Gran Turismo HD Concept - Launch date and details

GT HD will be available as a free download for the PS3 system and will be made available on December 24th. It's essentially just GT4 with totally revamped graphics for the PS3 console, aka, 1080p visuals. Interestingly enough, it will be available for the North American market, unlike the original GT Concept titles from years back which were only available in Europe and Japan.

According to Sony and Kazunori Yamauchi, this title is intended to be a glimpse into the future of the Gran Turismo series.

Players will have access to the Eiger Nordwand course in forward and reverse which will be playable as a time trial. Meeting certain goals will unlock the first 10 cars of the game and players will get to unlock them again with some performance tuning. The game will also include the drift mode that was initially planned for Gran Turismo 4 but nixed on the final release. Drift Trial mode will score players based on drift angles, racing lines, and speed for each of the evaluation zones on the course. The point total for all the zones will go towards the player's rankings.

Players will be able to use the Playstation Network to upload lap times and view rankings based on car and mode as well as share replays. Sadly, online play will not be available on this title.

Sony has also provided a list of the available cars in game. These will be available stock and tuned.

• 1995 Suzuki Cappucino
• 1989 Mazda Eunos Roadster
• 2004 Honda Integra TYPE R
• 1996 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV GSR
• 2006 Infiniti G35 Coupe
• 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX GSR
• 2005 Lotus Elise 111R
• 1994 Nissan SKYLINE GT-R Vspec II
• 1995 Toyota Celica GT-FOUR Rally Car
• 2006 Ferrari 599

Sadly, it seems that GT HD Concept is going to be nothing more than a tech demo showing off the visual prowess of the PS3 console. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot on the plate here, and this is probably just meant to hold off the crowds until GT5 is officially released. No word yet on the release of GT5, but considering the delays to GT4, I'd expect it to launch no sooner than the end of 2007 - if even that soon. Kaz is a perfectionist when it comes to the GT titles, and if GT4 is any indication, he will delay it as much as possible in order to release the best racing sim he can.

Besides that, I'm not particularly looking forward to GT HD Concept as it just doesn't have much to offer in terms of gameplay and replay value. I'm sure the lucky few hardcore GT fans that actually have a PS3 will be excited, but for everyone else... you probably won't be missing a whole lot. I'd say stick with your PS2, some component cables, and play GT4 in 1080i.

Since I am sitting here talking about Gran Turismo, I may as well forward you on to GTPlanet.net - the largest online community dedicated to the Gran Turismo franchise.

Why not get an Xbox 360, seriously?

I have been to all the launch events; Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3. I’ve seen what each has offered from day 1. I even gave the Xbox 360 a year to see what Microsoft would come up with. So I waited and now I’ve decided.

When I first saw the Xbox 360 I was definitely wowed by the graphics but I had faith Sony would show something better after their demonstrations at E3. I was not even considering Nintendo until the Wii-mote was unveiled. Going to the Nintendo Wii event, I discovered how much fun the Wii was, the graphics were shitty but the remote won my heart. Sadly I walked into the Playstation 3 launch expecting something really great and walked out very bored and disappointed. All I saw was an Xbox 360 wrapped in black with a label saying Playstation 3. It was the same damn thing, nothing superior in graphics. I’m sorry fan boys, you love Sony, but the launch titles sucked and the graphics were just okay after seeing what the Xbox 360 had at launch. If Sony really wanted to wow people they would have tried just a little harder at making a game with graphics showing the true potential of the PS3, instead they coupled the same GUI found on the PSP and threw out crappy first titles with boring gameplay. I think Sony has forgotten that great graphics only take you so far, it’s the games that matter most. If it feels like shit playing it, why bother with graphics. Oh and since you can already get the third party games for the PS3 on the Xbox 360, why cough out your money for the PS3 if it looks the same anyway. For the Blu-ray player, enforcing the Blu-ray format? Seriously HD-DVD and Blu-ray look the exact same, it doesn’t even matter! I’ve tested them both.

As for the Nintendo Wii, it’s great! But the selection of choices on it are still limited and I would like to see what more innovative and original games Nintendo throws out in the next year. Wii Sports isn’t enough for me to buy the console yet.

Now we come back to the Xbox 360; 1 year out with a strong established online community. A lot of great titles, more specifically Gears of War and the upcoming Too Human and Halo 3 games. If anything it’s the continuous blockbuster games Microsoft is dishing out each year that have won me over to the Xbox 360. These games look fantastic in graphics, but tend to be even greater in gameplay. They are just so damn fun to play, and they are only on the Xbox 360! And they make great use of cinematic elements. Yes I’m sure Sony will throw out some cool looking games with decent gameplay later, but it’s too late. I want to play great games now; I don’t want to wait anymore. If you're tired of waiting, get an Xbox 360, I know I am.

Update:
Here is a performance comparison of the Xbox 360 vs. PS3 - guess which one is better (source: IGN)

Thanks Kevin.

Let the PS3 ripping begin!

Ok, the PS3 wasn't 'hacked' per se, but it has been instrumental in the ripping and playback of blu-ray movies through Linux.

There aren't any security measures on blu-ray playback on the PS3 Linux. As a result, it's naturally possible to rip the blu-ray media straight to iso and play it back using linux media player software.

Follow the jump for deets
Link

More interestingly, piracy groups seem to have found a way to rip the blu-ray games to ISO.

From the nfo file that's floating around:

| cOMPANY : Activision | rELEASE DATE : 02 Dec 2006 |
| sYSTEM : PlayStation 3 ! | sIZE : 68 x 100mb |
| tYPE : Action/Role Play | vIDEO MODE : NTSC/USA |
| sUPPLIER : Huey Lewis | cRACKER : G0d |
| mEDIA : BLU-RAY | pLAYABLE : Soon ;)

The disks were more than likely ripped using the PS3 + one of the linux distros available. Playback is as yet impossible since there isn't a way to 1) burn them, and 2) convince the console that they're the real deal.

We here at 3dgamer don't condone piracy in any way, shape, or form, but I see this as the potential beginning for a future homebrew gaming scene. The PSP has one that is/was booming (I sold my PSP several months ago), and it will be interesting to see homebrew stuff making its way to the PS3 as well. I know that it is more than possible to create homebrew games for Linux on the PS3, but frankly, that lacks the '1337 factor' of having a h4x0r3d PS3 that plays homebrew games.

Instead of buying a PS3...

If you're thinking of getting one of your kids a PS3 for the holiday season maybe you should think of presenting them with a few other options that will run about the same price.

Things you could do instead of buying a PS3:
- Fly to London (and get a cheap hotel room)
- Pay your rent for a month
- Buy 300 big macs
- Buy 4 Nintendo DS lite's
- Buy 3000 bandages
- Order 60 Large cheese pizza's
- Buy 250 gallons of gas
- Get a laptop
- Get some books from the library and return them really, REALLY late
- Buy 4 Ipod Nanos
- Buy a 1988 Mazda 323
- Pick up 3 flat panel monitors
- Buy 15 shares of Sony Corp (judging from PS3 sales I would NOT recommend this)
- Take a skydiving course and do 4 jumps
- Hire a personal trainer and have 17 sessions at the gym
- Pay for two months worth of groceries
- Buy 30 years worth of toothpaste
- Buy 210.8 gallons of soda
- Pick up 225 pounds of tuna (canned)
- Buy a 360 AND a Wii (and a couple of games)

Or...you could do the right thing:

Provide food, shelter, and clothing for two children for AN ENTIRE YEAR and still have $150 left over for something nice for yourself.

In North America alone, about 200 000 PS3's have been sold. That's 400 000 children fed, clothed and sheltered for an entire year. Maybe we should all take a break from video games and put our money to some real use this holiday season.

360 to benefit from console shortages?

You can't help but wonder how long before people become totally fed up with waiting to get their hands on PS3's and Wii's and opt for picking up a 360. Sometimes companies ship fewer systems in order to increase hype around the release, however, I'd question the intelligence behind the decision (especially by Sony) to ship so few. It seems Microsoft may have been prepared for this and are quite happy with the console shortage in North America. Recently Microsoft executives let it be known that they intend to try and have 10 million Xbox 360s sold wordwide by the end of the holiday season.

As if losing potential sales isn't bad enough, if quantities remain low, it is most likely that potential PS3'ers will pick up a 360 this holiday season (simply because they target the same audience). This is even worse news for Sony, as Microsoft's Xbox HD-DVD add on for $200 is definitely a much easier alternative to purchasing a bluray player- especially for those who have already picked up an Xbox for the holidays.

Though this sounds like bad news for Sony, Nintendo caters to a different audience, and from the looks of their sales, they seem to have everything under control (outselling the PS3 2-1). It remains to be seen however how both Sony and Nintendo put up with the upcoming holiday demand. If you want to make sure you get your hands on a console this holiday season, the 360 will definitely be your best bet - which may have been Microsoft's strategy all along.

Want a PlayStation 3, why not HACK one?

So you want a PS3? You went for the line-ups, dodged flying bullets and stampeding geeks but still managed to come back empty handed. Fret not, if you are a talented programmer you can score yourself a free PS3 with an upgraded 160GB hard drive and Linux pre-installed. How? Hack it!

You heard me right! As if the console itself hasn't gotten enough of a bad rep the folks at Shimpinomori.net want someone to hack their PS3 running Linux at this url. If you manage to change the picture on that page with another on one located on the PS3, the system is yours and shipping is free.

Oh there is a catch, "You must do a 'clean' hacking job : no DOS, no 'dirty' attack which saturate the internet tubes. Moreover, do not attack other machines located in the same subnetwork."

This contest is only open till the beginning of January 2007. So roll out those 4 Dummies books and get cracking at it.

Upcoming games on the PS3 will KICK ASS!...right?

A lot of people have been complaining about the titles that were released with the launch of the PS3. A few died hard Sony fans however have stood firm, arguing that in a few months, the company will release much better content. I began wondering if these predictions held any merit, and what possible difficulties game companies may be having with releasing content designed for the PS3. After doing a bit of digging, I ran into a great article on hardcoreware.net that talked about game development from a developers perspective. To put it plainly, development for the PS3 is a pain. For starters, developers can use Visual Studio and other popular tools (that have an enormous amount of existing documentation) to create content for the 360. The PS3 however requires the use of a proprietary compiler that is buggy and has little documentation. Needless to say, this slows the process to a crawl. Furthermore, the 360 architecture is much easier to understand (general purpose CPUs) as opposed to the
specialized processors used in the PS3.

So for all you die hard Sony fans, before you shell out $500 for a PS3, there's a few things you should consider. Many of the games for the PS3 will be ports of the xbox versions, and since there is already a large customer base of 360 users, their primary focus may be on xbox customers in the near future (especially since the adoption rate of the console is yet to be determined). It's also important to understand that developers are currently having a hard time creating games using the existing tools, and should they see a lull in sales, they may not see the PS3 as a product that is worth shifting their primary focus towards.

Sony sales figures; More PS3s coming by airfreight

Buoyed by the sales of their, now officially, last-gen console, the PS2, and the PSP handheld, Sony PR man Dave Karraker reports that week-over-week sales of PS2 hardware rose by 116.5%, and PSP hardware rose a whopping 280.5% at the top 5 North American retailers for the period ending November 26th.

For those of us who already have a PSP, or no longer give a hoot about the last-gen, Sony adds, "[We've] been airlifting additional shipments of PlayStation 3 systems into the North American market since the launch on November 17. We were able to get a fresh supply of PS3s in the hands of retailers prior to Black Friday, along with games and peripherals.

"We will continue to utilize airfreight delivery for the PlayStation 3 to assure a steady stream of systems for North American consumers through the end of the year. Our goal remains to have one million units in the pipeline by December 31, 2006."

As if you didn't know already, Sony also stated that they sold every PS3 shipped to America in the past week.

It should be comforting to know that, for now, SCEA can still make a buck somewhere because we know they're really hurtin' with every PlayStation 3 they make and sell.

[Gamasutra]

HMV giving away chance to buy a Wii or PS3

It's as if god himself opened the stairway to heaven for us gamers. After the launch of the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii many poor souls were left unsatisfied and miserable, it was as if part of their soul was missing, something was definitely wrong. Well my sappy friends, cheer up because HMV is determined to rescue you from yourself and possibly satisfy all your gaming needs.

How you may ask? HMV is giving away a chance to purchase the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii at their Canadian stores. Avoid the line-ups and disappointments and call your aunt or uncle up north, be extra nice this time. There are 20 PS3s and 20 Wiis that the good folks at HMV are willing to let you buy off them, one per person.

One of twenty (20) Sony Playstation® 3 console (UPC # 0 00 71171 98001 0 / 20GB Hard Drive version console) or one of twenty (20) Nintendo® Wii console (UPC # 0 00 45496 88001 9 / Include Wii console, Wii Sports, a sensor bar, an AV cable, a Wii stand, a Wii Remote, and a Nunchuk controller)

Why are they doing this, because they want to ease your pain and also because they want you to know that they now carry games and consoles. Good Move!

My only hope is to win a Wii and that not many people read this post.

$1000+ PS3s; $4000+ PS3 shoes

As a self-professed sneakerhead, I just had to blog about this one pair of ultra expensive, PS3-themed shoes.

This (in case you're interested) size 10 pair of hybrid Nike Air Max 360/90 kicks has hologram swooshes (apparently a Nike first), interchangeable red and black laces, and the PS3 launch day (For the record, it's "11.17.06" in case sleep deprivation and BB-gun pellets made you forget the fateful date you were in line until) embossed on the back of the shoe. The kicker (ahem...) is the inside of the shoe, which has mechanical drawings of the console (cool!); the insole even says "Play B3yond".

If you've got $4000 or so burning a hole in your wallet, why not have a go at bidding on them? They'd make an excellent Christmas gift for the PlayStation 3/sneaker-afficiando on your list, and all proceeds go to charity.

One more thing; since the PS3 is in such short supply this holiday season, I thought I might add that there are only 24 of these shoes in the entire world. That's nearly as scarce a resource as the consoles themselves.

Happy bidding!

[Thanks Joystiq.]

Is Sony mired by their own inventiveness?

Do you remember the Betamax format? It's okay if you're not familiar with it; I wasn't even born when Sony released this videocassette format back in 1975. Technically superior to the VHS, Beta just never caught on, and that's why VHS became the choice medium for videotaping your most embarrassing childhood memories, and subsequently, playing them back in front of your present-day boy/girlfriend.

How about the MiniDisc? Another Sony-pioneered format launched in 1992 with ambitions to take over the portable music player market. That didn't happen either. Portable CD players won that game, and the introduction of the MP3 player made the MD a thing of the past--now only used by reporters trying to catch the next big soundbite.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell that Sony has trouble with winning format wars.

An article in the UK's Independent caught my attention. Heading into the holiday season, Sony is really pushing to get their new PlayStation 3 under as many trees as possible. But once again, Sony is being held back by the technology they've developed. The Independent reports that the Blu-ray is in part, responsible for the PS3 shortages, citing problems with the Blu-ray laser diodes as restricting production of the scarce black boxes.

Microsoft has recently released an HD DVD player add-on for their Xbox 360 console. The bigwigs at MS are also insisting that HD DVD-games are not in the works--a good thing for Xbox 360 owners who don't see the need to tack on a superfluous HD DVD player to their console. What this also means is that Microsoft isn't throwing the 360 headfirst into this format war--this may be a good decision.

This brings up another question. Are we ready for Blu-ray, or even HD DVD for that matter? Blu-ray boasts its higher data capacity, but HD DVD players are ostensibly cheaper than Blu-ray players. But we might be getting ahead of ourselves--I know I still haven't chucked my DVD player out yet.

The High-Definition medium format war has yet to play out, but will HD DVD's victory mark the downfall of the Blu-ray format, and subsequently, the Blu-ray-equipped PS3? Conversely, will Blu-ray, championed by the PlayStation 3, lead Sony out of the format war-doghouse and into millions, or perhaps billions of homes worldwide? Only time will tell.

What we do know now is that Blu-ray technology is holding Sony back from bursting out of the gates in this generation of the Console Wars. And that can't be good news.

North American PS3 Auctions?

The initial launch of the PS3 saw scalpers rush out and get as many machines as they could get their hands on - and sell them online for ridiculous prices. I can't help but wonder why Sony didn't take this opportunity, and auction off systems themselves (like they did in Japan). It's quite obvious that those who had the money were willing to dish out ridiculous amounts of cash to get their hands on a system. Sony could have easily cut out the middle man and cashed in on this. Better yet, they could easily continue selling systems online even after the initial demand dies down. When the demand decreases, so can the price, and with a bit of planning, they can rake in roughly the same profits, while at the same time pushing bluray to more users worldwide.

Many reports (USAtoday) claim that in Japan, most large amounts posted on auction sites are fakes, and the systems auctioned off in Japan are actually going for bargain prices. Because of the high demand and low supply of systems in North America, Sony can be sure there will be a large market willing to pay whatever they need to in order to get their hands on a system. Even when prices begin to fall, at the very least, the systems will be selling for the maximum amount people are willing to pay for them, and Sony will also be putting a bluray player in every home that purchases a PS3.

An in-depth review of the PlayStation 3

Only days after release and there has been more coverage on this console than the war in Iraq in almost every medium...I'm sure. Ars Technica has a fantastic in-depth review of the PlayStation 3 from unpacking it to playing the initial games. The overall opinion of the writer is very balanced and unbiased. The bad is clearly pointed out and it must be obvious to many by now and the good is well highlighted. This is a great review to look at if you have an open mind on the system and won't cough over and die if something bad is said about it.

The PS3 doesn't have any grand ideas; Sony wanted something high-tech, so they started from scratch with the processor and GPU, but what does it get them? Very little so far.

Read the full review

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance Trailer for PS3

Here is a new Marvel: Ultimate Alliance trailer released today specifically for the PlayStation 3 version. The trailer is a sort of documentary with some cool cut-scenes and information from the developers. From the video, what I could gather was that the PS3 version had two exclusive characters and 5 bonus villains. The names ran by so fast I couldn't make out anything but the name "Colossus". hopefully you will have better luck.

They also brag about how great it looks on the PS3 over other platforms.

Canadian PlayStation 3 Launch Event

Higher uptown in Toronto yesterday, Sony held a press launch event for their PlayStation 3 console which was packed with media personnel. The event took place at the very classy looking Six Degrees night club. Security was tight and bouncers were guarding the gates heightening our anticipation of what awaited inside. Of course you had to be recognizable enough as media to receive this classy invite, the presence of bouncers proved just how serious Sony was. Luckily, we got in and saw the goods.

Sony’s Ian Jackson addressed the press with some good news regarding the PlayStation 3, Sony is promising a backup supply of units to arrive next week “in-case” gamers don't get their hands on a PS3 on launch day. Exact numbers were not provided and a date was not mentioned.

I have been to Xbox 360 events, the Wii Launch, and finally Sony's PlayStation 3. It was disappointing to see there were the same third party titles everywhere and very few exclusive titles dedicated to the PlayStation 3 alone. One reporter I bumped into had this to say, “These games are already out on the Xbox 360 why would I buy a PlayStation for them?” I'm sure the dedicated Sony fan-boy would immediately say, “Duh! Coz they're like 100x better looking...” Umm, yes they might look a bit better but nothing the Xbox 360 was not already close to displaying, at least the first set of titles didn’t seem graphically superior to the Xbox 360 versions, some were slightly sharper but that was essentially the only difference noted.

The only first party titles being released on launch day are Resistance: Fall of Man, NBA 07, and Genji: Days of the Blade. All three were on the event floor. For initial impressions: NBA 07 showed intense realism and texture detail through realistic reflections and refractions. Genji was a major disappointment in gameplay. Sure it looked beautiful as all games did but I found myself just running around in the game continuously hacking and slashing away, nothing next-gen about that. The characters also appeared as if they were sliding across the floor as they ran, it totally threw off any experience of realism. Resistance: Fall of Man was a well looking FPS game although some explosions sort of looked like poorly generated volume clouds. Once again, it looked great but nothing felt different about it from any other FPS game. Xbox 360’s Gears of War definitely takes precedence over Resistance: Fall of Man in challenging and enjoyable gameplay. Of course these were Sony’s first attempts for launch, I’m sure they will use more potential of the PS3 on upcoming titles.

Some of the third party titles that I saw at X’06 were here as well. Such as Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and Call of Duty 3. Overall I felt they looked sharper on the PS3 compared to their Xbox 360 versions but aside from that I saw no other difference. Some reporters on the event floor saw no difference between the titles on either console.

Sadly there was no demonstration of movie playback using the Blu-ray technology or any of the other features on the PS3. None of the games seemed to have been set-up using the wireless controller's motion sensitivity feature so it was impossible to experience the SIXAXIS controller completely.

Nonetheless, Sony has released a promising console but it has definitely been over hyped. It will stand in great competition with the Xbox 360 as long as Sony brings out some exclusive innovative games that make great use of the technology onboard the PS3.

Wii and PS3 launch this week in Canada...well for press!

Yeah damn straight you should be jealous. After all, you want that Wii weally weally badly or the bigger bad boy, PlayStation 3. But you still can't have either unless you are in Japan. So you sit there and cry in agony hoping that time doesn't come to a stand still, as if it isn't slow enough to begin with. We'll I'm going to shatter your dreams and piss you off because unlike you I have been invited to the Canadian preview/launch events for the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 both held in Toronto this week. I don't know what exactly will be at the events but they are a few hours long and from experience that means the press will have the chance to sample some initial launch titles and ask questions. So to make your wait even more painful and impatient I am going to post some initial coverage of each event this week right after I attend it, and if you are a true die hard fan you will come back here to see the outcome.