Hot on the heels of a price drop and a new model introduction, a rumor has surfaced of a 6TH Playstation 3 model! Nothing about the new model is known other than the information seen in this picture from the FCC's website, the main piece of information being the model number, CECHH01. Also from this picture, we can derive that the new model has WiFi and Bluetooth. However, this is the only information known about it.
If you ask me what this could be, I think it could be a different color of the 40 GB model which is hitting Japan. Now, I did not report on this one, but Japan is getting a white 40 GB PS3 bundled with the Dual Shock 3 for the price of ¥39,980 ($341 US), and the model number on that is CECHH00. So, my guess is that this CECHH01 model is a Silver or Black version of that model.
What I really hope is that this model is the recently announced chocolate PS3 model. Sony made up a batch of 150 chocolate PS3s and a giant chocolate SIXAXIS controller for Eurochocolate, a festival dedicated to chocolate held in Perugia, Italy.
Hit the jump for more pictures of the festivities.
In a completely unsurprising move, Sony has announced that they are bringing the 40 GB Playstation 3 model to America on November 2, selling for $399.99.
This new model will have a 40 GB hard drive built in instead of 20, 60, or 80, and will include a free copy of Spider-Man 3 on Blu-ray Disc (presumably the standard edition Blu-ray release). Unlike the earlier 20 GB model, this one will have built-in WiFi in addition to the standard ethernet port. However, this new model will be eliminating many things that are standard on both the 60 GB and 80 GB models.
First up on the chopping block: USB ports! On the new model, there will only be two ports as compared to four on every other model that has come out. This is not a huge problem for most people, but it could be if you use a USB keyboard and mouse on your PS3 or want to charge your Warhawk headset, a controller, and have your USB external hard drive plugged in.
Next items to be cut: Media Card slots! Just like the earlier 20 GB model, the new one will not have slots for SD/miniSD cards, Compact Flash cards, or Memory Sticks. Not a huge loss, but a loss nonetheless.
Final item to not make the roster, backwards compatibility?! Yes, you read right. On the 40 GB model, there will be ZERO BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY. Yup, you will not be able to play your Playstation 2 or Playstation 1 games on this system. Reason why? It would have to be done with software emulation just like how the Xbox 360 does its Xbox compatibility, and Sony decided that it would not be worth it to make software emulation for each and every game. As SCEA president Jack Tretton stated, "Backward compatibility is a nice secondary consideration, but it's far from the number-one priority." Well, when you have nogoodgamestoplay, it sure is a major consideration.
A new model is not the only thing announced by Mr. Tretton today. He also announced that the 80 GB model with Motorstorm will be receiving a $100 price drop, making it $499.99 instead of $599.99. However, the 60 GB model has not received a price drop, most likely because Sony is disillusioned into believing that they are all sold out. So, now the 80 GB model with limited backwards compatibility and Motorstorm is the same price as the 60 GB model will full backwards compatibility.
Now that you know the details, what's your take on it? Leave a comment here, or in the thread about it in our forums.
As previously reported, the system will include five games from Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade service (Boom-Boom Rocket, Pac-man, Uno, Feeding Frenzy, and Luxor 2), a 256MB memory card, and a wireless controller, all for the price of $279.99.
So, the console game has just got even more confusing...
After confirming the 40gb PS3 last week, Sony, apparently has another system up its sleeve. That's right. ANOTHER PS3 MODEL! This time, it's 160 GB.
According to a rumor posted on some ineternet forum (reliable isn't it) reposted on Com Net Slash, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan is going to be releasing a new 160gb model of the PS3 this November. Here is what the rumored model of the PS3 will contain...
“The PS3 160gb will have a slightly upgraded Wi-Fi and Bluetooth receiver. Also the PS3 will be available in both Black and Silver, come with an unamed Blu-Ray movie, demos and trailers packed onto the HDD and a voucher for 2 PSN titles for the first number of customers”
“At the moment the unit is only confirmed for release in Japan. A date has not been fully specified but is expected after November”
3 ethernet ports? What are they going to do with those? Is the PS3 going to be a router? 2 HDMI ports? That's what Sony promised back in '05! I do like the sound of the 2 free PSN titles and the HD being loaded with demos and trailers.
Is this real? Well, I kind of want to say it is, but I really think 3 ethernet ports and 2 HDMI ports is a little over the top, however the rest seems very plausible
I know I've knocked Microsoft in the past for having so many models, but goddamn Sony, 5 PS3 models in the course of a year? That's almost one every other month.
As a reminder that small, 17 person teams, can make a game that looks far better than anything ever seen in gaming, I present Project Offset from an independent developer named "Offset Software".
After looking at this video you'll say "Gears of What? Crysis? Killzone Who? Those are *SOOOOOOOOOOOO* last gen."
And the game itself doesn't look like just a gigantic graphicsfest. There seems to be some real substance to it. Check out Project Offset's site to learn more about the game.
On this day ten years ago, Gunpei Yokoi, one of the most important and influential figures in gaming, passed away. For those of you who do not know, Gunpei is the creator of the Game Boy, the system that revolutionized portable gaming, and paved the way for every handheld system to follow.
Game Boy is not the first thing that Mr. Yokoi created. One day, he was riding home on a bullet train from his job at Nintendo. He noticed that the man seated next to him on the train was messing around with an LCD calculator. This event gave birth to Game & Watch, a series of stand alone LCD games. The Game & Watch was very influential on Nintendo's future, especially in modern times. In fact, for Nintendo DS, they pretty much took a two screen Game & Watch game (such as Mario Bros. or Donkey Kong), added modern LCD screens, and turned the bottom part into a touch screen. Also, if you ever play Super Smash Bros. Melee on GameCube, you'll notice that one of the characters you can play as is Mr. Game & Watch, who was the protagonist of many of the Game & Watch games, such as Ball.
After creating Game & Watch, Nintendo appointed him to the head of Nintendo R&D1. While heading up R&D1, he was instrumental in the creation of Kid Icarus, Metroid, and of course R.O.B. for the NES. However, R&D1's most famous creation was to come...
In 1989, Gunpei and his R&D1 team revolutionized the portable gaming market with the original Game Boy, which combined the cartridge based gaming of the NES with the portability of Game & Watch. The Game Boy inspired many of Nintendo's competitors to enter the handheld gaming ring: Sega with the Game Gear, and Atari with the Lynx. While both of them were technically superior and featured a color screen, each of them completely failed in comparison to the Game Boy, due to its very long battery life, small size, and excellent game selection. These factors caused Game Boy held onto the gaming market with an iron grip for 13 years through many variations and revisions, including a color version.
Gunpei's most ambitious project, Virtual Boy, was released in 1995. Virtual Boy was an attempt to create a "portable" system capable of displaying true 3D graphics. However, this system went down as one of the biggest failures in gaming history. Some of the reasons it failed were because it was only able to display red, caused eye strain in most users, ate up 6 AA batteries rather quickly, was not very portable, was fragile, and it cost $180 at launch. The system was discontinued a year later.
The failure of Virtual Boy really brought Gunpei down. He felt horrible, and Nintendo placed the blame on the Virtual Boy failure on him. This pressure led to his resignation from Nintendo on August 15, 1996, mere days after Game Boy Pocket game out in Japan.
After leaving Nintendo, he went to form his own company, Koto Laboratories. They started working on the Wonderswan for Bandai, however, Gunpei would never see the final product...
On October 4, 1997, Gunpei was riding in a car driven by Etsuo Kiso from Nintendo. Kiso's car accidentally rear-ended a truck driving in front of them the Hokuriku Expressway. Gunpei and Kiso got out of the car to examine the situation. While surveying the damage, another vehicle collided with the Kiso's car, killing Gunpei Yokoi.
Fast forward ten years, we can still find Yokoi's legacy still alive. Be it in Nintendo DS's Game & Watch inspired design, the continuation of Metroid, Mr. Game & Watch's appearance in Super Smash Bros, or in the game Gunpey for Wonderswan, PSP, and Nintendo DS. Gunpei Yokoi is an undisputed legend in the industry, and he is missed by all of us.
Check out this article from The Escapist for even more information.
Yes, you did not misread that headline. Rumor has it that the developer of Oni and Myth, Bungie, is leaving Microsoft.
The rumor originated on a website I've never heard of named 8Bit Joystick.com. Today, Jake from that site posted that a friend of his who has a friend that works at Bungie told him that they are leaving Microsoft. Not exactly the greatest source in the world, but it sounds very plausible...
This "friend of a friend" stated that the split would have been announced today, but MS didn't want it to affect their 3rd quarter earnings, so it will be announced on the 6th of this month. However, the non disclosure agreement was lifted today.
Here is the email as quoted on 8Bit Joystick.com...
Quote
"So heres my big secret. You should google Bungie + Microsoft + separation this week. You know that big ol BILLION dollar franchise Bungie has created for Microsoft, to show their appreciate Microsoft is letting Bungie leave. Of course Microsoft gets to keep all rights to the Halo franchise, but as today Bungie no longer part of Microsoft. Ask anyone who works there to search the global address book, they're no longer in there. Microsoft was supposed to release the press release today but if they wait till the 10/6 the impact wont effect the quarterly results. However today is the actual official date and the day the NDAs expire, however you still didn't hear this from me."
"Apparently MS just wants Bungie to make Halo for the rest of their natural days, and Bungie doesn't like how MS is constantly trying to "handle" everything they do; the way they market their games, the way they interact with their fans (basically the fact that they do appreciate their fans), and how stingie they are with the profits (comparable to the rest of the industry). So as of today they are their own independent entity. They'll probably make Halo 4 for Microsoft, however hey are also free to create new intellectual properties for whatever system they want. (Even though they prefer the xbox platform)"
"What a way to say thank you."
I certainly wouldn't be surprised if this rumor was true, because if you were a game company, would you want to stick to making one game forever and ever? I think not. And from Microsoft's point of view, this makes sense because they could make money off of selling Bungie, while still retaining the Halo license. That way, they can license the work on the Halo franchise out to other companies that would require less money to make it, and MS would still sell the same amount of copies since Halo is a big name. All the while, Bungie goes off on their own and makes games that Microsoft would never allow them to do. All parties are happy.
In response to these rumors, game blog Kotaku contacted Bungie, who redirected them to Microsoft's PR Firm who in response said "There's been no such announcement. We continue to celebrate the tremendous success of the global phenomenon that is Halo 3."
Is it true? Keep it on Channel 3 for the latest...
The rumored 40GB, $399, model of the Playstation 3 bundled with Spider-Man 3 on Blu-ray is looking more and more likely. First, there's the rumor that Sony is turning to FoxConn to help make the new model. Then there's the picture of the label of the new model from the FCC website with the new model number of CECHG01. Now, the latest proof of the new PS3 model is on the Blu-ray Savings website. The new program lists a new PS3 model, CECHG01, which is the same one seen on the FCC website. Now, if you know your PS3 models, you'll know that CECHG01 does not match any current model. CECHA01 is the 60GB model, CECHE01/98137 is the 80GB+Motorstorm model, and CECHB01 is the discontinued 20GB model.
Is CECHG01 the new $399 40GB model? All signs point to yes. Now all that's left is for Sony to step forward and confirm it.
According to Kotaku, an internal Gamestop email has been sent out requesting that all stores take down current signs and promotional material for the Xbox 360 Core model, because once the current stock is sold out, there won't be any more. In other words, the Xbox 360 Core is being discontinued.
Why would MS be eliminating the Core model (other than the obvious fact that it's a horrible deal)? To replace it with a new rumored Core model named Xbox 360 Arcade, which will not include a hard drive, but will include a 256mb memory card, a wireless controller, and 5 Xbox Live Arcade games.
What do I think of this rumor? I say, it's about damn time they get rid of the Core. No one is buying it, and it just makes sense to get rid of it. However, I don't know that replacing it with another model is a good idea either because if people just want casual games, they'll go to Wii or DS, which is where most of the casual games are these days.
This weekend, the biggest battle in gaming wasn't in stores, it was on the race track at Dover International Speedway for the Dodge Dealers 400, which is part of the NASCAR Nextel Cup series. The battle pitted David Stremme, driving the #40 Halo 3 car, and Greg Biffle, driving the #16 Nintendo Wii car. The results of the race are as follows.
Greg Biffle and the Wii Ford Fusion took home 2nd place, beat out by Carl Edwards. However, Carl's car failed the post race inspection, which could result in a penalty for him. As far as David Stremme and the Halo 3 Dodge Avenger is concerned, well, heh, it got a real life "Red Ring Of Death." The engine in the Avenger blew up, which took him out of the race.
Could this be foreshadowing for the future? Wii takes 2nd place while 360 just RRODs itself to death? Where was the PS3 car?! Could they not find any drivers for it? Who knows...
All I know is that I really don't give a crap about NASCAR.
Capcom has premiered the English language trailer of the fourth installment in its wildly popular Gyakuten Saiban series, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. There is no slated North American release date, but this trailer makes me hopeful for one, as it was already released in Japan earlier this year.
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is the first game in which Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey are not the lead characters. Replacing them are Apollo Justice (a guy with two tall spikes in his hair that seem to always stay in place, gotta love anime physics), and "Mysterious Magician" Trucy.
Also, a reminder for all you Phoenix Wright fans, the third installment in the series, Trials and Tribulations, hits Nintendo DS here in America on October 23rd. I know I'll be the first one to buy it.
In a completely expected turn of events, someone has posted the full ending cinematic of Halo 3 on YouTube.
The leak will no doubtedly raise the ire of Halo fans, Microsoft and Bungie. However, it will make the next week very fun for internet trolls and people wanting to ruin the ending.
So, before I go all spoilery after the break let me just say this:
DO NOT LOG ON TO THE INTERNET FOR THE NEXT WEEK HALO FANS! You'll get the story ruined.
Now for those of you who would like to help spread the word, hit the jump.
Nintendo has finally added some downloadable content to its DS puzzler, Picross DS. The puzzle packs, released for free over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service, are a collection of 20 puzzles split up into two packs. Both of the packs are comprised of puzzles from Nintendo's only other Picross game that has come out in North America, Mario's Picross for the original Game Boy. The puzzles can be downloaded for free by going to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection on the main menu of Picross DS, selecting Community, and Classic Puzzles.
I am an extreme Picross DS addict, and I have been waiting for at least three weeks for Nintendo to upload some puzzles. I haven't completed every puzzle that is included with the game yet, but it is nice to know that I have 20 more puzzles waiting for me when I am done.
If you haven't picked up Picross DS yet, then shame on you. It's one of the greatest puzzle games to ever grace Nintendo's little dual screen portable, and it will only cost you $20 new. If you have it already or do get it in the future, add me as a friend and let me know your friend code, so we can exchange puzzles and play each other online! My friend code can be found on my collection profile page.
Telltale Games has released the trailer for its upcoming second season of the Sam and Max episodic series. For those of you unaware, the episodic series is a continuation of the adventures of Steve Purcell's comic book characters Sam, a 6 foot tall dog, and Max, a "hyperkinetic rabbity thing". Sam and Max have been featured in comic books, an animated tv series, and a LucasArts game. The series got its start after LucasArts cancelled a planned sequel to Sam and Max Hit The Road in 2004 due to "market place realities and underlying economic considerations" (read: people don't like adventure games any more). After LucasArts cancelled the sequel, the employees working on that title left the company and went on to make Telltale Games, an independent game development company. In 2005, LucasArts let the license to Sam and Max expire, and Steve Purcell approached Telltale and asked them to work on a new game. This eventually led to the decision to make it episodic and the financial backing of Turner's GameTap service.
This trailer premiered at Penny Arcade Expo last weekend, and I must say that it's looking just as good and funny as the first season was.
Sam and Max Season Two hits both GameTap and TelltaleGames.com this fall.
This is the article that would be going up on Thursday, but Knytt Stories was released early, so I put it up now.
Nifflas. Who is Nifflas? Nifflas is the nickname of Nicklas Nygren, a 24 year old independent game developer and musician from Sweden who is responsible for a few of my favorite games of this decade. Today, he released his latest work, Knytt Stories, the sequel the critically acclaimed freeware game, Knytt, released last year. Like its predecessor, Knytt Stories is a 2D platformer with a focus on simple gameplay, atmosphere and exploration rather than having a large amount of enemies and very complex gameplay. Your goal is to roam this large world in search for a few items.
However, instead of simply recommending Knytt Stories, I want to dig a little deeper into his games. So, I am going to give an overview of all ten games he has released, along with links for you to download them. So, hit the jump for more on the games of Nicklas Nygren.
Hot on the heels of a price drop and a new model introduction, a rumor has surfaced of a 6TH Playstation 3 model! Nothing about the new model is known other than the information seen in this picture from the FCC's website, the main piece of information being the model number, CECHH01. Also from this picture, we can derive that the new model has WiFi and Bluetooth. However, this is the only information known about it.
In a completely unsurprising move, Sony has announced that they are bringing the 
An update on 
After confirming the 40gb PS3 last week, Sony, apparently has another system up its sleeve. That's right. ANOTHER PS3 MODEL! This time, it's 160 GB.
On this day ten years ago, Gunpei Yokoi, one of the most important and influential figures in gaming, passed away. For those of you who do not know, Gunpei is the creator of the Game Boy, the system that revolutionized portable gaming, and paved the way for every handheld system to follow.
Yes, you did not misread that headline. Rumor has it that the developer of Oni and Myth, Bungie, is leaving Microsoft.
The rumored 
According to 
This weekend, the biggest battle in gaming wasn't in stores, it was on the race track at Dover International Speedway for the Dodge Dealers 400, which is part of the NASCAR Nextel Cup series. The battle pitted David Stremme, driving the #40 Halo 3 car, and Greg Biffle, driving the #16 Nintendo Wii car. The results of the race are as follows.
Capcom has premiered the English language trailer of the fourth installment in its wildly popular Gyakuten Saiban series, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. There is no slated North American release date, but this trailer makes me hopeful for one, as it was already released in Japan earlier this year.
In a completely expected turn of events, someone has posted the full ending cinematic of Halo 3 on YouTube.
Nintendo has finally added some downloadable content to its DS puzzler, 
Telltale Games has released the trailer for its upcoming second season of the Sam and Max episodic series. For those of you unaware, the episodic series is a continuation of the adventures of Steve Purcell's comic book characters Sam, a 6 foot tall dog, and Max, a "hyperkinetic rabbity thing". Sam and Max have been featured in comic books, an animated tv series, and a LucasArts game. The series got its start after LucasArts cancelled a planned sequel to Sam and Max Hit The Road in 2004 due to "market place realities and underlying economic considerations" (read: people don't like adventure games any more). After LucasArts cancelled the sequel, the employees working on that title left the company and went on to make Telltale Games, an independent game development company. In 2005, LucasArts let the license to Sam and Max expire, and Steve Purcell approached Telltale and asked them to work on a new game. This eventually led to the decision to make it episodic and the financial backing of Turner's GameTap service.
Nifflas. Who is Nifflas? Nifflas is the nickname of Nicklas Nygren, a 24 year old independent game developer and musician from Sweden who is responsible for a few of my favorite games of this decade. Today, he released his latest work, Knytt Stories, the sequel the critically acclaimed freeware game, Knytt, released last year. Like its predecessor, Knytt Stories is a 2D platformer with a focus on simple gameplay, atmosphere and exploration rather than having a large amount of enemies and very complex gameplay. Your goal is to roam this large world in search for a few items.
