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Sony Europe Issues Overheating Denial

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Hardware, PlayStation 3,

Cooling Fan Speaking with Gamesindustry.biz, Sony of Europe has issued a complete denial of any overheating problems with the Playstation 3. Now, one could understand if Sony stated that gamers won’t have problems with the PS3 once they get their console home, but the statement includes this:

As could be seen on the TGS floor by the tens of thousands of media and public attendees, both the hardware and software worked flawlessly

This statement would seem to be categorically untrue, unless the images of the Tokyo Game Show worker attempting to cool off an overheating Playstation 3 with a clip-on fan have some other explanation. Many people have reported that the facility for the Tokyo Game Show was unbearably hot, due to the large amounts of hardware present, lack of any real air conditioning, and the massive swarms of bodies. So one could expect that ambient temperatures would be higher than a normal operating environment, and this would cause issues with the hardware. But to claim that there were no issues, when problems were reported by Kotaku and others seems laughable.

Nintendo’s Final Wii Press Announcement

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, Nintendo, Wii,

Nintendo’s final press releases dropped today for both the European and Australian territories. In the UK, Nintendo will be making the Wii available on December 8th for 249 Euros, £179 (roughly $330 US). Nintendo first party games will retail for between 49 andd 59 Euros or £34 – £39. The European package will be basically the same package as the US, including the console, a remote, a nunchuck controller, and Wii Sports Additional remotes will sell for 39 Euros (£29), nunchuks for 19 Euros (£14) and the Classic Controller will sell for 19 Euros (£14). In addition, Nintendo of Australia announced console availability on December 7th, for $399.95, roughly $299 US. The Australian console release also features Wii Sports, a single remote and nunchuck attachment. The full European press release continues below.

Click to continue reading Nintendo’s Final Wii Press Announcement

Europe To Get Free Week Of Xbox Live

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Internet, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,

European Gamers will get a free week of Xbox Live Gold action from September 20th through the 29th. Similar to the promotion that US gamers got earlier this summer, Xbox 360 owners in Europe with a broadband connection will be able to experience Gold membership status, thanks to a sponsorship from Windows Live Spaces. Like the previous US free week, Microsoft plans on hosting several special events for gamers signed into Live during the nine days of the offering, including contests, newcomer nights, and the opportunity to face off against special guests.

A Little Apple History

Posted by Janie Franz Categories: Food Trivia, History, Fruit, Vegetarian, Europe,

NY Apple Associaton Apples have been enjoyed by human beings since at least 6500 BC. Small burnt apples have been found in archaeological sites around lakes in Switzerland. There are wild apples or crab apples found in most countries of Europe, including as far north as Norway. It is thought that the first apple trees originated somewhere between the Caspian and the Black Seas. The Wild Apple, native to Britain, is the ancestor of all modern apple trees. The Romans grafted their premium varieties, including some from France, onto this wild stock
Though small, bitter, wild Crab Apples were present in the New World when the Pilgrims came to America, they wrote home for seeds and cuttings from England. This established the early apple strains in New England. Later, colonists brought apple trees to plant in Virginia and throughout the Southeast.
Legend tells of a Massachusetts man, Johnny Chapman, who traveled throughout what was then the West (Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois) in the early 1800s, planting apple trees. There is also a tale of a London sea captain who brought seeds to Washington state in 1820 that are reputed to be the initial stock for the booming Washington State apple industry.
Nearly 8,000 varieties exist today, but only about 100 are grown commercially in this country. New varieties are being discovered as chance seedlings or intentional cross-breeding. Of the commercial crop, 61 percent are eaten fresh, 21 percent are made into juice or cider, and 39 percent are processed into a variety of apple products.

[Photo courtesy of the NY Apple Association]

Sony Announces Pink PSP, PS2 For Europe

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: PlayStation 2, PSP,

Pink 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.

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