Despite the excellent showing of Eye of Judgement and the obvious fun of the Singstar competition, there was a really good reason not to go to Comic-Con this year.

For more of the same, and to see some even scarier adults dressed up as your favourite game characters, hop over to the official Playstation Blog...

Labels: Comic-Con, news, Playstation 3, PS Eye, PS3

PS3 Attitude now has a YouTube channel...

Granted, there's not much in there at the moment but you will find the LocoRoco video I found if you swing by...

I need subscribers and friends, so if you have a YouTube account please drop by and subscribe to the channel and add me as your friend! Thanks!

Labels: LocoRoco, news, Playstation 3, PS3, video

I couldn't make it down to the Develop Conference this time around, which was especially galling as it was held only 40 minutes away from where I live... oh well.

Fresh from the show though here's a trailer of LocoRoco Cocoreccho as it will be called in Europe at least - otherwise known as LocoRoco 2 or Buu Buu Cocoreccho by LocoRoco. Regardless of what you call it in your region, the gameplay looks as great as ever and check out the numbers in the top left corner... yes, that's up to 200 LocoRocos on screen and under your control at once! Crazy!

Labels: Develop Conference, LocoRoco, news, Playstation 3, PS3

In an interview with ShackNews, Insomniac's Ryan Schneider explains that a Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction demo is finished and ready for the Playstation Store.

"Well, our E3 demo is certainly finished and media have received copies of it for preview coverage. What Sony chooses to do with it, and when, it really is in their hands. The demo is finished - I mean, you saw it [at E3], you played it - and when it comes out, we have a rough idea, but you never know. I think the PlayStation Store is a fluid storefront, and anything can happen."

In the interview, Ryan also explains that there is more Resistance content on the way after good feedback and sales of the recently launch map pack.

He goes on to explain that Ratchet & Clank will also use the PSN in some way, but says it won't be in the form of cheesy weapons upgrades.

With most games using the PSN to show worldwide or regional high scores, I would have thought that is a 'given', but Insomniac have a habit of doing things we don't fully expect so I'm hoping they'll come up with something much more original. Time will tell...

Labels: news, Playstation 3, PS Store, PS3, PSN, Ratchet and Clank, Resistance

One of the more colourful characters in the development world announced today that after 14 years he is moving on from "the mothership" - as he calls it - and is going it alone.

Yes - today is David Jaffe's last day at Sony. But this isn't the end - think of it as a new beginning. In 'God of War' terms, he's kind of going from Omega back to Alpha to start all over again.

You see, David Jaffe and Scott Campbell have set up a new third-party development company called EAT SLEEP PLAY.

As he explains on his own blog, whilst we won't see any new IP until 2008 they will be working on a port of Twisted Metal: Head On, taking it from the PSP to the PS2.

EAT SLEEP PLAY have a three-title deal to produce output for Playstation platforms only.

Personally, I think David is a bit of a star. He always speaks his mind (which I like) and comes up with interesting and innovative ideas in between drinking sessions! I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do with the PS3 over the course of the next year or so.

Labels: news, opinion, Playstation 3, PS3

Us men have been telling women for years that size really doesn't matter.

Amazingly the first proof that they're actually listening to us comes from a fictional, computer-generated woman called Nariko.

The Heavenly Sword demo that weighed in at a massive 1Gb yesterday is in reality a very short but sweet experience.

It took me less than five minutes to run through the demo first time around. This is certainly no 'button-masher' like God of War - the game Heavenly Sword mostly is compared with - since the control mechanism requires more finesse than that.

You just about get used to the different 'stances' and the 'auto-block' mechanics when the demo abruptly ends and you are sent flying back to the main menu.

Although it is a shame the demo is over so quickly, the visuals look more stunning in full flow than I imagined they would (even after seeing all the trailers) and the gameplay feels excellent.

Whilst the 'controls' menu explains how the SixAxis will be used (controlling the camera and the flight of objects such as arrows) it would have been nice to include this in the demo so we could get a feel for it.

But overall the demo does make me feel like I want more rather than feeling cheated. You could say Nariko is just teasing us...

Labels: Heavenly Sword, news, Playstation 3, PS3

Some people are reporting that the long-awaited in-game XMB access will be coming along in the next update. Mind you, some people are still reporting that it came along in this one!

I'm less optimistic, since I've seen what it takes at the sharp end to actually develop and test this stuff.

But the important news is that Sony are listening and they are developing the features we want to see. On the official PlayStation blog the following statement has been added to the recent firmware announcement:

Also, I noticed a lot of your comments were directly related to accessing XMB features in-game. We understand this is something you want and we are working on it. For the sake of keeping all the comments below on topic, please understand that we hear this request and are working toward a solution. When I have some more info to share on this, know that I will do so here on this blog.

Excellent news and very welcome too. Thanks Sony!

Labels: firmware, news, Playstation 3, PS3

Not only is the PS3 outselling the Xbox 360 again, according to last week's sales figures, but the gap is widening.

As we reported last week the PS3 had sold 41,005 units two weeks ago, with the Xbox 360 selling 35,084.

Last week the PS3 managed to increase it's weekly units to 45,101 and the X360 dropped to 32,345, making the gap wider this time around.

The good news for MS? They did manage to sell 26 of the original Xbox in the States which is a huge increase on the previous week's total of 11!

Labels: Hardware, news, Playstation 3, PS3

Here's the footage of MGS4 being played by Hideo Kojima at the recent MGS 20th Anniversary party.

We were hoping to have had this video last week when Kojima-san originally performed the demonstration, but it's good to have it now.

Enjoy!

Video requires Windows Media Player or similar that will understand how to play ASX files.

Labels: MGS4, news, Playstation 3, PS3, video

Ready for some actual advance notice of PSN titles in Europe? Yes? Good news...

The big update this week is the Heavenly Sword demo. I am looking forward to this more than a kid waiting for Santa to visit on Christmas Eve.

Check out the full list of content due to hit the PSN in Europe on the 26th:

PS One games:

• Crash 2
• Spyro 2
• Medievil
• Wipeout 2097

PS3 Demos:

• Heavenly Sword

PS3 Trailers:

• Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
• GT5 Prologue

Labels: Heavenly Sword, news, Playstation 3, PS3, PSN

If you're wondering what you ought to plaster all over your XMB tomorrow, head on over to this post at the US PlayStation forums where you'll find they've been good enough to start a thread that has dozens, nay hundreds, of suitable candidates.

Enjoy!

Labels: firmware, news, Playstation 3, PS3

The hotly anticipated 1.90 firmware upgrade has already seen the light of day in Japan, and is due to form a lasting friendship with European machines tomorrow.

So what actually is in the update, and how close were we with our predictions?

• Ability to rearrange games on the XMB
• Option menu now includes "eject disc"
• Press triangle on the XMB to eject the disc
• XMB backgrounds
• Change the folder classification
• Emoticons
• Change CD output to 44.1/88.2/176.4kHz
• Force 24Hz output for Blu-ray over HDMI
• Change PS3 video settings in-game
• "Bit Mapping" in the "Music Setting"
• Save AVCHD type animations from a Memory Stick
• Change settings like upscaling while playing PS and PS2 games
• Add bookmarks
• Web browser security function in the browser's tool section
• Avatar moves during audio visual chat

Other than the 'Theme Settings', or as it is put here 'XMB Backgrounds', pretty much everything else we and the rest of the 'net predicted was off the mark. Nice!

I'll stick to playing the National Lottery - I've got a better chance of getting it right...

Labels: firmware, news, Playstation 3, PS3

Check out this stunning stop-frame animation designed to showcase the PSP. It features PS3 connectivity in a unique way and overall comes across a lot better than any of Sony's recent advertising...




PSP "Come To Life" Animation - video powered by Metacafe

Labels: news, Playstation 3, PS3, PSP, video

As ever, our friends at PS3 Fanboy have done their round-up of the week's releases. Here's what the PS3 has going for it this week...

US Games

• Nascar 08

EU Games

• No new releases (Booooo!)
  

Asian Games

• Minna no Golf 5
• Wangan Midnight
• Major League Baseball 2K7

There's also a Minno no Golf 5 bundle pack in Japan (or Hot Shots 5 as we call it).

Labels: news, Playstation 3, PS3

Whilst Dragon Quest IX for the DS holds on to the top spot, and with Halo 3 re-entering the top 20 most wanted titles at Famitsu (position 19 in fact) , the PS3 has 8 of the 20 titles Japanese consumers want most.

In the top 5, four of them are PS3 franchises. FF XIII leads the way followed by Biohazard 5 (or Resident Evil 5 as we know it), Monster Hunter 3 and MGS 4.

The full list is available from Total Gamer Zone.

Labels: FFXIII, MGS4, news, Playstation 3, PS3, Resident Evil 5

In this new video detailing the making of Lair a few details jump out at you.

Firstly, it is revealed that the storyline includes a world where the environment has taken over, and Factor 5 elude to the fact that they wanted to bring in a parallel with the environmental issues we face today. The story also includes a character who is 'fighting a war he doesn't want to fight'. More real-world parallels.

What is most interesting to hear is how Factor 5 have only managed to get 90% of what they wanted to achieve done in time for release, and how they have only managed to figure out how to get to 50% of what the PS3 can do!

So, hundreds of dragons, thousands of troops, real lighting effects with sunrises and sunsets, real fog, realtime water etc. etc. and they're only at 50% capacity. Looks like the future for PS3 is brighter than ever...

Labels: Lair, news, Playstation 3, PS3

The Develop Conference is nearly upon us, taking place on the 24th to 26th July in Brighton, UK.

Adding to the list of speakers already announced, we're going to hear what the director of LocoRoco has to say about creating the phenomenon. We hope he will go into details about the PS3 version and what is coming in the next instalment of the popular franchise.

Other keynotes come from Richard Garriott of Tabular Rasa and NCSoft fame,
who will be talking about online gaming in general.

Unfortunately we can't be at Develop this year - just a clash of diaries. If you're going to be at the conference drop us a line at [email protected] so we can publish your take on anything PS3 related.

Labels: Develop Conference, LocoRoco, news, Playstation 3, PS3