The Local War has Started

As you see in the article below this one, the PS3 gets launched in South Africa on 23 March. That is just a few days away now. On the 14th of March, the people that bring out the XBox here in South Africa are having a press function. Perfectly placed, 9 days before the launch of thier biggest opposition here in South Africa, what do you expect Microsoft to be doing on the 14th?

If they are lucky, thier press function and news will come out at the same time as the PS3 launch news, maybe just a little before. I am imagining that the news will be the launch of XBox Live which, until now, has not been avaialable to people with South African addresses.

The PS3 has some sort of wireless network and I am sure, is able to connect to the WWW without too much of a fuss. Until now, the XBox has not been able to do that.

The war is on.

Or is it?

At Look & Listen last night, I saw the price of the PS3! Are they insane? R6000 for a console that can play DVD's that aren't in South Africa yet? I think not!

Official Specs for PS3 in South Africa

Sony announced last week that PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) to be launched in the PAL territories, which includes South Africa, on 23 March 2007 would utilise a new hardware specification.

The local PS3 will feature the Cell Broadband Engine™, 60 GB hard disc drive, Blu-ray Disc player, built-in Wi-Fi connectivity and SIXAXIS™ wireless controller. It also embodies a new combination of hardware and software emulation which will enable PS3 to be compatible with a broad range of original PlayStation®(PS) titles and a limited range of PlayStation®2 (PS2) titles.

“PS3 is first and foremost a system that excels in playing games specifically designed to exploit the power and potential of the PS3 system,” said David Reeves, President of SCEE. “Games designed for PS3 offer incredible graphics quality, stunning gameplay and massively improved audio and video fidelity that is simply not achievable with PS and PS2 games. Rather than concentrate on PS2 backwards compatibility, in the future, company resources will be increasingly focused on developing new games and entertainment features exclusively for PS3, truly taking advantage of this exciting technology.”

Some additional PS2 titles will become compatible on the PS3 system through regular downloadable firmware updates, which will be made available through the PLAYSTATION®Network, from www.playstation.com or via PS3 game discs, with the first update planned for the launch date of the 23rd March 2006.

Users will be able to check whether their titles are compatible with PS3 at http://faq.eu.playstation.com/bc. This site will be available on 23rd March to meet launch day.

PS3 Date for South Africa, AT LAST!!!!

The revolution has started… Following widespread speculation, Ster-Kinekor Games has just announced that Sony’s PLAYSTATION®3 home entertainment-console (PS3) will be on sale in South Africa from 23 March 2007 – in conjunction with the console’s launches in the UK and Australasia. An expected one million PS3 units will be made available during the initial launch period.

PS3 is one of the most highly anticipated & sophisticated home entertainment systems to hit the international gaming market. Its features are the first of its kind and also revolutionize features usually associated with gaming consoles. Launching in a sleek black casing designed to enhance the contemporary home entertainment-lifestyle, the PS3 enables games & multimedia to be viewed & experienced in an unparalleled High-Definition environment with top-end audiovisual potential through BlueRay DVD. The system’s revolutionary sensor-sensitive Sixaxis controller can connect up to 7 gamers wirelessly via advanced Bluetooth technology.

Apart from being able to play games with the BlueRay DVD system – the next generation of DVD created for High-Definition (HD) TV systems – the PS3 also acts as a standalone high-end BlueRay DVD player (with a 60GB harddrive), provides storage space for personal photos, videos & music, has more speed than the best PC available commercially and also links to the Internet for downloads & gaming interaction.

A stellar launch line-up of game titles has been confirmed for PS3, including eagerly awaited titles published by Sony Computer Entertainment such as Resistance: Fall of Man™, MotorStorm™, Genji™: Days of the Blade, FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION and Ridge Racer™ 7. An exceptional range of titles in every genre will also be available at launch from the world’s leading third party publishers, including Electronic Arts, Activision, Namco Bandai, Sega, Take 2, Ubisoft, Vivendi Universal, and Sony Online Entertainment.

In addition to games on disc, an exciting range of fully-featured downloadable games will debut on the PLAYSTATION®Network. These will include gaming icons such as Tekken®: Dark Resurrection and Gran Turismo® HD Concept; the fully-featured PS3 debut of the best-selling franchise Gran Turismo, realised with full HD (1080p) visual quality. Created by Polyphony Digital Inc and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, Gran Turismo® HD Concept has been downloaded by more than 350 000 users since it was released in December 2006 in North America and Japan.

Also available on the PLAYSTATION®Network will be brainteasers such as Go! Sudoku and Go! Puzzle, and innovative games such as Blast Factor™ and flOw™, designed exclusively for PLAYSTATION 3 and delivering on the promise to provide original content created by non-traditional developers and publishers.

Selected Sony movie titles are already available in the BlueRay DVD-format. This format is expected to be the preferred format for delivering media in the future. BD-ROM (Blu-ray Disc ROM) has a maximum storage capacity of 54GB (dual layer) which stores 77 times more information than a CD and six times more than a double layered DVD, which means it can hold over 50 000 high resolution photographs, 15 000 music tracks, store full High-Definition movies and games, enabling delivery of entertainment content in full High-Definition (HD) quality, under a secure environment made possible through the most advanced copyright protection technology.
PS3’s console design, features and general iconic status again signals progression in terms of the PlayStation brand’s legendary penchant for stylish, sexy, cutting-edge product design. PS1, PS2 and PSP games (linked via the PSP console) are compatible with PS3.

Responding to a major retail and consumer demand, it has been confirmed that initially only the 60GB model would be available, with the 20GB model to follow later in the year dependant on demand.

Concurrent with the launch, a new System Update to further enhance the entertainment potential of PS3 will be issued.

PlayStation 2 Beats PlayStation 3 Sales in Japan

The Sony PlayStation 2 sold 20,995 units while the PlayStation 3 sold 19,996 units from Jan. 22 to 28, according to numbers from Media Create. This marks the first time that the PS2 outsold the PS3, though the PS3 has only been available for a couple of months.

The digital entertainment analyst uses the sales data from 3,000 stores to estimate nationwide sales of all Japanese retailers. Sony plans on shipping more than 6 million PlayStation 3 game consoles worldwide before April.

The PlayStation 2 offers a lower price tag, more variety in video games, and higher availability to consumers, which contributed why it was able to sell more units than the PS3. The Nintendo Wii sold 83,000 units in the same time frame -- the Microsoft Xbox 360 sold 7,365 models. Analysts still believe the PS3's superior technology over its competitors will make it the viable console in the long-run.

Reports claim Sony's games divison could see losses as high as $2.57 billion USD for its fiscal year, which ends in March.

VIRTUA FIGHTER 5 OFFICIAL SITE LAUNCH

SEGA Europe Ltd. are pleased to announce the launch of the official website for Virtua Fighter 5, the hotly anticipated fighting game for the PlayStation3 computer entertainment system. www.sega-europe.com/virtuafighter5 offers a range of content for both fans of the highly acclaimed series and gamers new to Virtua Fighter.

www.sega-europe.com/virtuafighter5 includes a range of material covering everything from a game information section describing all the aspects of Virtua Fighter 5 to a detailed character section explaining everything there is to know about fighters old and new. An extensive media section allows visitors to view a selection of movies and screenshots, going great lengths to prove the undeniable beauty of Virtua Fighter 5 and also includes a variety of wallpapers and icons for fans to download.

Visitors wanting to brush up on their Virtua Fighter knowledge can browse through the history section of the site to get the inside information on the critically acclaimed and much loved game, helping to make www.sega-europe.com/virtuafighter5 the perfect site for fans of what is hotly tipped to be the world’s greatest fighting game.

For more information on Virtua Fighter 5 please visit www.sega-europe.com/virtuafighter5

PS3 arrogance and a great site

I sat back yesterday after reading international web sites and realised that I have no idea when the PS3 will be hitting our sunny South African shores. Why do I not know when the PS3 will be hitting our shores? That is a damn fine question. Remember, all of this is happening in my brain, not out loud, that would be sad.

So after reading these international websites on the launch of the PS3 and how much it will cost and that only the expensive version will be available in Europe, I thought that I had better do some research. By the way, us lowly, bandwidth challenged South African form part of Europe. The Japanese might love our animals, and our animals love eating Japanese, but we are still European to them.

I clicked on www.playstation.co.za and followed the link to the PS3 Website. 1st: I hate pop-up windows! Don't do it! But they did and I went, so I moved on. After waiting for 3Kb of Flash movie to load, I saw that the SA launch is in March 2007. WOW!!! Same as Europe, just no date.

Next step, I went to the Ster Kinekor website to phone the people who release all the PS's to South African stores. There are no contact details on the PS3 site. Again, be warned, you have to wait for pretty animation to launch. HAVE THESE PEOPLE LEARNED NOTHING FROM GOOGLE?

The only number you can find on the Ster Kinekor website is Ticket Line. I would love to copy & Paste it here, but the site won't let me. I can also not Skype it as it's all graphic. Anyway, I called the number and told them my story and they told me to call another number. Which I did.

Once I got to that number, a lady tells me to hold, which I did and I get through to a voice mail box that says it's full. GREAT, now what? No option to go back to the operator, so I call again and tell her that the voice mail box is full. She puts me through to another person who seems to know a little more than the ticket line guy.

All she can do, though, is take my details and promise that someone will call me back.

That someone did call me back, yes, I know, it's amazing! She tells me that I am no longer on the mailing list and will check with her PR company if I can get on the list. HELLO!!! I am on a national radio station and run a blog and influence millions, if not tens.

So now I wait.

What I can tell you about the PS3 is what IOL are running this morning. I didn't want to put it up on this site as all of the numbers will be wrong.

But onto better things.

I found this GREAT site named AfriGadget. It features all of those "Boer maak a plan" things that clever minds in tough conditions come up with. You think that your new iPhone is cool, check out what people make when they HAVE to.....

PS3 Backwards Compatability

This is a shocking video from Youtube.com made to show just how bad the PS3 is when playing PS2 and PS1 games on it. The whole reason I wasn't going to buy an XBox was so that all the money I have spent on PS games over the last few years won't be wasted. Seems as if I must not bother.

Will Sony fix it? I am sure that if there are enough complaints, then they will, but how long will we have to wait?




The price of the PS3 is still very high and I am wondering if I should rather buy Windows Vista, a game box or a really cool coffee machine.