by Mark Renton

PS3 has been selling much better now that the bottom price is a more consumer-friendly $399. But wouldn't a $299 PlayStation 3 be even more wonderful?

Well, that's exactly what Sony is doing for people who sign up for their credit card these days. The company is giving a $100 credit against the purchase of a PS3 at any authorized retailer, effectively bringing the price down to the sub-$300 rate for the 40GB model.

Have no fear, we gain nothing financially from pointing out the deal; the original link was found over at the Blu-ray forums. So if there's any kickbacks to be had, it'll go to "Shin-Ra" and not us. That's what we call full disclosure, boys and girls.

by Mark Renton

In-game XMB for PS3 is the holy grail that has been rumored since the beginning days but has tragically never come to pass.

But fear not, since according to Peter Dille, Sony's Senior VP of Marketing, the PlayStation 3 feature is still in the pipeline. Yes, it's not exactly as sexy as backwards compatibility, but it would sure be a nice perk for the rest of us.

In a recent interview with Game Informer, he assured gamers that Sony is working on the much-desired option, as well as some other things up their collective sleeves.

by Billy Brown

A slew of solid PS3 titles came out in November, but only one PlayStation 3 game can earn the prestigous honor of being named the IGN Game Of The Month.

While we figured for sure that Uncharted: Drake's Fortune would win the November crown, IGN's editors decided to go with Call Of Duty 4.

Here's why:

"For almost a year now, PS3 owners have had to endure late, lackluster ports of more than their fair share of 360 hands-me-downs. Leave it to Infinity Ward to not only release Call of Duty 4 on the PlayStation 3 day and date with the other versions, but deliver an identical experience across the board. A short-but-sweet, incredibly intense single player story serves as a primer for one of the most addictive, constantly rewarding online multiplayer offerings on any system. Buy this game. Now."

by Billy Brown

While everybody has been timid and started off multiplatform development with Xbox 360, Burnout Paradise's Criterion decided to lead with PS3.

So why choose PlayStation 3 to lead?

"We've always led on the Sony platforms," explained producer Nick Channon. "Historically at Criterion we've always done that and we didn't want this year to be any different. We've always loved Sony machines and we've loved PS3 from the start, we think it's a fantastic machine. We felt very strongly about that."

by Chris Naughton

For all the PS3 gamers that are clamouring to get their hands on a Killzone 2 beta, there's good news and bad news.

The good is that a SCEA rep has confirmed that their intentions are for a PlayStation 3 beta to be released, but the depressing turn is that it probably won't hit until 2008.

SCEA's Alex Armour wrote the following to PSU: "We are hoping to do a beta but I don't think we'll have anything ready before this year is over...it is something we are working on for next year."

by Robert Gordon

It appears that the disasterous reports about The Orange Box on PS3 may have been thankfully premature.

"After spending a significant amount of time with a near final version of the PlayStation 3 title, it's apparent that this version suffers from a number of technical flaws, which at best merely hinder game play and at worst make the experience downright unplayable," was the main sentence from 1UP that made many a PS3 owner terrified.

by Billy Brown

When it comes to the Orange Box on PS3, things have gone from bad to worse. It's just not a pretty picture.

First, the PlayStation 3 version was delayed for two months past the Xbox 360 set, which has received rave reviews. Now comes word that the PS3 Orange Box set to come out in December is maligned with very, very bad problems.

The disheartening news comes from 1UP:

After spending a significant amount of time with a near final version of the PS3 title, it's apparent that this version suffers from a number of technical flaws, which at best merely hinder game play and at worst make the experience downright unplayable. Framerate is a consistent issue throughout the Half-Life series of games included in The Orange Box. One moment you'll be cruising through the game at 30 frames per second and the next you'll be enjoying a slideshow of series protagonist Gordon Freeman cruising down the river.

by Robert Gordon

Sony has announced that the new 2.01 firmware update is coming within the next few days.

Sadly, there's not a lot of information past that about the new PlayStation 3 'ware. Rumors are swirling that it could include the recently announced DivX support, but Sony has been mum.

Undoubtedly, the latest PS3 firmware will probably include a fix to the some of the problems that have plagued users since 2.00. Those probs include some consoles freezing up and others booting up their own.

by Mark Renton

PS3 games are arguably the best looking to ever hit the market, but according to Insomniac Games' CCO Brian Hastings, the best is yet to come.

And Hastings is quite familiar with the PlayStation 3, since Insomniac is behind two of the top rated titles for the console -- Resistance: Fall of Man and Clank: Tools of Destruction. They also are big fans of colons in titles.

"The amount of action we're able to put on the screen at 60 frames per second really dwarfs what we were able to do a year ago at 30 frames per second," said Hastings in an interview with Videogamer.com. "What's most exciting is the way things are headed right now I think we'll see just as big a leap from our second generation engine to our third as we did from the first to second."

by Billy Brown

Now that the Dual Shock 3 for PlayStation 3 has launched in Japan along with the 40GB PS3, we're finding out some interesting tidbits about the new controller.

Dual Shock 3 "feels about three times heavier than the non-rumbling Sixaxis, which we're inclined to classify as a Good Thing (the plain Sixaxis feels too light)," reports PSPSPS. "Rumbles like a tummy before lunch. And it has 'Dual Shock 3' stamped on its husk in blue type."

by Chris Naughton

PS3's Home was recently pushed back to Spring 2008 because Sony is still chugging away on the online PlayStation 3 world.

Julien Merceron, chief technology officer at Eidos, spoke of PS3 Home in an interview and explained what Sony needs to do in order to ensure success of the new venture.

First, he doesn't want more of the same.

"Well, I think that if I look at Home as a gamer, if it is just a way to have a 3D interface to watch movies, demos, trailers, listening to music or look at pictures, then I'm not really interested - because I can already do all that with the menu bar, and far easier," he explained in an interview with GI.biz.

by Chris Naughton

Sony is quite upset about unsubstantiated reports that the new 40GB PS3 has a failure rate of up to 40%. The initial report has since been rescinded by gamed.nl and replaced by an apology.

Let's not forget, it's Xbox 360 that has the ongoing problem with alleged appalling failure rates.

“We are very proud of the quality and reliability of PLAYSTATION 3 and are disappointed that such extremely sloppy journalism has resulted in this totally inaccurate story,” said David Reeves, President, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

by Chris Naughton

In a new interview with Famitsu, PlayStation boss Kaz Hirai has made it clear that he's not going to release PlayStation Home before its time. Holding it back is much better than releasing it before it's ready, Hirai contends.

"If anything, we believe the delay would have a positive effect. I personally am not satisfied with the current version of Home. This is a very big project for the PS3 and we want to make sure that we deliver to our hearts content. We hope everyone will look forward to its spring release next year," he said (as translated by 1UP).

by Chris Naughton

Now that there's a multitude of versions and bundles for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, it's trickier for the general consumer to figure out which to purchase.

The Guardian recently did an analysis of both PS3 and Xbox 360 and has decidedly more positive things to say about Sony's new iteration as compared to Microsoft's.

"So which should you go for? I'll leave the basic Xbox vs. PS3 quandary to you, but as for packages, at £299 the 40GB PlayStation 3 is good value - it'll be rare for you ever to need more than two USB ports. Keep an eye out for retailer bundle deals - most will offer a game or at least a Blu-ray movie or two and for a few extra quid you could get an extra controller as well," recommends The Guardian's Keith Stuart.

by Mark Renton

Ratchet & Clank: Tools Of Destruction for PlayStation 3 is a critical darling, and none other than The New York Times called it the best PS3 game to date.

Insomniac recently spoke about why they decided to take advantage of the Sixaxis' motion controls.

"A good example is that the tornado launcher didn’t have Sixaxis control before. You just fired the tornado, picked up a few guys and that was pretty cool. And then we thought, wow, you could control the twister. one of the QA guys, Billy Parmenter suggested we use the Sixaxis," explained creative director Brian Allgeier to MTV.