Filed under: News

This week on the Japanese weekly sales charts, two PS3 games make a commendable debut. Yakuza 3 Way of the Samurai 3 (thanks, Fiddlesworth!) was sucked in and spat out by the top dog Kirby Super Star Ultra, but it still managed to land in second place, selling 81,047 copies. And who said Japanese gamers don’t enjoy first-person shooters? Resistance 2 makes it into the top 5 by the skin of its teeth, selling 33,584 copies. While Grand Theft Auto IV for the PS3 is still selling relatively strong, taking eleventh place, LittleBigPlanet isn’t doing quite as well — Media Molecule’s title in currently in twenty second place.

Check out the full chart, after the jump.

Continue reading In a sea of Japanese DS games, two PS3 titles still shine

In a sea of Japanese DS games, two PS3 titles still shine originally appeared on PS3 Fanboy on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: New Releases, PlayStation Store, PlayStation Network

Another Thursday, another PSN update. This one involves a PS1 game for you retrophiles, a whole bunch of the normal add-on content (though, sadly lacking in Loco Roco LittleBigPlanet costumes) alongside the BioShock add-on pack. There’s also the Linger In Shadows soundtrack available to grab for free and the first episode of Shoot! Both of which are definitely worth downloading. Here’s the full release list:

Playable Content

• Sim City 2000 PS1 game (£6.29)

Add-on Content

• 16x Need For Speed: Undercover add-ons (£1.49 - £6.99)
• LittleBigPlanet “Sack In The Box” costume (free)
• BioShock “Challenge Rooms” add-on pack (£6.29)
• Rock Band DLC (listed after the break)
• Guitar Hero World Tour DLC (listed after the break)

Music

• Linger In Shadows soundtrack (free)

Continue reading European PSN releases for November 20th

European PSN releases for November 20th originally appeared on PS3 Fanboy on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: PlayStation Network

Finally! After years of waiting, looks like Home is finally to release to the masses. Version 1.00 of the Home client has been released to beta testers. The new Home moves from the “Game” section of the XMB to the more appropriate “PlayStation Network” area.

A slew of changes have hit Home in its 1.00 update. The virtual PSP has disappeared, replaced with an easier-to-use Menu Pad (pictured). Various areas of Home have been renamed. An Online Manual and Tutorial have been added, to make it easier to understand the numerous features of Home. Players will now be able to background download new Home areas — it was a big hassle having to wait for a few minutes before loading each new area.

One of the big features of 1.00 is the Clubs system. This feature allows players to create clubhouses, where up to 32 players can meet. Although this feature is free to beta testers, it will be a paid service when Home rolls out to the public.

The new 1.00 beta looks like a significant improvement over previous versions of the service. Now, we’re going to wait for Sony to officially release the service to the entire PlayStation Network community.

[Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]

Home version 1.00 now available to beta testers, introduces Clubs originally appeared on PS3 Fanboy on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: e-Distribution Games

Square Enix recently opened a new studio in LA, one of their first major forays into Western development. The new studio will focus on digitally distributed games, according to GI.biz. “All formats - Xbox Live, WiiWare, PlayStation Network - are all viable formats for us,” said Square Enix USA’s John Yamamoto. “We started the in-house development team a couple of months ago and we’re starting with downloadable content because the team is still small.”

The new American studio is part of a drastic change at Square Enix; the new strategy is to embrace the Western market fully. “Japanese videogame software sales represent less than 15 per cent of the global market.” In order to compete, Yamamoto reiterates that Square Enix will be focusing on multiplatform titles. “To maximise and spread our games to as many users as possible I think we have to go to multiformat - the Xbox 360, PS3 and also the PC as well.”

Square Enix LA looking into PSN development originally appeared on PS3 Fanboy on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: e-Distribution Games

Here’s another PSN game for you. Topatoi is a 3D platformer, with a twist — a gyroscopic twist. Raph, a brave explorer, has made an emergency landing in an uncharted part of the world. He must find spare parts throughout the world to fix his spaceship and save his girlfriend.

In order to do so, he’ll have to traverse through various puzzle/platforming stages with his ATG: All-Terrain Gyroscope. It works like a giant spinning top toy. Controlling the ATG will be a bit tricky, as spinning it properly will affect the top’s speed and behavior.

Developed by Boolat, Topatoi will be available Winter 2008 through the PlayStation Store. To check out screenshots, go to WorthPlaying.

Topatoi spins onto PSN this winter originally appeared on PS3 Fanboy on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Deals and Bargains, Hardware

Play.com continues to do its best to make the PS3 as affordable as possible, despite Sony’s refusal to cut price. Two new bundles allow you to pick up an 80GB PS3 along with a whole load of extra goodies for no additional cost. The first bundle sticks a £300 price tag on an 80GB system, Batman Begins Blu-ray, Quantum of Solace, LittleBigPlanet and a Blu-ray remote. The second bundle swaps out Quantum of Solace for Grand Theft Auto IV and Batman Begins for 300.

Quality bundles, we’re sure you agree. A great improvement on the “PS3 + 1 game for £310″ bundles that we’re so used to. So if you haven’t taken the PS3 plunge yet, now might be the perfect time.

Deal: PS3 + 2 games + Blu-ray + remote = £300 originally appeared on PS3 Fanboy on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Natural Resources Defense Council Have…hey, look, wait. This is interesting. Because it’s about your money. Anyway, like I was saying, the Natural Resources Defense Council have released a report detailing how much money it costs the average American to run a gaming console. And, by extension, how much money you could save by taking those consoles and throwing them in the closet/garbage. Were you to decomission a 360, for example, you’d save yourself $11 a year. $11! Binning a PS3 would save you $15, while packing the Wii away - provided you haven’t already done so - will save you…$3 a year. Best keep it around then, in case Gran comes over and wants a swing at that “computer bowling”.

New Report: Video Games are Energy Drains [NRDC]

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The Natural Resources Defense Council Have…hey, look, wait. This is interesting. Because it’s about your money. Anyway, like I was saying, the Natural Resources Defense Council have released a report detailing how much money it costs the average American to run a gaming console. And, by extension, how much money you could save by taking those consoles and throwing them in the closet/garbage. Were you to decomission a 360, for example, you’d save yourself $11 a year. $11! Binning a PS3 would save you $15, while packing the Wii away - provided you haven’t already done so - will save you…$3 a year. Best keep it around then, in case Gran comes over and wants a swing at that “computer bowling”.

New Report: Video Games are Energy Drains [NRDC]

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You may as well settle in. Just like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, it looks like LittleBigPlanet will be bringing us enough DLC to justify multiple posts a week on the subject. Today’s comes courtesy of Sony Japan, who - bless them - love to announce their DLC ahead of time. Next week, two new LBP costumes will be made available in Japan; a turkey head, and a Resistance 2 outfit. Given the timing, we’ll assume that the turkey head is to symbolise thanksgiving, and given the particularly American nature of that holiday, we’ll assume it’ll be available in the US next week too. Can’t see why it wouldn’t bring the Chimera head along with it.

LittleBigPlanet [SCEJ, via Siliconera]

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Boy, we really, really hope you didn’t drop $599 (or more) of your hard-earned dollars on this “Konami.com exclusive” Metal Gear Solid 4 PlayStation 3 bundle that was going to be released in “very, very limited” quantities. And we hope you didn’t tear your silky, well-conditioned hair out during the painful pre-ordering process. Because now it can be had for a comparative song at Walmart.com, reduced to just $399 USD.

That’s the same price as the standard 80 GB model PS3 that Sony’s offering sans packed-in game and $100 less than the new 160 GB SKU bundled with Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Quantities may actually be genuinely limited this time and the offer appears to be online only, so if you’re feeling froggy, we’d recommend jumpin’.

PlayStation 3 40GB Limited Edition Kojima Silver Bundle w/ Metal Gear Solid 4 [Walmart - thanks, Shaun!]

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