Full HD is so yesteryear, now everything’s going the 4K resolution. Sony has announced at the CEATEC event last week that the PS3 will get a firmware update around the beginning of 2012 that will allow it to natively output 4K stills, you know, those 4096×2160 pictures. There’s a PlayView “visual magazine” already available on the PlayStation store in Japan that supports 4K and 3D, but this update will bring super high res viewing of your vacation pics, or any other high res image files you can snag, to the living room. While your friends will no doubt be impressed by the museum-quality art gala you’re now capable of hosting this coming New Year, they’ll still be disappointed at that poor quality Full HD movie of yours.

SOURCE via Engadget

Did Microsoft just secretly reveal the name of the next Xbox console, or is it just a joke on behalf of the producers of Real Steel who figured the Xbox 720 would be a popular console nine years from now?

According to Gamespot, sharp-eyed fans have spotted an Xbox 720 banner displayed on the right side of the robot boxing arena in the latest Real Steel trailer. Save for the numbers, it’s identical to the current Xbox 360 logo, and falls in line with Coca-Cola, Capitol One, Mercedes-Benz and other popular brands sponsoring the event.

Gamespot reached out to Microsoft and asked about the Xbox 720′s appearance, but the Redmond company firmly replied that it “does not comment on rumors or speculation.” In this particular case, the appearance of the logo in a motion picture really doesn’t fall in either category, so Microsoft still has some explaining to do.

After all, DreamWorks Pictures can’t use the Xbox logo without Microsoft’s permission.

Real Steel is the latest science fiction action film starring Hugh Jackman and is based on a 1956 short story called “Steel” by Richard Matheson (I am Legend, A Stir of Echoes, Hell House, original Twilight Zone episodes). The setting is 2020, and robots have replaced humans as boxers. The story centers on former boxer Charlie Kenton who teams up with his son to build a robot and win the boxing championship.

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Wednesday Microsoft officially revealed its plans to turn the Xbox 360 console into an unofficial cable box this holiday season.

According to the company, more than fifty TV and entertainment providers have signed on to offer their content directly to Xbox 360 owners including Bravo, Comcast, HBO GO, Verizon FiOS, and Syfy here in the States. Internationally, the console will see the likes of BBC in the U.K., Telefónica in Spain, Rogers On Demand in Canada, Televisa in Mexico, ZDF in Germany, and MediaSet in Italy. Microsoft said it will begin to roll out its TV service this holiday season in more than 20 countries.

Microsoft originally set out to create a central multimedia hub with the launch of the original Xbox back in 2001, but the console didn’t meet those expectations and instead was used as a platform to solidify the foundation of the current Xbox Live service. With the release of the next-generation console, and with the necessary faster broadband speeds reaching into homes worldwide, Microsoft was able to meet its Media Center vision by providing not only games, but movies, television episodes, streaming music and streaming video from Netflix and Hulu.

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The European PlayStation Blog has spilled the beans on the pre-installed apps that will be available on the PlayStation Vita when it launches in Q1 2012, and even posted a product shot of the handheld’s final package design (seen above). The news follows a report that appeared last week revealing that the 3G model will initially be capped a 20 MB to prevent excited gamers from downloading everything from the PlayStation Store while on the go. Read more…

Check out this tasty morsel of PS Vita info making the rounds: you’ll be able to face your PSP-totin’ friends via ad-hoc mode with games you’ve snagged from the PS Store (so long as the title supports it). Sure, it doesn’t kill the sting of its three to five hour battery life, but hey, we’ll just consider it another justification for picking up the hot little number once it hits shelves, and oh yeah, let’s not forget that the PS Vita is region free!

SOURCE via Playstation.com

While their competitors are still stuck with the regional-based categorization, Sony once again brings good news to gamers by making their upcoming PlayStation Vita handheld gaming device region-free. This fact was confirmed by Shuhei Yoshida, the President of Sony Worldwide Studios – the outfit that is responsible for PlayStation’s first party games – through his Twitter.

However, Shuhei was quick to point out the differences between Japan and unit from other regions that might irked some gamers such as the usage of X and O buttons whereby in Japan, O is used for “yes” and X is for “no” while in other regions, they usually go the opposite way. Nothing major, to be frank.

This news also means that eager PlayStation fans out there can pretty much import the Japanese unit right from the launch day itself if they really want to. As you might aware, we always recommend official units from your local Sony but if you don’t have the patience for that…well, maybe it is time to make that phone call to your friend in Japan.

SOURCE via GamesIndustry

Last week we got word that gamers in the UK will soon be getting that beautiful snow-white PS3 that debuted in Japan summer 2010. Now Sony is adding a couple of new colors to its line-up with the addition of a red and blue model. CNet reports that the two new PS3 Slims, in Splash Blue and Scarlet Red will arrive in Japan on November 17, each packing a 320GB HDD.

As usual, the only difference between these PS3 Slims and the current black model we have here in the U.S. are their shiny exteriors. Buyers will also score themselves some specially colored DualShock controllers, of course. Sadly, Sony hasn’t said anything about availability outside of Japan. We’re crossing our fingers that these patriotic red, white and blue consoles will make their way to the United States eventually, so we’ll keep you posted.

The PlayStation Suite SDK will allow developers to create one game across numerous Android-powered and Sony devices. Thursday Sony Computer Entertainment said that a software development kit (SDK) for the PlayStation Suite (PS Suite) platform will be released this November. The kit will allow developers to create content for PlayStation Certified (PS Certified) devices, hardware certified through the PS Suite license program, and for the PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) handheld console set for a Q1 2012 release.

“Supporting C# as the programming language, PS Suite SDK can run programs developed in C# on virtual machine equipped on both PS Certified devices and PS Vita. By supporting development for multiple devices and by adopting libraries to create a variety of content not only limited to games, PS Suite SDK will not only help developers save their cost in creating new content but also allow them to efficiently create their content on one SDK and without having to create on several different SDKs.”

So far the only devices that support Sony’s PlayStation Suite platform are the Xperia PLAY smartphone, and Sony’s two Android-powered “S” and “P” tablets. However, Nvidia has stated that it’s working with Sony to bring the PlayStation platform to Tegra-equipped Android phones and tablets. So far an actual release date is unknown, but Tegra device owners may actually see a release next month.

“SCE will provide a variety of content towards these PS Certified devices from end October through PlayStation Store on PlaySation Network, starting with original PlayStation games (PS one classics),” the company said. “‘ The service will start in nine countries including Japan, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Australia and with more countries to follow. In next spring, SCE will enhance the PS Store for PS Certified devices and provide content created by PS Suite SDK, further prevailing the world of PS Suite.”

The detailed information of Sony’s PS Suite SDK, including how to download, will be announced via a dedicated PS Suite section on SCE’s official website. The site currently isn’t live, so stay tuned.

SOURCE via Android Community

Sony Computer Entertainment today issued changes to the PlayStation Network’s Terms of Service that seek to limit member participation in legal action against the company. These new terms are likely a direct result of the class action lawsuits brought against the company in the wake of the PlayStation Network hack that occurred in April, 2011; they require that members agree to settle legal disputes with the company via single party lawsuit only, and not as part of any class action:

Class Action Waiver.  ANY DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEEDINGS, WHETHER IN ARBITRATION OR COURT, WILL BE CONDUCTED ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT IN A CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION OR AS A NAMED OR UNNAMED MEMBER IN A CLASS, CONSOLIDATED, REPRESENTATIVE OR PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL LEGAL ACTION, UNLESS BOTH YOU AND THE SONY ENTITY WITH WHICH YOU HAVE A DISPUTE SPECIFICALLY AGREE TO DO SO IN WRITING FOLLOWING INITIATION OF THE ARBITRATION.  THIS PROVISION DOES NOT PRECLUDE YOUR PARTICIPATION AS A MEMBER IN A CLASS ACTION FILED ON OR BEFORE AUGUST 20, 2011.

The updated terms of service also contain acknowledgment by Sony that the requirement to foreswear participation in any class action suit filed after August 20, 2011 may not have a legal basis:

If any clause within this Section 15 (other than the Class Action Waiver clause above) is found to be illegal or unenforceable, that clause will be severed from this Section 15, and the remainder of this Section 15 will be given full force and effect.  If the Class Action

Waiver clause is found to be illegal or unenforceable, this entire Section 15 will be unenforceable, and the Dispute will be decided by a court and you and the Sony Entity you have a dispute with each agree to waive in that instance, to the fullest extent allowed by law, any trial by jury.

The new agreement is presented to all users when they login to the PlayStation Store. Members who decline to accept these changes will be removed from PSN membership and any relevant fees refunded. Members who do agree to the new terms will have 30 days to rescind their agreement to them. For a full understanding of these changes, the new terms of service have been posted in full onSony’s official site.

For anyone hoping that Nintendo will bring its games to the smartphone sector, President Satoru Iwata will quickly deflate your balloon with a big “NO!”

As previously reported, Nintendo investors seemingly want the company to delve into the smartphone sector — even Nintendo share prices spiked when news of a possible entry began to surface just after E3 2011. Investors expressed their concerns about launching another dedicated console, and they’ve expressed their concerns about not addressing Apple’s threat.

But Nintendo is adamant about its dedication to Nintendo hardware and first-party software running on that specific hardware set. Smartphone games — even classic titles that could be played through an official PlayStation Suite-like emulator — will probably never be on the table. That’s a shame.

“This is absolutely not under consideration,” company president Satoru Iwata replied when asked about Nintendo possibly making smartphone games during an interview with Japanese news organization Nikkei.

“If we did this, Nintendo would cease to be Nintendo. Having a hardware development team in-house is a major strength. It’s the duty of management to make use of those strengths. It’s probably the correct decision in the sense that the moment we started to release games on smartphones we’d make profits. However, I believe my responsibility is not to short term profits, but to Nintendo’s mid and long term competitive strength.”

Will Nintendo’s old-school stance eventually be its downfall? Sony has seen the value of smartphone development and not only helped launch the PlayStation-certified Xperia PLAY, but is working to launch its PlayStation emulator on Tegra 2-based devices in the coming months. And while its efforts may actually be all about revenue, Sony moving into the smartphone sector is also about consumer demand. Heck, even Microsoft has recognized this, adding Xbox Live support to Windows Phone 7.

As stated before, Nintendo investors want the company to enter the smartphone arena. Consumers want Nintendo to enter the smartphone arena. A reluctant Nintendo seems to be stuck in the past rather than embracing the present and preparing for the future… a mobile future.

SOURCE via Industrygamers