Filtered: Gamescom 09

I’ve been catching up on all of the announcements focusing on the PlayStation brand at Gamescom 09.  I’d like to share with you a list news items that have caught my eye and what I think about them:

  • PS3 Slim– About time!  The reduced price has been needed for months, the brand cleanup is a wise move, and Sony have finally found a voice with their marketing campaign!
  • LocoRoco Midnight Carnival– I’m a die-hard LocoRoco fan, and this upcoming PSN download looks really… well, fun!  New gameplay mechanics should keep things fresh.
  • PlayStation Home update– universal game launching from within Home looks quite compelling, but there are still numerous problems with accessing Home for some people: downloading areas, connection issues etc, that might prevent them from utilising this functionality.
  • Digital Comics Store for PSP– I’ve got to hand it to Sony- this looks pretty damn sweet!  Why has it taken this long though?!  Unfortunately though, it’s only for the US at the moment.  Boo.  Hiss.
  • New Uncharted 2 footage goes without saying *drools*
  • Firmware 3.0– Hopefully this should expose ‘what’s new’ on the PlayStation Store, and across the PlayStation Network, helping people feel more connected to the PlayStation community and kept up-to-date with what’s going on.  The rest of the firmware update is incidental in my opinion.
  • LittleBigPlanet Water!– This should be a very interesting new game mechanic, and may persuade me to visit LittleBigPlanet once again.

And that’s it!  If there’s anything I’ve missed, I’ve either forgotten about it, or I’m not really bothered about it.

Talking Heads: Social Gaming- Is the PS3 Disconnected?

In what I hope to be the first of many different formats and collaberations on this blog, I talk to fellow gamer Rockers Delight about social gaming and how the PS3 compares against the Xbox 360 in this regard.  In the following transcript Los Havros will be denoted with LH and Rockers Delight with RD.

LH: Thanks for taking time out to have a chat!  We’re going to be talking about the PS3 and its lack of social connectivity.  I have to admit, I’m a bit confused here.  I couldn’t help but notice some of your recent tweets noting that for you the PS3 user experience feels a bit ‘disconnected’, ‘unsociable’… your ‘loner console’.

I find this area of debate fascinating, but could you expand on what you mean.  Is it simply a lack of cross-game chat, or is it more?

RD: Hey, Los Havros! You are indeed right, more than once I’ve referred to the PlayStation 3 as my ‘loner console’, most recently spurred by a 360 gamer switching to PS3 and Tweeting the same thing.

Let me point out, though, that despite my feelings of solitary with my PS3, all my real life friends are in fact PS3 gamers, not 360. So, despite being new to the console, I do actually have a decent-sized friends list.

It’s difficult to know where to start, and to also refrain from sharing all my thoughts on this at once. To sum up how social a console the 360 can be, it feels like you’re missing a leg if not connected to Xbox Live. PS3, on the other hand, wouldn’t make much difference to me if I was playing online or offline.

The fact the PlayStation 3 is sold without any device for communicating is a good starting point. It shows that connectivity between gamers isn’t a priority for Sony, unlike Microsoft who box every console with a basic headset.

Continue reading Talking Heads: Social Gaming- Is the PS3 Disconnected?

PlayStation.Blog.Europe now live

PlayStation.Blog.Europe now live– These guys are my new best friends in the world of PlayStation news.  Billed as “Your daily fix of PlayStation news from across the SCEE region”, I look forward to reading all the great content that’s going to be hitting my screen from now on.  Fantastic.

PixelJunk Eden Encore Launching on PSN this Thursday

PixelJunk Eden Encore Launching on PSN this Thursday– I’m thinking I need to get this.  Been playing a lot of Eden lately, but need to complete more of the original game before splurging out on Encore.  See also- Joystiq coverage, official site.

Why PS3 backup and restore system needs an overhaul

Updated January 2009

You can think of this as part 2 of my previous post, ‘An insight into how faulty PS3s are dealt with‘.  That article dealt with the straightforward replacement of a faulty console and the issues surrounding warranties.  This article deals with backing up the data of your PS3, and when things go wrong…

Continue reading Why PS3 backup and restore system needs an overhaul

An insight into how faulty PS3s are dealt with

The incident

At the weekend I was playing LittleBigPlanet but after I had completed a particular level, instead of the next one loading up the screen went totally white and the system seemed to freeze.  The PS3 then restarted and spat out the disc.  I’d had enough gaming for one night anyway, so I turned the system off and went away.

I came back to the PS3 the following day only to find that none of my PS3 disks would load.  It was the same with DVDs and CDs.  I have to admit, I then panicked.  But it was weird because apart from that, the rest of the PS3 worked totally fine.  I could play games that were on the hard disk, connect to the PlayStation Network, and browse the PlayStation Store.  But what use is a PS3 that won’t load game disks?

Continue reading An insight into how faulty PS3s are dealt with

Confidential Sony Computer Entertainment annual staff briefing leaked

Confidential Sony Computer Entertainment annual staff briefing leakedSCE aren’t going to be best pleased at this.  What are my favourite points?  The growth and success of the PlayStation Network, the fact that the PS3 actually does have a bigger install base in PAL territories than the Xbox 360, (despite having to cater for many different languages) SCEE rakes in more profit than either SCEA or SCEJ, and my favourite one of all- Uncharted 2!!