Home items selling like hotcakes

We're not sure why, but it seems that quite a few of you out there are buying Home pay-for content. In an interview with Silicon Alley Insider, Susan Panico (Senior Director of the PlayStation Network) says that content in the social networking service is selling tremendously. In fact, in the first four days of the open beta Home produced more money for Sony than the video download service did in its first week.

We're disheartened to hear that one of the biggest sellers is the ridiculously priced Santa outfit. So if you went ahead and bought a £5 Santa suit: congratulations. You've just told Sony that it's okay to charge 79p for a pair of virtual gloves.

Panico says it's "a classic 80/20 model, where 20 percent of your customers create 80 percent of your income." Makes sense to us. There's already a very vocal pro-Home community. We'll be happy to join in next month when some of that promised content starts to drop.

American PSN releases for December 23rd

The waiting's finally over. Today's biggest release is easily the LittleBigPlanet Metal Gear Solid downloadable content, but there's plenty of other stuff to take a look at today. Not least of which is Lumines Supernova. There's also a load of the normal music-based DLC, plus some unexpected content for Disgaea 3. As if that wasn't enough, the PS1 classic RPG Suikoden also finds its way onto the Store today. What an awesome holiday gift. Here's the full release list:

Playable Content

* Jeopardy price drop (now $9.99)
* Lumines Supernova ($14.99)
* Lord of the Rings: Conquest demo
* Suikoden PS1 game ($5.99)

Add-on Content

* Buzz! Quiz TV "National Geographic: Undersea" quiz pack ($7.99)
* High Velocity Bowling "patches pack one" (free)
* High Velocity Bowling "Gutter Bird Ball" ball (free)
* LittleBigPlanet DLC (listed after the break)
* PAIN "Ao No Kutsu" character ($0.99)
* Disgaea 3 "Adell" character ($1.99)
* Disgaea 3 "Nekomata" character ($0.99)
* Disgaea 3 "Rozalin" character ($1.99)
* Disgaea 3 "Disgaea 2 character pack" ($4.99 -- comes with Disgaea 2 main char theme)
* Lumines Supernova "holiday pack" (free)
* Shaun White Snowboarding "glamour pack" ($4.99)
* Guitar Hero World Tour DLC (listed after the break)
* Rock Band DLC (listed after the break)
* Karaoke Revolution DLC (listed after the break)

SOCOM Confrontation 1.30 patch ready to go live ... in January

SOCOM fans looking forward to playing Confrontation over the holiday break won't be able to enjoy patch 1.30. Those expecting all the features of 1.30 will be disappointed to hear that the patch won't be available to download until the new year. "Unfortunately, due to the Holidays the update will not be approved by SCE Format QA until early next year. Our QA staff will be here, testing the game over vacation, but the SCE QA teams which must approve the update before release will not."

As of now, it appears the patch will be available during the week of January 5th or January 12th. While it's disappointing to have to wait so long, SOCOM fans have proven to be some of the most patient gamers out there.

PS3 costs 53% less to make now than at launch

It's well known that Sony's latest console is a powerful, expensive piece of tech. When Sony launched the PS3, it lost over $200 on every unit sold -- in spite of its $600 price point. However, over time Sony has been able to reduce the costs of manufacturing the system, by removing PS2 compatibility and switching over to a more efficient 65-nanometer chips.

iSuppli, the company which broke down the PS3 at launch, estimated the cost of making a PS3 was more than $840. Now, they say the PS3 costs 53% less to make -- at around $445, for a system which sells at $400. Sony is still losing money on each system sold, but in a much less extraordinary way.

Not only are the individual components cheaper to make, there are simply less things inside a modern PS3. According to iSuppli, the number of parts inside a PS3 has fallen from 4,048 to only 2,820. Since launch, Sony has reworked the innards of the PS3 to include combined chips. The falling price of components also helps Sony a lot: the Cell processor cost $89 at launch, but now only costs $46 to make.

Sony should be able to break even with the PS3 starting in 2009, which makes us wonder if they'll start adopting a more aggressive price strategy late next year. We hope so -- they need a way to make themselves attractive to customers, without breaking the bank.

The Godfather II Multiplayer Hands-On

Despite the underlying strategy element of the single player game, The Godfather II’s multiplayer is more about the action, with a few twists thrown in to keep things interesting. For one, the character you choose to play with isn’t just some generic soldier. He’ll be one of your soldiers from in the game, preferably someone you’ve leveled up with a ton of different skills and upgrades.

Soldiers in your family can acquire specialties, or they can have them already when you recruit them. Abilities like safe-cracking, arson, medic and demolitions are all skills that will help you in the single player game as well as multiplayer slapdowns. Members of your crew can also accrue upgrades, not unlike in an RPG. You’ll want to take your best soldiers online, the ones who’ve unlocked higher gun ratings (giving them access to better weaponry and better accuracy) or recovery time


The relative skills of your soldiers is important to being successful in some of the multiplayer game modes. It’s not all straight up Team Deathmatch, but that is there for those that love it (i.e. everyone). The four multiplayer modes include:

Fire Starter – You’ll need crew members with the Arsonist ability to light fires at specific point on the map to earn points. You don’t have to be all arsonists, in fact, it might be a good idea for a couple crack shots to help out escorting your specialists around to the different ignition points.

Safe Cracker – Again, there are points on the map (marked clearly on your in game minimap) where a specialist is needed. This time it’s safe crackers, who must get to a safe and capture it without getting killed. Again, escorting those guys around could be crucial to scoring more cash than the other team. Assault – You’ll need demolitions guys this time, who must blow up certain points on the map. Making this one a bit more interesting is that the detonation points are usually walls, which are then open as a new route to the enemy for everyone involved.

Team Deathmatch – It’s, um, team deathmatch.

Even though there’s a lot of skill specialization in The Godfather II’s multiplayer mode, one would hardly confuse it with Team Fortress. Still, the added dimension of skills and upgrades makes the game a little more than Quake II in fedoras. The Online Honors system allows you to keep what you’ve earned in multiplayer (money, upgrades, etc.) in the single player mode. Just like when you brought your buffed up guy over in the first place. But that does bring up one interesting point/flaw. You can’t really play multiplayer until you’ve recruited at least one henchman in the single player game – which you do in the first couple missions, granted. So if you were planning on jumping straight into multiplayer without even trying out the single player, forget it.

At this point, single player is looking a bit more interesting than multiplayer for The Godfather II. Of course, we’ll only know how things fully pan out once the game is released in February.
Xbox Game Facts
Platform:
Xbox 360

Voice chat returns on PlayStation Home

PlayStation Home has been patched (yet again!), this time restoring voice chat. Update 1.05, available now, adds voice chat to personal spaces and clubhouses. This means you foul-mouthed pirates can chat with each other in the privacy of your own virtual-homes. However, expect public spaces to be as quiet as Sunday mass.

English Demon's Souls hits PS3 February 2009

The Japanese version of Demon's Souls is scheduled for release in early February of next year, but it looks it won't be the only one making it out that month. Siliconera suggests that the Asian version will also ship in February and most interestingly will be entirely in English. The site recently went hands-on with a new build at the Asia Game Show in Hong Kong and have discovered that the demo was, in fact, completely in English.

Now, it is possible that the final release in Asia may not be in that language; however, that is really moot. It's most important to note that there is some form of English language version and it is currently in the works. At the moment, there haven't been any mention from either SCEA or SCEE in regards to North American and European releases for Demon's Souls.

PlayStation Store Update

Hey, everyone. It’s time again for the weekly PlayStation Store update.
Price Update
Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars (Price drop to $9.99)
Downloadable Games
Crash Commando ($9.99)
Crash Commando is a fast-paced, over-the-top action game that combines the thrill of multiplayer shooters with classic side-scrolling platform gameplay. Blast your way through expansive, multi-tiered stages on foot or behind the wheel of [...]

LittleBigPlanet 1.07 patch adds store, better search functionality

What is this, October? We thought we were done with LittleBigPlanet news after the game's release, but it seems the game just won't stop growing. While this patch news is nothing compared to the reveal of the upcoming Metal Gear Solid pack, it's still pretty snazzy. LittleBigPlanet is now at version 1.07 and the patch is pretty hefty (a whopping 67MB).

The update adds a new section to the LittleBigPlanet section of the game: the LittleBigStore. Here you can see all the costumes and packs that are currently for sale and purchase them. Bought a costume and don't want to search through your Popit menu for it? Simply select it in the in-game store and you'll automagically put it on. Pretty handy. Selecting a pack will "award" you with the items, just like at the end of a tutorial level, so you can see exactly what it contains.

The second big addition in version 1.07 is a revamp of the level search screen. You can now view the highest rated levels, the most hearted levels, the newest levels and the busiest levels. You can also search for levels via a text string, or via tags. Hopefully this will make finding awesome levels a lot easier.

PAIN is the most downloaded game on PSN in 2008

The latest episode of Pulse reveals the top PSN game downloads of 2008. At the top of the list is Idol Minds' PAIN. This isn't too surprising, considering it was included for free with the Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 bundle earlier this year. However, we're surprised to see how well High Velocity Bowling has done. Other surprises include Aquatopia and High Stakes Poker.

Do you think the top 10 list is missing any games? We certainly think so. Where's WipEout HD? Although it's a PSP remake, we think it's an incredible value.

Here's the list, for those of you unable to see the image above:

1. Pain
2. High Velocity Bowling
3. Super Stardust HD
4. PixelJunk Monsters
5. Flow
6. Warhawk
7. Aquatopia
8. Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection
9. High Stakes Poker Edition
10. Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty

Microsoft thinks 2009's going to be better - thanks to its new casual appeal

We're not entirely sure if we should be believing this or not, but MS reckons 2009's going to be another scorcher for Xbox 360 thanks, in part, to "people who have never played video games before."

Alan Bowman, one of Microsoft's regional Xbox 360 general managers, told dull news reporting blog Reuters he expected Xbox 360 to outperform the market next year, doing even better than its stellar 2008. Here's a proper quote as evidence...

"So what is really driving our growth momentum right now is how we are broadening our consumer base to include not only hardcore gamers but also individuals who would have previously not thought about buying a game console."

Which means it'll be a bit less further behind Wii sales next year.

Microsoft thinks 2009's going to be better - thanks to its new casual appeal

We're not entirely sure if we should be believing this or not, but MS reckons 2009's going to be another scorcher for Xbox 360 thanks, in part, to "people who have never played video games before."

Alan Bowman, one of Microsoft's regional Xbox 360 general managers, told dull news reporting blog Reuters he expected Xbox 360 to outperform the market next year, doing even better than its stellar 2008. Here's a proper quote as evidence...

"So what is really driving our growth momentum right now is how we are broadening our consumer base to include not only hardcore gamers but also individuals who would have previously not thought about buying a game console."

Which means it'll be a bit less further behind Wii sales next year.

LittleBigPlanet gains new Trophies in Metal Gear Solid pack

The upcoming Metal Gear Solid level pack for LittleBigPlanet will add 11 new Trophies to the game. The Trophy list reveals some exciting details about the upcoming expansion pack. For example, "Rexecutioner" will have you going against a LBP recreation of Metal Gear REX. Looks like Sackpeople will be packin' some heat in the expansion in the form of a paintball gun. If you buy the level pack, you'll be able to include this new paintballing mechanic to your levels. Sounds fun!

Voice chat temporarily disabled in Home 1.04

PlayStation Home will be patched today to version 1.04 in a "first step" effort towards resolving various connection issues users have been experiencing. While this is a good thing, the PlayStation.Blog also notes one side effect of this new patch: voice chat will be temporarily disabled. The removal of voice chat (for now) should alleviate the crushing bandwidth load on Sony's servers since the official "open beta" launch of the service.

The blog recommends "to make use of the Wireless Keypad for PLAYSTATION 3 or any USB or Bluetooth-enabled keyboard for text chat and also the "phone friend" features to communicate within PlayStation Home."

European PSN releases for December 18th

Two full games highlight the European PSN update today. Crash Commando makes its worldwide debut and we finally catch up with America slightly by receiving Soldner-X. That's all well and good, but where's Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars, Penny Arcade, Street Fight II Turbo HD Remix and Lumines? As for add-ons there are the normal musical offerings, along with the first LittleBigPlanet construction pack. Here's the full release list:

Playable Content

* Crash Commando (£7.99/€??)
* Soldner-X Himmelssturmer (£7.99/€??)

Add-on Content

* LittleBigPlanet "Festive Goodies" level kit (£2.39/€??)
* LittleBigPlanet "Santa Hat and Beard" costume (free)
* Everybody's Golf: World Tour "Pirate Plus Four" costume pack (£3.19/€??)
* Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm "Storm Pack 3" (free)
* Guitar Hero World Tour DLC (listed after the break)
* Rock Band DLC (listed after the break)


Videos

* Prince of Persia Developer Diary 4
* Shoot! episode 5 - "8.3 minutes"

Themes and Wallpapers

* Savage Moon theme
* 6x Loco Roco 2 wallpapers
* 2x Soldner-X wallpapers
* Brothers In Arms Hell's Highway wallpaper

Rock Band DLC

Country Pack (£5.25/€??)

* Brad Paisley - "Mud on the Tires" (£0.99)
* Brooks & Dunn - "Hillbilly Deluxe" (£0.99)
* Dierks Bentley - "Free & Easy (Down the Road I Go)" (£0.99)
* Dixie Chicks - "Sin Wagon" (£0.99)
* Miranda Lambert - "Gunpowder & Lead" (£0.99)

Guitar Hero World Tour DLC

Eagles Track Pack (£4.39/€??)

* Frail Grasp On The Big Picture (£1.59)
* Life In The Fast Lane (£1.59)
* One Of These Nights (£1.59)

Home patch fixes login issues this Thursday

Many of you have probably noticed that getting into Home since the open beta launch is something of a lottery. Chances are you'll be trying a fair number of times before you manage to sneak in. Thankfully, a patch is coming this Thursday which should fix that issue. So says SCEE community manager TedTheDog.

Hopefully this patch will be shortly followed by the release of some new content, which was announced last week. Namely, the Diesel and Ligne Roset shops, the Red Bull Air Race space, the Media and Events space and (for Europe) the Far Cry 2 and Uncharted game spaces. We're trying our best to find out what Sony's plan is for future content releases but, until we get an answer, it looks like we'll have to remain patient a little while longer.

[UPDATE] This patch marks the "first step" towards the solution to the server issues, so don't expect things to be magically fixed on Thursday.

Home Hacked

Less than a week after it launched, reports are coming in that users have hacked Home, Sony's virtual world for the PlayStation 3. Yeah, that really was quick, wasn't it?

A report in the Telegraph says vulnerabilities in the code have allowed enterprising Home users to customize the online world beyond the basic options provided by Sony. One hack makes use of the Apache web server and DNS redirection to allow users to play movies on virtual display screens and to change in-world text and music to anything they want. Users can employ a different hack to download any files they want from the Sony server, including the profiles and avatars of other users.

Of greater risk, however, is the ability to upload files to, or delete files from, Sony's Home servers. The report says such vulnerabilities expose Home users to viruses and other malicious software, and also leaves Home itself open to attacks which could force it offline. The report suggests Sony may open the platform to legitimate third-party development to provide an official and controlled channel for such "tweaking," and also to help build a more robust Home "ecosystem."

Bit-tech.net says advertisements in Home have been specifically targeted by hackers who have replaced standard posters with images of their own, providing a link to YouTube footage that purports to show the results of one such hack. Instructions for this "easily repeatable" mod have been posted online, but you'll have to find them for yourself, you dirty hacker.

Home went into open beta on December 11, and was immediately attacked for being outdated by Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg, who said, "When they unveiled it, it seemed innovative. I think what's happened is now here we are a couple of years later and we feel beyond that. It feels like 2005 tech in 2008. I'm not sure that's what people want."

PlayStation Network Regular Scheduled Maintenance

Parts of PlayStation Network will be down this morning for regular scheduled maintenance. We’ll update you when everything is back up and running properly.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves PlayStation 3 Trailer - Crash Trailer

Spread the word.

Europe says Home will be a 'system seller'

The early response to the PlayStation Home beta hasn't been too encouraging, with a full 25% of our readers thinking the service is "a waste of my (and Sony's) time." However, a large majority of our readers agree that there is potential for Home to become something much greater than what it is now.

Home's European service manager Dan Hill seems to agree. Speaking with CVG, Hill states that "if you buy a PS3 and you grow with us, as Home evolves, you are going to become part of something very special, something unlike you can experience anywhere else." He adds that "no-one else is doing anything of this scale or ambition."

"Today, we are at the beginning of a long journey - now is the time to start its evolution." There's a long way to go before we see the fruits of Sony's labor, and we're cautiously optimistic that they can deliver. "In time I would say that Home will definitely become a reason to purchase [PS3]."

Infinity Ward to stop making DLCs for Call of Duty 4

Unfortunately, there won't be any more DLCs coming your way for Call of Duty 4 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC). But why would Infinity Ward pull such a mean stunt? Well, it's more of unfortunate than mean, actually. But there's actually a very good reason for this move.

That's because they're all gonna be busy prepping for their next title. That's right, no less than Infinity Ward's communications head, Rob Bowling, divulged this detail over at the Xbox Forums. According to him, "Every level designer/ texture artist/ environmental artist/ etc. working on a new map for a previous game is one less working on a map for a future game."

Makes sense, don't it? Anyway, it's not hard to figure out what "future game" he was referring to that would require everyone's participation in the developmental process. They've already confirmed another Call of Duty next year, remember?

First Assassins Creed 2 Details Accidentally Revealed

Prince of Persia animation director David Wilkinson seems to have slipped the first information on Assassin's Creed 2... which hasn't even been officially announced yet. Speaking in a very frank interview with AusGamers, Wilkinson was quizzed on the current status of Assassin's animation guru Alex Drouin.
"He's busy making Altair even more beautiful," Wilkinson revealed. "Last thing I saw him do was getting Altair to swim."

Uh-oh, someone's going to get sacked...
So it looks like Altair will be assassinating bad men from the watery deep - and if we know Ubisoft, probably reaching up and dragging guards into the drink with him as well. Ubisoft hasn't said much of a second game, apart from making it clear that Assassin's Creed is "a franchise". So there will be more games.

The conclusion to the original also heavily hints at plot points for a follow-up.

Home servers now live; you can now go Home

If you're not one of our many readers who've been continuously pressing F5 for the last nine hours or so, you might be unaware that the Home open beta is now live for all regions.

Don't look at us like that. Of course we're not lying. Home has actually launched. Once you've picked your jaw up from the floor, simply restart your PS3 and you'll find the icon under the PlayStation Network section of the XMB. From there you'll download the client and begin your Home journey. Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments.

Uncharted 2 - First Screenshots

Well, the first screenshots have been released and so you can take a look at them yourself and decide. The images seem to be scans or photos of images, so the quality isn’t so hot. Either way, check them out after the jump and let us know what you think.

Either way, there will be a lot of people who will be counting the seconds to the games release and I think that it is going to be well worth the wait if Naughty Dog gave anything to say about it, which they do.

Home having problems from the start

Yes, so Home is having connection issues from the word “go” and to be honest, is there anyone who is actually surprised?

I have yet to see any online game, application or service launch with little or no issues, it’s almost to be expected to be honest. It seems that a lot of people are getting the following error:

Network Error

The connection to the server was lost

C-991

The question is, how are things going for South Africans. We want you to tell us how your experience has been with Home so far, assuming of course that any of you have been able to get your hands on it already

Rockstar Announces Upgrade and DLC for Midnight Club: LA

Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), is proud to announce the massive downloadable upgrade and content pack for Midnight Club: Los Angeles, the latest installment of its critically acclaimed and genre-defining Midnight Club franchise. The content will be available early next year for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

The "South Central Upgrade Map" provides players with a whole new area of the city, about one-third the size of the original map, and will be available for free. This area features L.A. landmarks such as Exposition Park, the USC campus, Shrine Auditorium, Crenshaw Plaza, and the L.A. Memorial Coliseum and stretches south to the 105 Freeway. In addition to the free new city area, players will be able to purchase the "South Central Content Pack" which includes new character competitions, races, cars and music available in a single complete package. The new vehicles include a variety of cars and a motorcycle. Also making an appearance for the first time in Midnight Club: Los Angeles will be SUVs, a longtime favorite of the series' fans. "This downloadable content hones in on a very iconic area of Los Angeles," said Jay Panek, Midnight Club Producer at Rockstar San Diego. "'This South Central download features staples of the area, from the landmarks to the types of cars, and we think it really helps enhance the overall L.A. feel we set out to recreate."

Game Informer described Midnight Club: Los Angeles as "just what the doctor ordered: a fun, fast racing experience with enough content to keep you playing for months." The addition of South Central will enhance the overall experience and extend the game even further.

Developed by Rockstar San Diego, Midnight Club: Los Angeles provides a seamless, breathtaking environment for everyone who loves to compete. With no load times, no tracks, and no rules, the game allows players to race at breakneck speeds through an unbelievable recreation of Los Angeles in fully customizable, licensed cars.

The racing experience in Midnight Club: Los Angeles is extended online at the Rockstar Games Social Club (www.rockstargames.com/socialclub), where players are able to enter tournaments, share in-game photos, rate other people's rides, track stats with other gamers, and listen to and purchase music from the soundtrack.

Midnight Club: Los Angeles is currently available for the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 and is rated T for Teen. The “South Central Upgrade Map” and “South Central Content Pack” both require players to have the full version of Midnight Club: Los Angeles for Xbox 360 or PLAYSTATION 3 and an Xbox LIVE or a PlayStation Network membership to download.http://www.planetxbox360.com/screenshotlist_346/ for pics

Killzone 2 Info.

February 27, 2009. Mark that date on your calendar. That's the day when North Americans can finally push back the Helghast to the wasteland planet where they came from. The news came out of G4TV where a Sony representative showed off some footage of new weapons for Killzone 2. Watch that vid after the break.

Interestingly, Feb. 27 is a Friday and not the usual Tuesday release date we're so used to seeing in North America. Friday is typically the day games come out in Europe, and while SCEE refrains from getting specific, they've told Eurogamer: "We are targeting a similar timeframe for the release of Killzone 2 in the PAL regions." To us, a worldwide release on that day seems very likely.

Skate 2 Exclusive Skitching Trailer HD

Its alright,graphics kinda crappy tho.Cant wait to play it

First Look - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

It has finally been confirmed, Uncharted 2 : Among Thieves is the title for the new game and Game Informer has the low down for more of your Uncharted 2 Needs. Oh also heres a teaser for you to get the hype flowing.

Buy Nathan Drake's gun, if you must

It's hard to play through Uncharted: Drake's Fortune without wanting to be Nathan Drake at some point or another. Well you may not be able to look like him without major cosmetic surgery, but you can dress like him and, now, fondle his weapon.

An airsoft replica of Drake's gun is available now for $170 at King Of Swords and comes with a free aluminum carrying case. For the full specs check out the site. It's a pretty replica, certainly, but we'd much rather put it in a glass case and stare at it than actually shoot it. Perhaps that's just us.

New Resistance 2 Weapon Revealed

The new weapons which are mentioned are the Marksmen and the Minigun.

The Marksman is apparenetly a mid-range sniper rifle that is semi-automatic, but it is said to be just as powerful as the L23 Fareye so this could become a formidible weapon.

While the Minigun was previously announced, details of the secondary fire have been revealed. It allows the user to put down a tri-pod, which means the user then cannot move. However, a shield is put up infront of the user making them almost invincible to attacks from the front. However, they will still be weak from behind, or a well aimed shot from a sniper.

Catch a nasty ghost in this Ghostbusters gameplay

Thanks to this fairly recent Ghostbusters gameplay footage, we certainly aren't afraid of ghosts anymore. The game looks pretty nice and we hope it jump-starts the classic franchise back to life -- a lot of lesser movies and TV series' have been getting brought back, after all. What's interesting, but not in the video, is the use of Sixaxis for the PS3: apparently, you use it to control the trajectory of your ghost-bustin' stream. Of course, crossing them is a bad idea unless you're facing the final boss, we'd imagine.

Get Ready For Bioshock On PS3 This September

Boston (eCanadaNow) - Reports state that Bioshock is finally set to hit the Sony PS3 this coming September.

The latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) along with other sources have stated that the PS3 version of Bioshock will release this coming September.

The PS3 version of Bioshock wil include all of the previously released downloadable content, as well as improved visuals over the Xbox 360 and PC version.

PS3 owners have been clamoring for Bioshock on their next-gen console ever since it launched on the Xbox 360, and it appears it is finally ready to happen.

GTAIV sells like crazy, console sales neck and neck

It's that time again when corporate execs are held accountable for their actions, sales figures are calculated and the North American "digits" are revealed. It's time for April NPD! W00t!

Last month's video game competition was a heated race between Microsoft and Sony as the Xbox 360 was able to move 188,000 units narrowly beating out the PS3's 187,100. That news on top of Microsoft announcing the 360's 10 million U.S. milestone make it a pretty good month for team Microsoft. Though, Nintendo's Wii continues to dominate even without Grand Theft Auto IV's help moving an amazing 714,200 consoles. Speaking of GTAIV, it rocked the final week of April selling a jaw-dropping 1.85 million units on the 360 alone which is nearly double that of the 1 million units it sold on the PS3. And that's always good to hear. Check the break for a complete rundown of the April NPD hardware and software data.

[Via Joystiq]

April Hardware Sales
1. Wii - 714,200
2. DS - 414,800
3. PSP - 192,700
4. Xbox 360 - 188,000
5. PS3 - 187,100
6. PS2 - 124,400

April Software Sales
1. GTA IV – Xbox 360 – 1.85 million
2. Mario Kart Wii – Wii – 1.12 million
3. GTA IV – PS3 – 1.00 million
4. Wii Play w/ remote – Wii – 360,000
5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl – Wii – 326,000
6. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue – PS3 – 224,000
7. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness – DS – 202,000
8. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time – DS – 202,000
9. Guitar Hero III – Wii – 152,000
10. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – Xbox 360 – 141K

Saving extra cars in GTA IV

In GTA IV there are numerous locations for the player to park their car, in order for it to be saved for another gameplay session. Unfortunately these spaces seem pretty small, with you seemingly only able to fit one or two cars in them. I am pleased to announce that this is not the case.

If you want to keep a large car collection, you can do so, as it turns out that only one wheel of the vehicle needs to be inside the designated parking area in order for it to be saved. This means that with a little patience, and some careful driving, it is possible to save several different cars in one parking space.

There is one problem with this method however, and that is the fact that it can be murder to try and get out the car that is rammed in behind all the rest. Still, it's quite a neat little trick, and means that you should be able to fit in at least 4 cars comfortably.

What do you think? Will you be trying to cram in as many cars as possible, or keeping it nice and need with just a couple? Let us know by leaving your comments below.

Console War Update!

Winning in first place Xbox 360
Xbox 360:11,785,282
Wii:11,268,352
Ps3:4,964,793
http://vgchartz.com/hwcomps.php?cons1=Wii®1=America&cons2=PS3®2=America&cons3=X360®3=America&start=39040&end=39579&weekly=1

PS3 Trophies coming via PSN as soon as June?

What with the continual delay for Sony's Playstation Home, the latest rumblings from the industry, and a mysterious report from Sony's inner circle confirms that we may be about to see a new PSN update for the inclusion of Xbox style achievements, through the form of Trophies.

According to this report, 2D trophies located on the PS3's XMB may launch this June with firmware version 2.4 (which should also introduce in-game XMB access). These trophies are reportedly different to the 3D ones set to feature in Home later this year.

Another report over on Kotaku substantiates the claim somewhat. It points to a Sony fact sheet about upcoming PSN title PixelJunk Eden, which shows that one of the game's "key features" will be "Trophy Support", although it's unclear exactly what this is.

This news may be of certain interest to many consumers interested in the rise of MGS4 next month, to coincide with a new update perhaps for in-game achievements.

New Burnout Paradise Location Revealed

Criterion Games unveiled today a new location from the upcoming Davis update for Burnout Paradise.

Here's a great video from the world team. These guys worked on the incredible game world that you'll recognise now as Paradise City.

Since we're releasing images of our new island location, we thought it would be great to give a little insight into how the Paradise City mainland came together.

Here, one of our leads, JohnL, concentrates on a single, small area - the Fish Market in the South Docks (just off Manners Ave). You'll get to see how each of it's distinct components evolved through development.
Criterion Games unveiled today a new location from the upcoming Davis update for Burnout Paradise.

Here's a great video from the world team. These guys worked on the incredible game world that you'll recognise now as Paradise City.

Since we're releasing images of our new island location, we thought it would be great to give a little insight into how the Paradise City mainland came together.

Metal Gear Online New Map Pack

Urban Ultimatum

Ambush Alley

The Story Of Killzone 2,Straight From Sony

We're going to have to wait until next year to experience the hotly anticipated Killzone 2. Right now, Joystiq's Chris Grant is getting some time with the title (we're insanely jealous!). While we wait to hear back, we'd like to present you the story, straight from the fine folks at Sony.

"Two years after the Helghast assault on Vekta, the ISA is taking the fight to the enemy's home world of Helghan. The ISA goal is direct: capture the Helghast leader, Emperor Visari, and bring the Helghast war machine to a halt. Assuming the role of Sev, a battle-hardened veteran and a member of the special forces unit known as the Legion, players will lead a group of highly trained soldiers on a mission to take out the Helghast threat. For Sev and his squad, the invasion of Helghan is just the beginning. Tasked with securing Pyrrhus, the Capital City, the team quickly discovers that the Helghast are a formidable enemy on their home planet. Not only have they adjusted to the planet's hostile conditions, they have also harnessed a source of power they can now use against the ISA. Sev discovers his squad isn't just fighting enemy forces – their fiercest opponent may be the planet itself."

From what we saw at our E3 preview, we know exactly how terrifying the weather in Killzone 2 can be. Massive thunderstorms can come in at whim, thanks to a new technology developed by the Helghast. To say that it will make for some epic battles is quite the understatement. Stay tuned for more.

Motorstorm Pacific Rift Pics

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