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Sony Announces Pink PSP, PS2 For Europe
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: PlayStation 2, PSP,
Ahead of the Leipzig conference, Sony has announced that they will be offering pink variations of the PSP and the PS2 in Europe, according to reports on GamesIndustry.biz. In the European territories, Sony already offers the PSP in both black and ceramic white, so this will be the third color offering for that territory, while the US has yet to see anything beyond the original color. The new PSP color will be offered in a bundle similar to the original US launch, with headphones, pouch, and a 32MB memory stick included. The bundle will retail for 169 GBP. Also announced was a pink variant of the slimline PSTwo, which will ship with dual controllers and a 8 MB memory card for 129.99 GBP.
At the same time, Sony announced that they would be lowering the price of the standard slim Playstation 2 to 94.99 GBP, or 129.99 Euro. Sony appears to be echoing their hardware strategy that they followed when the Playstation 2 was originally released. By still strongly supporting the old hardware platform while launching the new, Sony can extend the life of the Playstation 2. Game developers will find it hard to ignore the massive user base for the PS2, and if Sony can nail backward compatibility for the Playstation 3, this can allow some fresh content to appear while the truly next generation software trickles in. This approach is in large contrast to the way Microsoft handled the Xbox 360 launch; new Xbox hardware is hard to come by, and the platform itself has been pushed into the background quite quickly.
Read More 
| GamesIndustry.biz
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As the launch date of the Playstation 3 gets nearer and nearer, industry analysts are busy trying to glean any information they can to make predictions on how console market share will shape up as Sony and Nintendo join the battle. Many predictions have Sony still sitting at the top percentage-wise, but ceding some ground to competitors Microsoft and Nintendo. Gamespot was able to talk with Kaz Hirai about his predictions for this generation of gaming, and about how the system launch is going so far.
Hirai, of course, is aiming at maintaining or increasing their share over the Playstation 2; Sony can’t very well go into the next round thinking they are going to lose. However, once Gamespot starts drilling into launch preparations, things start to get a little vague.
Sony still aims at getting 2 million units shipped worldwide. But contrary to reports a while back that the first PS3 units were rolling off the production line, Hirai admits that they “haven’t started manufacturing yet… they are, again, preparing as we speak to get the manufacturing going.” Retail merchandising is still being planned as well. Apparently, Sony still hasn’t solidified their launch lineup, but software can be delivered in a much tighter window. Still, retailers will need to start lining up the forced bundles soon, and Hirai isn’t willing to even estimate the number of titles that will be available.
Hirai also talks about the PSP: no re-design is planned soon, and Sony seems to be happy with the price point right now, so he again confirms that there are no plans to drop the price of the console. Right now it appears that Sony hopes that new features like the Sony Connect service will help turn things around, and that by offering downloadable video and game content, this will increase the value proposition for their handheld.
Read More | Gamespot
Star Wars: Lethal Alliance by Ubisoft Announced for DS, PSP
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Action, Adventure, Corporate News, Nintendo DS, PSP, Ubisoft,
Many Bothans died to bring you this game - just in time for Christmas (Dec 2006), Ubisoft will be releasing Star Wars: Lethal Allaiance. Taking place between the two trilogies, you’ll be playing as Twi’Lek Rianna Saren and her ‘droid in a mission to find the plans for the Empire’s secret weapon, the Death Star. The release states:
Ubisoft is honored to announce this exciting and innovative Star Wars game, the first original game in the legendary franchise built to take full advantage of the unique capabilities of both the PSP system and the DS.
Translation: It’ll be 3D, just expect more refined graphics for the PSP and some touch-screen control mechanics for the DS.
This marks Ubisoft’s third Star Wars outing - Revenge of the Sith for the GBA and DS and Apprentice of the Force for the GBA being their previous releases. Given the recent success Ubisoft has had in the platforming genre with games like the Prince of Persia trilogy, we’re keeping our fingers crossed for some solid Force-based action.
Read More | Ubisoft Press Release
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EB Games’ “Buy One UMD Movie, Get One Free” Special This Week
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Hot Deals, Portable/Mobile, PSP,
Maybe you really wanted Resident Evil, but didn’t exactly want to pay for Resident Evil: Apocalypse. Final Fantasy: Advent Children would be great to own too, but Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within wasn’t really worth the full price. Spider Man 2 was really good, but you’re not going to pay for Spider Man: The Animated Series. Well thanks to EB Games, this week you don’t have to be picky about your UMD Movie choices.
Honestly, it looks as if another retailer is looking to clear off their UMD Movie shelf space. This coming week, August 16th - 22nd, EB Games will be having an in store only buy one, get one free UMD Movie special. The special includes many of the best UMD titles (i.e., those released by Sony Pictures). So, if you’ve got a store near you that keeps a pretty good stock of UMD movies on hand, next week may be your lucky week.
The full list of titles is available after the jump.
Click to continue reading EB Games’ “Buy One UMD Movie, Get One Free” Special This Week
Read More | EB Games.com
Sony Launches Your PSP .com, Forgets They Ever Launched Sony Connect
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Corporate News, Music, PSP,
Even though they’re having trouble keeping UMD Movies on store shelves, Sony wants to remind you that yes, your PSP is indeed an MP3 player, web browser and movie player, in addition to a gaming machine! If you haven’t played around with those “other” features of your PSP recently, you’ll probably want to check out yourPSP.com. Register on the site now and you’ll be able to download a number of demos, music tracks, and videos for free, “for a limited period”. Currently the site also appears to be open only to European PSP users, although if you “accidentally” enter UK as your home base, you might be able to access the content.
To get the content, you’ll need a PC, USB cable, Memory Stick, and your PSP (come on guys, no saving directly to the PSP?!). However, connecting looks to be worth the hassle - you’ll be able to download all the previously released demos, tracks by artists like Fatboy Slim and The Autobots, and the “Passport to ...” series of videos, which give you guided tours of your favorite European cities.
It’s unclear how / if this site fits in with Sony Connect, the service that’s supposed to serve as your central location for downloading music to your PSP. The approach of the new yourPSP.com site seems to make a lot of sense, as it’s a sort of one-stop shop for anything you could possibly want to-go. We’ll just have to wait and see if this idea gets brought state-side.
Read More | YourPSP.com
More Bargains from Wal-Mart: PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube Games under $10.00
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Hot Deals, Nintendo Gamecube, PlayStation 2, PSP, Xbox,
Earlier we reported on a great deal on the slimline PlayStation 2 over at Wal-Mart, and the great deals just keep on coming. If you can accept the “the high cost of low prices”, then this online sale could keep you occupied for the rest of the summer.
A quick sampling of some of the better titles currently being offered at Walmart.com for $10.00 and below include:
- Grand Theft Auto III
- Jak III
- Black and White II
- Castlevania Curse of Darkness
- Max Payne 2
- Def Jam: Vandetta
- Time Splitters: Future Perfect
- Hitman 2
- Space Channel 5
Just click the link below for a handy-dandy query of the Wal-Mart database for titles priced below $20.00.
Read More | Wal-Mart.com via Joystiq.com
The Force Is Strong With These Blocks: Lego Star Wars II Demo Out
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Action, Adventure, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Gamecube, PSP, Xbox, Xbox 360,
The original LEGO Star Wars was a rare treasure—an action game that oozed style and creativity and was easy enough for kids but enough fun for any gamer. Based on the new trilogy (Episodes I-III), the game LEGO-ized scenes from the movies and even improved on them in some instances. (Thank you, Traveller’s Tales, for NOT including voice work!)
So how do you make a sequel that’s even better? Well, for starters, you base it on the original trilogy, but from the looks of it Traveller’s Tales has also improved the gameplay in several ways, including things like adding greater freedom of movement to the vehicle-based missions and a create-a-character mode. But don’t take MY word for it (insert Reading Rainbow jingle here). You can now download a demo of the game for your PC to tide yourself over until September 12th.
And may the Force be with your ‘net connection.
Read More | 3D Gamers.com via Opposable Thumbs @ Ars Technica
DS Juggernaut Rolls On In Japan
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PSP,
Japanese gamers continue to drive sales of the Nintendo DS in Japan. The release of the Noble Pink version of the handheld certainly helped out sales, according to the latest Media Create numbers. Cubed3 has the full listing, and again, software sales and hardware sales are dominated by the Nintendo DS. New Super Mario Bros. again took the top spot, moving 145,095 more units; the top three titles on the sales chart were for the DS. The cooking assistant Shaberu! Oryouri Nabi took second, and More Brain Training took third. Of the top ten, six titles were for the Nintendo DS. The PS2’s highest rank was 4th, for Battle Stadium DON, and the PSP charted in the top ten with the new BLEACH title. Loco Roco dropped down the list to 18th.
On the hardware side, Nintendo sold over 262,000 consoles. The PSP followed with 35,938, and the Playstation 2 came in fourth with 22,288. The Xbox 360 moved 1,472 consoles, and the original Xbox managed zero sales.
Read More | Cubed3
Sony Unveils Initial PSP “Greatest Hits” Offerings
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Action, Corporate News, Driving, PSP, Sports,
We earlier speculated that Sony would be releasing a list of “Greatest Hits” bargain-priced titles for the PSP. Well, it turns out the rumors were true—Sony has just released a list of titles that will now be available for $20, though it’s somewhat underwhelming (no Lumines!). The list includes lots of PSP games with colons in their title (i.e. remakes / ports)
- Ape Escape: On the Loose
- Offroad Fury: Blazin’ Trails
- Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee
- Twisted Metal: Head On
- Wipeout Pure.
More titles will join the Greatest Hits library later in the year, including Lumines, Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition, Star Wars Battlefront(TM) II, Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 Remix, and Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade.
Read More | Yahoo.com
New Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins PSP Screens
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Action, PSP, Retro, Screenshots,
Ultimate Ghosts ‘N Goblins is set to ship on August 3rd in Japan, and GameWatch has some new screen shots showing off the PSP title. The Playstation 2 has seen two unofficial 3D sequels to this series in the Maximo line of games, but this will be the first real update of the 2D side scroller since Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts. The game still maintains a side perspective, but the backgrounds and characters are all polygon-based models. The new screen shots show off this new perspective, and also show some of the transformations your character will go through in the game. It has been said that the game maintains the legendary difficulty of the original; hopefully the game will see a release in the US shortly after the game goes on sale in Japan.
Read More | GameWatch
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