May 08

Sony Ericsson president: PlayStation phone “could happen”

Posted in: cellphones, gaming, playstation, psp, rumor, sony, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson, speculation, Today's Chili, VideoGames

Well, this is certainly one rumor that just won’t die — nor is it likely to, not as long as the company has its hands in both manufacturing handsets and game consoles. According to an article in the Financial Times, Sony Ericsson president Hideki “Handsome Dick” Komiyama discusses his struggle to reposition the company as one the world’s top three phone makers. Among bright ideas and desperate measures mulled over, the man in charge lets slip that no plan is too crazy or far-fetched to consider. Even a PlayStation-branded phone? “Could happen,” he is quoted as saying. And there you have it! Begin warrantless speculation: now.

[Via Unwired View]

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Sony Ericsson president: PlayStation phone “could happen” originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 May 2009 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 01

PlayStation 3 motion-sensing controller to be shown off at E3?

Posted in: controller, playstation, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, remote, remote control, RemoteControl, rumor, rumors, sony, Today's Chili

It’s now just over a month before Sony’s E3 press event and already the rumor mill is aflutter with what the comapny’s planning to debut on stage. We’ve already heard about PSP’s apparent makeover, and now comes word from Variety that the PlayStation 3’s oft-rumored motion sensing controller, closer in the vein of the Wii remote than of its relative-positioning Sixaxis pad, will be getting some time on stage. A source from Kombo late last month suggested key third-party develoeprs have already been brought up to speed and asked to implement the functionality into their upcoming titles. Like we said, this isn’t the first time we’ve been down this road, and it’s not happened infinitely more times than has, so… take that as you will. Brace yourself, this is only the beginning of the of a flurry of game-related murmurs and speculation in the leadup to next month’s conference.

Read – Variety
Read – Kombo

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PlayStation 3 motion-sensing controller to be shown off at E3? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 May 2009 01:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 24

Sony sued for cheating man out of rumble patents

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

Two years after we thought it was all over, it sounds like the saga of Sony, Immersion, and the rumblin’ DualShock has yet another chapter: a New Jersey electrical engineer named Craig Thorner is now suing Sony and its attorneys, claiming that he was more or less duped out of one of his patents in a shady deal designed to help Sony and PDP/Electrosource beat Immersion’s cases against them. Oh yeah, it’s a tangled mess — Thorner first signed over his patent to Immersion, hoping to score a little slice of royalty pie when the lawsuit settled, but then took it back when he decided Immersion wasn’t pursuing it hard enough and signed it over to PDP/Electrosource, who promised him $150,000. So where does Sony come in? Thorner says PDP and Sony were teamed up to beat Immersion, and that Sony was secretly the one licensing the patent but trying to remain out of the picture to keep the price down — and he’s got proof, in the form of a $150,000 wire transfer between the two companies. Not only that, but Sony’s attorneys apparently promised Thorner that they could “wear two hats” during negotiations and represent both him and Sony, which is ten kinds of shady. You can guess what happened next: Sony lost, PDP settled, and Immersion sued Thorner for breaking his agreement — and Sony’s attorneys didn’t help him defend the lawsuit. Did we say ten kinds of shady? Eleven kinds. Of course, it’s doubtful that Thorner is totally innocent here, so it’ll be interesting to see how Sony responds, but at this point we’re treating the DualShock 3 as a miracle of nature and leaving it at that.

[Via Joystiq]

Read – GamePolitics article (with PDF of the complaint)
Read – Law.com article

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Sony sued for cheating man out of rumble patents originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 21

Qtv launches console IPTV platform on the PlayStation…. 2

Posted in: playstation, streaming, streaming video, StreamingVideo, Today's Chili, YouTube

In one of the more unexpected developments from NAB 2009, Qtv is pushing its streaming media player platform for consoles. Not an altogether radical idea we know, but what’s different here is a plan to launch first on the PlayStation 2 and move to newer hardware later. From the makers of the Qcast technology behind the GameShark Media Player, Qtv includes YouTube and access to streaming video from other sources, plus pictures, music and video (DivX, h.264, XviD & more) from USB devices or networked computers. The PS2 may not be the first HD set-top box we thought of, it does have the highest installed base. The Qtv player launches later this year and will be available on Mac and PC as well for “less than $50,” although thanks to the free 30-day trial the hardest part may be remembering where we left our PS2s.

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Qtv launches console IPTV platform on the PlayStation…. 2 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 07:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 17

Special Edition Advent Children PlayStation 3 unboxed in all its matte glory

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

There’s a lot to love about the special edition 160GB Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete Cloud Black PlayStation 3 bundle that was unleashed this week in Japan — a fancy Strife Wolf emblem, a copy of Advent Children Complete on Blu-ray, and a Final Fantasy XIII demo you can’t play anywhere else — but perhaps our favorite part is the console’s matte finish. For us, a smudge-resistant PS3 is well worth the 49,980 yen (US $505) price of admission. 1UP has the unboxing, hit up the read link for more pics.

[Via Joystiq]

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Special Edition Advent Children PlayStation 3 unboxed in all its matte glory originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Apr 2009 07:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 13

Netflix on the lookout for gaming platforms engineering guru

Posted in: Games, gaming, netflix, nintendo wii, NintendoWii, playstation, playstation 3, Playstation3, Today's Chili, video games, VideoGames, wii

We’ve heard whispers of Netflix heading to other, non-Xbox 360 game consoles before, and now adding to the susurrus is a job listing from the company for Engineering Lead – Gaming Platforms. The description calls for someone familiar with the technical hurdles of current-gen consoles for building a small team to “rapidly prototype and iterate on a variety of platforms.” Whether or not this means we’ll be seeing PlayStation 3 or Wii services in the near (or even distant) future is anyone’s guess, but with Microsoft’s version so far a streaming success, we wouldn’t be surprised if the company took a few steps to increase the probability that 3 billionth delivered flick is digital.

[Via Joystiq]

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Netflix on the lookout for gaming platforms engineering guru originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 07

PlayStation 3 overtakes Wii in Japan, now about twice in a blue moon

Posted in: game, Games, gaming, nintendo, nintendo wii, NintendoWii, playstation, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, sony, Today's Chili, video games, VideoGames, wii

With all the doom and gloom stories we’ve seen about PlayStation 3 getting beat by Nintendo Wii, it’s refreshing to have some good news for a change. For the first time in 16 months, Sony’s console managed to best its motion-controlled competitor, 146,948 to 99,335 this past March in Japan, according to gaming research group / Famitsu publisher Enterbrain. The sales are undoubtedly helped by PS3 heavy-hitters Yakuza 3 and Resident Evil 5 debuting last month, and at this point we don’t expect the trend to continue, but for now Sony, enjoy your victory and bask in the knowledge that you’re still totally kicking Xbox 360’s rear in your home country.

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PlayStation 3 overtakes Wii in Japan, now about twice in a blue moon originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 06:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 01

PS3 2.70 firmware adds in-game text chat, video backup

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

Sony’s just released the details for its upcoming PlayStation 3 2.70 firmware update, and while it’s nothing that’ll knock your socks off, they are some goodies here to look forward to. Additions include text chat for letting you make the best of that new Wireless Keypad — or some other physical / on-screen keyboard — with up to fifteen online friends and / or three chat rooms, in-game or out. Speaking of online friends, those can now be sorted by online status to see who most recently logged on, and the file attachment size cap has been upped from 1MB to 3MB. Additionally, you can now back up your PS Store video purchases to an external drive and restore later for playback, and similarly your PSP video purchases can now be transferred to PS3 for a larger-screen experience. No word on the release date for now, but in the meantime, check out video demonstration after the break.

Update: Well that was fast. Firmware’s available now, let us know what you think.

Continue reading PS3 2.70 firmware adds in-game text chat, video backup

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PS3 2.70 firmware adds in-game text chat, video backup originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Apr 2009 22:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 30

Sony: ‘no plans’ for a PS3 price cut

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

That PlayStation 3 price drop rumored to be coming tomorrow? Not happening, according to Sony. In a statement given to Joystiq, SCEA public relations manager Al De Leon says, “we do not have plans for a PS3 price drop, and any rumors to that effect are false and are the result of speculation.” Although we wouldn’t put it past the company to deny it up until the second before an official announcement, we seriously doubt Sony would announce any sort of price cut on the day it’s most likely to get drowned out by fake PSP2 mockups. No word on that speculated $100 PS2, but we wouldn’t get our hopes up here, either.

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Sony: ‘no plans’ for a PS3 price cut originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 10

NBC Universal content now available on PlayStation Network

Posted in: breaking news, BreakingNews, playstation, streaming video, StreamingVideo, Today's Chili

Good news for Playstation 3 owners — NBC and Sony have just announced that NBC Universal content is now available on the PlayStation Network. In addition to NBC shows like The Office, 30 Rock, and Heroes, new movie releases like Milk and Role Models will hit PSN day and date with the DVD release, and back-catalog titles like The 40-Year Old Virgin and The Big Lebowski should already be up. Pricing is ballpark with the competition: $2.99 to $5.99 for SD and HD rentals, and $9.99 to $14.99 for SD and HD purchases. Not bad, but we won’t be happy until these fools drop the shenanigans and give us what we really want: Hulu. Make it happen, guys.

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NBC Universal content now available on PlayStation Network originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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