At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco today, Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) unveiled two unique PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) titles: “Home,” a real-time, networked 3D avatar-based community that serves as a meeting place for PS3 users from around the world, and “LittleBigPlanet™”, a community-based game where users play, create and share what they build with other worldwide PS3 users. These new networked titles are part of the “Game 3.0” vision introduced during a keynote by Phil Harrison, President, Worldwide Studios, Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE)...more click on heading

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New games and services for the PlayStation 3 will be making their global debut in the keynote address by Sony's worldwide studios boss Phil Harrison at the Game Developers Conference, Sony has confirmed.

In a statement issued today, the firm revealed that Harrison's speech, titled "Game 3.0: Developing and Creating for the 3rd Age of Videogames", will include "live demonstrations of previously un-announced services and games for the PS3".

While the unveiling of new game software for the console will obviously be welcomed, the key phrase in that statement may well be "services" - since speculation has been rife in the past week that the company will unveil a major new expansion of its online services in the keynote...more click on heading

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Wii and DS have generated great excitement due to their alternative game control interfaces, but the biggest opportunity could come from mobile phones.

In his GDC Mobile session, Using Touch, Sight and Gesture in Mobile Games, developer and academic Paul Coulton showed just a few of the innovative ways mobiles could be used to play new kinds of games.

RFID technology is known as an alternative to cash, and is used in shopping cards around the world. Mobile phones are increasingly being marketed which act as ‘cash’ in themselves. Users simply swipe their mobiles across RFID tags in order to make micro-payments...more click on heading

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Phil Harrison, President of Sony Corporation Entertainment Worldwide Studios has been copping a battering of late.  Most recently over the announcement that the PAL version of the PS3 will not have the close-to-full backwards compatibility with PS2 and PSone games originally promised. 

Put that on top of the lack of “rumble”, Price, quibbles over whether the console is selling well, just shipping badly or just sitting on shelves in the US and Japanese markets.

Like a punch drunk fighter, Harrison is lifting his battered body off the canvas and coming back flailing at his opponents.  Harrison acknowledges that Sony has made recent PR mistakes, and that it is willing to learn from these to provide a more open discussion on the technology road-map for PS3...more click on heading

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Atari, Inc. has announced that Bullet Witch for the Xbox 360 has shipped to retailers across North America. Published in partnership with Japanese publisher AQ Interactive Inc., Bullet Witch is rated M for Mature and is available for a suggested retail price of $49.99.

Developed by Japan-based Cavia, Bullet Witch is set on a bleak planet Earth in the year 2013 with human kind on the brink of extinction and hideous demons creating a tidal wave of destruction and havoc...more click on heading

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The PlayStation 3 going on sale in Europe next month will play only some of the games for its predecessor video game machine - a move designed to cut costs and speed up production.

Backward compatibility with PlayStation 2 has been billed as a major feature for the PlayStation 3 that went on sale late last year in the US and Japan.

But packing the machine with two expensive computer chips to play both PS2 and upgrade PS3 games has been racking up costs for the money-losing PS3, a big reason behind Sony Corp's flagging earnings lately...more click on heading

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Namco Bandai Games has announced that it's set to bring the next instalment in the Tycoon simulation series, Space Station Tycoon, to Nintendo's Wii midway through 2007, in collaboration with developer Wahoo Studios.

Like those before it, the game's about building and maintaining things to earn cash. The catch this time though, is that obviously, players will be running space stations, alongside a cast of over 30 zany characters, a humourous and evolving story, co-op mode, and more...more click on heading

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Media analyst predict that Sony still has a good shot at being the global market leader in the console gaming industry by 2010, despite the negative buzz its PlayStation 3 console often draws. The competition will certainly be closer this time around, but the clout the PlayStation brand name enjoys cannot be discounted.

"While the previous generation was quickly dominated by Sony's PlayStation 2 across all major territories, this time we anticipate a more competitive situation where market share is likely to be split on a territorial basis...more click on heading

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Electronic Arts has made the announcement that Mercenaries 2 is no longer going to be an exclusive game for the Sony PlayStation 3 console and is also headed to the Xbox 360.

The original Mercenaries was an amazing hit as it offered gamers the ability to go around in the ulimate gaming playground to destroy virtually anything they want. Mercenaries 2 has a gameplay system revolving around the idea that you should blow up just about anything in site.  The game is also being developed for the PS2 and PC and is also being rumored now to be heading to the Nintendo Wii platform...more click on heading

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Electronic Arts is developing an exclusive rhythm game for Nintendo's Wii, according to RandomNintendo, who says the currently-unnamed project will be a brand new property.

The project is apparently being developed at EA's Montreal Studio, and will see players take control of dancers by gesturing with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, in a similar fashion to Konami's Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party, but without any trademark dance mat...more click on heading 

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SEGA® of America Inc. today announced that Sonic and the Secret Rings™ has shipped for the popular Wii™ system. Built specifically to take full advantage of the revolutionary Wii Remote™, Sonic and the Secret Rings delivers one of the most intuitive and engaging Sonic adventures to date. Rated “E” for Everyone, Sonic and the Secret Rings, delivers an innovative and interactive gameplay experience for Sonic fans of all ages...more click on heading

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IBM and Vivendi Games are teaming up to discuss just how underutilized the Cell Broadband Engine (B.E.)is that currently comes in the PlayStation 3 gaming console.

To address the issue, engineers from IBM and developers from Vivendi Games will gather at Vivendi's High Moon Studios in Carlsbad, Calif., for a two-day "jam session" beginning Wednesday, according to IBM. Software development platform provider RapidMind, also an IBM Cell blade customer, will also take part in the conference. (IBM Cell blades use the same microprocessor as PS3s.) ...more click on heading

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Today Nintendo adds four new classic games to the popular Wii video game system's Wii Shop Channel. The games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the channel every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week's new games are:  ...more click on heading

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KOEI, recognized worldwide as the premier brand of strategy and action games, this week announced that SAMURAI WARRIORS 2 EMPIRES has reached gold status. The Tactical Action game set in Feudal Japan will be available for both the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system. Consumers can purchase the game at many North American retailers beginning February 28, 2007...more click on heading

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Microsoft is fighting a makor PR battle in the UK after the BBC "Watchdog" program claimed that it had received a lot of complaints from customers about faulty Xbox 360 consoles.

According to UK web site, Playfuls the "red ring of death" is considered among the Xbox community as the final stage in life of an Xbox 360 gaming console. The device displays the ring when there is a fatal hardware problem that cannot be fixed...more clickon heading

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