General gaming news

[Deejay]

Don't think the European market was Sony's biggest concern. Would they not have released it within the same week as Japan and NA if it was?

From the looks of it, anyone in the EU areas who wanted a PS3 allready acquired one prior to launch, lol. I imagine the PS3 being region free had alot to do with that, and the fact its apparently not very popular over there .

That still makes no sense considering the EU PS3 is region coded. So the only games they can play are JP/NA.

You've managed to confuse me Deejay, I don't know what you're trying to say, lol.

What does "JP/NA" games have to do with the "EU PS3" being region coded?

Maybe its just me but I don't think you can find a game for the PS3 thats not in either english or japanese.

Xavier kind of summed things up for me. I was replying to your post about how EU gamers could have imported PS3's from the NA/JP Launch. I called this stupid because the PS3 games that come out in Europe are region coded to the EU PS3. So they would be forced to play JP/NA games if they imported one the earlier launch.

Europe has purchased more Nintendo DS's than america so far and it was released here last.

Also with the year Delay on the PS2 when it was released here only makes US around 3 million units ahead on sales.

EU is growing...

While i do agree that Europe plays a big role due to their sales. I'm willing to bet that the only reason why EU has bought as many DS's as NA is because the DS is not region coded. You can ship it from anywhere and still have it work with games. The only reason why I wouldnt do it personally is because i'd have to deal with Nintendo of Japan if mine broke. Add in the fact that DS's have been sold out everywhere since November lol. Theyre almost as hard to get as a Wii.

I remember having 100 DS's at the store i work out 3 weeks before christmas only to sell them all in a day. Haha.

[Sadler]

Ok... about the EU importing a PS3 being stupid..

whats stupid about paying £32 + Delivery from Canada??

Me paying £39.99 - £49.99 in a UK retail or online shop sounds stupid to me per game personally....

not too mention I got my PS3 for £323 from Canada... and it was released here at £429.99

[Deejay]

It may not be stupid to you, obviously because you speak english. I'm talking about all of EU though.

[Sadler]

It may not be stupid to you, obviously because you speak english. I'm talking about all of EU though.

I am sure some of the US games I have come with various other language selections... when I get home il check.

[Exoduso]

Motorstorm was multilingual heh, I think the other options are French and Spanish.

[Kenai]

More PS3 launch news. This time the credit goes to Professor_Chris. Thanks for the links. This was even worse than I thought it would be (and the first link is especially good, roffle-worthy):

PS3 Launch. Wanna know how it went? Keep reading. (SPOILER: Read the title.)

France
To get started with:
Microsoft crashes the French launch party. Awesome.
http://www.dailymotion.com/search/ps3/v ... cement-ps3
Massive line in France.
http://www.jeux-france.com/news19695_la ... urope.html
Free Chairs!
http://kotaku.com/gaming/britain/easing ... 246470.php

Australia
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/775/775302p1.html

http://www.theage.com.au/news/games/pla ... 91466.html:
Quote:
Originally Posted by theage.com
Over 500 retailers around the country threw open their doors as the clock struck 12:00am, expecting the frenzy that accompanied the games console's overseas debuts.

But most stores were virtually deserted, despite the 20,000 pre-orders Sony said it had received.

. . .

Desperate producers unashamedly asked the crowd to fake excitement when the cameras were rolling, while a team from 2Day FM let out bogus cheers to convince their radio listeners that a launch extravaganza was underway.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AFP
Around 65 excited gamers queued outside a Sydney department store for around four hours early Friday to become the first gamers outside the United States to experience Sony's new Playstation 3 games console.

Organisers had predicted that thousands of fans would turn out to snatch up the first of the long-delayed units that were given a glitzy launch at Myers Department Store at midnight (1300 GMT), but only a few dozen tuned up at the event, barely managing to outnumber staff and publicists.

Across the other side of the world in London, gamers were camping for 36 hours for the kudos of being the first to own the long-awaited console.

Sony Computer Entertainment (Australia) managing director Michael Ephraim however told AFP the unit was launched simultaneously at 550 stores across the continent and that he had no doubt the PS3, which is making its debut here five months late, would be an enduring hit among gamers.

"I expected hundreds if not thousands of people to be here tonight," said advertising sales executive Danny Zarka, 31, who was first in line to buy the PS3 after turning up four and a quarter hours ahead of the midnight launch.

"But it's really been worth the wait and I was really thrilled to be the first one to get my hands on this baby before anyone else," he told AFP as he clutched his spanking new games console.

"It's going to be a sleepless night, but I haven't scheduled any meeting for early tomorrow," he said before heading home to let the games begin.

Organisers laid on a giant screen in the pedestrian mall outside the store that flickered with the images action of the latest James Bond epic "Casino Royale," interspersed by Playstation games.

Bored-looking masseurs rubbed the shoulders of any takers of the free service, as legions of vendors gave away pop corn, ice cream, water and soft drinks, crates of which were left over after the launch party to the handful of fans queuing to buy the PS 3 as well as to journalists.

"I really wanted to be one of the first to see this thing which has so much promise," said Geoff London, a 32-year-old student of veterinary science who queued with his girlfriend.

"I've been looking forward for months to get my hands on it and to see its crystal clear graphics. I think it's a bargain at the price," he said of the 999 Australian dollar (808 US) tag.

But Sony's Ephraim, who presided over the launch at Myers, said he was unconcerned by the low turnout, saying similar crowds would gather outside stores across the country.

He also said the delay in delivering the console here may have been a blessing in disguise as it meant the company has been able to ensure stocks did not run out.

"In a way, the delay has a silver lining in that it has allowed us to build up production so we have stocks not only for the pre-order buyers that are here tonight but also for the walk ins," he said.

The new console will revolutionise home entertainment, replacing the PC for all but work, and would endure for a decade, he predicted.

A Sony spokesman said earlier 10,000 of the consoles -- Sony's answer to the challenge thrown down by Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's XBox 360 -- had been pre-ordered in Australia.

The PS3 was launched in the United States and Japan in November, but production problems delayed its release in the rest of the world.

The delay allowed Sony's rivals to move a step ahead in Australia, where the XBox 360 was launched a year ago and the Wii has been on the shelves for five months.

The PS3 is also the most expensive of the trio because Sony is only releasing its top-of-the-line 60-gigabyte version in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Australasia.
New Zealand (aka Sonyland)
Quote:
Sales of the long-awaited Sony PlayStation 3 gaming console began with a bit of a yawn at its midnight launch, but retailers predict they will sell out before the weekend is over.
. . .
The Wellington store sold about 10 of the consoles overnight, and the Manukau store about 12.
I'll update as I find more.

I don't think "fail" is too strong a word here.

[Xavier]

Motorstorm was multilingual heh, I think the other options are French and Spanish.

You'll probably start to see more NA games released w/ a Spanish track, just because of the times.

[Semitry]

Some more on the Euro launch. Chairs were given out to those who were waiting in line for a ps3.

http://kotaku.com/assets/resources/2007/03/PS3seats.jpg

Check out the url, I guess it's in response to Sony's "next gen doesn't start until we say it does."

[Oxyminus]

called nintendo about a busted remote, and they're sending me a new one

Nintendo +1

[SephYuyX]

France sold about 1000 units at release, I think the rest of EU sold a total of 2000 if I remember what I read at kotuko (katuko or w/e), so wow, thats quite a good release for Sony.

[Deejay]

Motorstorm was multilingual heh, I think the other options are French and Spanish.

Makes sense, considering NA = Mexico/US/Canada. Each of these countries speak those languages.

[Ikith]

PS3 vs Xbox 360: An Elder Scrolls graphical comparison

http://www.qj.net/PS3-vs-Xbox-360-An...g/49/aid/87092

[Po]

How many times do we have to say, the 360 version is getting patched.

[Norelco]

How is the backwards compatability on the PS3? If I wanted to grab a few older FF games like FF7 and FF9 for the PS1 and FF12 for the PS2 and play them on a PS3...would I have any issues? I would assume there are some troubles with any FMV that may be involved.

Any experience here with that?

[Semitry]

How is the backwards compatability on the PS3? If I wanted to grab a few older FF games like FF7 and FF9 for the PS1 and FF12 for the PS2 and play them on a PS3...would I have any issues? I would assume there are some troubles with any FMV that may be involved.

Any experience here with that?

I believe it should be perfect unless you wait a month or so when they'll take out the EE chip in the NA/JP version then you'll have to refer to this page for BC.

http://faq.eu.playstation.com/bc/bcGames.htm

[Exoduso]

PS2 games on the PS3 play exactly the same as they would on a PS2... I haven't had any trouble yet.

[Norelco]

How is the backwards compatability on the PS3? If I wanted to grab a few older FF games like FF7 and FF9 for the PS1 and FF12 for the PS2 and play them on a PS3...would I have any issues? I would assume there are some troubles with any FMV that may be involved.

Any experience here with that?

I believe it should be perfect unless you wait a month or so when they'll take out the EE chip in the NA/JP version then you'll have to refer to this page for BC.

http://faq.eu.playstation.com/bc/bcGames.htm

Well damn, FF7 isn't even listed. Probably means it's unplayable.

Thanks for the link.

[Kazen]

Plays on my ps3, i was playing ff7 2 days ago on ps3.

[Po]

Your PS3 has the PS2 chip in it. This person is talking about the newer PS3s that won't have the chip, and just run off of software emulation.

[blister1]

Three newly announced exclusives:

http://www.eternal-tales.com/famitsu1.jpg

http://www.eternal-tales.com/famitsu2.jpg

http://www.eternal-tales.com/famitsu3.jpg


A trio of new PS3 games have been announced from the Cellius project (Namco and Sony joining forces).
The three games previewed:

1) Brave Arms: What appears to be a third person action game in the vein of Ninja Gaiden. Where one man takes on an oppressive regime in revolt.

2) Chain Limit: A James Bond/Jack Bauer style spy adventure type deal.

3) Second Season 01: A first person drama/sci-fi action title.

- The 3 games represent very different narrative genres (action, survival, investigative)

- All 3 are QTE-fests, with all the gameplay involving selecting the available targets on screen and pressing buttons to do different actions to change how the scenes play out

- They're all cinematic games involving "bravery, heroes, danger" and so on

Brave Arms looks pretty hot Rumor also has it that Dead Rising and Lost Planet will be playable on the ps3, Capcom's way of apologizing for DMC4 being multi platform I presume.