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Sony is putting a stop to sales of the long-standing and popular PlayStation 2 game console in Japan. The electronics giant made an announcement earlier today that there will be no more shipments to Japanese retailers, in the future, and that the only remaining stock on the market are consoles held on store shelves or warehouses.
Nintendo's handheld 3DS gaming console has topped the sales charts in Japan for week of March 26 to April 1. While this is the second week its was atop the charts, the week saw nearly a 30 percent boost from that earlier week, now at 121,921 units, according to numbers reported by Media Create (viaAdrianSang). The numbers were large enough that the total of 3DS sales outnumber the combined numbers of all of Sony's consoles, including the PS3, PSP, PS Vita, and PS2.
A second console celebrated its tenth year alongside the Xbox Friday as the Nintendo GameCube marked its anniversary. The system was launched in North America on November 18, 2001, just a few days after the Microsoft Xbox. Unlike Sony's PS2 or Xbox, it had a rocky history and led some to wonder if Nintendo had lost relevance.
Microsoft kicked off the tenth anniversary of the Xbox with a celebration page and bonuses. Everyone gets access to a free avatar prop for Xbox Live that provides a gift box that opens to reveal fireworks. Some downloadable games will also be on sale as part of the anniversary.
NVIDIA through its Android Tegra Zone app this week said that Sony's PlayStation Suite was coming to Tegra 2-based Android devices. The move makes it the first device and platform beyond Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play to support it. It should bring at least PS1 games like Wild Arms and eventually more original titles.
The Sony PlayStation 2 gaming console has sold more than 150 million units since its launch in 2000, Sony's recently released quarterly financial results reveal. Despite the PS3 being released as a successor, in 2006, 2.1 million of the older console shipped in Sony's last fiscal quarter. In the fall of last year, it celebrated its 10th anniversary in the US.
Sony in a minor surprise today showed an official PlayStation app in the works for Android and the iPhone. Despite the name, the app doesn't include games themselves and is primarily to track a PSN account. Gamers will see their PSN friends' status and check both their own trophies as well as compare against friends.
Sony has released a unique new HDTV in Europe, the 22-inch Bravia KDL-22PX300. The set is the first with built-in PlayStation 2 console, letting users watch DVD movies and play PS2 games. The set outputs a 720p image and has an unusually wide-ranging four HDMI inputs.
Sony today celebrated the tenth anniversary of the PlayStation 2's arrival in North America. The console originally launched October 26, 2000 for $299 and is still Sony's most successful game system, with new system bundles being released even today and over 140 million systems in existence in the world. It was considered responsible for making DVD movie playback a mainstream option in the US along with setting up many of Sony's biggest game titles, such as the God of War series.
In an unconventional move, Sony on Wednesday announced it will soon ship a PlayStation 2 bundle that includes Toy Story 3: The Video Game. Due to ship on October 31, the bundle is meant to mark the aging system's 10-year birthday. In its long life, the best-selling system saw more than 2,000 games created.
European gaming accessories maker Sunflex has introduced its first official product to come from a deal with video game publisher Square Enix. The device is a PC controller for the upcoming Final Fantasy XIV RPG due for release on September 30. The controller, which bears more than a passing resemblance to a Sony PS3 DualShock 3 gamepad, will only be available in white and is expected to ship at the same time as the game.
(Update: new video) id Software co-founder John Carmack upturned the game industry at the QuakeCon expo today with word his company had ported the Rage engine to the iPhone. The graphics keep many of the features of the full engine for modern consoles, including non-repeating Megatextures and advanced lighting, but still runs at 60 frames per second on an iPhone 4. It still runs properly on an older iPhone and, due to the mix of hardware and software, could "kill anything done on the Xbox or PlayStation 2," he said to Kotaku and others at the Texas gathering.
Sony has sold just 17,618 PSP Go handhelds in Japan over the past three months, German magazine GameFront and Japanese analyst firm Media Create this week. The Go was not only the poorest-selling model over the period but has seen its sales taper to below levels reserved for previous-generation consoles. At 1,275 units sold in the first week of March, the "premium" PSP has been outsold by the now decade-old PS2.
Rambus late Thursday achieved a partial win in its ongoing patent dispute with NVIDIA. While an International Trade Commission decision in January found that NVIDIA had infringed on three of Rambus' patents for memory technology, a US Patent & Trademark Office verdict this week said that one of the Rambus patents was invalid and partially invalidated a second patent. NVIDIA plans to appeal the decision on the remaining patent.
Altec Lansing on Tuesday introduced a new gaming console speaker system, its Stage-Gig. Resembling a guitar amp, the amplified speaker is made to work with Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and DJ Hero titles on any gaming console. The 6.5-inch woofer contains a horn-loaded silk tweeter and has 40W of power. For easy portability, a carrying handle is built in, and the device can be daisy-chained with others thanks to a built-in AC outlet and RCA connections.
Audiovox on Tuesday said it will soon begin offering its VOD10PS2 Mobile Video PlayStation 2 rear-seat entertainment system. The first of its kind product integrates the gaming console into the overhead console that sports a 10.2-inch, 16:9 drop down monitor. There is also a dome light, and all wires are hidden out of sight when the system is installed.
Sega has inadvertently left an SCEA meeting document (since pulled) on its server that appears to confirm major details of Sony's future PlayStation 3 plans. The notes appear to put the PS3 motion controller on store shelves in Japan for March, narrowing down the official spring launch window to the very early part of the season. Sony also expects to sell between four to five million of the peripheral and is helping game developers like Sega adapt their titles to support it; a 2012 London Olympics game and a Virtua Tennis port or sequel are labeled as candidates.
Logitech this morning filled out its last major needed add-on for music games with the Wireless Drum Controller for the PlayStation 3 (product link active soon). The peripheral is officially intended for newer Guitar Hero games but gives any compatible title four drum pads, cymbals and a kick pedal. Quality is a focus of the design with quiet pads, rims designed to avoid accidental hits and a pedal with an adjustable spring that can produce just the right amount of travel.
Sony today hoped to spur growth in add-ons for PlayStation systems by launching an expanded official licensing program. The new approach lets companies in most areas make controllers or other peripherals for PS2, PS3 and PSP systems with full technical help and an official logo. In return, these companies will have to meet certain standards; it's not mentioned if companies will also pay royalties for the right to use the logo.
A limited edition version of the upcoming DJ Hero video game will include exclusive greatest hits CDs from rappers Jay-Z and Eminem, along with an advanced version of the turntable controller, USA Today said on Friday. How the controller differs from the standard unit was not detailed, however. An offshoot of the highly popular Guitar Hero franchise from developer Activision, the limited edition game will also have a DJ stand and metal traveling case for the turntable.
Genius on Friday announced the upcoming release of an addition to its lineup of steering wheels with the TwinWheel FF steering wheel controller. Compatible with Sony's PS2 gaming console and PCs, the wheel has 12 programmable buttons and attaches to flat surfaces via four suction cups and a c-clamp. It connects to a PC or PS2 via a USB port.
Logitech on Tuesday unveiled a standard, black version of its Wireless Guitar Controller (link active soon) for the PlayStation 2 and 3. The gaming peripheral is an improvement on the special-run red controller with better construction and is meant to provide a more authentic feel to games like the Guitar Hero series. Its body, fingerboard and neck are made of wood, with frets made of real metal; it also has silenced buttons to avoid detracting from the music and gets a touch-sensitive slider at the base of the neck.
Sony's director of hardware marketing, John Koller, has officially announced that the PlayStation 2 gaming console will begin selling for $99.99 starting tomorrow, April 1st. This represents a $30 price drop from the current price, roughly 23 percent, and may be the source of rumors of a PS3 price cut. Sony has consistently denied any PS3 reductions.
Sony today helped the PlayStation 2 towards the end of its life with news of a new bundle for the console. The Lego Batman bundle ties the black version of the game system with both a copy of the upcoming Lego Batman game as well as a DVD version of the new Justice League: New Frontiers superhero movie. The system is otherwise the same as the slim PS2 and comes with a lone DualShock 2 gamepad when it ships in the fall for $149.
Logitech this morning helped kick off a round of announcements at the Game Developers' Conference through a new Driving Force wheel. The Driving Force GT (pictured) is the latest wheel controller officially connected to Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo racing games and is the first Logitech wheel specifically tailored to the upcoming GT5 Prologue PlayStation 3 title and its eventual GT5 follow-up: a dial at the front of the wheel allows drivers to adjust real-time settings that are available in some actual cars, such as brake bias, dampers, and the level of active traction control.
