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the most interesting gaming news
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Ever since the PS3 slim announcement last week.. I’ve been fascinated by Sony’s decision to remove 3rd party OS support from the system. On one hand it makes sense since it doesn’t promote game sales but then again why include it in the first place? I’m guessing is has to do with the Hypervisor, but what could it be? A little sleuthing around revealed the following nuggets (see bottom links for sources):
This makes perfect sense for Sony. Most people are aware by now that linux support on the PS3 was not so much a way for end users to run alternative applications, but for programmers wanting to experiment with the radical design of the Cell Broadband Processor. Anyone following Sony’s history with Linux knows they have internal personalities fighting for control with their on-again, off-again support. Perhaps Sony can collaborate with open-source developers to do the work? Many view this news as evidence that support for OtherOS on ‘phat’ PS3s will be dropped when a new software update is installed. However, another Sony representative had this to say to quell everyone’s concerns:
So there you have it. 3rd party OS support will continue for ‘phat’ PS3s, but Slims are left in the hands of the hackers. Some observed the amount of static RAM has steadily declined with each iteration of PS3 hardware; Beginning with 256MB for the original 60GB model and now only 64MB in the slim. Could this contribute to the limited OS support? I’ll wait for ArsTechnica.com’s excellent analysis since they always have the skinny on hardware. I’m still holding high hopes that Backwards Compatibility will be announced for a future update on all PS3 Slim models. Keeping my fingers crossed since the PS3 is by far the best PS2 ever made. It’s one of the things the PS3 does best with its graphical smoothing, 1080 scaling and memory card management. In fact, the most excited I ever was owning a PS3 was when a rumor circulated that you could install PS2 games to the hard drive. What can I say, I love them classic PS2 games! The good news for wannabe Cell Broadband Engine programmers; All the PS3s after the 60GB model but before the Slim ought to be had at bargain prices. The next few months is the opportune time to snag these up as development machines. With the latest Gran Turismo news coming from GamesCom in Germany, here’s a sweet video of GT5 Prologue to get your blood flowing: What’s announced so far: Cars
Tracks
Physics
That’s a whole lot of racing goodness for the price of one game. Combined with Sony’s announcement today of the long awaited price cut and new PS3 Slim, this game is going to move millions of systems. Read the full translation or in Sony’s own words if you read Japanese. The NeoGAF forums are buzzing with sightings of PS3 price drops and deep discounts on PS3 games. It’s seemingly bargains galore in the UK, Belgium & Netherlands.
The picture above shows the PS3 + bluray movie 300 + extra bluray remote for 299£. With no official word from Sony, we can only speculate on what all this means.. so here are some more first hand accounts from the forums: Amazon in the UK lists new PS3s bundled with Little Big Planet for £279.99. Game.co.uk bundles the PS3 with Little Big Planet + Motorstorm 2 + Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty for £298.49. Media Markt in Poland has the PS3 + Motorstorm 2 or PS3 + Resistance 2 for 1299pln (316euro). 399€ packs include a PS3 + 2 DS3 controllers + bluray remote + bluray movie + Little Big Planet + MotorStorm 2 + Resistance 2 at Game Plaza in Belgium and Bart Smit stores in the Netherlands and Belgium Gamestop in Italy has the PS3 + Little Big Planet for 299€ when trading in your old PS2 + memory card & 5 PS2 games. Here are the game deals at Amazon.co.uk:
And at ShopTo.net:
For those in the US curious about the conversion rate in US dollars, 15 euros is roughly equivalent to $21. Original rumor published on N4G.
While the semi-official failure rate is only 16%. Any impromptu poll on Xbox Live reveals nearly everyone in the room citing at least one failure. My stance has always been: As long as they replace them on Microsoft’s dime, I’m willing to put up with the replacement process since the games are so great. However, this time, I was told the system will only be covered under warranty for 90 days after receiving the repaired system. Excuse me?! My confidence in the new replacement lasting over one year is 0%. They are simply not engineered to last. The 360 never moves from its cool airy spot. I clean its air vents periodically. It plays games sometimes and then fails. There’s nothing 360 owners can do to prevent it from happening.. it’s seemingly designed to (mal) function this way. The PS3 continues working after 2 years, and trusty PS2 phat still runs like a champ after 6 years so it seems clearly a 360 problem and not its environment. Microsoft addressed the issue with a new revision of the hardware designed to run cooler and solve the disastrous failure rate. Great for the new buyers, but what about the rest of us who’s 360s will surely fail after the 90 day warranty expires? Will you pay to have it ‘fixed?’ Will you take it like a gay man and pony up for a new system? Or will you switch to the PS3? This is the question millions of 360 owners will soon have to answer for themselves over the next two years as Microsoft refuses to fix their dead 360s under warranty. What will you do? Here’s some additional reading on the issue. The latest character in the upcoming Street Fighter IV, launching Feb. 3rd, 2009. Ever since the DSi was revealed last week there’s been a steady stream of detractors lamenting the loss of the GBA port for games such as Well if Nintendo’s CEO Satoru Iwata were here right now, he might say to them that if you only focus on where you want to go but ignore where you are now, you might overlook something wiiimportant along the way. DS Ware Lays Down the Foundation
Upon encountering a large patch of grass where people had worn a path across, a wise man gave me the following gem of advice: “There are two types of engineers in this world; Those who would put up a fence, and those who would create a walkway.” The meaning is clear: Always study the root causes of a problem to reveal the deeper solutions within. This is exactly what Nintendo has done with their new DSi design. They paved a road deep into the world of piracy and provided a path most gamers will happily tread instead of roughing it through the seedy alternatives. A Road Deep into the Heart of PiracyIf you’ve ever seen a pirate gaming directory it’s quite staggering the sheer quantity of games. Not just the ones you’ve seen and read about but literally hundreds you never even knew existed. It’s like swallowing the Red Pill and having your eyes opened for the first time. Why should this be limited to pirates?
DS Ware could provide the same experience for everyone! No longer are you limited to the shelf space and availability at your local retailer but hundreds of games, all at your fingertips, ready to buy at a moments notice. DS Ware also makes it easy to download demos directly to your memory card bringing gamers everywhere the opportunity to try out larger variety of games which leads to increased sales. I’d like to see them emulate the piracy model even further by allowing all games to be downloaded but limit them to only 10 minutes per day, or something along those lines. This enables game companies to provide demos for all their games without having to create a specific version just for the demo. It completely guts the advantage pirates have today of trying out all games before they buy, if ever. Analyst Matthew Fassler of Goldman Sachs recently sounded the early warning detection alarm that:
The DS: A Victim of its Own Success
Flashcarts & the New DSi
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