Jul 16

Sony’s plan for “snackable” PSP game and application downloads revealed

Posted in: playstation, psp, sdk, sony, Today's Chili

Sony already announced its intentions to bring more developers to the PSP platform at the big E3 gaming show last month. And the move to simplify its development tools was seen as a hint of new PSP applications beyond games. Now Develop has laid bare Sony’s PSP development strategy as explained by Zeno Colaço, Sony’s head of developer relations. According to Zeno, over 50 studios are working on “new kinds of games and applications” that will be sold via a “specially-branded separate area” of the PlayStation Store accessible by PSP and PSPgo owners. In effect, Sony is going after the kind of “snackable content” made popular by Apple’s App Store — inexpensive games and apps that can be downloaded in less than a minute for immediate gratification — according to Subatomic Studio’s Ash Monif. In fact, Subatomic, best known for its massive App Store hit, Fieldrunners, is developing a PSP-exclusive version of its tower defense game. Unlike Apple, however, Sony is charging for its PSP SDK in a bid to keep things, uh hem, “professional,” as Zeno calls it.

[Thanks, Calvin H.]

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Sony’s plan for “snackable” PSP game and application downloads revealed originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 12

Probably-fake video of the PS3 slim surfaces

Posted in: leak, leaks, playstation, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, rumor, rumors, sony, Today's Chili, video

We’re pretty much assuming this video of a purportedly “stolen” PS3 slim at a street market in the Philippines is fake, but given the mounting pile of evidence and Sony’s other recent leaks, we feel compelled to share it with you. Nothing particularly amazing here — it’s a blurry video of a black plastic box with that new rounded-off logo style from the PSPgo on it — but if it’s real it’s certainly interesting. So, what say you — KIRF, or the real deal?

[Thanks, Khattab]

Continue reading Probably-fake video of the PS3 slim surfaces

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Probably-fake video of the PS3 slim surfaces originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 07

PSP2 to be based on iPhone-esque PowerVR GPU, rival original Xbox in power?

Posted in: playstation, psp, rumor, sony, Today's Chili
PSP 2 is ready and UMD-less, claims Earthworm Jim developer

If Sony’s PSPgo was some halfhearted attempt to quell incessant PSP2 rumoring (and our favorite PSP2 mockup render, above), it certainly doesn’t seem to have worked. The new rumor out and about is that the inevitable PSP2 will harbor a PowerVR GPU along the lines of what’s present in the new iPhone 3GS. The SGX543MP cited has four cores, with a rating of 133 million polygons per second at the low-end 200MHz mode that seems likely for portable use. GamesIndustry.biz calls this a “ballpark match” for the original Xbox, with some additional Dreamcast rendering enhancements for avoiding wasting time on hidden elements in a scene. They also point out that Imagination Technologies calls the chip a GP-GPU, capable of handling computing tasks in addition to graphics, and potentially giving the PSP2 the power savings of not needing a separate CPU to operate. Sure, it’s all a difficult to pin down rumor at the moment, but if anything these sort of specs show what’s possible for a new generation of handheld gaming when the likes of Sony and Nintendo are ready to give it to us. Now about a second analog stick…

[Via GamesIndustry.biz]

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PSP2 to be based on iPhone-esque PowerVR GPU, rival original Xbox in power? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 07

Killzone 2 / Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 bundle hitting Best Buy now

Posted in: BestBuy, gaming, playstation, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, sony, Today's Chili, video games, VideoGames

As Sony shoves one more PlayStation 3 bundle down our throats while we anxiously await the appearance of a slimmed-down version of the console, we have to admit that the game choices here are really top shelf. After catching wind of the Killzone 2 / Metal Gear Sold 4 PS3 bundle yesterday, we now have all the confirmation we need to believe that such a bundle is indeed filtering out to Best Buy stores. The image above shows an internal memo sent out to alert employees that the new package could start arriving as early as July 6th, with the official announcement coming in the July 12th ad. If you’re actually in the market for a non-discounted, thick PS3, we’d say a phone call or two is in order, no?

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Update: The $399.99 bundle is now live on Best Buy’s website and available for in-store pickup in select locations.

Continue reading Killzone 2 / Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 bundle hitting Best Buy now

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Killzone 2 / Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 bundle hitting Best Buy now originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Jul 2009 06:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 06

Best Buy set to offer 80GB PS3 bundle with MGS4 and Killzone 2?

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

Well, it’s not a price cut, but it looks like Sony could be about to offer one of its best deals to date to potential PS3 customers, with a little help from Best Buy. Apparently, in an effort to clear out the 80GB PS3s once and for all (to make way for… something), Best Buy will soon selling a bundle that includes said console, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Killzone 2 — all for the usual price of $399.99. Better still, that bundle is supposedly set to go on sale as soon as next Sunday and, as you can see above, at least some of ’em have apparently already made their way into the stores’ back rooms.

[Via Joystiq]

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Best Buy set to offer 80GB PS3 bundle with MGS4 and Killzone 2? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 30

The Pre gets PlayStation gaming and more thanks to ZodTTD (video)

Posted in: breaking news, BreakingNews, playstation, Retro, Today's Chili

If you’re familiar with the emulation scene (and let’s be honest, you are reading Engadget), then you know the name ZodTTD — the brain behind some of the best jailbroken emus for the iPhone, including variations on the PlayStation, Game Boy Advance, and most importantly… the TurboGrafx-16. Now the master-hacker has brought his goods to the Pre, cooking up a version of psx4all on the Palm device, with the aforementioned GBA and TG16 ports on the way! Interestingly, he reports that the performance on the Pre is actually better than that of the iPhone 3GS, and of course he’s hacked access to the keyboard, allowing for (more) proper control of games. There are still kinks that are being worked out (sound emulation, screen scaling, etc.), but it looks like we can expect big things in the near future. We at Engadget know everyone will rest a bit easier tonight knowing that real gaming on the Pre is at hand. We’ll hopefully be getting our hands on a version soon, but for now hit the read link for more info, and check out the full video after the break!

Continue reading The Pre gets PlayStation gaming and more thanks to ZodTTD (video)

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The Pre gets PlayStation gaming and more thanks to ZodTTD (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 30

Sony patents new Cell-based PS2 emulator

Posted in: patent, playstation, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, Today's Chili

At first glance, we thought this all sounded a little too familiar: as you know, some PS3s had software-based PS2 emulation way back in 2007. So it was a little bit of a surprise when Siliconera unearthed patent docs dated last December (and only published by the patent office late last week) for the technology to decode and recompile software written for the PS2’s Emotion Engine on the current device’s Cell Processor. There’s been some speculation that this functionality might be included in the rumored slim PS3 at some point — either in the form of support for your old school PS2 discs or for digital downloads. Who knows? You might be playing your old copy of Shrek: Super Party! on your PS3 sooner than you think.

[Via Joystiq]

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Sony patents new Cell-based PS2 emulator originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 30

Sony seeks official PlayStation peripherals — offers logo, good time

Posted in: accessories, controller, Peripherals, playstation, ps3, psp, Today's Chili

Do you dream of big plastic tennis-rackets and steering-wheel snap-ons for Sony’s upcoming motion controller? Yeah, then why not build them yourself? Sony Computer Entertainment has launched its Official Licensing Program that gives accessory and peripheral makers in Japan, Asia, North America, and Europe access to all the PS3, PSP, and PS2 tech documents and schematics required to qualify your product for an “Official Licensed Product” logo. Sure, you’ll likely have to hand over some cash for the privilege, but imagine the bank that awaits the person who converts the glowing orb atop Sony’s motion controller into the very first official PS3 lightsaber.

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Sony seeks official PlayStation peripherals — offers logo, good time originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 25

iPhone 3GS PlayStation, Game Boy Advance emulators demoed on video

Posted in: Apple, iPhone, playstation, Today's Chili

A final iPhone 3GS jailbreak hasn’t been released yet, but that isn’t stopping enterprising hackers from trying to get at all that extra horsepower, and some of the first notable hacks we’ve seen are these updated PlayStation 1 and Game Boy Advance emulator ports, which run way faster than the versions for the original and 3G. The revved up hardware in Apple’s latest is apparently capable of running either of these at 150 – 225fps with zero frameskipping, which is pretty impressive. Of course, we’ll be way more impressed when the Dev Team releases a 3GS jailbreak and we can hit these up ourselves, but in the meantime there are plenty of videos to with which to while away the time at the read links.

Read – Emulator videos
Read – ZodTTD blog post with more info

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iPhone 3GS PlayStation, Game Boy Advance emulators demoed on video originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 15

Sony working on a PSP non-game app store?

Posted in: apps, AppStore, playstation, psp, sony, Today's Chili

Now that Sony’s committed itself to downloadable games with the PSP Go, it’s only natural to wonder where that strategy might lead — and the hot buzz says there’s an “app store” of sorts due in August at Gamescom. The new section of the Playstation Store will supposedly impose a 100MB limit on content and set prices in the $2 – $6 range, but otherwise have no restrictions, meaning devs will be free — and even encouraged — to code up non-game apps as well. Of course, you’ll still be able to snag other PSP titles from the other parts of the store, but if this actually happens it’ll be interesting to see if Sony can channel some of the energy from the vibrant PSP homebrew scene into a more legit distribution channel. We’ll keep an eye out.

[Via Joystiq]

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Sony working on a PSP non-game app store? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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