Hasta La Gadget!

The sharp eyes over at Engadget have discovered that both Kmart and Sears (which are owned by the same company) have begun putting order pages up for a slimmer, cheaper Sony PlayStation 3, which has been rumored for some time now.

The price? $299.99. The ad states that customers can get their hands on the new console on August 24, and a (non-functional) pre-order link is provided.

The Kmart description reads: “PS3, SLIM High-Definition Blu-ray player for the best movie experience.
Free PLAYSTATION Network membership. 120GB HDD for downloading games,
music, videos, and photos. Includes DUAL SHOCK 3 controller. HDMI
output for 1080p resolution.”

The model is listed as ” Item# 018W014436760001 Model# PS3 SLIM PRESELL”.

Speculation had mounted that Sony might launch a slimmer, cheaper PS3 at the Gamescon show in Germany today; if you believe the two retailers, such an announcement seems to be on its way.

Racing game enthusiasts, you’ll be glad to hear that Logitech today announced the G27 Racing Wheel (which replaces the G25). It’s a three-piece set that will have you convinced you’re racing Indy in your own living room.

The G27 is built with a dual-motor force feedback mechanism that creates realistic force effects in the 11-inch hand-stitched leather wheel. You’ll feel traction loss, weight shift, and the surface of the road as you race. The gears deliver a quiet steering action, almost eliminating noise and unwanted vibration.

A six-speed shifter lets you choose exactly the right gear for the turn, while a new shift-indicator LED tells you when you need to shift up or down. Programmable buttons on the wheel and the shift let you put common functions where you need them. Finally, the gas, brake, and clutch pedals are all steel, and the clutch pedal lets you perform heel-and-toe downshifting.

All this power doesn’t come cheap. It will be available in the U.S. in September for a suggested price of $299.99. The G27 Racing Wheel will work with Windows XP and Vista systems, or PlayStation 2 or 3 consoles.

A few telltale signs have popped up in the news this morning that the PlayStation 3 may be dropping in price soon.

Amazon has cut the price of the 160GB Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune bundle from $499 to $449–a $50 price drop for US consumers buying from the online retailer. Perhaps this is a hasty move on Amazon’s part–assuming that Sony will decrease the retail price–or maybe the company got a tip from the inside.

Also fueling the rumors is the news that Sony has doubled PS3 production. This makes sense, as PlayStation 3 manufacturing costs have dropped 70 percent since the console’s launch.

News sources and industry watchers are speculating that the announcement will be made at GamesCom in Cologne.

[Sony & Amazon story via gamesindustry.biz]

So much for recession-proof: In the first fiscal quarter this year, Nintendo’s sales dropped 40 percent, with a 60.6 percent drop in profits from the same time last year. The company chalked the significant drop up to “an anomaly in its 2009 lineup,” according to Venture Beat.

This year, many of the company’s top games like Super Mario Bros. Wii and Wii Sports Resort are debuting in the second half of the year. The drop also likely has a good deal to do with the fact that video game sales have been down overall. Sony also had a rough quarter, reporting a 39.7 billion yen loss.

Upon the initial release of PlayStation Home (a free service for owners of the PS3), fanboys were abuzz with the opportunity to play around in their own 3-D realm. The service promised to be an interactive social network, but after its release, there was an outcry of disappointment. Users could create their Avatars and prance about the square well enough, but there was nothing to do–most likened the experience to Second Life, but with better graphics.

Since then, the European developers have been trying to make amends with fresh content and something for users to do besides dance and wait in a line to go bowling. After taking a look at the Home network at the PlayStation Editor’s Holiday Showcase, I was happy to see that a new world of content has been added to the once-desolate network.

Developers have created miniature worlds that users can visit to preview games and interact with the environment. For instance, there is an inFamous setting where users can play an electric shooting game, paint graffiti on the walls, and explore (possibly find small hints to use in-game).

These worlds featured within Home may go unnoticed by users who first downloaded the PlayStation 3 social network and have not bothered to revisit it. But there is now content being added and updated that is worth thier attention.