PlayStation 3 Firmware 2.80 Hidden Change

Strange how Sony never releases a full change log. ps3attitude.com found out one new thing.


The first change comes via the new Text Chat feature that launched with the last upgrade. Instead of a meagre 32 character limit for each line of text, you can now type – wait for it – 64 whole characters on every line!


Good that it includes more characters, anyone else find any "hidden" features?

The Agent is a 1970’s Espionage Game

"It’s a completely different storyline, there is completely different character development. It’s a game about espionage, set in the 1970s. GTA is obviously more about an urban experience, a typically rags to riches experience. Very, very different storylines, very different character development. It’s going to be very fresh for gamers."


It’s not much Info to go on, but at least it’s something. Sounds like the game could be pretty far off though.

Interview article

G4TV: God of War III Demo Full Preview

This is the same demo that was shown at E3, but this is the whole demo. They cut it short at E3. So you can just skip to the 6:00 minute mark.

Be forewarned it’s extremely gory, so it’s not for the weak at heart. A guys heads gets ripped off in extreme detail. Man this mans looks epic! Must have it.

Video Game - E3 2009 - Game Previews

Activision Blizzard’s Bobby Kotick says they ‘might have to stop supporting Sony’.

Bobby Kotick has warned that Sony risks losing support of the mega publisher unless it decides to issue a price cut for the PlayStation 3.

“They have to cut the price, because if they don’t, the attach rates [the number of games each console owner buys] are likely to slow. If we are being realistic, we might have to stop supporting Sony,” Kotick told the Times Online.

When prompted as to when the firm may consider dropping support for Sony, the executive added: “When we look at 2010 and 2011, we might want to consider if we support the console — and the PSP [portable] too.”

“Games generate a better return on invested capital on the Xbox than on the PlayStation,” he said.

Kotick went on to say that his company forked out $500 million to Sony in royalties and other goods back in 2008, which he said “probably still worked out at 400 percent of the profit they made”.



Shortly after this statement their stock drop 1.18% costing them over a billion dollars. Hmm..

For the first quarter ‘09 Ubisoft posted 15% of sales were for 360 and PS3. Namco reportedly made more on Sony’s systems combined than the Xbox for fiscal year ‘08-’09.

Playstation 3 - 3.273 million, Playstation 2 – 4.630 million units sold,PSP – 4.202 million units sold ,Xbox 360 – 2.704 million units sold) .

Sales of MGS4 boosted Konami’s profits for 2 quarters on a system that was the highest priced and boosted the sales of the PS3 over the 360 for 2 months. So is the XBox brand really more profitable than the Playstation at this point? I don’t think so.

Myth: Game Development Budgets

CNBC reiterates a common development budget myth during an interview with Ubisoft:

Games for the Wii typically cost much less to create, due to the system’s less than cutting-edge components

Wrong. Games for the Wii generally require smaller budgets because they are simpler games.

God of War 2 used a huge development budget on the PS2, which is even older, lower-spec technology than the Wii, but the game used massive quantities of high quality art and animation assets. Something like Mario Party of Wii Play use far less art and animation assets and far simpler game logic despite the fact that the Wii can handle more complex art assets and game logic than the PS2.

Secondly, PS3/360/Wii cross platform titles like Guitar Hero or Call of Duty, probably share most of the man hours of development effort across the different platforms. The PS3/360 versions probably require slightly more because they have richer feature sets and the higher quality art assets do require more labor to create, but overall I suspect that most of the development efforts are well shared.

The audiences that buy fancier hardware generally demand fancier software, but the fancier hardware itself doesn’t generally require more man hours of development given that the complexity of the game is held constant.

Newest PS3 Firmware 2.50 Update

The newest firmware update for the PS3 is now live for download for all you lucky US residents. With a bit of luck it wil come across the pond fairly soon. Go turn on your favourite black gaming monolith and get the download going…quick, whilst it’s hot!

As reported yesterday by ps3vault, 2.50 features a great set of performance tweaks, including Flash 9 support and controller auto-switch off amongst others. I’m still holding out for the option to install another browser on there but still, a great update nonetheless.

Early reports across the Interwebs indicate the update is fairly quick to install. Have a go and let us know what you think.

Trophy Hunting Mentality in the PS3

There’s something strange going on. Not exactly wrong, but just… different. I feel different when I’m gaming: more competitive and yet somehow more vulnerable. I need a sense of completion and reward, a thank you and “job well done”. I need trophies. *stands up* My name is Ed and I am a trophyholic.

Trophies are not a new concept. We all know another console which has had it’s own version of them for ages. Not owning that particular device I never really gave much thought to a task-related reward system. Tut tut I thought, why are these silly people straining to perform some ludicrious act of gaming perseverance, simply to tick it off the list? Oh what a fool I’ve been.

Since the firmware update hit the shores of the PS3 the number of titles either shipping with trophies or being patched has steadily grown. I currently have about six of them. I was initially a little dismissive of what the update brought, but now I love checking out my PS3 card and comparing it with friends’. There’s two things going on here: the need to complete; and the need to be rewarded for doing well. Everybody loves a little basic psychology, right?

Ask any PS3 fan and they’ll tell you that Uncharted is a great game. It is: no question. Yet would I have played it through multiple times without the chance to get that platinum trophy which now adorns my virtual mantlepiece? I doubt it very much. Yes, some games (Uncharted included) had internal reward points but you couldn’t share and compare. Where’s the bragging fun it that?

Thankfully I know I have my limits in terms of addiction. I won’t buy everything just to increase my total - I have my principles! Still, if I buy a game because I want to play it, the trophies will probably get a hammering too. Ask a mountaineer why he climbs the mountain: “because it’s there”. So then, trophies are my Everest. I yearn to reach the summit and get the 100% progress bar beside each game. Will I achieve my goal? Probably not. Am I enjoying trying? Good lord yes!

Eve Online: Quantum Rise Ultimate Multiplayer Experience

CCP breaks barriers in free expansion slated for release this winter
CCP, one of the world’s leading independent game developers, today announced the launch of the ninth free expansion for EVE Online, its popular science fiction massively multi-player online game (MMOG). EVE Online: Quantum Rise offers limitless opportunity to the talented starship pilots of New Eden as the roots of conflict spread deep for their lifeblood.

Players have great things to look forward to in EVE Online: Quantum Rise. Corporations will be able to set their products apart from the rest by building trust in their goods through customizable storefronts. The backbone of EVE’s vibrant economy, industrial ships are being rebalanced and optimized to better suit the needs of haulers and industrialists-including the latest edition to the fleet, a massive capital industrial ship dubbed the Orca. A new certificate system will give a quick and verifiable means to discern a pilot’s skill level in trading, gunnery or countless other professions, providing plenty of bragging rights. Meanwhile, the introduction of a medal system allows corporations to distinguish their most valued pilots and honor them for their achievements.

The staged delivery of EVE Online: Quantum Rise began with the recent implementation of technological breakthroughs such as StacklessIO and EVE64 which upgraded the server hardware and streamlined communication between server and client to severely reduce lag. The reality of thousands of ships simultaneously engaged in adrenaline-charged combat is at hand and several fleet battles have already been fought using this new technology. Emboldened by the significant effects these improvements bring to high-level gameplay, CCP will push forward with a myriad of hardware and server improvements to bring the most massive player vs player experience available, expanding a boundless universe into a limitless one.

“We are very proud to be delivering this expansion, both in terms of features and the sheer performance increases made possible by deep refactoring of selected portions of our network and server code, complimented with the finest hardware we could find,” says Torfi Frans Ólafsson, Senior Producer of EVE Online. “I can’t imagine a better game where you can engage hundreds of people simultaneously in highly immersive tactical combat or simply sit back and make millions off of the conflict via research, manufacturing or logistics. You choose your destiny; that’s the beauty of it.”
Further features also include:

Weapon linking to make your onslaught easier
Continuations of the massive Trinity graphics update
Changes to autopilot routes and avoidance techniques
More to be revealed in the coming weeks

A full list of features will be available soon at http://www.eveonline.com/.

Availability:

EVE Online: Quantum Rise will be available for subscribers as a free download at www.eveonline.com/download. Non-subscribers should visit the EVE website to sign up for a free 14-day trial account.
About EVE Online

Set tens of thousands of years in the future, EVE Online is a breathtaking journey to the stars, to an immersive experience filled with adventure, riches, danger and glory. With nearly a quarter of a million subscribers worldwide inhabiting the same virtual universe, EVE features a vast player-run economy where your greatest asset is the starship, designed to accommodate your specific needs, skills and ambitions. EVE offers professions ranging from commodities trader to mercenary, industrial entrepreneur to pirate, mining engineer to battle fleet commander or any combination of these and much more. From brokering business deals to waging war, you will have access to a diverse array of sophisticated tools and interfaces to forge your own destiny in EVE. Learn more and sign up for a free trial at www.eveonline.com.
Definition of Subscribers

EVE Online subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active electronic time code (ETC) to play EVE Online, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions and expired ETCs.

Lord of the Rings Online Fishing

As promised, Lord of the Rings Online’s Book 13 update included fishing!

Woot, fishing!

For no good reason, I have done fishing in every MMO I have played that made some sort of angling mechanic available. I have had characters with fishing skills at the cap in EverQuest, EverQuest 2, and World of Warcraft.

Therefore I knew when Turbine announced fishing for LOTRO, I would be there.



Friday night I found the NPC that grants the fishing skill in Bree. He sends you off to another NPC in Staddle, by the pond of course, who finishes up the “how to” and will sell you some bait.

LOTRO follows the WoW model, where bait enhances your ability to catch fish, but is not required. This is compared to EQ where, at least back in the day, you needed bait for every cast and EQII where not only don’t you need bait, but you don’t even need a fishing pole. One just appears miraculously when you need it.

Equipping my new pole (and hat), I was soon fishing.

In my usual haste to get to the good part, I skipped through all the… well… words… and just started casting. So it took me a minute or two to figure out that you have to hit the fishing action button both to cast your line AND to reel in a fish when you get a strike.

I noticed other people making the same mistake, so I passed along that tidbit wherever it seemed appropriate.

And speaking of getting a strike, LOTRO’s fishing, like so much in the game, is a quality experience. You actually see a fish in the water approach your bobber and take the bait. Granted, it seems to always been the SAME fish, one that bears almost no relation to what you actually end up catching, but it is a damn good looking fish, there in the water, and it makes the experience that much richer.

So far I have caught weeds, goldfish, minnows, and, no doubt in homage to EQ fishing, rusty daggers! (Too bad my weaponsmith cannot sharpen them for skill improves.) All of them are vendor trash as far as I can tell.

Of course, also like real fishing, once you find a decent spot where the fish are biting, everybody else in the world seems to show up.

Exclusive Reviews?

Recently we pointed to IGN’s perfect 10 review of GTA4. I couldn’t be more excited about the game, however, some critics have a point: Isn’t the concept of exclusive reviews suspicious? Obviously, such an early exclusive review drives web traffic for the news site and creates influential early impressions among consumers.

Do exclusive reviews represent a clear conflict of interest?


A few points:

Any pre-release review released with exclusive publishing rights, while other media outlets are under embargo restrictions, is obviously pre-screened. Even if all reviews were genuine and pure, the publisher is going to cherry pick among them and only grant exclusive-coverage deals to the more positive ones.
Since game scores and media coverage is so influential, especially among the “inner circle” of influential media outlets, some corruption should be expected. There’s a clear conflict of interests. Publishers pour time/money into shifting media converage to a favorable light, and why wouldn’t they?
IGN’s scores are widely respected for a good reason. They have earned a strong reputation among many over years of review scores. (Clearly, many disagree, but in general, they have earned high credibility). I still haven’t played GTA4, but I lean to believe that the review is justified. I’m sure that plenty of reviewers engage in corrupt coverage practices, however I’d suspect IGN is less guilty of this given their record.