PSP

PlayStation Store Update (07-05-11)

by Sohrab Osati | Jul 5, 2011 | 24 comments

After the massive movie weekend with Transformers: Dark of the Moon, it’s time to get back into gaming. Hoping to entice you to game even more, there is a ton of new updates for Burnout Paradise and Need for Speed fans while a ton of new game add-ons make it into the store as well. Some highlights include:

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Multiplayer Beta for everybody
PlayStation Move Ape Escape ($19.99)
PlayStation Plus Clock Dynamic Theme (Free and exclusive to Plus)
Qore July Episode 38 – Single Episode (Free with Plus, a $2 .99 value)
MotorStorm Apocalypse “The Rock” Livery (Free)
LittleBigPlanet 2 Infamous 2 Minipack ($2.99)
Resistance 3 Battle: LA Game Demo Trailer

Hit the jump for the full offering of this weeks PlayStation Store update.

Skype 2.0 Comes to Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo and Xperia Pro

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 30, 2011 | 10 comments

Currently only a select few handsets can take advantage of the Skype 2.0 release in the Android market. Two of these handsets to receive Skype 2.0 are the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo and Xperia Pro. Both handsets, which shipped with Android 2.3, are capable of downloading this app which lets them make video calls between each other and desktop users. Video calling can currently be accomplished on both Wi-Fi and 3G, though as you would expect, there is a large quality drop with a 3G connection. Another one implementation will be to call your PSP friends, seeing how you can download Skype for free on that device. New Skype 2.0 also brings in a UI overhaul and support for SMS messaging.

Hit the jump for the official press release.

PlayStation Store Update (06-28-11)

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 28, 2011 | 24 comments

With the last PlayStation Store update of June, Sony is looking to end the month with a bang. Fans who visit the store today will be able to get the much anticipated Uncharted 3 Beta. Other new goodies worth highlighting include:

MAG Interdiction Mission Pack – Price Drop (PS3) (now FREE, original price $4.99)
MotorStorm Apocalypse Multiplayer Demo
Homefront Multiplayer Demo
DISSIDIA 012[duodecim] FINAL FANTASY Avatars ($0.49) (x7)

Sony’s PlayStation Vita Release Date Leaked?

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 23, 2011 | 36 comments

Retailers never tend to be a great source when it comes to release dates, often placing a place holder date until an official one is announced from the company. However, UK retailers ShopTo might have just leaked the PlayStation Vita’s release date with a very specific set of instructions.

If you pre-order PS Vita : Wi-Fi Model before 12pm on Wednesday 2nd of November 2011 we will guarantee that you will receive it by the release date of Friday 4th of November 2011. If you do not receive it we will compensate you with £3.00 on your shopto account. Click here to view Terms and Conditions.

So again, even though I would take this with a grain of salt, these instructions to seem to be very specific in their nature and hint at some kind of back knowledge. The time frame also lends itself to the Holiday 2011 launch that Sony had in mind. With the Tokyo Game Show set for September 15th, we might not be too far from an official announcement from Sony on the PlayStation Vita’s release date.

[Via ShopTo]

PlayStation Store Update (06-21-11)

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 21, 2011 | 38 comments

Are you ready to escape the heat and cool down indoors for a little while? If so, we have your weekly dose of the PlayStation Store (PSN) update for 06-21-11. Some note worthy updates and add-ons include:

Killzone 3 From The Ashes Pack ($4.99)
Killzone 3 Map Pack Bundle ($9.99)
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2: Heroes’ Trailer
Alien Zombie Mega Death ($7.99)

PlayStation Store Update (06-14-11)

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 14, 2011 | 25 comments

Another Tuesday and another PlayStation Store update for all you PS3 and PSP owners out there. This time, some noteworthy titles include the Outland demo and full game for $9.99, as well as 10 new Dissidia: Final Fantasy avatars and 3 new ModNation Racer Add-ons.

As always, hit the jump for the full list.

PSP Reaches 70 Million Units Sold

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 8, 2011 | 26 comments

It seems like at times in our culture, certain events and situations turn into a universal truth without much research or acceptance. This usually tends to deal with one group’s bias which is then fueled by more loud and vocal groups. Soon after, their opinion is turned into a universal truth without much reason as to why. The PSP has unfortunately been a victim of this phenomenon with the media always looking at it with a stink eye. An eye that always doubts the system and attempts to put it down or marginalize its gains.

Though many call the PSP an under-performer, the truth of the matter is that Sony has just announced that the little system that was introduced to us in 2004 has now crossed the 70-million-units-sold marker. This in part, for a system that always cost more that its counterpart from Nintendo (though it also offered a ton more), is not a number we should take lightly. Nintendo has long been in the handheld business while this was Sony’s first walk in this territory. What’s more is that many forget that during the time where Sony was bleeding a loss of $300 on each PlayStation 3 sold, it was the PSP that was helping keep the division in some kind of balance. With over 3,200 titles available on UMD and many more via PSN, the PSP has come to sell over 298 million games during its lifetime. What’s more is that Sony has no plans to get rid of the system once the PS Vita comes out and is instead going to leverage and continue to support it, much like they did with the PS2 during the PS3’s early few years.

So hit the jump for the official press release and while you are there, let us know your PSP story. Do you have a PSP and if so, what are some of your favorite games and times to use it?

PlayStation Store Gets Updated with E3 Content (06-07-11)

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 7, 2011 | 30 comments

Just a heads up to PSN users out there. Sony has just updated the PlayStation Store with the latest offerings from E3. This includes trailers from the show as well as your weekly content like new demos, themes, and DLC for your games. Hit the jump to see the full list and fire up your PS3 and PSP to download away!

We Will Be Live Blogging Later Today from the Sony E3 Press Conference

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 6, 2011 | 14 comments

With E3 hysteria reaching fever pitch, we are happy to report that we are packing our bags with our camera (Cybershot HX9), camcorder (Bloggie Touch), and our computer (MacBook Pro), and heading down to E3. During our time there, we will be heavily using our Twitter Feed to give you little updates as they unfold. However, as soon as we are seated, we will be bringing you our live blog coverage of the event right here in this post. Therefore, feel free to bookmark this post and check back often. The conference itself is set to go live at 5:00pm Pacific Time.

In the meantime, visit our Facebook or Twitter page or drop us comments in the section bellow and we will do our best to answer them throughout the day. If there are any particular questions you have, let us know about those as well so that we can do some investigating for you!

Now hit the jump to view our live coverage of the PlayStation Press conference at 2011 E3!

Massive PlayStation Store Update. Lots of Price Cuts (06-03-11)

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 3, 2011 | 24 comments

The PlayStation Store has now been live for a little over 24 hours, with Sony earlier today updating the store again and offering users the promised ‘Welcome Back’ package. Now, just a few hours later and Sony has another massive update to the store, including a lot of price cuts for PlayStation users. Hit the jump for a full breakdown of the price cuts and new downloadable games. Let us know which entice you to click the download button in the comments section.

Sony NGP to be Backwards Compatible with PSP Games

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 3, 2011 | 2 comments

Whatever the NGP ends up being called, whether it is NGP, PSP2 or PS Vita, potential owners of it and current PSP users can rest assured that any current title that they may have downloaded for the PSP via PSN will be backwards compatible with the device. No matter if the purchase came from the PS3, PSP or Media Go store, users will be able to transfer their games on over and continue to play. The good news does not end there though. The NGP which is powered by a completely different architecture will playback the games via a software emulator which will also give users the ability to turn scaling on to help improve and smooth out the graphics. This is a huge plus, seeing how the NGP will run on a 5-inch OLED screen which can make anything slightly old look even worse, due to it’s extremely high quality nature. Those of you who are familiar with the NGP will also point towards the dual analog stick, something PSP owners have wanted from the beginning. Now, you will get you wish, as PSP games will also be able to take advantage of the NGP’s dual analog stick and other media outlets have already seen PSP games like Resistance: Retribution running on the device, using both sticks.

I’m sure we will have plenty more news, related to the NGP with next weeks E3 press conference. Just a reminder that we will be attending the attend and Live Blogging it for you so remember to check back in with us the day of! With the NGP being able to play PSP titles, which titles would you most likely replay again?

[Via EuroGamer]

PlayStation Network’s ‘Welcome Back’ Package is now Live. Plenty of Free Games for You

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 3, 2011 | 6 comments

Eager PlayStation fans across the US and Europe were greeted to good news yesterday that the PlayStation Store was up and running. Even though PSN has been back up for nearly two weeks, Sony needed some additional time to sort the store itself out. Still, fans were wondering where the promised “Welcome Back” package which was set to include lots of free goodies and 2 games like,

Dead Nation
inFAMOUS
LittleBigPlanet
Super Stardust HD
Wipeout HD + Fury

While PSP owners would get to pick two of the following:

LittleBigPlanet (PSP)
ModNation Racers
Pursuit Force
Killzone Liberation

Now, the mystery is no more as Sony has announced that the PlayStation Store ‘Welcome Back’ package is live and ready for both continents. All PS3 and PSP fans have to do is to bring up the store and navigate to the new link/banner that they will see in the store. Other things to look forward to are free movie rentals on the Movie side of the store. Of course, PlayStation Plus fans who pay a monthly fee for additional goodies and cloud game storage will also receive an extra 60 days on their subscription. Fans will have exactly a month to download the free content as the tab containing the free goodies will disappear on July 3rd, 2011.

It’s also been noted that some users are experiencing an issue where after they leave the store and revisit it again, they no longer see the free content. Well after the jump, we have an official fix for you so that you can once again access the free content. Also after the jump, you will find the full breakdown of the ‘Welcome Back’ offering from Sony. So what do you guys think about the free content? Do you like it? And if so, which titles have you or will you be downloading?

PlayStation Move to come to PSP Go or NGP?

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 1, 2011 | 1 comment

If the patent office is an indication to go by to see where a company will be headed in the future, then look no further to Sony’s 2009 filing. The patent which specially points to the PSP Go would allow the handheld system to gain PlayStation Move compatiblity via a dock. Those who own Move for the PS3 will note that you need a camera to make the motion gaming add-on work and that’s exactly what this dock would have offered. A built-in camera in the top center of the dock would much like the PlayStation Eye track the Move controllers, allowing users further freedom and interaction with their PSP Go.

But seeing how the NGP is around the corner and we expect plenty of news on the device at E3 next week, we doubt that Sony would suddenly release such an accessory for the PSP Go, seeing how they have slowed down production for the unit. However, a device like this could further add a special touch the NGP. In fact, seeing how the NGP has a front and rear facing camera, chances are that an implementation of this could be done, without the need of an additional dock like the above patents shows.

“Methods, systems, and computer programs for wireless interaction with a portable device supported by a stand are presented. In one method operation, a communications link is established between the portable device and the stand. The stand tracks the motion of an input device within an interactivity zone. In another method operation, the portable device interfaces with the input device to generate actions associated with game objects in the portable device, where the interface takes place when the input device is in or near the interactivity zone. Additionally, the stand moves when the tracking detects that the input device is outside predefined boundaries near an edge of the interactivity zone. The stand movement information is transferred via the communications link to update the location of the interactivity zone.”

Seeing how one of Sony’s goals has been to create a seamless gaming experience between the NGP and PS3, allowing users to start gaming on one device and continue it on the next as Hideo Kojima has pointed out, using the PlayStation Move could be further prove of concept for such a vision.

Hit the jump for one more picture from this patent. While you are there, let us know what you think about this accessory. Would it be something that you would want to purchase for your PSP or NGP? How about if it was built in?

[Via Free Patents Online]

NGP to be “More Affordable” and Less Costly for Sony

by Sohrab Osati | May 31, 2011 | 2 comments

We all now by know how the PlayStation 3 saga played out. Though this current generation is far from over, the road ahead is bright for the PS3, unlike the first two years of the consoles life. When the PS3 was born, long before the E3 debut and Tokyo Game Show trailers, Ken Kutaragi, the father of the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and then PlayStation 3 had one clear goal in mind. To create the most powerful and cutting edge machine that he possibly could. This meant offering features that many at the time would not be sure of like a Blu-ray player, 3D gaming and movies. Now of course, in retrospect, those have all been fantastic choices as Blu-ray is the definitive and ideal way to playback HD, 3D movies and 3D games. However, with Blu-ray, 3D, Bluetooth, Cell Processor and custom graphics cards, Sony paid a huge price for it. Not only did the PlayStation 3 come out a year later then the Xbox 360, it also cost a lot more which slowed the adoption rate and Sony was still losing $300 on each machine sold. This dug a big whole for the PlayStation division which was losing a massive amount of money, due to the high cost of the machine. Now nearly 5 years later, the PlayStation division is doing fine and is about to unveil more information for their second generation PSP at this years E3, codenamed the NGP.

So would Sony repeat the same trend that the PS3 set? Not so says Massaru Kato, Sony’s Chief Financial Officer when he spoke to the WSJ. The NGP will be less “investment heavy” and instead, rely on less custom GPUs and parts and more off the shelf products from partners. This means that Sony can turn to a manufacture who is already producing the parts they need in high volume and therefor, be able to get a lower price on the part, unlike the PlayStation 3’s cell processor for example which is being used exclusively in the PS3. Lower component costs for Sony will also translate to a lower product price for consumers, meaning that the NGP will be much more competitively priced to Nintendo’s recently released 3DS.

What do you think about the NGP and the price tag it will carry? Will it be PS3 expensive or something less? Let us know in the comments below.

[Via WSJ-Subscription Required]

Sony Remasters Select PSP Game Titles

by Jesse Fogarty | May 24, 2011 | 17 comments

It’s been a while since the PlayStation Portable System was improved or for that upgraded in anyway. With the Nintendo DS advancing into newer technology *Cough*3D*Cough* before Sony’s PSP system. Even the most devoted PSP gamers are becoming fed up with the low definition graphics (all be it, still better then the Nintendo DS), and are to frustrated to wait until the PSP’s successor the NGP is released.

Two days ago on May 22, Sony announced the Japanese release of a new “PSP Remaster” title series. The name itself serves as a dead giveaway, Sony will be revitalizing select PSP game titles for the PS3 in high-def Blu-Ray.

In addition to remastering select game titles, some games may receive new add-on content plus stereoscopic 3D support. However, Sony didn’t stop there users will also be able to share game save data between their PSP and PS3 systems. Imagine for a second, being able to play on the subway – and when you get home being able to continue where you left off earlier that day on a large TV screen.

The first PSP Remaster title announced was Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, sadly this is set only to launch in Japan at an unknown time and date. Meaning for now North American PSP users will have to deal with the low definition, eye straining graphics they’ve grown accustomed to.

With the Monster Hunter Portable series making its way to the PS3, what other titles would you like to see come? I for one would love to see MGS: Peace Walker and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 make their way in glorious HD to the PS3.