Starship Troopers Remake?

Robert Heinlein’s somewhat controversial 1959 book was made into Paul Verhoeven’s rather divisive 1997 movie: Some saw it as an insightful satire on the media-readiness of modern war, while others saw it as a candy-colored betrayal.

But now Sony has retained the writers of Thor and X-Men: First Class to fashion a new take on a classic tale.

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PlayStation Store Returns To Japan July 6

Good news for those of us waiting to log into our Japanese PSN accounts and pick up more freebies! Oh, and also for people who actually live in Japan. Sony has finally straightened out all the issues holding back the relaunch of the PlayStation Store there, and will fully reactivate the store, Qriocity, and all other inactive services on July 6.

Japan is the last region to be reactivated, according to Sony; thus, with the renewal of all of the PSN services, Sony can now claim that the PSN is back. And we can soon claim our copy of Echochrome.

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Catan Finally Coming To PlayStation 3

The PlayStation 3 version of one of the world’s most popular board games is coming to the U.S.

Gamers will be able to download Settlers of Catan via the PlayStation Network starting June 15, the game’s official site said Wednesday.  Settlers of Catan is a popular board game created by Klaus Teuber. Since its first publication in 1995, the game has sold 15 million copies. Last year, Wired magazine called it a “perfect” game; we were not exaggerating.

Catan will cost $6.50 and support two- to four-player online games.  Xbox 360 owners have enjoyed playing a different version of Catan, developed by Big Huge Games, since 2007.

The PlayStation version Catan was developed by Game Republic, the Japanese developer responsible for games like Genji and Folklore.  But don’t hold that against them. The videogame developer has a little known sideline in board game design. A handful of its tabletop offerings, such as Owner’s Choice and Shadow Hunters, have been localized for American gamers by Z-Man Games.

Gamers in Europe and Japan have had access to the Game Republic version of Catan for more than a year.

Image courtesy Game Republic

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Netflix Streaming Available Through Sony BRAVIA TVs

Netflix has made the migration as the world’s largest online movie rental service to your living room by partnering with Sony Electronics to enable Netflix subscribers to instantly watch movies streamed from Netflix on Sony’s BRAVIA Internet Video-capable HDTVs. Those who own older BRAVIA models can also use it with Sony’s BRAVIA Internet video link module.

Starting from the fall, Netflix members who are on an unlimited plan will be able to use the Sony BRAVIA Internet Video-capable HDTVs, letting them watch over 12,000 movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix. Netflix members will need to fork out a minimum of $8.99 monthly for unlimited streaming from their library.

Press Release

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Sony: Downloadable PSP Titles Will Average Around 700MB

As PlayStation Portable morphs into the all-digital PSP Go system, many consumers might be wondering just how much space they will need to set aside for each future downloadable title. Sony representative Al de Leon spoke to Joystiq recently at an event in NYC about the storage issue, saying most titles will average around “600-800MB in size.” This means, de Leon further added, that the PSP Go’s 16GB capacity — without any additional memory unit — could hold up to an “average of 17-18 games.” Considering the Go can handle an extra 16GB of M2 storage, the number of games could easily be doubled.

Although 700MB is the point we should be expecting most games to gravitate towards, there will still be other titles that will be far below this mark or even way above it. Smaller scale titles like Patapon 2 (which is less than 400MB) for example, could take as little as half the average footprint. Others, like the recently released PSOne classic Final Fantasy VII (takes up 1.3GB), could be nearly double this number.

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Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars breaking out on PSP this fall

Rockstar has announced that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, the latest portable offering in the open-ended crime series, will be making the jump from DS to PSP. The game will be available in both UMD and digital download format when it’s released in the US and Europe this autumn. Featuring enhanced widescreen graphics, improved lighting and animation and additional story missions, this version of Chinatown Wars “will take full advantage of the power of the PSP system.”

No new assets have been released for the PSP version — in fact, the official website still says it’s exclusive to the DS — but we should see more of this new addition to the ever-growing 2009 PSP lineup soon.

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Sony Closing Its Only U.S. PlayStation Store

As Microsoft ramps up its own retail efforts, Sony will be closing its flagship PlayStation store in the Metreon Mall in San Francisco, California.

It may seem hard to believe, but the 5,500 square foot store has been open for nearly ten years, a substantial chunk of the life of many PlayStation fans. Sony representatives said the lease to the store expires on June 16, and it will not be renewed.

Sony opened the Metreon in 1999 with a principal concept of entertainment and retail fusion, or the “not-quite-a-mall” design. In addition to shopping and dining establishments, the four-story mall included such attractions as an IMAX theater and video arcade.

After Sony sold Metreon to Westfield in 2005, a design overhaul was imminent. The San Francisco Examiner reported last November that a large-scale remodeling effort would involve turning the majority of the space into outward-facing restaurants. The fourth floor has reportedly been leased by Tavern on the Green.

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Analysts Predict PlayStation 3 Price Cuts in 2009

Although it’s not yet official, most analysts expect the NPD Group’s January video-game console report to show Nintendo’s Wii game console as the clear winner for December, with the Xbox 360 a distant second.

Analysts are also predicting that even as Sony’s PlayStation 3 begins to gain some momentum, price cuts may be just around the corner as the once-leading console maker struggles to compete against its less-expensive competitors.

"We expect December {video-game] sales of $2.625 billion — up 10 percent compared to December 2007′s $2.39 billion. We expect next-generation software sales of $2.42 billion and current-generation software sales of $205 million," said Michael Patcher, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan. "Our forecast reflects growth of four percent year-over-year for Xbox 360 software, 71 percent growth for Wii software, and 48 percent growth for PS3 software."

Slashing Console Prices

In September, Microsoft cut the price of its three Xbox 360 models to $199, $299 and $399. Sony responded by increasing hard-drive sizes and maintaining its PS3 pricing at $399 and $499. In October, Microsoft countered with the launch of its holiday bundles with free games Sega Superstars Tennis for the Xbox Arcade, and LEGO Indiana Jones and Kung Fu Panda for the Xbox 360 Pro and Elite.

"We believe these moves increased hardware sales, and note that the bundled software is not included in NPD’s overall figures, so Xbox 360 software sales may show only a modest year-over-year increase," Patcher said. "Microsoft hardware sales have been up modestly over the last two months, due to a higher value proposition and by having its core model priced below $300, and we expect this trend to continue in December."

Once the PS3 is at a more affordable price point — Wedbush expects a cut to $299 in April — the company thinks sales will begin to grow. However,…

Source: Top Tech News

Microsoft expects PS3 price drop ‘in the next couple of months’

Now that the PS3 costs less to make, shouldn’t Sony be passing on its savings to you? That’s what Xbox 360 product manager, Aaron Greenberg, expects will happen via a price cut before summer.

Speaking to Edge Online, Greenberg said that, “We [Microsoft] absolutely expect the PS3 price drop to happen in the next couple of months,” adding, “We’re frankly surprised it’s taken this long.”

Sony isn’t surprised; it’s poised to turn a profit on the system for the first time … in the next couple of months. SCEI president Kaz Hirai very much wants this to happen — no doubt even more so given the fine mess Sony currently sees itself in — but the pleasing of stockholders just might have to take back seat to making sure PS3 stands a fighting chance with consumers.

Source: Joystiq