Toys R Us are going to take firm preorders for Playstation 3 consoles at their national stores across America.

Now, Wii preorders are being taken from tomorrow onwards (Oct 29) and there is a possibility that they will also take PS3 preorders. They will relieve you of $50 for the privilege which is refundable as just placing a deposit is not an actual gaurantee of a successful preorder.

 

 

Bearing in mind what happened at the preorder rush at Gamestop and EB Games then you will be well advised to get down the store before opening time. Now, we wouldnt necessarily recommend the use of a tent and sleeping bag but to stand any chance at all you may have to be there before sunrise ! 

The only problem then is if the Store’s staff and their friends do not want one!

 

There is some news announced today that SONY has delayed the launch of it’s  Blu-Ray  next gen DVD player. Its more bad news yet again for SONY and will cause angst and concern amongst those counting on its production, namely the Movie companies and DVD stockists.

However,  , the good news is that the reason for the Blu-Ray delay is so that they can put the vital Blu-Ray diode component in the Playstation 3.
SONY feels that the PS3 is by far the biggest priority and will have the greater ultimate affect on profitability.

So, good news for us gamers….
It should ensure SONY manages to stick to it’s target of producing a million units by Christmas.

Can you imagine if they suddenly announced a delay in the PS3 and put the launch date back to January….. EEK!

So, what do you get in that $500 or $600 cardboard box with your Playstation….

• One Sixaxis controller
• AC cord
• USB mini-cable
• Ethernet cable
• Multi-AV cable with composite connectors

The standard controller has a 20 meter wireless range and it can last up to 30 hours on one charge.

Oh, lucky us, the first 500,000 units to roll off the production line include the Blu-ray edition of Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Yippee… 

 

What do you NOT get :

• USB keyboard ($30-50)
• Extra wireless controller ($40-$50)
• PS3 to HD-TV cable ($30-$xxx)
• Memory card adaptor ($15)
• Downloadble games ($15)
• Full games ($60)
• Remote control for the Blu-Ray disc drive ($25)

Still, the Online Network service is FREE and Xbox charge $50 a year for it !

 

SONY has confirmed just how well the PSP can integrate with the Playstation 3 and its all VERY good news.

Okay, so you have your Playstation 3 sitting at home apparently doing very little BUT now you can hook up your PSP (Playstation Portbable) remotely anywhere with a Wi-Fi hotspot!

What does this actually mean? Well, the PS3 can act as a Media Hub with the PSP acting as a Remote Access Point. It just needs to pick up a local wireless connection and you can communicate with your PS3.

Your PSP can be used to view videos, movies, pictures and listen to music that are stored on your PlayStation 3 …. from anywhere in the world !

Awesome. I wonder if SONY will do a special deal on a combination bundle of PS3 with PSP? Mind you, it will likely cost towards $1000 so it’s not for those with hollow pockets!

After what seems an achingly long wait SONY have officially announced details on the online functionality of the Playstation 3. Yippee!

It is to be called the Playstation Network.  And its FREE !

Really, it just confirms what was widely expected: Players will be able to compete against each other online and also enter online communities, clubs and chat rooms. Furthermore, PS3 owners will be able to download games, music, movies and games extras such as extra cars, armoury, battlefields, costumes, etc.

The PS3 online service will use the navigation system currently seen on SONY’s PSP handheld games machine.

Yummy, I can only imagine how good this game is to play with the Logitech steering wheel shown in a post below….

They are making an online version  (GT HD Premium) and a standard version (GT HD Classic). The online version sounds brilliant. Although the game starts off with a selection of 30 cars and 2 tracks there will an opportunity to purchase more cars on their bespoke online ordering center. I heard a rumor that the cars are so detailed that EACH car takes up to 6 months to finish!!!!   Thats worse than the real thing!

These cars will come at an extra cost, probably payable through SONY’s intended eCommerce area. If you cant reach the cost of a car then you will be able to download different liveries for your existing cars and even performance enhancing modifications..

I can see the boy-racers turning up online just to show off their creations!  And why not! There should be a pretty cool online community for this game.

Who wants to guess how much a downloadable car will cost ?

When you buy your PS3 console you will only get the one controller…

Yep, you will have to reach into your pocket of pain and shell out even more money if you want to play along with friends or family. SONY have already anounced that the standard controller is the one above-left even though pictures of the silver ‘Batarang’ controller on the right were circulated early doors and in fact shown with the PS3. The Bat does look cool but SONY were right to keep it safe and intuitive by including a controller that Playstation fans are comfortable with from the start.

Of course, third party suppliers of controllers are all lining up and ramping up production to take a chunk out of the lucrative controller market.

One such company is Logitech with its new Logitech® ChillStreamâ„¢ controller especially built for the Playstation 3. Unbelievably it has a patented built-in fan cooling system to stop your palms getting too sweaty! Logitech has also said that several of it’s existing products wil work with the PS3 including the Logitech® Driving Force Pro wheel (Need for Speed and GT here I come)  so that is great news offering us all more choice ! It comes in two finishes — metallic silver or glossy black — and features metal detailing on the mesh intake cover. It is expected to retail at $39.99 in the US but should be available globally.

The Logitech controllers are available at launch so we will all be able to get one along with our consoles (when we are lucky enough to get of one, that is.) There is no way I will be walking out oif the shop with just the one controller in the box!

We know SONY has these two versions coming out.

We also now know that SONY doesnt particularly want to sell the 20GB version as shown by the fact that the 60GB version represents 80% of the consoles being launched in November.

Another point to mention is that there is only a 20% difference, using the US as an example, with the 20GB version retailing at $499 and the 60GB at $599.

Beaing in mind that the 60GB has the extas as shown below, who REALLY WANTS a 20GB version!?

PLUS… the 60GB version has the sexy silver strip accross it’s case…

PlayStation 3 Standard Package – $499 U.S.

• PlayStation 3 console
• Wireless controller
• 20GB hard drive

PlayStation 3 Premium Package – $599 U.S.

• PlayStation 3 console
• Wireless controller
• 60GB hard drive
• Memory Stick
• Compact Flash reader
• SD Reader
• HDMI port
• Built-in WiFi (802.11b/g)

This could and should be the greatest F1 racing game so far…

The pictures look really impressive and I cannot wait to get my hands on it to compare it against the other racing games. There is no way I can afford them all so I will have to make my decisions based on playing them at the stores or by reading the many magazine reviews!

The main problem is my decision making process is the competition…

Need for Speed Carbon , Sega Rally Revo, Motorstorm, etc… Aghhhhh!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are the titles announced so far.

They include titles from SONY and third parties and a couple of them can be downloaded from SONY’s Online Center.

Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII
Call of Duty 3
College Hoops 2K7
David Jaffe’s Airwave Project
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The Bethesda
F.E.A.R.
flOw
Full Auto 2: Battlelines
Genji: Days of the Blade
Madden NFL 07
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire
NBA 2K7
NBA Live 07
Need for Speed Carbon
NHL 2K7
Resistance: Fall of Man
Ridge Racer 7
Sonic the Hedgehog
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas
Tony Hawk’s Project
Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom

Let me know if you hear of any more and I will update the list upon confirmation.

There is a decent choice of titles covering just about every genre. Myself, Iid love to pick up a couple of fighting games, one racer and one wild card..

Decisions, Decisions….