PlayStation 3 news, views, reviews and interviews from PS3 Attitude - a daily news site with bite! 100% philanthropic website - all revenues derived are donated to charity...
Monday, 22 September 2008
PS3 Slim one step closer to reality
We have a sneaky feeling that you love your PS3. It gives so much yet asks for so little in return. After all, all it really desires is some real estate beneath your mammoth HD plasma screen and the giddy tingle of electricity, piped directly into its power source.
The greedy of you out there are probably shaking your heads at this trade-off and thinking: "No, look at the size of the thing! It should take up LESS space, not consume the power of FIVE refrigerators and while you're at it - it should be even CHEAPER!"
Well, obviously Sony agrees with you on this as if it can make a PS3 more power efficient (and smaller) it will save on their build costs thus driving down what you will pay for it on the high-street.
Rejoice! Japan's 日刊工業新聞 (Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun - Daily Business and Technology Newspaper) reports that Sony and Toshiba will go into full scale production of the 45nm cell CPU next year resulting in a cheaper chip that also consumes 40% less power (That's three fridges versus five if you're still counting).
Though Sony have reiterated time and time again that there will be no further PS3 price cuts this year, it's a safe bet that, as soon as their internal costs are driven down by cheaper hardware, they will pass these savings on to a consumer base who are still yet to embrace the PS3 as they have done its predecessor, the PS2. It would also be a good time to redesign the aesthetic of the PS3's monolithic "brick" appearance as we all know people love getting things slimmer and smaller. Our guess is that you should expect to see a PS3 Slim model some time around Fall 2009. Source: Nikkan.co.jp via Engadget.
PS3 Attitude's Comprehensive Leipzig Review, Part 1
Another year, another Leipzig. It's time to re-visit our on-sitecoverage by our guest writer Alexander Chalkidis with some new info from the Leipzig aftermath. Let's begin with part uno:
New 160 GB PS3 SKU The new SKU comes as a bundle for North America this November for $499.99. The Uncharted: Drake's Fortune PS3 bundle includes:
160GB PS3 system (same specs as the current 80GB model)
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
PAIN PLAYSTATION Network voucher
DUALSHOCK 3 Wireless controller
Europeans will enjoy this SKU the 31st of October for €449. Exactly the same specs as the current 80GB offering but will include €70 of PLAYSTATION Network content (expected to vary by territory).
PlayTV launch Dated As we reported earlier, 19th of September is the date you lucky Europeans can (finally) enjoy PlayTV. You may want to check out this recent unboxing for more info.
Little Big Planet Launching on the 29th of October for Europe and in the mysterious date of "October 2008" for America. Join us in our longing for all things LBP here, here, here and of course here.
PS3 Wireless Keypad
Great potential that both first and third party developers will surely overlook (*cough* Touch pad mode*cough*). I hope someone notices. Key features include:
QWERTY keypad designed for fast, thumbs-only typing.
Touch pad mode turns the main key area into a touch pad. When touch pad button is pressed, user can not use the keys for character input but can slide her finger on this area to select something on the screen. On the internet browser, user can see a cursor when this mode is set on.
Dedicated short cut keys provide instant access to text-based communication applications on the PLAYSTATION®Network.
Automatic pairing with the PS3™ system via a USB cable.
Charges by connecting it directly to the PS3™ system using a USB cable.
Bluetooth® 2.0
Up to 33 feet (10 meters) operating range
USB 2.0 full speed (for battery charging and Bluetooth® pairing only)
Free Streaming Music from VidZone VidZone will deliver free streaming music videos to the PlayStation 3. A trial service is scheduled for launch in early 2009 for Europe, Australia and New Zealand (no yankee love). You will be able to stream VidZone’s music videos for free on your PS3 or your PSP via Remote Play. You can even make your own playlists from their vast library. Apparently all of VidZone's features (maybe even more) will be available for PS3 users. There will be a small fee if you want to download songs, music videos or ringtones to your mobile phone though.
David Reeves has confirmed that the 80Gb PS3 enjoyed by our friends across the pond will finally make it to Europe.
The 40Gb model will be phased out and replaced by the 80Gb, which will launch on August 27th. Has the PS3 Attitude Calendar been updated, you ask? Of course!
The unit will cost £299/€399, which is a straight replacement. Double the HDD space for the same price - good times.
Promotional bundles will appear in September and December at various prices. We can all begin to speculate, but I'm guessing that means we can expect a Motorstorm: Pacific Rift and a LittleBigPlanet promo.
Before being able to ask the most obvious question, David Reeves was quoted as saying "don’t ask if we’re going to go down in price on 40GB – the answer is no."
It's been a long time coming, but the Dual Shock 3 is arriving in Europe this week.
SCEE have announced the official release date as 4th July, which is only four days away.
The UK is price is confirmed at £39.99.
As a long-time Dual Shock 3 user, I can tell you I prefer it for every game I play, regardless of whether the title supports vibration or not. It has a slightly heavier but more assured feel to it, and the battery life seems better than any of my original SixAxis controllers.
David Reeves, President of SCEE, has been outlining the direction of the PlayStation 3 in an keynote at the DevStation developer conference in London.
Reeves' prediction is that in this generation of consoles, the PS3 will ship 100 million units. As PS3 Attitude have said countless times, we think this is a completely achievable number.
The PS2, for example, shipped 117+ million units. With the PS3 having outsold the PS2 at the same point in time after release, it is not beyond reason to suggest that the PS3 could actually outsell it's predecessor.
“We see the future in the video games industry, certainly in terms of software sales, as continuing to grow – new markets, new demographics, and new games appealing to new sectors of the industry. And the key to the future is the PlayStation Network. Games put straight onto the PSN are the big opportunity.” - David Reeves, SCEE
During the conference, Reeves also spoke about non-games, Sony's rivals, the continued success of the PS2 and the PSP. You can read the entire piece at MCV.
It seems like now is a good time to remind everyone just how easy it is to upgrade your PS3 hard drive, since I'm now the proud owner of a 250Gb PS3 rather than the 60Gb I started with.
The operation, described beautifully by the guys at VideoJug below, is as easy as you'd expect and despite a stubborn screw that required a pair of pliers, took me all of 7 minutes to complete.
I chose to back up everything to a USB external drive in advance and then restore afterwards. The operation therefore required 90 minutes of backup beforehand, and 90 minutes of restore afterwards. Don't forget to backup all your data before upgrading or you'll lose everything.
Check out the video below to see just how easy it is. Thanks again to Sony for making this a customer installable item...
It is always interesting to hear different points-of-view on sometimes emotive and always bi-polar topics such as PS3 vs. Xbox 360 and Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD.
Things often become more interesting when an 'opinion' is released to the world at the same time as a 'fact' - and that is exactly what has happened today.
Within moments of us reading this piece, Singulus reveal that uptake of their Blu-ray Dual-Layer replication machines are so high, they are well ahead of where DVD production was 11 years ago. They have sold 21 machines in the last quarter alone, which suggests more and more companies are producing Blu-ray disc output - hardly something they would invest in without willing customers.
Mr. Bach's premise is based on people not wanting to pay extra for Blu-ray over and above what DVD upscaling can achieve. Of course, he's forgetting that Blu-ray also offers much higher storage for gaming, a fact not lost on the likes of Hideo Kojima who even makes a joke reference to the storage space in MGS 4.
It is a shame for Mr. Bach that his comments appeared on the same day as the Singulus financial results, but that's the way it goes sometimes.
This video has appeared on YouTube showing what is apparently a forthcoming Sony Ericsson handset, not unlike the Sony Xperia X1 that was recently reported on various gadget sites.
The interesting part? Sony's XMB seems to be coming to yet another device.
You may remember how Phil Harrison demonstrated access to PlayStation Home via his mobile phone back at E3 2007. Now, it looks like those compatible phones will also share a common interface with the PSP and PS3.
PlayStation Day 2008; PlayTV launches in September
David Reeves has confirmed an official launch window and price for PlayTV (finally).
Once again, this is a product we expected would be released soon with SCEE stating 'Spring' launch windows last year. In fact, we did hear PlayTV was priced and dated for a March release not so long ago, but that turned out to be false.
However, it is nice to finally get the definite word from SCEE, and that word is 'September'.
Remember we told you a GTA: IV bundle was definitely coming to play in Europe... well now it is definitely, definitely happening thanks to confirmation by SCEE today.
The so-accurate-you-could-use-it-as-a-targeting-device PS3 Attitude Calendar was spot on once again. Wow!
The price of the bundle will be €439 (£349) which, for a 40Gb PS3 with a standard SixAxis (still no DualShock 3 over here) and a copy of GTA: IV is, in our opinion, a little pricey.
GAME - for example - are taking pre-orders for the bundle at only £319 and that earns you £8 in reward points to spend on future items.
The bundle launches on the 29th April as you'd expect.
GTA: IV European bundle definitely happening; probably PS3 exclusive
You know us - we hate 'rumour'. But aside from SCEE not confirming this to us directly, we have so many other sources that say this is happening it's almost embarassing.
The news is great. A GTA: IV bundle will appear on shelves in Europe the same day as the game arrives - 29th April.
And most of our sources are confirming the answer to the obvious question - is there a PS3 bundle only, or will there be an X360 bundle too?
It seems that to give the PS3 some level of exclusivity after we lost 'episodic content' to Microsoft, the PS3 will indeed be the only console to gain a hardware bundle. Nice.
It's April Fools Day, and you know what that means.
So rather than come up with an elaborate 1st April story ourselves, we thought we'd round up what other sites have been touting as the truth so that you, the loyal reader, can divine the real from the rip-off.
Let's get started with the number one ruse of the day:
1. World of Warcraft coming to consoles - FAKE
The award for this year's 'greatest production values in an April Fool' goes to Blizzard, who not only put up a convincing WoW page for a game called The Molten Core, but also produced a full blown (and pretty funny) trailer for the fake game.
Of course, you'll immediately be tipped off by the features: 'glorious 2D animation' - 'full 192i resolution' - 'move in any of 8 unique directions' - 'has SOUND'...
The game is due to be released for the Atari 2600 platform, according to the site.
I particularly like the 'concept art' versus 'screenshot' section at the bottom of the page. Well worth a visit.
1. CBR 600 motorbike in GT5: Prologue - FAKE
The guys over at PS3 Addict put up a photoshopped picture of a Honda CBR 600 stating that "when you win every event in every class (C,B,A and S), this amazing bike will be delivered to your garage, free of charge."
The fact that they used screenshots that had the wrong icons included on the menu should have been enough to alert everyone to the fakeness of the news, let alone the obvious Photoshop cues and slightly wrong shadow. Still, it's a fun idea.
2. Microsoft own a patent on custom soundtracks - TRUE
Our friends at Ripten found a great piece of news yesterday and immediately it became one of the hottest topics on N4G. Why? Well, because most people called it an April Fool in the comments section!
The fact is, this patent exists and the news is real. However please don't be fooled into thinking that this stops Sony going ahead with custom soundtracks (which, of course, they have already announced will arrive in the Summer).
You can't patent an idea, just a method. Sony can do all the same things as Microsoft but just use a different method. And they can then patent that method also (which they probably already have).
It was still a good story and a great find by Patrick Steen of Ripten, who had this to say about the piece...
"It's not an April Fools. I'm doing more research to confirm the validity of the patent. Some seem to think that it is tied to actual Xbox programming, but since it was filed using Xbox 1 diagrams and then approved in 2006 (when the Xbox 360 had taken over), it is certainly not tied to a particular system and/or software program. As seen in this section of the patent; 'Although the invention has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing the claimed invention'."
3. GTA IV delayed by Byron Review and Grand Theft Childhood - FAKE
Industry veteren Bruce Everiss has a great blog over at Bruce on Games, and he came up with this 'exclusive' this morning.
However, you should have spotted that the names of the spokespeople in the story are all characters from GTA: San Andreas. Carl Johnson. Frank Tenpenny. Melvin Harris. They're all there.
Nice work Bruce, but the wool and my eyes never did meet.
And whilst we're talking about Bruce, we think he tried to make the GTA story more credible ny posting the much more obvious 'Microsoft and Nintendo to merge' story first. Double bluff attempt - denied!
5. Sony launches a $150 PS3 with no Blu-ray drive - FAKE
Over at PSX Extreme they continued their story from yesterday about a new SKU at the FCC with the statement that Sony have announced a $150 PS3.
The reason for the massive price drop? No Blu-ray drive! You can only play downloadable games on this puppy.
You should have been tipped off by the absurdety, but in case you needed a real April Fool clue, the name of the SCEI spokeperson is Aperelli Doorichka. Not only does this person not exist, we're pretty sure that this is the phrase 'April Fool' in a different language.
6. Firmware 4.1 now supports HD-DVD playback - FAKE
Apart from the version number of the firmware being enough to tip us off, the piece contains some nice touches:
When asked why they waited this long to announce these breakthroughs, Microsoft pointed the finger of blame in Sony’s direction saying that Sony only downloaded the 360’s HD DVD emulator when it finally become free. Sony spokespeople responded that they’d have downloaded it months earlier had their Xbox Live account not been banned due to Halo 3 cheating, and mentioned problems using Visual Studio 2008 on their “Vista Capable” workstations.
Good work guys.
Did we miss your favourite? Is there a piece of news you think is fake and you need it checking over? Let us know in the comments...
Two new PS3 bundles are headed to Europe, which is nice but somehow doesn't remove the disappointment of hearing that the MGS4 bundle is not coming to Europe.
The GT5 Prologue pack will be launched in the UK and elsewhere on 29th March, which backs up the GT5 Prologue launch date we have on the PS3 Attitude Calendar. Saturday is an odd date to launch a hardware bundle, but we're inclined to go with it until we hear otherwise, given this is from an official Sony announcement.
The Movie pack will be launched in France and may come to Italy and Spain. It arrives on 19th March (a Wednesday) and there's no word of whether it will be made available in any other European countries as of yet. The pack includes 300, Spiderman 3 and Casino Royale on Blu-ray.
From the same retail conference, we also got word of a US release date for an MGS4 PS3 bundle, the DualShock 3 (April) and the sweet-looking God of War PSP Entertainment Pack (March 4th).
We got word from Ubisoft that Haze is being released in May.
We heard from Sega that the game formerly known as 'Valkyria of the Battlefield: Gallian Chronicles' in Japan will be coming to Europe - exclusively on the PS3 - and will be called 'Valkyria Chronicles'. It will arrive this Autumn.
So what's the bad news?
Looks like the MGS4 bundle and the beautiful GoW PSP are staying US-bound only. SCEE have said there are no plans to bring either to Europe. This - in my opinion - is a mistake on many levels.
By continually launching hardware and software in different forms and guises in different territories, Sony continue the public perception that SCEE, SCEA and SCEJ just don't talk to each other or work as a single unit.
The DualShock 3 has been available in Japan for some time - why wasn't it available everywhere all at once?
Not to mention it was months before us Brits and the rest of Europe got to see the PS3 in the flesh.
And don't get me started on the huge amount of region-free games that have been released elsewhere on the PlayStation Store, but not in Europe.
If Sony want to ride the wave of momentum they have gained from the actual success of the PS3 since launch (reaching 1m units in the UK faster than the PS2, reaching 10m units worldwide faster than the X360 did, the death of HD-DVD) then they need to get rid of the negative things that counteract that success.
So come on Sony - bring the MGS4 packs and the GoW PSP to Europe and show us all that you are a global coordinated organisation, not a group of silo operations.
At Destination PlayStation - a retail-only conference - the news is that MGS4 will arrive on June 12th this year.
June 12th is a Thursday but MGS4 wouldn't be the only title launched on that day of the week this year. Rainbox Six Vegas 2 arrives on a Thursday, and GTA IV has the audacity to join retail shelves on a Tuesday!
Word is that there will beware bundles launched on the same day too, but we're not sure if that is worldwide or just in certain territories.
We're waiting on proper confirmation from Konami, but this sounds like the real deal to us.
PlayTV gets better; no DRM and take-anywhere recordings
As if we're not already chomping at the bit for PlayTV in the UK, we then find out that the recordings it makes can be moved to the video section of the XMB.
These videos are in standard MPEG-2 format with no DRM or copy restrictions whatsoever, which means that you can plug in your favourite flavour of USB or memory card device and copy your recorded programmes for use on any device you like. You can re-encode them on a PC to support pretty much anything.
This is a progressive and welcome move by Sony. The company has been severely burnt in the past with DRM and copy-protection scandals, and in a world where everyone wants to get rid of DRM it's definitely the right move.
Sure, a minority of people will now use the PS3 as the go-between allowing them to put UK TV programmes up for download, but the majority of us will do exactly what this technology is intended for - record and watch the TV we like on any device at a time convenient to us.
Bravo, Sony.
Note: If you have a PSP, PlayTV supports your device with dual encoding and Remote Play features, so this MPEG-2 stuff is more for those of you who want to watch TV on your iPod, mobile phone or Video Walkman.
At the Game Developers Conference today, Logitech announced and unveiled 'the official wheel of Gran Turismo' for the PS3.
Looking much like any other Logitech wheel (and that's a good thing) this new controller is due to arrive in May this year. It will be available in Europe and the US for $149 (£75).
“The Gran Turismo series has always been designed for racing enthusiasts. The Driving Force GT racing wheel was designed to perfection by our team, specifically for the next generation of Gran Turismo.” - Kazunori Yamauchi, President of Polyphony Digital.
According to an article by the Associated Press, the PlayStation 3 has hit the 10.5 million sold mark.
By 'sold' we believe they mean that consumers have actually bought 10.5m PS3s since launch, not that Sony have shipped 10.5m to retailers.
Not only is this great news, it gives Sony a fighting chance of hitting their original target of 11 million units by the end of their financial year (March 31st).
The latest NPD sales figures for the US are in and make interesting reading.
On the software side, Call of Duty 4 is the big PS3 title, selling 140,000 units in January. The Xbox 360 version still tops the charts as it did in December.
But it is the hardware sales figures that tell the story.
Whilst the PS3 on its own sold more than the X360 and nearly as many as the Wii, the PlayStation brand completely ran away with January with all three units selling well.
As you can see from the detail below, in January Sony sold 763,000 units versus Nintendo's 525,000 and Microsoft's 230,000 units.
In December 2007 during the Christmas rush, Sony managed 2.95 million across the PS3, PS2 and PSP whilst Nintendo pushed the Wii and DS to 3.82 million consumers. Microsoft's lone console managed 1.26 million.
The fact that Sony still has strong PS2 sales and does good business with the PSP means the long-term upgrade opportunities keep multiplying. The X360 is a fine console, of course, but since no-one buys a last-gen Xbox any more the possibilities of future 'churn' are limited. The fact is that the Xbox sold 20m units versus the PS2's 117m+ units worldwide.
And PSP sales create opportunities for upgrades too, as users find out all the ways they can use the two devices with each other.
PS3 hits a million in the UK faster than the PS2 did
ChartTrack have confirmed that not only did the PS3 outsell the Xbox 360 across January in the UK, but that our favourite console has broken the 1 million unit mark since it's launch here in March 2007.
The important point here is that the figures expell yet another 'PS3 failure' myth.
The PS3 has reached the UK sales 1 million mark faster than the PS2 did.
Given that the PS2 went on to sell over 117m units worldwide, the future is certainly looking bright for the black monolith (or white, or silver).
We asked if you cared about the PS3 colour choices available in Japan, and the results aren't surprising to me at all.
First of all, our readers probably already have a PS3 so it is likely that they'll be happy with black in any case!
Nevertheless, 65.4% of you feel black is just fine. Of the 34.6% of you who would like to see different colour choices, the majority want every colour possible! 1.9% wanted to see white only, and 3.8% wanted to see silver as the other colour option.
I guessed silver would be more popular than white but maybe us Europeans and Americans who voted are holding out for something really special. Red, anyone?
Qube Software recently announced a new middleware offering for all current platforms including the PS3.
The product, simply named 'Q', is being officially launched at GDC this month. Founded by Servan Keondjian and Doug Rabson, the software pioneers who between them created Reality Lab and Direct3D, and based in West Hampstead (London), Qube has designed and built Q to provide a consistent software framework for development studios.
"We've designed and built Q so it rocks on the current generation of platforms; the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and hi-spec gaming PCs. It positions us well for next generation mobile devices and it’s both fast and compact enough so that last generation devices can handle it. It’s a solution that works for every genre; RPG, MMO, FPS, racing, sports, action and even the latest stars like rhythm action games.” - Servan Keondjian, Managing Director
We caught a few moments with Qube Software's Program Manager, Jamie Fowlston, and asked him 10 questions on 'Q':
[PS3A] What does 'Q' bring to the PS3 development community?
[JF] Q brings a number of high-end technical features to the PS3, including background data streaming for huge seamless worlds, a texture manager that allows scenes to have gigabytes of visible texture and a novel n-dimensional animation blending system.
But Q's real innovation is its extensibility, the extent and ease with which it can be customised and specialised by developers.
Extensibility may be much less glamorous than a shiny graphics feature, but it is vastly more important to the process of creating a game. Q has been designed and built to let developers in at every level so they can make the PS3 hardware sing.
[PS3A] Why is it different to other middleware offerings?
[JF] The real problem for middleware has always been the difficulty of customising it.
Existing middleware typically comes in two flavours: game engines and low-level renderers. Game engines give you a naked game and the tools to clothe it; if the game you're building is similar to the original, it'll work great.
But if a developer wants to do something differently, it takes a huge investment in understanding and re-engineering the original game. For low-level renderers, there's lots of work to be done on top of the renderer to complete the game.
Q is a totally different beast.
Q provides high-level features and tools like a game engine, but it is built from small, modular components. Developers can pick and choose the standard components they like, add their own when necessary and even bring in pieces from other developers. We don't know of any other middleware that gives developers such freedom to mix and match the pieces they need.
[PS3A] What challenges did you face in bringing your platform to the PS3, and how was it different to other platforms?
[JF] We actually found the PS3 pretty easy to work with. I don't recall any major challenges. It took us about a month to get everything up and running.
We brought Q up on a PS2 first to make sure it was small and fast so when we ported to PS3 everything went like a rocket. We had some minor performance issues running expensive shaders on early dev kits, but that's ancient history now.
The Cell is obviously quite different to anything on other platforms, but that's just given us the opportunity to offload various tasks onto the SPUs, which is nice.
[PS3A] Which titles are already in development using 'Q' and are any of the PS3-based?
[JF] I'm afraid we can't say anything about the games in development using Q at the moment as they belong to our customers, not us. But I can say that Q's PS3 capability has played an important part in the decision making process for a number of developers.
[PS3A] After seeing the videos of 'EarthSim 2' my immediate reaction was two words - David Braben! What would it take to bring a next-generation 'Elite' sequel to life using 'Q'?
[JF] Earthsim 2 adds a number of custom plug-ins to Q to bring its planets to life, using dynamic tessellation and procedural detail techniques. To build something like Elite on top of that base wouldn't be hard - the technology's been done, the rest is gameplay!
[PS3A] How well will 'Q' work alongside other exciting middleware offerings, such as the Havok 'ragdoll' physics engine or the forthcoming HydroEngine that allows developers to 'flood' levels with realistic water?
[JF] We haven't worked with those specific middleware offerings, but from our point of view integrating another middleware component is just like a developer adding their own components: it's what Q was designed for.
[PS3A] How many people are there in your team now?
[JF] There are 7 of us working on bringing Q to market right now. There are another 3 engineers on the Earthsim 2 team who make sure what we do is useful.
[PS3A] What's the most amazing part of your life?
[JF] Finding out that BAFTA awards bend when knocked off a table.
[PS3A] Where is the best place to eat in West Hampstead?
[JF] The Banana Tree Canteen: the chicken laksa noodle soup is a marvel.
[PS3A] What does the future hold for Qube and what's at stake if you don't reach your goals?
[JF] We're currently working on Q and Earthsim, we think both projects are now ready to take on the world, so we're working hard to make them successful. If we don't reach those goals, we'll have to see what happens; we're not planning for it!
We'll wait to see what Q has to offer when it is fully launched at GDC. In the meantime, take a look below at the three-part Earthsim 2 run-through.
Many thanks to Jamie and Qube Software for sparing us their time - PS3 Attitude will watch what happens next closely.
Launching on March 6th and selling at ¥39,980 (£189), Japanese PS3 buyers will be able to pick up a new Satin Silver colour choice.
This is going to be the standard 40Gb model but comes bundled with a silver Dual Shock 3 controller instead of the standard, rumble-free SixAxis.
This means that Japan will soon have a choice of Clear Black, Ceramic White and Satin Silver. Over in the UK, we still have the 'Ford' choice of 'any colour, as long as it's black'. For the record (and before you correct me) I already know Ford didn't actually utter those words, ever, but it's a famous non-quote of his so I'm using it!
We know that a white PS3 is on it's way to the US. The question is do we actually want more colours in the UK and Europe? Is black the new black? Or is white/silver the way to go? Take our poll now to tell us how you feel...
[UPDATE] The Satin Silver PS3 will in fact ship with a standard SixAxis. A silver Dual Shock 3 is being released on the same day and will be available for ¥5,500 (£26).
As you may know we try not to do 'rumour and speculation' at PS3 Attitude.
That's why we've held off on talking about the possibility of a 120Gb PS3 whilst the rest of the Internet seems to be all abuzz with suggestions of a new SKU.
But now we do have something concrete to add. SCEE have confirmed that even if a 120Gb device will exist in the near future, it won't be coming to the UK. Bad news?
Well here's the thing. It is so remarkably simple and cheap to upgrade your PS3 internal hard drive (or attach an external USB drive) that existing PS3 owners shouldn't really care all that much anyhow. And new PS3 purchasers will initially be happy with whatever is included safe in the knowledge that they too can upgrade without invalidating their warranty.
I know there are already some choice videos available on how to upgrade your drive so go sniff out your favourite on YouTube. All you need is a 2.5" SATA drive and you're away.
This Friday sees the launch of a new PS3 bundle in the UK.
SCEE are allowing you lucky people to pick up a PS3 with two premium games for only £350, which is a great deal.
Dubbed the 'Pick 'n' Mix' bundle, you can choose from top games such as Uncharted, Ratchet & Clank, Resistance, Motorstorm and even Singstar (with microphones).
So if you were thinking of buying a PS3 in the next four days, we recommend you hang on an extra day and save yourself a bundle.
PS3 helps shift 1 million Blu-ray movies in Europe
Sony have announced that sales of Blu-ray movies in Europe have eclipsed the 1 million unit mark, and they largely have the PS3 to thank for it. Sony have said that the launch of the PS3 in March this year made all the difference to the format's success.
Blu-ray movies now make up around 73% of all HD movie sales in Europe, so BD is clearly leading HD-DVD in this particular region. It's fair to say that in Europe at least, Michael Bay is right on the money.
And it's not just Blu-ray movies that are doing well for the format. When you add in all the Blu-ray based games our favourite console enjoys, the total for all BD disk sales comes to over 21 million units.
That's a lot of blue in a short space of time, wouldn't you agree?!
Whether it's people snapping up the cheaper 60Gb bundle, or the new 40Gb flying out the door, Sony seems to have jumpstarted UK sales of our favourite console by injecting a price drop and a new SKU into the market.
Figures from ChartTrack confirm the 178% spike in sales and it's impressive.
Software sales also spiked with Resistance, Motorstorm and Heavenly Sword all going up or back in to the UK charts.
I still maintain the loss of backwards compatibility is an error without a clear plan to launch a 'premium' model to replace the 60Gb. Sony may, of course, have that clear plan but they're not going to tell anyone since that would halt sales of the 60Gb unit.
With other stories of further SKUs going through the FCC right now, I wouldn't be surprised to see a 120Gb or 160Gb with backwards compatibility next year to help bring the millions of PS2 owners over to the PS3.
In what I can only assume is a moment of madness at Sony, they have confirmed that when the 60Gb PS3 is sold out the 40Gb will be the only kid on the block.
Why do I think this is madness? First, let's have some good news...
So far the PS3 hasn't been the complete failure everyone would like you to believe it has been (and by everyone, I mean MS and Nintendo fanboys and any podcast or TV show by G4).
If you look at the sales of the PS3 and map out a graph, then overlay the original sales pattern of the Xbox 360 (i.e. line up the launch dates), you'll find that sales of the PS3 have tracked the sales of the MS box almost exactly.
One in the eye for Xbox fanboys then...
So what could accelerate PS3 sales so that Sony grab the number one or two slot once again? In a word, churn.
'Churning' the current base of 110+ million worldwide PS2 owners over to the PS3 would make a huge different to the so-called 'next-gen battle'. And other than a price drop, what softens the blow for PS2 owners who want to upgrade?
Backwards compatibility.
You see, the current 60Gb PS3 doesn't just play PS2 titles, it makes them look even better than ever by upscaling the graphics. Who wouldn't want to revisit their PS2 library and play those old classics again, especially since the PS3 is still getting up to speed on 'must-have' titles.
The defining line between the 40Gb and 60gb choice is clear for me.
If you are more of a movie buff than a gamer, or if this is your first PlayStation experience, go for the 40Gb. For £299 there's not a single BluRay or DVD upscaling player out there that comes close.
If you're a gamer or a PS2 owner who wants to upgrade (and who doesn't, frankly, want to have both consoles hanging around) then spend the extra £50 and get extra disk space, some memory card slots, extra USB and backwards compatibility.
I'm waiting to hear from SCEE on whether an 80Gb or 120Gb unit might come in with all the options that the 60Gb offers, but no word as of yet.
By removing the choice and turning their back on the massive PS2 owner base, I believe Sony have made a mistake on this occasion. I hope they rectify it with a bigger and better PS3 in the near future once the 60Gb has gone.
We have a sneaky feeling that you love your PS3. It gives so much yet asks for so little in return. After all, all it really desires is some real estate beneath your mammoth HD plasma screen and the giddy tingle of electricity, piped directly into its power source.
