Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
It seems that Imabikisou, which suddenly appeared a few months ago in a copy of Famitsu, is almost to the point of being released in Japan. Who knew? Even more surprising is the fact that a demo has been plonked onto the Japanese PSN sometime within the last 24 hours. The 903 megabyte sneak peek is the first playable content of the game that we've seen. While it was at the show floor at Tokyo Game Show, there simply wasn't enough time for us to check it out. The game had quite long queues and, as a consequence, will probably do quite well over in Japan.
We're doubtful that we'll see the game released in any English speaking territories, but if you fancy seeing what it's like then go download the demo from the Japanese PSN Store. Sure it might be difficult to understand, but there are still pictures and sounds, right? Depending on whether we can decipher the demo for ourselves, we may be putting up some impressions of the game later on.
Sony has recently been sending out emails requesting that PSN members check out the new End User License Agreement. The new, updated, agreement includes a load of new content. Specifically, this new new agreement includes rules and regulations for upcoming PSN features; restrictions on uploading vulgar or offensive content, spreading viruses or posting spam to other users. Obviously, this is most relevent for Home, but can also be linked to other games and services.
The updated EULA goes into effect on October the 30th. There has been some confusion with the version number of the EULA, which has been upgraded to 2.0. This has nothing to do with firmware version 2.0 and anyone expecting the mythical firmware update to come at the end of the month is setting themselves up for disappointment. What the new EULA does mean is that more exciting functionality for the PSN is on its way and that Sony are building their legal barriers just in case someone decides to get a bit saucy whilst playing Singstar in front of the PlayStation Eye.
This could very well be one of the best Blu-ray deals to date. Amazon currently has a buy one, get one deal on nearly 40 Blu-ray titles.
Although these movies may not be the greatest of Blu-ray offerings, most are pretty solid titles, and definitely deserve a home on your shelf. This is your chance to easily pick up titles like Invincible, The Prestige, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
And hey, if you've finally gotten enough of Lair, why don't you sit down with Matthew McConaughey's epic Reign of Fire?
Posted Oct 15th 2007 9:45AM by Andrew Yoon Filed under: News
Click for high-res image.
Just like before, the signs are becoming clear: the 40GB PS3 is making its way to America ... soon. Model 98006, or "PS3 40GB Spider-," can be found in the computer databases of Sony's store.Supposedly the system will be in stock on October 28th and will be on sale on November 2nd. We think everyone can make a pretty safe guess as to what movie will be bundled with the system based on the description. The system will retail for $400, as predicted by the internet community. We'll have to wait for Sony to provide confirmation -- which we don't think is too far away at this point.
It seems as if Sony has yet another low-budget PS3 model in the works - only this time it's made completely of chocolate. Sony unveiled a stack of 150 PS3s along with a giant Sixaxis controller during Eurochocolate in Perugia, Italy recently. Eurochocolate is an annual nine-day event for chocolate connoisseurs the world over, and features food tasting, competitions and all sorts of other stuff people like to do with chocolate.
However, the revelry quickly turned to shock when, after the unveiling, several people, who we assume were riotous Xbox 360 fanboys, rushed the stage and trampled Sony's hard work. Due to this diabolical act of terrorism, attendees were treated with free chocolate PS3s.
Reports from people on scene claim the PS3 Chocolate disappointingly lacked the internals to support backwards compatibility like Sony's other new system.
Posted Oct 14th 2007 10:00PM by Nick Doerr Filed under: News
Difficulty in cracking the PS3's programming architecture is a common complaint heard on the Sony side of the fence. After doling out a couple of tools to ease third-party development qualms, Sony has once again released a free, updated set of development tools to assist in getting used to the new console. Sony's SN System Tools people just released a free version 2.0 SN-DBS, which does ... something.
Compile times, that's it! SN-DBS is a tool that apparently reduces compile times by "distributing source code builds between cooperating PCs over a network." The improvements made in 2.0 for developers includes "building multiple projects in parallel, faster builds, an improved GUI with project view and improved support for asset builds." Well, it's nothing we'll see on the gaming end, but it's nice to know Sony is continuing to roll out free tools and support for interested developer studios.
It's that time of the week again. The Poll Police are going to keep this one short, since the poll speaks for itself. This past week, the PS3 lost a game that many, many people were looking forward to. A game that would have had PS3's jumping off of shelves in Japan like they were infested with some kind of jumping infestation. The police don't work with similes, just facts. Capcom canned Monster Hunter 3 for the PS3, but promised a big announcement certain to please PS3 fans by the end of next week. Our poll and your task: what is it?
We can't say for certain, but the trademarking of a game title and subsequent may be too close together for this announcement and the moving from multiplatform back to exclusive seems to go against Capcom's "multiplatform everything" ideology (though by that they seem to mean everything but PS3). We can't decide, so hopefully you can steer us in the right direction. Last week's results are after the jump.
This week's release list is US only, for some reason. With so many games being released next week, surely it makes sense to bring one or two forward and cash in on what is, frankly, a very slow week. Don't be disheartened though - keep plowing through Folklore and before you know it another five worthwhile games will have been released. Seriously - next week is insane. However, here's the full release list for this week:
Confusingly, Gamestop have booster packs and preconstructed decks for Eye of Judgment listed for release on the 15th. That's a full week before the game itself comes out. We'll be keeping an eye out to see if this is truly the case. If so, you can bet we'll be stocking up so that we're truly ready for when the game comes out. Check back this time next week for a, frankly, indecent list of new releases.
The horror-themed Blu-ray releases continue this week with a bevy of thrillers that should please any horror fan. Some may not like the decision to focus on the horror genre during the month of Halloween, but we're having a great time as some of the greatest horror movies have been released.
This week is arguably topped of with the director's cut of Hollow Man, but there's also AC/DC: Live at Donington thrown in, too. Some of you younger folks may not know, but AC/DC is one of the greatest rock bands of all time. You would make your father proud by picking it up and watching the greatest band to ever come out of Australia.
So you say you've got plodding framerates in some of your PS3 games, huh? Member "iBrad" over at the European PlayStation Forums seems to have a fix that should jump your frames back to perfection and continue to impress your friends. The process to gain this extra power is as follows:
"Like" set the BD/DVD upscaler off
Set the HDMI 24fps off
HDMI audio set should be put on bitstream
Turn off that PS3 upscaler/smoother
Disable: system display notify, media server, all other automatic settings ... if you're not playing a game online, go ahead and sign off the PSN.
While the post itself doesn't sound like the most intelligible programming genius around, the results speak for themselves. Another user, Mister_G, thinks the improved jump in framerate from disabling the above results from some of the functions (namely the XMB) using the PPE instead of an SPU for some reason. Try it out and let us know if the trick works for you! [via N4G]
So, who won our week-long Star Wars Battlefront PSP giveaway? Well, here's the list of winners so far: Jonah P. from Joystiq, Silver R. from PS3 Fanboy, Joe from PSP Fanboy, and drinkdrink from PS3 Fanboy. These winners have already been contacted -- congrats to them! Now, check out some of this week's updates on PSF. This week, we're proud to feature four reviews, most of them great, one of them hilariously bad.
Downloads
PS Fanboy Wallpapers: Volume 6 Stranglehold wallpapers. For download on PS3 and PSP.
Everyday Shooter is one of those titles that popped up out of nowhere a few months ago. Its creator, Jonathan Mak, was the winner of three separate awards during the Independant Games Festival awards at GDC this year. After this he was approached by Sony and asked to develop his winning title, Everyday Shooter, for the PSN. Finally, the game is now available on the American PSN.
To begin with, it's easy to mentally throw Everyday Shooter on top of the ever-growing pile of dual-analogue shooters. The PSN alone already has more than enough with Blast Factor, Super Stardust HD and Nucleus already vying for the title of "best shooty point collector." Everyday Shooter, however, manages to differentiate itself from all the others by introducing new, innovative gameplay mechanics, an incredible score and an intimate, personal experience which is the closest thing I've felt to video games being art.
Every week, PSP and PS3 Fanboy will bring you new backgrounds for your Sony consoles, in resolutions up to 1080p. Download them directly to your PS3 by accessing PS3 Fanboy on your system. Download PSP wallpapers directly to your PSP by accessing the site wirelessly at m.pspfanboy.com.
This weekend, we're focusing on Midway's upcoming PS3 title Stranglehold.
Now this could be the first time a demo for a demo has ever been released as GT Channel is reporting Sony will offer the Gran Turismo 5: Prologue demo free directly from the PlayStation Store beginning Oct. 20.
The demo will likely be the same as the one shown at Tokyo Game Show, which featured 16 vehicles and three tracks. You might remember Sony removed Gran Turismo HD from the PS Store in late September, paving the way for GT 5: Prologue.
Unless something else swoops down to unseat it, GT5: Prologue will be the most expensive demo ever at about $43 for the disc version and about $39 from the PS Store.
With the European 40GB PlayStation 3 finally out in the open, Sony execs just can't stop talking about it. According to Ray Maguire, SCE UK managing director, Sony's newest console is part of "a very carefully thought-out plan."
While acknowledging that other factors like decreasing production costs, industry pressure and a need to increase its install base contributed, Maguire said Sony has been considering this model since the PlayStation 3 launched.
Of course, the main complaint against the PlayStation 3 has always been its price, but Maguire thinks the lower-priced 40GB model will appease the haters. "If the product was too expensive, of course they're going to feel 'anti,' but now I imagine there will be some changing of attitudes," he told MCV. It's true, the 40GB model's price is much closer to the Xbox 360's, only with a lot more features. However, only time will tell if the move will help Sony recapture the lead in the console wars.
This could very well be one of the best Blu-ray deals to date. Amazon currently has a buy one, get one deal on nearly 40 Blu-ray titles.
The horror-themed Blu-ray releases continue this week with a bevy of thrillers that should please any horror fan. Some may not like the decision to focus on the horror genre during the month of Halloween, but we're having a great time as some of the greatest horror movies have been released.
