| MacUpdate Weekend Sale | :This weekend MacUpdate has slashed prices on Painter 12 and Painter Lite. Painter 12 retails for $429, but has been reduced by 54% to $199. Painter Lite has seen a 58% price cut from $69 to $29. Hurry, because these deals are only available until May 19th 2013. |
Sony offered a partial answer to the Xbox 360's group Netflix viewing this weekend by upgrading PlayStation Home to support group viewing through Crackle. Gamers can gather friends in personal and public spaces to watch "hundreds" of movies and TV shows for free. The movies are the same as on the web page and include big-name, if older, movies like Resident Evil and Snatch.
Sony is currently preparing to launch a major overhaul to its PlayStation Home 3D social gaming network. The experience will include a list of new free games, including a new first-person shooter, Bootleggers '29, that replicates Prohibition-era shootouts. Users can play as their PlayStation Home avatar and unlock rewards.
Sony's DADC Digital Services group has unveiled a virtual camera that "captures" scenes from the PS3's PlayStation Home virtual environment and then share them on YouTube. The LOOT Active Camera works in conjunction with Sony's CrossMediaBar (XMB) Video Editor & Uploader to "record," edit virtual scenes, and then upload them to social networking sites.
Sony wrapped up its pre-E3 run with word that its Welcome Back program was now live. As promised, PSN members from before the service went down April 20 can choose two PS3 games and two PSP games if they own one or both systems. Both platforms get older but major titles, such as Infamous and Wipeout HD Fury on the PS3 and LittleBigPlanet or Killzone Liberation on the PSP.
Sony on Wednesday broke some ground for PlayStation Home by planning its first live streaming event. The LOOT Sunset Yacht environment will show NASA TV's live feed of the Space Shuttle Discovery's final launch, which is slated for February 24 at 4:50PM Eastern. The PS3's virtual world has supported video in the past, but never from a real-time event.
Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) has confirmed rumors on Monday that the long-awaited and much-delayed PlayStation Home online social service will launch later this month, albeit in a limited open beta form. While SCEA execs aren't specific about dates or exactly how users will get Home onto their systems, it has been believed a downloadable firmware upgrade and a download of the software itself will represent the delivery method.
