Late last night Nintendo announced that stating this Sunday, the Wii will be $50 cheaper in North America. That means come Sept. 27 you can snag the motion-controlled console for $199.
This news really shouldn’t come as that big of a surprise. Over the last few weeks numerous leaked documents helped fueled rumors of a price drop.
Just last month, both Microsoft and Sony announced price cuts for the Xbox 360 and PS3. Many are questioning whether Nintendo had planned this price cut long ago, or is the company just trying to follow suit. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.
Today Sony announced that the PlayStation 3 will be receiving a slimmer version, that will hit retailers during the first week in Sept.
The new model, which is priced at $299 USD and 299 Euros, includes an internal 120 GB hard drive, 2 USB ports, and and is said to be one-third smaller. Sony stated that the new PS3 Slim will have the same functionality as the classic PS3, meaning no backwards compatibility.
One strange subtraction has been made to the PS3 Slim. The “Install Other OS” feature, standard in all previous PS3 models, has been removed. Sony explained the subtraction by saying, “the new PS3 system will focus on delivering games and other entertainment content, and users will not be able to install other Operating Systems to the new PS3 system.”
Sony also announced that a $100 price cut is now in effect for all old PS3 models. This means that the 80GB model is now $299 and the 160GB model is $399.
Today Sony announced that the PS3 and PSP will be receiving a digital reader service, allowing gamers to download and read comic books on their consoles.
According to Sony, the “biggest names in the comics world” have signed on to the new service, which debuts this Dec. So far, the only publisher known is Marvel Comics, publisher of Spider-man, X-Men, and The Avengers. Sony has stated that other publishers are “to be announced soon.”
So far we know that the service will be made available in both North America and Europe. More details are set to arrive when Sony takes the stage at the GamesCom 2009 conference.
Today publisher Atlus announced that it will bring Spike’s PSP brawler Kenka Banchou 3 to North America. In addition to this announcement, Atlus sent out a survey so fans could help rename the title.
According to Atlus, “The game is all about you proving yourself as the baddest hombre in town, accomplished by putting your fist as ungently as possible into the faces and guts of your opponents.”
Sounds like your typical brawler, but Why is a name change necessary? Atlus stated Kenka Banchou 3 is the “equivalent of ‘Awesome Master of Badass Beating-Up-People Guys.’”
Kenka Banchou 3, or whatever it ends up being called in the states, is slated for an early 2010 release.
For their efforts, each player on the winning teams takes home a Resistance: Retribution prize pack worth $1,4200. That prize pack consists of: Resistance leather bomber jacket, $500 SonyStyle Gift Card, and a PSP TV prize pack (32″ XBR TV, PSP 3000, 16GB PRO Duo and Component AV Cables).
Let’s give all the players a hand for their efforts in two grueling brackets!
Today a Sony representative announced that Titan Studios’ PS3 exclusive, Fat Princess has been pushed back, and now is scheduled to arrive later this summer.
Fat Princess was originally slated to hit the PlayStation Store sometime in June. With next Thursday being the last PS Store update for this month, gamers concluded that Fat Princess must be included in the update. Unfortunately PlayStation Store Team member Mike Kebby wrote on the European PlayStation Blog, “Fat Princess will have a global release date, but I can confirm for you it will not be next week I’m afraid. The game is coming at some point this summer, but there is no confirmed release date at the moment.”
Hopefully “some point this summer” means early July. From what I’ve seen of Fat Princess, I’m pretty excited. The unique look and the twist on classic capture the flag mechanics seems to be the signs of a summer hit.
Since it was first announced way back at E3 2008, Zipper Interactive’s MAG has been garnering a lot of attention. I guess that comes easy when your are selling a PS3 exclusive, 256 player first-person shooter.
Today Zipper Interactive released the first of, hopefully, many developer diaries. In the video, lead gamer designer Andy Beaudoin discusses the story line of MAG.
According to Beaudoin, the game, which is set 25 years into the future, focuses on private military contractors fighting a “shadow war.” The story may sound a little predictable, but it’s expected from a multiplayer only title.
Aside from the story, the video shows some interesting in-game footage. If you ask me, MAG is shaping up to be on my must have list for this fall.
Only nine teams remain in GGL’s $25,000 Resistance: Retribution tournament, and that number is dropping daily.
On the 2v2 side of things, #2 seed s.o.u.l and #7 Q-deathsquad will battle to the death. The winner has the honor of facing off against #3 Blood Brothers, a team that placed consistently at the top of the 2v2 ladder.
At the top of the bracket, #16 Polonian Resistance and #20 7th Sign go head to head. Will seeding decide the outcome or can lower seeds pull off some upsets? Only the 2v2 players can decide that in the coming days, and it will be decided by a razor thin margin.
In 4v4-land, a low-seeded team already exerted its will–and booted out the top seed. 9th-seeded team 4-Play clubbed #1 Six Feet Under, advancing to the 4v4 semi-finals.
Now 4-Play will look #4 Sick Kill Zone in the eye and attempt another upset. Expect violence.
Update: View the Resistance: Retribution brackets here: 2v2 and 4v4.
With $27,000 in prize packs on the line, hardened competitors went to battle on the GGL ladders this weekend to finalize their standing on our Call of Duty: World at War (Xbox 360 and PS3) and Resistance: Retribution (2v2 and 4v4 on PSP) ladders.
The dust is settling now, and we have two #1s from CoD:WW and two first seeds from the R:R competitions. A few administrative tasks need to be sorted out before we can officially declare the winners, but right now LagStars (CoD:WW 360), Hate Us (CoD:WW PS3), ARJUN (R:R 2v2) and Six Feet Under (R:R 4v4) are in control.
Note that the Resistance: Retribution competition will be going into a bracket format with the top teams immediately after ladder winners are verified, so there’s still more action to come.
According to Media Molecule, gamers will soon be able to share their custom LittleBigPlanet level through the web.
Alex Evens, studio co-founder, stated: “Rather than going on forums and saying, ‘Please search for my level,’ you can just say, ‘Here’s a link.’” These links will allow gamers to queue up level downloads. The next time you start up LBP, the levels will download. According to Evens, the new level sharing functionality will come “as soon as possible.”
Personally I think this is a great idea. There has been numerous times friends of mine have made levels that I couldn’t find. Now I just need to ask them to email me a link.
The real story this week is that we have two new teams in the top five! BrothersinArms and the Mexio-based oblivion climbed to 4th and 5th, respectively. Great job, and way to secure good positioning for the brackets!
Ultimately, it will take a few willing participants to knock ARJUN out of the first spot (and first bracket seed). We’ll check in with these skilled teams in a couple of days to see if anyone can build the momentum to do it. Until next time…
ARJUN keep advancing while other teams scramble to combat them. There may be some hope in the form of Silent Force, who have put together a 6W streak, but things are looking bleak. Gunz-N-Death seem to have lost points from last week, either through declining challenges or forfeiting–but things aren’t looking too great for anyone who isn’t ARJUN right now.
Let’s hope someone can get within 100 points of the ladder leaders and make this interesting soon. The Resistance: Retribution tournament switches over to a bracket format May 24. We’ll update with more information on the tournament soon, but remember: You can still join up and play now. Just follow these links:
Late last night Nintendo announced that stating this Sunday, the Wii will be $50 cheaper in North America. That means come Sept. 27 you can snag the motion-controlled console for $199.
Today publisher Atlus announced that it will bring Spike’s PSP brawler Kenka Banchou 3 to North America. In addition to this announcement, Atlus 
The dust has settled in 
Today a Sony representative announced that Titan Studios’ PS3 exclusive, Fat Princess has been pushed back, and now is scheduled to arrive later this summer.
According to Media Molecule, gamers will soon be able to share their custom LittleBigPlanet level through the web.