Sony Corp.

Original PlayStation Move Had Analog Stick and Much More

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 24, 2010 | 2 comments

If price wasn’t a factor, what would Sony have done with the PlayStation Move? If these patents are clues, it seems like a lot more. The PlayStation Move that we know of now comes in two parts: the Move Controller and the Navigation Stick. The Move side of things is meant to, well, help you move, via the sphere tip at the end of the device. By having your position tracked in 3D, Sony has been able to deliver pin point accuracy, something not seen on other motion controlling devices out there. But Sony also knew that many games simply couldn’t rely on just motion tracking, hence the mess the Kinect is with games that are slightly more complicated and the reason the PlayStation Move can work with games like Socom 4 and Killzone 3. The Navigation stick that the user can hold in their other hand gives the user not only more buttons, in order to control additional game functionalities and not rely on gimmicky hand gestures, but also gives users an analog stick as well. This can be extremely helpful in games like Killzone or Resident Evil 5 where the user needs to move their character around with accuracy that they are used to from the Dualshock 3. But if we look back at earlier Move patents, it seemed like Sony had something different in mind.

The original Move indeed seems to be a combination of the Move and Navigation controller married into one device. There’s a trackball on the bottom of the thing, giving it some mouse-like control, and an analog stick on the actual Move controller as well. This marriage of controllers might have lead to an even greater depth of immersion for the user but the stumble blocks are clear as well. Had Sony put everything they wanted in the Move, they might have had another PlayStation 3 situation on their hands in which they offered the most cutting edge technology but at a higher price than the market was ready for, thus leading to slow initial sales. The fact that Microsoft was also set to release the Kinect in the following month was probably the final nail in the coffin of this idea, leading the way to two separate units which brings not only the price down for Sony to make and sell, but also gives consumers a much lower entry fee. This is actually very apparent with the PlayStation Move being priced at $49 while the Kinect sits at $149. Another angle at all of this is probably ease of use. Currently, anybody can pickup a Move controller and, within a minute, understand the basic concept of it. Had the original version gone into production with more buttons and tracking balls, this might have created a hurdle for those who are looking for a simpler experience. But alas, the tech guru in me always wishes for more and the original Move seems like one hell of a device.

[Via Patents Office]

New SD Cards from Sony

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 24, 2010 | 22 comments

Remember those Sony SD cards we showed you a few months back? Well their November 10th, 2010 Japanese release has come and gone, and now Sony has its eyes on the US market. With a targeted January 2011 window, Sony is looking to release these new SD cards in 3 series, Class 4 Essential and Experience, and the Class 10 Expert. The class breakdown is as follows:

Class 4 Essential cards:

2GB – $14
4GB – $21
8GB – $49

Class 4 Experience cards with 15MB/s transfer speeds:

2GB
4GB
8GB
16GB
32GB

Class 10 cards with 22MB/s transfer speeds:

8GB – $74
16GB – $150
32GB – $283

The pricing listed here can change and was more a simple conversion from the Japanese launch of these SD cards than a announcement of prices from Sony. Though, they should give you a good idea of how Sony is looking to price them until we get official word from them. Hit the jump as always for an official press release from Sony.

Editorial: How Sony's PlayStation Can Win Back the Consumer

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 23, 2010 | 4 comments

During the late 90’s and the early 2000’s, the word gaming was synonymous with PlayStation. We were the PlayStation generation. As Xander Cage said in the action movie XXX “You have a bazooka. Why don’t you blow some shit up? Stop thinking Prague police and start thinking PlayStation“. If there was a commercial or Hollywood movie, if there was a gaming device in the background, it was a PlayStation 2. When the duo sat down for a scene to play games, they had PS2 controllers in their hands and when there was a skit from the Daily Show or SNL, the game cover would belong to a PS2 game.

What’s changed since then is the one-year head start Microsoft had with the Xbox 360. Mix that with the rocky and high price point the PlayStation 3 had in its initial three years and you can see how Sony fell behind in the lime light. Plus, there is this misperception that the Xbox is really far ahead of the PS3. It’s because of this that the PlayStation 3 exists in a now alternate twilight zone universe of the late 90’s and early 2000’s where it has been replaced by the Xbox 360. When Turk and J.D sit down in Scrubs to game, they’re “fraggin noobs on the 360“. When the Daily Show with John Stewart runs a skit on the absurdity of banning video games, the game they are holding is a 360 game. And of course when Target or Walmart are running an ad, showing a family in the living room, on both print and commercials, they are playing the Xbox 360. This gradual bombardment has slowly taken the 360 to a pop culture status where now gaming is synonymous with the Xbox. Sure Microsoft itself pays heavily for its products to be advertised, but part of it is still the cultural status of the 360. When the PA gets assigned to go pick up a prop, they reach for a 360 game, and when the advertising company is finishing the set, the Xbox is what they place. So this has not only shifted the image for the younger audience that gaming and the 360 are the same, but for the parents as well. That means your mom is much aware of the Xbox; guess what she might reach for during the next birthday or Christmas?

Editorial: Sony Dash, the Best Sony Commercial Ever?

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 23, 2010 | 21 comments

One of the biggest problems I’ve always had with Sony is the lack of advertising on their end and the cohesiveness of when they actually do advertise. As a believer, preacher, and defender of their products, it’s far too frustrating to see them release fantastic devices into the market like the Sony Dash and have it fade away as just another new device after 3 blogs have covered it. Sure, the geek crowd who reads sites like ours and Engadget and browses forums on a regular basis might know about it, but the much bigger portion of the public, the ones who want to see a new device shown to them on TV and likes the familiarity of what they see on store shelves when they step into a retailer like Best Buy is completely missed. Then, when Sony actually does advertise, they are too busy using celebrities from their portfolio like Justin Timberlake and Payton Manning and not focused enough on what the ad is actually trying to tell people, let alone sell them, which is the point of advertisement.

A few days ago, all of this changed for me. Not only has Sony released a new TV spot for their Sony Dash, but during the 30 seconds, not only do they manage to show the device and its many functionalities, but also give you a heads up on its new price as well, all without the help of a single celebrity. Don’t believe me? Watch the following:

LittleBigPlanet 2 Release Date Announced & Demo Available

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 23, 2010 | 35 comments

The release dates for LittleBigPlanet 2 have been revealed – January 18th for North America, January 19th for Europe, January 20th for Australia and New Zealand and January 21st for the UK and Ireland. The date marks an important time in the PlayStation brand’s release calendar, with the franchise being one of the most critically successful in the PS3 first party lineup. Its delay, which resulted in it missing a holiday release, accentuated the arguably lacklustre selection of games exclusive to the PS3 this Christmas.

The team even made a quick card that can be printed out and placed under any would-be-buyers’ christmas tree, stating ‘I bought you LittleBigPlanet 2, and it’s coming on January 18th, but here’s a card for you to open now!’, pleasantly conforming to the quirky LittleBigPlanet brand of humour.

Also, a demo is now available for download on the US and UK PSN Stores.

[Via PlayStation Blog – Europe / US]

Spider-man Reboot Being Shot in RED EPIC 3D

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 22, 2010 | 2 comments

I’m sure by now you know that there is going to be a reboot to Spider-man, sometime in 2012 (May 4th or 11th if I had to take a guess) and that it is going to be in 3D, like most big movies now. But the good news is the guys over at Sony Pictures have the sense of shooting the entire film in native 3D, instead of delivering a post conversion of the film in 3D which so far, few have done appropriately, and instead, most have turned out messed up like Clash of the Titans and Last Airbender (I loved Clash but the 3D was wack). John Schwartzman, the cinematographer behind such movies as The Rock, Armageddon and Pearl Harbor will instead be using Red Epic 3D cameras, the same units that Peter Jackson just recently snatched 30 of to shoot The Hobbit in 3D with. If the recent 3D movies like TRON: LEGACY and trailers for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is any indication of the future of 3D movies has to offer, then I can only imagine what a film like Spider-man will look like which begs for the depth 3D has to offer, especially when Peter Parker decides to swing throughout the city.

[Image, courtesy of Engadget]

More PSP2 Rumors, No UMD, More Powerful than Xbox 360

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 22, 2010 | 5 comments

Artist rendering

Rumors for the PSP2 and PlayStation Phone have been running wild as of late, though the PlayStation Phone is all but confirmed, considering we have seen it in plenty of pictures and videos. The PSP2, on the other hand, is still a mystery. We know of its existence from developer rumors and murmurs, but we have yet to see any official specs, pictures or video leaks from the device. One thing that is clear though is that this device is going to be powerful and beat all current handhelds and even home consoles.

How powerful? Try upping the Xbox 360 and having it fit in your pocket. The current PSP and PSPgo both feed from 64MB of RAM and a MIPS R4000 CPU clocked at up to 333 MHz. The Xbox 360 on the other hand is powered by 512MB of RAM. The PSP2? Try 1GB of RAM, which is also double what currently runs in the iPhone 4 which has been able to produce some amazing looking games. To help further push the power and battery efficiency of the unit, Sony is also not-so-shockingly ditching the UMD platform that the current PSP (not PSPgo) uses to offer games and media on. The device is set to appropriately feed instead from the PlayStation Network, much like the iPhone and iPod Touch feed from iTunes. By ditching the UMD, this not only means Sony can have more control over the look and size of the device, but with no disc in the unit to spin around, this also means longer battery life for the user.

Sony Making a Vaio Tablet After All?

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 21, 2010 | 6 comments

Just last week, we ran a story about how Sony didn’t want to create a tablet, stating that they didn’t want to be the “24th tablet maker out there”. Considering that tablet is the new thing in the tech industry and with the sales of the iPad, it’s no surprise that everybody wants a piece of the action but we were glad that Sony was going to stay out of it for the time being. Well, could that have just been a smoke screen? Because according to the FCC filing just made today by a VAIO Business Group representative, Sony is looking to bring a few tablets into the market with, the PCG-31211L, PCG-31311L, PCG-312xxL. The only information we know is that these units will be WiFi-only with 802.11b/g plus single band n. There is no further picture of the device, though January 20th is when the rest of the information will be published on the FCC website, indicating a CES 2011 reveal.

[Via FCC]

Sony Targets RED Camera with PMW-F3 Camera

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 21, 2010 | 11 comments

The RED camera has been a phenomenon in the indie film making sector. Giving those who have knowledge of film making, but not a crazy budget to achieve almost any shot they want, without the need to mortgage their house and their liver. Mix that with the ever growing power of home computers and editing software like Final Cut Pro and you can see why Indy films have been on a ever growing trajectory. Now, Sony wan’t some of this action as well, already known for their studio grade camera’s.

The PMW-F3 (yes, Sony as their catchy names, I mean who wouldn’t forget that over just saying RED…) is Sony’s answer, a $16,000 camera, with Sony’s latest Exmor Super 35 CMOS sensor and interchangeable lens mounts, allowing the users to “facilitating shallow depth of field with a fairly impressive dynamic range”. The camera itself shoots with a MPEG-2 Long GOP 4:2:08bit, 35 Mbps codec), and uses Sony’s SxS ExpressCard-based recording media format (ISO 800, F11; and S/N ratio of 63dB in 1920×1080/59.94i mode). Another advantage that the PMW-F3 offers is the wide expandability of the device with its many ports on the back and PL mount. As Sony put it, “The PMW-F3’s PL mount adapter can accommodate both PL and zoom lenses, and will offer compatibility with a variety of cine lenses such as Cooke, Arri, Fujinon and Zeiss”. Though it remains higher in the price point category then other indy camera’s, the unit does offer more expandability then most units on the market with superior specs. Look for the camera to roll off of Sonys production lines for a February 2011 release.

As always, hit the jump for the official press release.

Xperia X10 Will Get Pinch-to-zoom in Q1 2011

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 20, 2010 | 4 comments

Sony has made it clear that for the time being, the Xperia X10 is their flagship device, and they have shown that by recently giving the device an OS update, bringing it to Android 2.1. But if you thought Sony was done with it, think again. Both the developer community and those who want to modify their Android device beyond what the manufacturer has given them have been very vocal about the fact that the Xperia X10 can handle multi-touch. Sony on the other hand has gone on record a few times and said that the device indeed cannot handle it and that the touch screen and hardware never had multi-touch in mind. Who is right? As it turns out, both companies.

Box Office: Audiences Enter World of TRON

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 20, 2010 | 14 comments

28 years after the original Tron was released, audiences were again wowed by the storyline, premise and breath taking 3D visuals of the series and showed up in droves for Tron Legacy while not many cared for a picnic with Yogi Bear and fewer even wanted to go on a date with the all star cast of How Do You Know.

Downloading a total of $43.6 million from 5,600 screens at 3,451 locations Tron Legacy was able to easily beat out prior December openings like The Day the Earth Stood Still and other newly released films like Yogi Bear and How Do You Know. Though in the past, other reboots like Star Trek ($75.2 million) and 3D spectacular Avatar ($77 million) were able to open to higher numbers then Tron Legacy, it’s important to note that Tron had a much more niche market, being based around a computer world premise and the original film itself was always considered a cult like film. To counter this, Disney relied heavily on promoting this film as the next big 3D spectacle, and allocating 2,424 locations to present the picture in that format, accounting for 82 percent of the gross for the $170 million film.

Yogi Bear on the other hand wasn’t able to tap into the 3D magic of Tron Legacy, pulling in $16.7 million on close to 4,900 screens at 3,515 locations. Though the film has always been a popular cartoon and great appeal for the young and the elder who grew up with it, it still didn’t make the audience want to turn up for the film itself. 3D also played an important roll in Yogi Bear‘s gross, show ing 2,011 3D theaters, which accounted for 57 percent of the gross. Luckily, Yogi Bear doesn’t have the bid budget hurdle of other animated movies, costing only $80 million to make while other animated films can easily cost twice as much.

Though both were much smaller films with much less appeal, both The Fighter and Black Swan were able to pack solid gains. The Fighter, aimed at being a boxing family drama expanded its reach to 3,000 screens at 2,503 locations, beating out an estimated $12.2 million from audience members. Black Swan on the other hand, with even a smaller audience target still pulled in $8.3 million on 1,150 screens at 959 locations. Though that might not seem like a large take, we have to take in the premise of the movie, a twisted psychological thriller centered around the ballerina world. Unfortunately for Sony Pictures, audiences didn’t want to vacation again, as The Tourist was only able to grab an additional $8.7 million, putting the $100 million romantic thriller at $30.7 million ($53.1 million world wide)

As it turns out, audiences didn’t know that, How Do You Know, starring Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson was being released this weekend. The romantic comedy was able to only pull in $7.6 million on 2,800 screens at 2,483 locations, below last month romantic comedy, Morning Glory which made $9.2 million. Though the Sony Pictures film and last release from Sony till The Green Hornet had star power, there seemed to be little marketing on behalf of the movie, instead hoping that fans of the actors and day time show viewers would turn up for the movie. To make matters worse, the romantic comedy has to deal with a $120 million budget, something that it will never recover.

Other weekend holdovers include Disney’s own Tangled. Though the film lost most of it 3D screens to Disney’s own Tron Legacy, down from 2,300 to 800, the film still grabbed another $8.7 million, putting the films current gross at $127.8 million ($225.6 million worldwide). The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader had a much better second weekend drop, compared to the first two Narnia films, dropping 48 percent to an estimated $12.4 million, putting the film at $42.7 million ($166.4 million worldwide) which is still far below past two entrees. In the films second to last showing, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 gained another $4.8 million, putting the films current standing at $265.5 million ($824.1 million worldwide), placing the film now in 5th place for the Harry Potter series. With each film nearly making $1 billion at the box office, Harry Potter will go on to be the most successful movie franchise of all time.

Box Office Results:

Tron Legacy – $43.6 ($66.6 million total worldwide)
Yogi Bear – $16.7 million ($16.7 million total worldwide)
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – $12.4 million ($166.4 million total worldwide)
The Fighter– $12.2 million ($12.2 million total worldwide)
The Tourist – $8.7 million ($53.1 million total worldwide)

Sony Walkman S755 Review

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 18, 2010 | 26 comments

Although we don’t have the unit ourselves, Akihabara News recently tested the Sony Walkman S755 and came up with this:

If you like your music unpolluted by outside noise, if you’re not a big fan of iTunes or proprietary syncing software, if you want superlative battery life and terrific sound quality, you’ll love the Walkman S755.

Hit the jump to read the full review which gave the unit a 9/10 on design, 8/10 on features and 9/10 on performance.

[Via AkhihabaraNews]

Australian thriller "Red Hill" Announced on Blu-ray

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 17, 2010 | 3 comments

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced a January 25th, 2011 release date for the Australian thriller Red Hill. This limited release movie is based around “a young police officer in his first day in a small town must deal with an escaped murderer.” Hit the jump for the official movie trailer.

Sony Announces PlayStation App for iOS Device (iPhone and iPod Touch)

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 16, 2010 | 4 comments

Sony has just announced an official app for iOS 4 or higher devices which include the iPhone and iPod Touch. The free app will only be available in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and The Netherlands at first, though that is expected to change shortly and expand to other territories. Some of the app features include:

– Check out your PlayStation Network trophies and keep up to date with your friends games and online — status.
– Discover all the latest games, news and hardware for your PlayStation 3, PSP and PlayStation 2.
– Read all the announcements on the European PlayStation.Blog.
– Share your favourite products or news with your friends on Facebook, Twitter or via e-mail.

Sony Creates New LCD Technology 'Hybrid FPA', Looks to Close Gap Between LCD and Plasma

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 16, 2010 | 16 comments

Sony has announced the creation of a new LCD technology called Hybrid FPA (field-induced photo-reactive alignment). This new Hybrid FPA is designed to improve LCD response time, contrast ration, panel stability, and production speed, bringing the LCD one step closer to the plasma, a type of TV Sony used to make itself. As the guys over at Engadget put it, “this boils down to Sony finding a better way to wrangle unruly liquid crystal molecules (LCMs) into more optimal alignments — which is important since this affects how light passes and therefore how images are resolved.” Previously, LCD makers have fought off ghosting and improved response time by raising the hertz on their television from the traditional 60hz to 120hz and to the now standard 240hz for 3D TVs. With this new Hybrd FPA LCD technology, Sony is going to attempt to further reduce the response time on their sets, thus eliminating the need for raising the Hz count in the near future. 3D TV fans will benefit from this as well. While many complain that 3D can look dark, this new technology will boost future televisions’ ability for a higher contrast ratio and offer a brighter picture. It’s unclear when Sony is looking to commercialize this technology, though we hope for sooner rather than later.

As always, hit the jump for the official press release.

[Via Sony]