21
Oct
2011
Engadget: We’d imagine come November 13th, the above will be the scene inside many a PS3 owner’s house. That’s when Sony’s hot little 24-inch PlayStation 3D display will officially be available in the US, Canada, Europe and parts of Asia. Sony took to its US PlayStation Blog today with the news, along with a lengthy FAQ to keep your GAS at bay in the meantime. (more…)
09
Jul
2010
3D Radar: Sony believes that people looking at what console to buy should take into consideration that the PlayStation 3 is ‘futureproofed in terms of 3D.’
Speaking at TechRadar at a John Lewis event, Sony’s Mick Hocking, senior director at SCEE, is keen to get the message out that the PS3 is becoming 3D ready for free, so that anyone with the console and a 3D Ready TV can take advantage.
“The message we are trying to get out there is that if you have a PlayStation 3 you don’t have to do anything it connects and downloads the firmware upgrade and it’s 3D ready,” Hocking told TechRadar.
“If you are going to choose a console then it’s future-proofed in terms of 3D.”
Adoption like HD
Hocking believes that adoption of 3D in the living room will be similar to the steady rise of HD, and believes that manufacturers and content providers will ensure that, this time, the technology will make a major impact.
“I think adoption is going to be like HD,” said Hocking, “But it delivers a lot more than HD and people need to see it to understand it.
“We think it’s going to bring a great deal to gaming and 3D games are here to stay now.
“3D’s been around for 180-odd years and its come and gone a few times, but now we have high-res technology, we have performance in the consoles and we can deliver content.
“Broadcasters, filmmakers, camera makers, camcorder manufacturers – they are all behind it because they see it as a way to sell more hardware.
“Content providers are incentivised to do it because they think ‘we have a new creative media to wow audiences’.”
18
Jun
2010
Electronista: Sony in a quiet E3 move said it has developed an add-on audio system for the PS3 that provides surround sound for games, Blu-ray movies, and other stereoscopic 3D content. The ZVS1 soundbar connects to the PS3 by optical digital cable and provides virtual Dolby or DTS surround across a 2.1-channel system. It caters to gamers with a Night Mode to cut down on audio passing through the room but can put out up to 30W of sustained bass and 10W for each stereo channel.
The unit also has an analog input to connect other devices and has its own remote to control volume and settings independently of the PS3 or another host system. Sony expects to ship the device worldwide sometime in fall 2010. The expected US retail price is $199.
19
Dec
2008
PCMag.com: A report from the NPD Group shows a large disparity between sales of the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. One obvious reason is the difference in price, but Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter suggests that the difference is also due to the sagging sales of HDTVs.
“We believe that PS3 sales are being impacted by lower demand for HD televisions as a result of the recession,” Pachter said via GamesIndustry.biz.
However, it’s not all bad news for Sony. Pachter also said he expects sales to pick up throughout the first half of 2009, due to increased interest in PS3 exclusives and the system’s Blu-ray player.
“We believe that several PS3 exclusives, notably LittleBigPlanet, along with focus on the Blu-ray will drive hardware sales over the next six months,” he said.
05
Dec
2008
Electricpig: Pioneer’s 16 layer 400GB Blu-ray discs will work on current Blu-ray players including the Sony PS3, the company has clarified.
Because of its hard drive storage for firmware updates, that leaves the PS3 as still probably one of the best future-proof Blu-ray players out there.
As we previously announced, Pioneer plans to launch to produce read-only 400GB Blu-ray discs somewhere between now and 2010, then work on rewriteable discs to arrive by 2012, and then it will work to double capacity to 1TB discs in 2013.
27
Nov
2008
Techradar: Sony PlayStation’s US division has moved quickly to dismiss reports from earlier this week, emerging from anonymous sources apparently within Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, that the company had plans to slash the price of the PlayStation 3 around March 2009.
While both Microsoft’s various Xbox 360 packages and Nintendo’s Wii are pretty competitively priced right now, Sony has stuck to its guns on pricing.
Sony has constantly come under attack from some quarters for its strategy on PS3 pricing.
Following the rumours of a planned PS3 price cut emerging yet again this week, a Sony Computer Entertainment America rep told Edge:
“There are no plans for a price reduction on PS3 in March 09, and anything reported on or discussed otherwise is purely rumour or speculation.”
28
Oct
2008
HDTV UK: Sony talking up Blu-ray is not a new concept, but the company’s marketing and public relations manager, Mark Levitan, has said that Blu-ray will be a decisive factor in promoting the PS3 over other games consoles.
“…you have to say to yourself, if you’ve bought an HDTV, 1080p resolution is important to you so maybe you want a Blu-ray player. If that’s something you’re considering, then obviously you’re going to pick a PS3.
You can go to any chain store and pick up a Blu-ray player but for an extra 100 bucks, you can get a PS3,” he said.
14
Oct
2008
Eurogamer: Sony has released the details for the latest round of firmware updates for its platforms, listing a number of improvements for both PS3 and PSP usability.
The PS3 receives the bigger list of presents, with a few tweaks to existing services, as well as some completely new features. Of most interest, probably, is the addition of a high-quality mode for the bluetooth headset, a piece of kit which will see much use in the forthcoming SOCOM. The new HQ mode allows for clearer voice chat, as well as some nifty immersion features for SOCOM which will filter chat according to your in-game proximity to the speaker.
Friend lists, Trophies and the PSN store are also being given a bit of a facelift, with extra information more easily available as well as some added functionality – such as Trophy comparisons to fuel your sledging.
There are also a raft of tech changes, allowing power-saving for both the console and the controllers, and the taking and sharing of screenshots from compatible games. Videos can now be split into ‘scenes’ at the touch of a button to enable easier skipping.
The PSP’s firmware 5.0 update is less expansive but does offer the chance to sign into, and completely manage, your PSN account from the handheld. You’ll be able to grab games directly from the PlayStation store to your PSP too.
03
Sep
2008
Register Hardware: PlayStation 3 gaming looks set to become yet more immersive, because Sony has launched a Bluetooth headset for the console.
The CEJH-15002 looks like most mobile phone Bluetooth headsets, with a hook for fixing the wireless communicator around your ear.
However, the PS3-branded Bluetooth 2.1+EDR device enables online gamer-to-gamer chats within a range of upcoming titles, including SOCOM: Confrontation and Resistance 2.
The PS3 headset will sit in standby for about 300 hours and has a talk time of roughly eight hours. Its maximum PS3 communication range is 10m.
09
Jul
2008
ElectricPig: The Nintendo Wii might be winning the console war but there could soon be a new leader. Sony’s Playstation 3 is catching up. Is this the beginning of the end for the motion-sensing one?
Well, not quite yet. The Wii is still outselling the PS3 in Japan by 1.7 to 1, but that’s a severe decrease from the 6 to 1 battering it was handing out in May.
According to mag publisher, Enterbrain, Ninty sold 235,990 Wii’s in the five weeks ending June 29, while Sony sold 139,494 PS3’s.
Grand Theft Auto and Metal Gear Solid 4 have no doubt helped recent PS3 sales, so whether Sony can close the gap further remains to be seen.
07
Jul
2008
PSX Extreme: By now, you’re all well aware of the fact that the high-definition movie format war is over: Blu-Ray is the clear victor, and HD-DVD has admitted defeat. Now, in retrospect, it seems the PlayStation 3 was – perhaps not surprisingly – the driving force behind such a speedy victory.
According to the annual report by the Entertainment Merchants Association, they have said that the PS3 “is the primary driver behind Blu-Ray sales, with 87% of PS3 owners watching Blu-Ray movies on their console.” This is the very same organization that called Blu-Ray the losing format back in 2006, but now, due very much in part to the PS3, everything has changed. Furthermore, in looking down the road, they have issued the following prediction: through 2009, the PS3 will remain the “main force” behind Blu-Ray disc sales, at least until the standalone BD players begin to outstrip the PS3…and that might take a while to happen. The PS3 continues to sell well as it gains ground on the competition and is helped along by the likes of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. In the future, many analysts are predicting that the PS3 will win the console war (eventually).
24
Jun
2008
PS³: A new survey conducted by Experian has revealed that PS3 owners are the oldest of this generation.
The highest level of appeal for Sony’s console fell among the 44 year-olds and above.
Comparatively, the Xbox 360 was most popular among 35-44 year-olds and the Wii between 18-24 year-olds, although it was noted that the appeal lessened significantly as the age ranges increased.
The study also found that PS3 and Xbox 360 owners were more likely to read video game magazines.