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PS3, Xbox receive batterings
IT SEEMS all is not well in console world, with both the PS3 and Xbox receiving batterings from consumers and the press.
PS3/PSP
Earlier this week Sony reacted to the problems associated with television upscaling on the PS3.
Various incompatibilities had been discovered by new users, but the main point of contention concerned 'older' HD TVs that only support 1080i signals.
This meant the PS3 would force the games to run at the lowly, Wii-like, 480p resolution, as PS3 titles run at either 720p or 1080p resolutions.
Speaking to GameDaily, SCEA stated that Sony was aware of the problem and was working on a fix - which would come in the form of a 'simple firmware download' when it was ready.
The same problem seems to haunt the PS3 when scaling Blue-ray movies, according to Arstechnica which states: "If you don't have a set that does 1080i or 1080p, you're going to be forced into 480p which is far less impressive. PS3's lack of a scaler bites it again. 720p output is not available on the titles we tested".
Unfortunately Dave Karraker, Sr. Director, Corporate Communications retracted the statement made to GameDaily, adding that Sony can't currently confirm the issue can be fixed with a patch and are "looking into the issue and haven't stated any actions that will be taken regarding it."
The same rag brought further bad news for Sony fans via PJ McNealy of American Technology Research.
McNealy has said that Sony may have shipped as few as 125,000 PS3 units in North America for the console's launch, despite previously stating that they had only missed the original (albeit much revised) target of 400,000 by 'several thousand units'.
He also notes that Sony's two million worldwide target for the end of this year is 'under review.'
In related Sony news, SCEA have also announced the pricing for PS1 games on the PSP.
The first batch of original Playstation games will go on sale for between US $5.99 and US $10.99. The downloads should weigh in at between 140MB and 550MB, they must be downloaded to a PS3 hard drive and can then be transferred to Memory Stick Duo for playback on a PSP
The first titles will be available through the PS3-based Playstation Store "in the coming weeks", according to an official statement, and "additional first and third party games will be added on an ongoing basis".
The PS1 playback relies on Playstation Network functionality included in the new PSP version 3.0 firmware, which has been released in Japan and North America. It also includes a remote play feature - enabling PSP owners to wirelessly stream media from the Wifi enabled 60GB Playstation 3, and allowing for access to the console's web browser, friends lists, and other functions. PSP camera support has also been added.
Xbox 360
Sony certainly isn't the only console manufacturer with problems this week.
We've already reported on the difficulties Microsoft has had with the newly launched Xbox Live Video Marketplace, and this hasn't quite settled yet, with users still struggling to download TV shows and movies.
Amazon also had Xbox related problems, due to a promotion of 1,000 $100 Xbox 360s which brought the entire site to it's knees for around 15 minutes.
This is somewhat longer than the time it took to sell out the entire Amazon first-delivery of UK Wiis - three minutes was all it took for eager buyers to snap up Amazon's limited allocation.
After our short review last week of hot Xbox 360 title, Gears of War, good news comes from Epic's Mark Rein.
Speaking to in a post found in the official Gears of War forums Rein says the GoW team is "working hard to support Gears of War" with "some great enhancements" as soon as possible. "We're not ready to provide any details yet but I assure you we're on the job," he added.
Also, Jeff Bell of Microsoft, accidentally confirmed that the publisher plans a trilogy of games set in the Gears of War universe.
However, Mark was less specific concerning follows ups to the first GoW, humorously adding: "Gears is a trilogy? If we can keep making quality games that fans obviously then why would we have to stop at three?"
Expect much more GoW from Epic in the near future.
Unfortunately Gears won't appear on a PC, for now, with Microsoft debunking any PC-GoW rumours out-of-hand.
No Nintendo related round-up today. We've had enough of Wii news for now, having already reported on the launch and the various Wiimote-related shenanigans during last week's console-news frenzy.
Source..
PS3/PSP
Earlier this week Sony reacted to the problems associated with television upscaling on the PS3.
Various incompatibilities had been discovered by new users, but the main point of contention concerned 'older' HD TVs that only support 1080i signals.
This meant the PS3 would force the games to run at the lowly, Wii-like, 480p resolution, as PS3 titles run at either 720p or 1080p resolutions.
Speaking to GameDaily, SCEA stated that Sony was aware of the problem and was working on a fix - which would come in the form of a 'simple firmware download' when it was ready.
The same problem seems to haunt the PS3 when scaling Blue-ray movies, according to Arstechnica which states: "If you don't have a set that does 1080i or 1080p, you're going to be forced into 480p which is far less impressive. PS3's lack of a scaler bites it again. 720p output is not available on the titles we tested".
Unfortunately Dave Karraker, Sr. Director, Corporate Communications retracted the statement made to GameDaily, adding that Sony can't currently confirm the issue can be fixed with a patch and are "looking into the issue and haven't stated any actions that will be taken regarding it."
The same rag brought further bad news for Sony fans via PJ McNealy of American Technology Research.
McNealy has said that Sony may have shipped as few as 125,000 PS3 units in North America for the console's launch, despite previously stating that they had only missed the original (albeit much revised) target of 400,000 by 'several thousand units'.
He also notes that Sony's two million worldwide target for the end of this year is 'under review.'
In related Sony news, SCEA have also announced the pricing for PS1 games on the PSP.
The first batch of original Playstation games will go on sale for between US $5.99 and US $10.99. The downloads should weigh in at between 140MB and 550MB, they must be downloaded to a PS3 hard drive and can then be transferred to Memory Stick Duo for playback on a PSP
The first titles will be available through the PS3-based Playstation Store "in the coming weeks", according to an official statement, and "additional first and third party games will be added on an ongoing basis".
The PS1 playback relies on Playstation Network functionality included in the new PSP version 3.0 firmware, which has been released in Japan and North America. It also includes a remote play feature - enabling PSP owners to wirelessly stream media from the Wifi enabled 60GB Playstation 3, and allowing for access to the console's web browser, friends lists, and other functions. PSP camera support has also been added.
Xbox 360
Sony certainly isn't the only console manufacturer with problems this week.
We've already reported on the difficulties Microsoft has had with the newly launched Xbox Live Video Marketplace, and this hasn't quite settled yet, with users still struggling to download TV shows and movies.
Amazon also had Xbox related problems, due to a promotion of 1,000 $100 Xbox 360s which brought the entire site to it's knees for around 15 minutes.
This is somewhat longer than the time it took to sell out the entire Amazon first-delivery of UK Wiis - three minutes was all it took for eager buyers to snap up Amazon's limited allocation.
After our short review last week of hot Xbox 360 title, Gears of War, good news comes from Epic's Mark Rein.
Speaking to in a post found in the official Gears of War forums Rein says the GoW team is "working hard to support Gears of War" with "some great enhancements" as soon as possible. "We're not ready to provide any details yet but I assure you we're on the job," he added.
Also, Jeff Bell of Microsoft, accidentally confirmed that the publisher plans a trilogy of games set in the Gears of War universe.
However, Mark was less specific concerning follows ups to the first GoW, humorously adding: "Gears is a trilogy? If we can keep making quality games that fans obviously then why would we have to stop at three?"
Expect much more GoW from Epic in the near future.
Unfortunately Gears won't appear on a PC, for now, with Microsoft debunking any PC-GoW rumours out-of-hand.
No Nintendo related round-up today. We've had enough of Wii news for now, having already reported on the launch and the various Wiimote-related shenanigans during last week's console-news frenzy.
Source..
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