Gizmodo: sony ps3

Leaked Shots: PlayStation 3 to Get Facebook in Next Update?

Danny Allen — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:04:12 EST

These dashboard screens—reportedly found directly on the UK version of PlayStation.com—suggest the PS3 will soon have Facebook integrated into the Cross Media Bar interface, plus a new photo viewing option, and the ability to change gamercard colors.

OK, the last one isn't super interesting, but the Facebook feature would be nice. Looks like Sony caught on before we had the chance to confirm the pics ourselves, but ScrawlFX says it found the them here, here and here. [ScrawlFX via Kotaku]

PS3's Augmented Reality Pet Game Is Like Your Own Pokemon

Don Nguyen — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:00:00 EDT

Augmented reality will soon be coming to games with Sony's EyePet for PS3. Kotaku took the game for a spin and were pretty impressed with how all the elements came together.

Players interact with their virtual pet using a bundled card and camera. The card is used to bring up menus when placed in front of the camera that allow users to bring out toys and monitor their pet's health, among other basic functions. Players are also able to play with their virtual critters by gesturing near the pet's vicinity. EyePet is set for a holiday release—and from the first impression, it looks like it'll be fun for the kids (the ones with allergies so severe they can't have real pets). [Kotaku]

Sony Not Planning PS3 Price Cut for Leipzig, Spokesperson Says

Elaine Chow — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Those hoping for a PS3 price cut in the near future better not hold their breaths. A Sony spokesperson confirmed on Friday that the company had no plans right now to give you another deal on the machine, and anyone hoping for that kind of news at Leipzig will be sorely disappointed. Given that they slashed the price less than a year ago, this shouldn't be too surprising. Though PS3 sales are still trailing behind the Wii, it's relatively recent discount put it neck to neck for second place with the cheaper Xbox 360. [Reuters]

Telegraph Says Scientists Excited by Future of Gaming Platforms

Eric Sheline — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 17:45:00 EST

Powerful game consoles are often just as programmable as research computers, and scientists are finding real world applications for them every day.

"There is no doubt that the entertainment industry is helping to drive the direction of high performance computational science," said Professor Peter Coveney of University College London.

The Sony PS3 and Nintendo Wii in particular can function as great scientific tools.

Gaurav Khanna, a professor at the University of Massachusetts, uses an array of 16 PS3s instead of a supercomputer to simulate two black holes merging.

"A single high-precision simulation can sometimes cost more than 5,000 hours on the TeraGrid supercomputers. For the same cost, you can build your own supercomputer using PS3s. It works just as well, has no long wait times and can be used over and over again, indefinitely," said Khanna.

We've previously seen how the Wii's cheap motion sensing technology has been useful to surgeons, but more recently, the Wii has been used during rehabilitation for recovering surgery patients and as an aid in Parkinson's therapy. Now, you can go and explain to your wife/mom/savings account why you needed all three next generation consoles on launch day—to cure cancer, obviously. [Telegraph]

Slim PS3 is Heading for Shelves this Autumn?

Haroon Malik — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 07:58:00 EST

The guys at T3 are saying one of their inside men has heard word that Sony will be producing a slimmer, sexier PS3 heading for the shelves this autumn. While everyone knows that Sony will eventually shrink its very obese console, such news would come as a surprise given that Sony took many more years to shrink their PSOne and PS2 (though Sony has recently successfully shrunken their Blu-ray laser to fit in laptops). Still, Sony's biggest goal at the moment is building consoles cheaper. Maybe that means small, too. Maybe it doesn't.

Either way, T3's mock-up looks sexy as hell, and they also think a new rumored 160GB model could appear in the new slinky, skinny-as-Kate-Moss form. [T3]

Sony Advertises PS3 by Confusing Us

Charlie White — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 13:00:00 EST

Steampunk meets The Matrix in Sony's crazy spot that reminds me of a bad dream I had last week. The company is trying to somehow illustrate how the processor power of the PS3 can keep you one step ahead, but we're just thinking somebody slipped some kind of special fairy dust into the bong bowl hidden in the back room of Sony's ad agency. We've seen some weird ads, but this one reaches a new level of strange. What a peculiar concept! No wonder Sony's thinking about ditching TBWA/Chiat/Day, its ad agency covering the PS3. But wait. The spot moved me to show it to you, so it must've succeeded on some level. [CrunchGear]

Sony Looking Toward Music and Movie Distribution on PS Network to Revive Flagging PS3 Sales

Jason Chen — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:02:04 EDT

In a move that reiterates the fact that Sony is putting the PlayStation 3's media capabilities first and its gaming capabilities fourth, they're working on a plan to distribute music and video through their PlayStation Network. In order to boost sagging sales of the console, they want to compete more directly with Microsoft's Xbox Live service with video (along with the PS3 DVR functionality they're rolling out in Europe) instead of gaming, a move that's as back-asswards as you can find. Ask anybody on the street why they're not buying a PS3 and we'll bet you $100 that it's not "because I can't download movies on it." [Financial Times]

Latest Batch of PS3s Suffer from Whiny Hard Drives?

Louis Ramirez — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 20:00:42 EDT

Believe it or not, but people are buying PS3s and the poor souls who bought from the last batch of 60GB consoles are claiming their systems are emitting a high-pitched whine when turned on.

A couple of other users at the official PS3 forums are claiming the same thing and it appears only machines with the serial numbers CE133190xxx and CE133212xxx are affected. Anyone out there experiencing the same thing or is this a case of overly sensitive ears? – Louis Ramirez

New PS3 Owners Report Noisy, Defective Consoles [DailyTech]

PS3 European Launch: A Continent Yawns and Continues Picking Its Nose

www.gizmodo.com — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 06:20:26 EDT

You've already heard about the free tellies and taxis over in London, well this is how the PS3 was welcomed in France - with a gallic shrug. Just 60 per cent of its 100,000 available units have been reserved, a smattering of press attended the official launch - and a pleasure boat coated with Xbox logos parked itself next to the Eiffel Tower for that all-important photo-op before chugging up and down the Seine. Yes, it was Microsoft who pulled out all the stops and got first dibs on what little press attention there was.

At midnight Spain, a major Sony stronghold, they were giving away half-price consoles but this morning retailers were reporting that the 600€ PS3s were not exactly flying off the shelves. An informal poll in El Corte Ingles, Spain's biggest retail chain, showed that there were still enough consoles to last until at least next week. Video of le bâteau in Paris and more European indifference/desperation after the jump.

The night before the Mayor of Madrid (he's the one looking at the la-las of the lady on his left in the picture below) was up way past his bedtime to present a cute tweenager with her first console courtesy of Banesto bank. They were selling PS3 at half the price to tout for new business (to get that offer you had to tell your employer to transfer your salary to your Banesto bank account for a minimum of 25 months). T-shirts with ~~"My mom had her paycheck paid into Banesto and all I got was this lousy T-shirt"~~ "I've got Playstation 3" emblazoned on the front and baseball caps were also doled out.

In Berlin, german gamers were treated to a free gig, courtesy of those nice people at Sony (thankfully, no David Hasselhoff). Italy got its consoles two days before everyone else, after retailers Darty announced that their PS3s were going on sale on Wednesday morning. Ooh, those Italians can't half be rebellious when they want to. – Ad Dugdale

PS3 Launch Leave Parisians Cold [Next Generation]

Blu-Ray Beats Up on HD DVD For Second Month Running

Louis Ramirez — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 21:12:13 EDT

The format war is far from over, but Sony's Blu-ray camp continues to enjoy the lead over Toshiba and the rest of the HD DVD gang, edging them out in movie sales yet again for the month of February. Both formats are competing to be the next high-def disc du jour, but so far in '07 Blu-ray has managed to outsell HD DVD titles in both January and February. HD DVD fans think it's just a fad due to the PS3's popularity (the PS3 is popular?), but for the month of February the Blu-ray folks moved around 250,000 titles versus 125,000 by the HD DVD camp. Does this mean you should buy a Blu-ray player? Not any time soon, as chances are we'll see a lot more back and forth before we get a real winner. – Louis Ramirez

Blu-ray Edges Out HD DVD in February [TG Daily]

PS3s of the Rich and Famous

Louis Ramirez — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 13:00:26 EST

While the rest of us plebes are stuck with our fat black PS3s, Sony invited a few of their celebrity friends out to the Palms Hotel this past weekend for a little PS3 pimpin'. At the "PlayStation Parlor" celebs like Kobe Bryant got to dip their newly minted PS3s in vats of glossy paint and later got the chance to laser etch them with their own designs. It sure beats having to customize your PS3 the old fashioned way. – Louis Ramirez

Stars Customize PS3s in Vegas [Complex]

Slimmer PS3 on the Way

Louis Ramirez — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 11:43:02 EST

It's no surprise to hear that Sony's already working on the next gen PS3, but rumor has it that the new PS3 will have a dramatically different design from its current incarnation, shedding loads of that initial baby fat for a nice svelte profile. Sony Japan says that they're expected to transition to 45-nm chips by 2008. These new chips would halve the size of the PS3's current 90-nm chips, allowing for that thinner, curvier PS3. Considering how fat the current model is, the idea of a slimmer console is a welcome idea indeed. – Louis Ramirez

PS3 Put on a Diet [T3]

PS3 Update Fixes PS1 and PS2 Compatibility Issues

Louis Ramirez — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 10:05:31 EST

Sony greeted its PS3 fans with a shiny new update this morning. Version 1.50 fixes backward compatibility issues with PS1 and PS2 games. Specifically, it'll allow them to run in progressive scan mode. Other than that, it's hard to tell what else has been fixed since there's no update log. Anyone notice any changes after installing the new update? – Louis Ramirez

Latest PS3 Firmware Hits, Fixes BC Graphical Issues [Kotaku]

Sony Stomps Out Hopes for a PS3 Price Cut

Louis Ramirez — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 15:14:07 EST

If you've been waiting for a PS3 price cut before diving into some next gen gaming, Sony has news for you. It ain't gonna happen. In an interview with Game Informer, Sony honcho Jack Tretton says that the R&D invested in the PS3 won't allow them to lower the price.

"There's a heck of a lot more under the hood and it costs us more money to make it. . . I think the consumers that get their hands on a PlayStation 3 clearly see the value and not only want to buy one for $599, in some instances they're willing to pay ridiculous prices to buy one on eBay."

Hmm, last time we checked those folks were running into a little bit of trouble themselves. – Louis Ramirez

Sony Honcho Negs PS3 Price-Cuts [Kotaku via Game Informer]

A Perfect Evening: 200 Inches, a PS3 and Thee

Louis Ramirez — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 14:59:10 EST

Those Japanese gadget critics must have it pretty cushy out there, if Yoshio Ohara's colossal PS3 setup is any indication. Not only does he get to play his PS3 games on a 200-inch screen, but he also gets to splurge on a $1,200 HDMI cable.

Let's hope the high price on that cable is some kind of translation error, because if you're paying $1200 for an HDMI cable, we have some prime real estate in south-central Florida to show you. Nevertheless, this is one jaw-dropping set up, rivaling those dudes who set up a movie theater to play bowling games on their Wii. – Louis Ramirez and Charlie White

PS3 at 200 Inches with Thousand Dollar Cable [Kotaku]

Nintendo Wii More Elusive Than PS3

Louis Ramirez — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 18:10:00 EST

Here in New York, finding a Wii has been pretty much impossible. But scoring a PS3 on the other hand, though hard, is still do-able. This unscientific stat backs up a recent analyst survey which shows that out of 52 retail stores, 28 of them still have PS3s in stock. (By comparison, Xbox 360 shortages lasted way into 2006, a year after its debut). Could this mean the PS3 has seen its 15 minutes of fame? That's what the analysts are saying. Any one else out there noticing a Wii shortage/PS3 overflow in other parts of the country? – Louis Ramirez

PS3s in Stock Show Demand May Be Softening [Reuters]

Logitech MediaBoard Lets You Ditch Your PS3 Controller

Louis Ramirez — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 10:25:20 EST

Leave it to the folks at Logitech to usher in the PS3's first dedicated wireless keyboard. The $79 Cordless MediaBoard is a full fledged keyboard with a built-in touch pad that lets you navigate through menus and browse through the Internet on your PS3 PC style. It works up to 30 feet away from your console and uses RF technology instead of the PS3's built-in Bluetooth (it comes with a USB dongle). As a Logitech fan, it's good to see the company rolling out its line of PS3 accessories. The MediaBoard will be out next month. – Louis Ramirez

Product Page [Electronista]

PCN To Roll Out Customized PS3s

Louis Ramirez — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 18:27:50 EST

Remember that white PS3 we showed you on eBay? Well, turns out its maker made some pretty good cash selling it ($1,425 to be exact) so now he's working on a follow up model, the red and silver PS3 you see here. We gotta hand it to the folks at PCN, this mock up looks pretty nice. Though personally, I liked the white one a bit more. – Louis Ramirez

Red and Silver Third-Party PS3s Coming [Kotaku]

Sony PS3: Best BD Player Out There?

Louis Ramirez — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 18:43:26 EST

Everyone knows that Sony's PS3 is the cheapest way to bring a Blu-ray player home, but is it the best? That's the question the folks at Home Theater Blog and Ultimate AV are trying to answer. Both agree that as a standard DVD player the PS3's image quality is a bit soft, but when it comes to Blu-ray titles the PS3 is no slouch.

Here's what they had to say.

Ultimate AV:

The PS3 more than holds its own in image quality, and wins hands down on boot up and disc access speed.

Home Theater Blog:

It would be hard for me to recommend a PS3 as a primary Blu-ray playback device; to those with zero interest in gaming. On the other hand for those with at least a passing interest in gaming, multimedia and Blu-ray playback, the PS3 does indeed offer an attractive mix of features.

So while it may be difficult to find (depending on where you live), the PS3 is your best bet as far as "bargain" BD players go. – Louis Ramirez

PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Disc Player [Ultimate AV]
Sony PlayStation 3 (BD Playback) [Home Theater Blog]

PS3 Greymarket Watch: $3,000 for a White PS3

Louis Ramirez — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 09:35:58 EST

Even if you were one of the lucky few to score a PS3 over the holidays, chances are it wasn't white, which is why Michal Birecki thinks his console is better than yours. Birecki used his father's body shop to give his PS3 a glossy white coat and 14 hours later emerged with this beauty, which he immediately put on eBay. You can kiss the warranty goodbye, however, since he cracked open the case during the paint job. Still worth $3,000? As awesome as it looks, not in my book. – Louis Ramirez

Dreaming of a White PS3 Christmas [Kotaku]