In common with much of the rest of the PlayStation 3’s launch, Gran Turismo HD Concept has had a rather troubled entry into the world. At last year’s Tokyo Games Show, developer Polyphony Digital head honcho (and all-round God-like genius) Kazunori Yamauchi showed the game, and asserted that it would be available for a low box price, accompanied by a welter of downloadable items. Now Kazunori-san (as he is universally known) has backtracked somewhat – but that isn’t bad news for PS3 owners in the US and Japan, or prospective PS3 owners in the UK. Because GT HD Concept is now available free via the PlayStation Network, and Sony has stated that any accompanying downloads will also be free of charge. Effectively, the move allows Kazunori-san to concentrate on creating Gran Turismo 5 – perhaps THE most hotly anticipated PS3 game – and anything that might mean we get GT5 sooner than we otherwise would has got to be good in our book.
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May 9, 2006. I’d say that was the day. The day the internet turned. But firstly, some history - a look back to when Sony entered the videogame industry…
It didn’t take long for the majority to fall for the PlayStation. Sony seemed to do everything right. They aimed it at ‘cool’ people in the UK. They showed it off at the Ministry Of Sound. They secured big arcade titles such as Ridge Racer and Tekken. WipEout made people realise they could play videogames without feeling embarrassed! And lastly, it was priced on a par with the competition, if not lower. This led to 102m in worldwide sales over the 11 years of its lifespan, as well as the PlayStation brand securing a huge fan base; something that meant the PlayStation 2 was always going to be tipped for success.
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1UP are running a very candid interview with (God Of War creator/creative director of Sony Santa Monica Studios) David Jaffe. They went to Sony’s San Diego offices to talk to him about the downloadable PS3 game Calling All Cars, but ended up with a much more far reaching interview, taking in future strategy and some very honestly delivered opinions.
Check it out here - www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3156560
Much has been written about the perceived lack of hardware sales-driving “killer” launch games for the PlayStation 3, with the honourable exceptions of MotorStorm and Resistance: Fall of Man. Both of which, of course, are Sony-published titles. Such reports have been rather skewed by the fact that precious few PS3 games published by third parties have made their way to the UK. But, we’re proud (and somewhat relieved) to report, the first killer PS3 launch title (in Europe, at least) has surfaced: Virtua Tennis 3, published by Sega.
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Following the new pics, here’s a F1 press release that’s now doing the rounds.
OVERVIEW
Developed by the highly experienced team at Studio Liverpool, FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION uses the inherent power of PLAYSTATION 3 to deliver an unprecedented level of realism in recreating the FORMULA ONE experience, allowing players to get closer to the sport than ever before.
As the only official interactive game of the FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP™, this is the chance for gamers to rewrite the 2006 season with all the official drivers, teams, cars, circuits and racing rules. Enhanced driving aids allow FORMULA ONE newcomers to enjoy the exhilaration and thrill of the sport while online play will demonstrate whom the real world champion is with a full 22-car grid. Adding to the fun, PLAYSTATION 3’s SIXAXIS Wireless Controller will enable gamers to discover a new way of racing with its motion sensing technology.
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Here’s some new F1 images you probably haven’t seen before.
There has also been speculation flying around that Warhawk may be cancelled. We can confirm that this is categorically not true. Warhawk is currently scheduled for a June 07 release in the UK.
We’ve been told the 20GB model of the PS3 won’t be available in the UK during the inital launch window. The reason being that, having consulted with retailers, Sony expect demand for the 60GB model to significantly outstrip that for the 20GB model.
Sources close to Sony have all but confirmed that the various launch prices for the PS3 in Europe will be as follows:
Ireland - €629 (60GB)
Europe - €499 (20GB) / €599 (60GB)
UK - £425 (60GB)
So, why the difference in prices?
Ireland is an extra €20 compared to Europe due to their VAT rates being higher, at 21%. We weren’t given any real reason to why the UK price is £30 more than that of Europe …erm, other than the cost of living is greater in the UK and retailers won’t budge from their inflated mark-up!
Take a look at the following link for some further info: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=22289.
Also, you may have heard that Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sony Corporation, was quoted as saying the launch was going to be in April. We can confirm that this was a mistake and that everything is still being lined up for the March 23 launch date!
With the European launch of the PS3 just around the corner, here’s some reassurance from IGN that it’s been worth the wait as they award it ‘Best New Console’ of 2006.
IGN - Best of 2006:
Best New Console - PlayStation 3
‘Console launch years only come around twice a decade or so, and they’re always guaranteed to be exciting years. The 360 matured dramatically since this time last year and its second-generation titles like Gears of War and CoD3 made the PlayStation 3’s job of shocking the world with its immense power rather difficult.
Nintendo’s Wii launched to massive mainstream applause and a lot of hope has been placed in the potential for gaming innovation via the console’s unique controller. Nintendo disappointed some, however, by choosing not embrace HDTV or to compete with Sony and Microsoft in processing power. The Wii can’t even play normal DVDs.
Judging the consoles based upon a broad perspective that includes software now available and coming in the future an entirely different argument could be formulated. However, from a hardware perspective, the PS3 is by far the more interesting console. Though the launch software hasn’t blown anyone away, the 360’s launch titles were equally unimpressive, and the system will certainly mature. Sony’s embrace of the PS3 as a computer rather than just a console, and the availability of supported Linux distributions for the console will also develop and will likely bear entirely unexpected fruit in future.’
Runner up:
Nintendo Wii
http://bestof.ign.com/2006/gear/1.html.
