Sep 19

Tokyo Game Show 2011 wrap-up

Posted in: Features, hands-on, Japan, playstation, sony, Today's Chili, video

All good things must come to an end, and likewise with this year’s Tokyo Game Show which wrapped up yesterday. Despite the PS Vita’s dominance and the lack of newly-announced hero hardware at the show, we were still able to keep ourselves entertained with the odd peripherals here and there, alongside some very interesting exhibits both at TGS and the Amusement Machine Show next door — head past the break to humor yourselves. Alternatively, feel free to catch up on our TGS coverage while you’re here (we have a list after the break as well), and don’t forget to check out our awesome buddies over at Joystiq for even more gaming news.

Gallery: Tokyo Game Show 2011 wrap-up

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Tokyo Game Show 2011 wrap-up originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 06:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 18

Netflix spins DVD-by-mail service off into Qwikster, says it’s ‘done’ with price changes (video)

Posted in: breaking news, gaming, hdpostcross, Microsoft, netflix, playstation, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, sony, stream, streaming, Today's Chili, video, xbox 360, Xbox360

Over on Netflix’s official blog, company head Reed Hastings has announced in a surprisingly humble blog post and video (embedded after the break) that it’s splitting the DVD-by-mail business away into a new venture dubbed Qwikster. While the recent price changes already split the cost for each service, when this takes effect in a few weeks it will result in two different websites, two different sets of movie ratings and queues, and two different charges on customer’s bills. He admits two separate sites may make it more difficult to manage a presence on both, but says dropping the need for compatibility between the two will enable new features to balance that out. Another change? Netflix Qwikster (is there anything good about that name?) is getting into video game rentals, available for an extra charge similar to the existing Blu-ray disc option.

While the blog post blames a lack of communication for much of the backlash (and obviously cancellations), it’s about to become very clear that Netflix is “primarily a streaming company.” Also mentioned is “substantial” additional streaming content coming in the next few months. Whatever the company calls itself, charges, or changes on its website, if Netflix wants to talk its way back into subscriber’s good graces, starting with something new to watch is the way to do it.

Continue reading Netflix spins DVD-by-mail service off into Qwikster, says it’s ‘done’ with price changes (video)

Netflix spins DVD-by-mail service off into Qwikster, says it’s ‘done’ with price changes (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNetflix Blog, Qwikster  | Email this | Comments

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Sep 17

Say Good-Bye to the 20GB PS3 – Sony Discontinuing it!

Posted in: gaming, playstation, ps3, Today's Chili

This article was written on April 12, 2007 by CyberNet.

20gb_ps3Sony has made the ultimate decision to discontinue the 20GB version of their Playstation 3 in North America.  While it was the cheaper model, consumers so far have shown that they prefer the 60GB model.

The price for the 20GB version was $500 which made it $100 cheaper than the larger version which also included Wi-Fi.  This really comes as no surprise because the 20GB model wasn’t selling very well in North America, and wasn’t even offered to European Playstation fans.

I guess if consumers are going to spend that much on a game console, they might as well go all the way and pay extra to get the beefed-up version?

Stores that still have the 20GB model will be allowed to sell them until they’re gone.  Which means, if you’ve had your eye on one, you better make your move fast.  Once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Surprisingly, Sony says that the demand for the 60GB model was 90 percent in North America. Nine out of every ten consumers wanted the bigger model, and because of that, there’s really no need for Sony to continue offering the 20 GB model. I certainly wouldn’t have guessed it was as high as 90 percent.

This just shows, consumers are definitely willing to pay for their technology.

Source: GameIndustry.biz

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Sep 16

New PSN user agreement makes it harder to sue Sony: class actions out (sort of), arbitrations in

Posted in: lawsuit, legal, playstation, playstation 3, Playstation3, sony, Today's Chili

Hmmm, wonder what brought this on? Sony’s gone and changed the lingo in its PSN user agreement to require binding arbitration to settle any future disputes — making it much harder for disgruntled customers to get their day in court. Want to keep your right to sue? You can opt out of the arbitration requirement by sending a letter to Sony’s lawyers saying you’ll be keeping your courtroom entry card, thank you very much. Additionally, the change won’t affect class-action litigation started by August 20th of this year. That means people whose privacy was compromised in the great PSN outage of 2011 that already filed suit needn’t be concerned. For the rest of you, we’d advise breaking out the pen and paper ASAP if you wanna keep the halls of justice open for future complaints.

[Image from photosync/Shutterstock]

New PSN user agreement makes it harder to sue Sony: class actions out (sort of), arbitrations in originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 19:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Examiner, Ars Technica  |  sourceSony (PDF)  | Email this | Comments

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Sep 16

Sony PlayStation Vita battery life: as little as three hours on a charge

Posted in: playstation, sony, Today's Chili

We’ve had plenty of QT with the Vita on the floor at TGS, but battery life is hard to judge when you can’t take the device away with you. Back at our earlier hands-on in June we were told that longevity should be on a par with first-gen PSPs, which were all rated at 4-6 hours and — with the PSP-1000 — achieved around 3.5-5.5 hours in real-world tests. Now though, Sony says the Vita has just enough juice for 3-5 hours’ gaming. We need to play this thing to death before we can be sure, but this does sound like a potential 15-25% drop in minimum play time. Do we care at this point? Not particularly. We’re too busy salivating over this.

Sony PlayStation Vita battery life: as little as three hours on a charge originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 10:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceCNET, IGN (PSP tests)  | Email this | Comments

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Sep 15

Sony outs trio of limited edition PlayStation 3 consoles, keeps it fresh with a few paint jobs

Posted in: console, minipost, playstation, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, sony, Today's Chili

How do you keep selling a five-year old system? You slap a new coat of paint on it and call it a “limited edition,” that’s how. Which is precisely what Sony’s gotten up to with three newly colored versions of its PlayStation 3. Hitting the electronics giant’s homeland this November 17th are a duo of 320GB consoles, offered up in either Splash Blue or Scarlet Red, that come paired with a similarly hued DualShock controller and ¥29980 ($390) asking price. The prettiest of the bunch, however, won’t be released until December 15th in Japan, and that’s the Final Fantasy XIII-2 Lightning Edition Ver.2. Timed to coincide with the retail debut of the Square Enix-made sequel, that console (pictured above) also boasts a 320GB HDD, bundled copy of the game and a plain old black controller — all for ¥37960 ($494). If you need to add a little spice back into your gaming life, it might be time to get your import on.

Sony outs trio of limited edition PlayStation 3 consoles, keeps it fresh with a few paint jobs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Joystiq, Engadget Japanese (Translated)  |  sourceSony (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

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Sep 15

PlayStation Vita’s Torne app pulls in live TV streams served up from a PS3

Posted in: dvr, hdpostcross, Japan, playstation, ps3, sony, streaming, Today's Chili

Need another reason to be interested in the PlayStation Vita? Sony announced during tonight’s press conference that it will tie in with the only-available-in-Japan Torne DVR adapter (PlayTV in Europe and nonexistent in NA) for the PlayStation 3. Once synced up, it allows users to remotely tune into live TV streams Slingbox-style, browse listings and remotely schedule recordings via an app on the portable device. It should be ready to go at launch, while the ability to export recorded shows to the Vita like one of Monsoon’s boxes will be added later. For now however, we can only look on in envy and hope rumors of a PlayTV 2 eventually come true, and come out here.

PlayStation Vita’s Torne app pulls in live TV streams served up from a PS3 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 02:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceJoystiq, AV Watch  | Email this | Comments

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Sep 14

PlayStation Suite SDK beta coming in November, offering new games in spring 2012

Posted in: mobilepostcross, PC, playstation, sdk, sony, tegra, tegra 2, Tegra2, Today's Chili

We haven’t heard much about the PlayStation Suite for quite some time, but at the TGS 2011 opening keynote today, Sony announced that it’ll finally be rolling out an SDK for said cross-platform framework in November. Furthermore, Sony’s expecting new games and apps to be available for the PlayStation Suite in spring, which means willing C# developers will be busy over the next few months should they wish to deploy their software across certified devices — these currently include the PS Vita, Xperia Play, Tablet S and the upcoming Tablet P. Of course, we’re also hoping that Sony will convince at least one other manufacturer to get its NVIDIA Tegra devices certified for the PlayStation Suite, otherwise it’ll be tough to get the ball rolling for everyone.

Continue reading PlayStation Suite SDK beta coming in November, offering new games in spring 2012

PlayStation Suite SDK beta coming in November, offering new games in spring 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 14

Sony shows off PlayStation Vita’s initial setup process and user interface (video)

Posted in: interface, playstation, sony, Today's Chili, ui, video

While we’re still months away from seeing the PlayStation Vita show up in the stores, Sony continues to tease us with more live demonstrations here at the SCEJ press conference — what we saw just now was a quick walkthrough of the initial setup procedure, and our first look at the interface in action. Setup is simple and predictable: select your region, create or log into your PSN account, enter your birthday — pretty standard for today’s handheld gaming devices. The UI itself looks primed to make smartphone users feel right at home, spreading a cloud of large, friendly app icons across the Vita’s five-inch touchscreen.

Our hosts skipped through a few media applications, showing off a pair of movie trailers and concurrently running the device’s music player and photo viewer. We didn’t see it live today, but Sony suggested that cross-app multitasking is compatible with games as well, stating that a player could hop out of a game session, pop-into a Twitter app, and then jump right back into the game. We’ll give you a more detailed account once we’ve hit the TGS show-floor. Can’t wait? Peek our gallery below, or see Sony’s live demo above.

Gallery: PlayStation Vita user interface

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Sony shows off PlayStation Vita’s initial setup process and user interface (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 03:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 14

Sony announces bucketload of PlayStation Vita launch games, teases PSP downloads for UMD lovers

Posted in: game, playstation, sony, Today's Chili

Wondering how many games the PlayStation Vita will be launched with on December 17th? 26 is the answer, with 100 games in total to be released. Launch titles include Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Power Smash 4, Fish On, Project N.O.E.L.S and more in the photo above. These will be followed by Metal Gear Solid HD Edition, Rayman Origins, FIFA, etc. If new titles aren’t enough to whet your appetite, Sony announced that as many as 500 to 600 PSP titles will be available for download via the PlayStation Network, given that you’re willing to re-purchase your last-gen favorites. Don’t toss out your UMDs just yet though — Sony said they are working on a solution to bring your old games to your new handheld, mentioning “special download plans” that they will discuss at a future point. We wouldn’t hold our breath, but hit the break for a splash image featuring the full list of launch games you will be able to get — good luck with the Japanese.

Continue reading Sony announces bucketload of PlayStation Vita launch games, teases PSP downloads for UMD lovers

Sony announces bucketload of PlayStation Vita launch games, teases PSP downloads for UMD lovers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 02:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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