controller for the Playstation 3. A previous post reported that the release date of spring this year had been held back until the autumn, ensuring that the system will be ready and that the launch of the device will coincide with Microsoft’s launching of Project Natal.

At that time, the name of this new controller interface was still a mystery, rumours had been circulating that the device was to be labelled the “Sony Wand” although this seemed more like chatter in the blogosphere rather than a fact based upon any official information. Read the rest of this entry »

PS3 Reaches the 3 Million Sales Mark in the UK

Sony Playstation 3

Sony has recently announced that the Playstation 3 console has now achieved three million unit sales in the UK alone. This three million is only a small part of the twenty seven million hardware sales worldwide but can certainly be considered an improvement on figures from the last few years.

Granted the PS3 sales numbers are small in respects to both the PS2 and PS One that apparently sold in excess of 250 million. It is still the case that the Playstation has the lowest number of hardware unit sales in the UK behind the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. In terms of worldwide sales the PS3 is around 12 million behind the Xbox and over 30 million behind the Wii. Read the rest of this entry »

The 5 Most Hotly Anticipated PS3 Games of 2010

We have been hearing for some time now that 2010 will be a massive year in the world of video gaming. This view has been espoused by those at Sony, industry commentators and game fans alike hence it is worth looking at five games that have the potential to be truly massive in terms of sales and more widely appeal.

So coming in at number 5 we have the Sony Playstation exclusive Final Fantasy XIII. The Final Fantasy game franchise is hugely popular all over the planet and the thirteenth instalment of this now legendary game promises to be one of the great RPGs of 2010. Expect flowing storylines, sublimely beautiful scenery and the now familiar turn based, menu style combat system. Sony Playstation owners will not have to wait long; the proposed release date for this title is March. Read the rest of this entry »

Sony Playstation Motion Controller due This Autumn

With motion controllers one of the hottest topics in the world of video gaming at the moment, news that Sony’s motion controller for the Playstation 3 has had its release date delayed by 6 months has understandably spread like wildfire. The yet to be named device was originally planned for a launch date somewhere in the spring of 2010, however the revised date now places release at some time in the autumn of this year.

Videos have been circulating for some time detailing a prototype model of the motion controller as a result of its unveiling at last year’s E3 conference. Physically it is a stick that has a glowing ball mounted to the top; it is tracked by the Playstation Eye camera to create a 3 dimensional, motion sensitive control mechanism.

This type of game control has proven popular since the launch of Nintendo’s Wii, some even consider the technology a revolutionary step in the world of video gaming. As a result of the immense popularity of the Wii, Sony and Microsoft have both had to develop motion control systems for their consoles; Microsoft’s Natal does away with a controller completely whilst Sony’s offering uses both a camera and wand. Both are now scheduled for a launch in the latter part of this year.

Many industry commentators are keen to express the view that this will not only be a big year in video gaming but also very important for Playstation 3 owners. With the development of motion control, the release of Gran Turismo and the introduction of 3D gaming this could be a massive twelve months for Playstation and console owners more generally.

PS3 iPlayer Use Surges in December

The iPlayer functionality on the PS3 could be considered one of the major benefits for owning the console. The ease of use and practical benefits of this feature are certainly popular, but just how popular the catch up television service has become is only just becoming evident.

The BBC has reported that one in eight programme requests on the iPlayer are now made using a games console. As both Nintendo’s Wii and the Playstation 3 have this functionality it is users of these consoles that are leading this surge in usage. The BBC also reported that the number of programme requests has recently hit the one hundred million mark. The popularity of the iPlayer over the last few months has also being reported, the BBC believing that there was a seventy four percent increase in program requests from consoles in the month of December compared to the previous month.

The increased availability of the iPlayer is believed to be one of the major reasons for this rise in popularity. Ultimately the fact that users can now access the iPlayer through their television set via the PS3 means that catching up on missed programmes is now easier than ever.

The BBC have had nothing but praise for the PS3, the first console to have iPlayer functionality added. The response of PS3 users was described as “amazing” and the console is the second most popular device for watching iPlayer programmes after PCs, it is now believed to account for ten percent of users.

Gran Turismo Delayed Once More

For many people the Gran Turismo series is the only driving game worth buying. Since its inception it has purported to be the “real driving simulator” offering gamers an experience that is impossible to find with any other game franchise. There is however mumblings from the GT fraternity with the news that the latest instalment of the series, Gran Turismo 5 is to be delayed yet again. So far GT5 has cost more than £37 million to develop with gamers waiting over four years for the title to be released. Up until yesterday the expected release date for Japan was set to be in March of this year, this however has been delayed, adding to the frustration of Gran Turismo fans.

Whether this delay really affects the European and US GT fans however is questionable. The release date for these countries had not even been mentioned in press statements, but it was expected to be some time in the summer of 2010. The rumour now is that the Japanese release date will now coincide with the rest of the world, still hovering around the summer although many of those who have been waiting for the game will take this news with a pinch of salt. But why has this game taken so long to develop? There is no doubt that the game is as complex as they come but the sheer perfectionism of the Polyphony Digital staff increasingly seems to be counterproductive.

The question remains whether this new game will really be the genre revolutionising title it was promised to be. The game has been in development for so long that there is a chance it will have lost a great deal of ground on titles that are on the market today. Various rumours have circulated that GT5 will have over 1000 cars and over 20 tracks. Car damage has also been added for the first time, although it is claimed that this is one of the main factors for the hold up the title.

Whenever the release does occur, it will doubtlessly be a major event, there are many Playstation 3 owners out there that bought their consoles purely for this title and despite the elongated wait will still be excited about the prospect of a new Gran Turismo game. It is almost certain that to be deemed a success this title will have to truly revolutionise the driving game genre, something that will be extremely difficult to accomplish with the plethora of great games already on the market. Stick with Sony-Insights for further developments on this story as and when they happen.

Playstation Network Evolves With CES Announcement

Playstation Network (PSN)

Sony’s CES 2010 press conference was bound to hold some surprises and President of Network Products & Services Kazou Hirai did not disappoint. The announcement focussed on the next stage of evolution for the Playstation Network and how devices under the |Sony umbrella will also be brought into the fold. It is believed form the speech that the Network hopes to evolve into a “digital ecosystem” that contains all of the media; music, books, videos and games that are provided by Sony’s entertainment divisions. The model will surely be built upon the current Playstation Network that already offers users access to game demos, full video games, as well as standard definition and high definition movies.

It is believed that the new platform will grow beyond its current Playstation walls, incorporating products such as BRAVIA TVs, VAIO laptops as well as Sony Blu-Ray players. Owners of these items should have access to hundreds of feature films from a range of movie houses as well access to music on the Sony BMG label. This evolution is deemed important enough to create a new company called ‘Sony Network Entertainment Inc.’ This company will not only handle the growth of the network in Japan and the USA but will also make an effort to expand the amount of content available to European territories. However this evolution is implemented it is sure that on demand content as well as streaming and downloading of media is sure to be a major part of present and future Sony devices.

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