All Consoles Feeds

Sony looking to shift 10 million PS3s

Patrick Goss — 1210772777

Sony is looking to sell 10 million PlayStation 3 consoles in the next financial year, after falling short of its targets for 2007-08.

The company’s financial statements show that PS3s fell well short of the prediction of 11 million units, with only 9.24 million selling.

$1.2 billion loss

But the company remains upbeat at the late surge for the console, as the blockbusting games began to arrive and it is hoping to top the 10 million mark for 2008-09.

Sony’s PlayStation brand is incredibly valuable to the company, and although PSP and PS2 both sold well with 13.9 million and 13.73 million units respectively, the sales of PS3 will be worrying.

However, considering the console is sold at an estimated $150 loss, the fact that the company’s gaming wing has lost $1.2 billion (around £770 million) is perhaps not surprising.

Do violent games breed violent kids?

Tech Staff — 1210424040

A major study in the US has managed to find some sensible middle ground between the alarmists who claim that violent games automatically breed violent children and the see-no-evil, speak-no-evil, hear-no-evil defenders of violent video games as nothing more than a bit of harmless fun.

Funded by the US government to the tune of $1.5 million, the study was conducted by Dr Lawrence Kutner and Dr Cheryl Olson – a prominent husband and wife team from Harvard University who are also the co-founders and directors of the Harvard Medical School Centre for Mental Health and Media.

Far from being yet another two-bob exercise in finding the right facts to suit the argument of a particular side and fill out some newspaper column inches, Kutner and Olsen’s study was undertaken over two years from a purely academic point of view.

Different approach

In contrast to nearly all previous studies, the two authors rejected the idea of concentrated empirical tests and instead decided to speak directly and at length to their research subjects – approximately 1200 of them – to question them about their attitudes towards games – both violent and non-violent.

The conclusions the pair reached were first published in July 2007 in the Journal of Adolescent Health, and have since appeared in a number of other academic publications.

Their findings are also about to be published in a parent-friendly book entitled Grand Theft Childhood: the Surprising Truth about Violent Video Games.

The aim of the book, according to its authors, is to steer the focus away from hysterical headlines and instead offer parents practical advice on how to identify and limit the risks violent games may – or indeed may not – pose to their children.

One size doesn't necessarily fit all

Significantly, the book avoids a one-size-fits-all approach to the subject and instead focuses on the ways that different children will react differently to the same violent material.

It’s this non-universal approach to the subject that’s perhaps most significant. The failure to recognise that not all children react in the same way has been all-too-familiar fault with the vast majority of studies into the effects of violent video games in the past.

Sitting on the fence?

However, the study’s findings don’t always sit quite so neatly on the fence. In fact, the study did reveal how there is a correlation (but not necessarily a connection) between violent video games and aggressive behaviour in boys and girls.

Specifically, Drs Kutner and Olsen found that 51 per cent of boys who played mature-rated games (for age 17+) had been in a fight in the past year, compared to 28 per cent of non-mature-rated game players.

In girls the contrast was even higher, with 40 per cent of girls who played 17+ games having been in a fight in the past year, compared to just 14 per cent for non-mature players.

In a recent interview with GameCouch, Drs Kutner and Olsen hinted that there was no simple, universal explanation to why this was:

“The causes of aggressive behaviour are extremely complicated; teasing out the specific contribution of video games is near impossible, especially since kids who are already aggressive seem to prefer violent games and movies,” they said.

“Instead, we focused on identifying markers of risk: patterns of game play that were associated with problem behaviours that parents … could spot,” they added.

Dexter: the console game

1204725159

Hit television series Dexter is set to enter the realm of gaming – with Marc Ecko Entertainment attached to the project and in talks with a number of developers.

The programme focuses on a serial killer who restricts his grisly murders to other nefarious evil-doers whilst working for the police.

The Emmy award-winning series – which stars Michael C. Hall – is owned by Showtime, which is keen to bring the character to the next generation of consoles. Marc Ecko Entertainment has been tasked with staying faithful to the television series and is in talks to find a suitable developer for the project.

The first series of Dexter is currently airing on ITV1 in the UK.

PSP adds phone calls, video chats, IM

Anna Lagerkvist — 1204039540

Sony has teamed up with BT to add phone functions to the popular Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) gaming console.

GoMessenger, due to launch this Friday, is a piece of free software that transforms your Sony PSP into a fully-fledged communications device. Apart from surfing the web, you’ll also be able to text your friends, conduct video chats and send voice messages on the move without having to carry multiple devices.

All you have to do is to hook up to a Wi-Fi hotspot and you’re off.

The GoMessenger service is available through the latest firmware update for the Sony PSP. The IM and web browsing functionalities are available to all, but the video calls require an additional camera - the £35 GoCam - which sits on top of the console.

No call-out function

At the moment, calling non-contacts is not possible. But this function may be added in the future, along with video chats between multiple contacts and other features, Ian Pulford, chief of convergence development at BT Retail, told TechRadar this afternoon.

“We’ll wait and see what features are popular, and what additional functions people want from us,” Pulford said, adding “but it would make a lot of sense [to add a call-out function]”.

‘Better than Skype’

BT said its service is better suited for Sony PSP owners than Skype, which has long been available to use on the Sony PSP. Pulford pointed out that the video call and IM functionalities on Skype are not available on the Sony PSP.

The GoMessenger service is only available for registered users, so you won’t be able to chat to your MSN Messenger, AIM or Skype contacts unless they sign up to BT’s service too.

BT is hoping that the 11 million Sony PSP owners will sign up to the new service, which launches on 29 February.

Is PC gaming in crisis? Actually, no

Dean Evans — 1203353238

Microsoft, Nvidia and Intel are reportedly ganging together to form an alliance that will save PC gaming. But does PC gaming actually need saving?

“No,” says Ross Atherton, the editor of PC Gamer magazine. “There's still pots of cash in PC gaming - just ask Blizzard, Sports Interactive, NCsoft, Valve, THQ, Popcap, Gamersgate etc. Nvidia aren't doing too badly either, according to their latest financials.”

Falling sales, better consoles

Critics of PC gaming point to falling copy sales and the increasing popularity of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Both are cheap in comparison to a high-end gaming rig.

But while sales of AAA PC games aren’t matching the likes of Gears of War or Halo 3, the very landscape of PC gaming has evolved. So much so, you could argue that the PC is where all the innovation is; that PC gaming is leading the way…

“The PC as a platform is evolving as the internet does,” suggests Alec Meer, editor of rockpapershotgun.com. “Indie and self-published development is on the rise, fully able to explore bolder ideas and entertain niche audiences now that online distribution frees it from the traditional costs and red tape of retail publishing.”

“It's true that retail sales of boxed copies have fallen,” agrees PC Gamer’s Ross Atherton. “But that's due to gamers pursuing other modes of gaming and purchasing, which many sales figures don't take into account, and which don't show up on most analysts' radars.”

The PC endlessly innovates

Not only has the PC pioneered online games distribution and massively multiplayer gaming, but the PC offers a wider variety of games than its console cousins currently do.

“Look at the amount of choice we've got,” says Alec Meer, “from mods to webgames to free MMOs to services like Steam - the iTunes of gaming, able to deliver a vast back catalogue of games straight to our hard drives.”

True. But console gaming is cheap, easily accessible, and you don’t have to turn down the game detail because your graphics card can’t handle the texturing. Yet console gaming is also tirelessly predictable - FPS titles, driving games, beat-‘em ups and sports sims abound.

Where’s the innovation? It’s on the PC. Look no further than World of Warcraft, Second Life, EVE Online, Will Wright’s Spore…

“The PS3's most innovative and exciting game of 2008, Little Big Planet, wouldn't exist without lessons learned from PC gaming's DIY user-led core,” suggests Dan Dawkins, editor of PSM3 magazine.

“If PC games can continue to push the boundaries, especially with the less mass-market fare that console publishers tend to avoid, the drip through effect is good news for all gamers. The onus is on PC gaming to innovate further.”

Does PC gaming really need saving?

So what then makes Microsoft, Nvidia and Intel think that PC gaming needs to be saved?

“The sad fact is that these three would love to be seen as the guardians of all things PC,” says Richard Cobbett of PC Plus magazine. “But they're not. Their existence is built on expensive kit that only a tiny subset of the gaming world cares about, never mind goes out to buy.

”The only thing this kind of alliance is likely to do is get the key players' names slapped onto a few more high profile titles, letting them feel like they're running the party, not simply loud guests.

Microsoft gets to pretend it owns the PC platform. Nvidia can continue claiming it's the “Way It's Meant To Be Played”. And Intel? It gets some more time to sit back and write its autobiography: "I Remember AMD".

Original Xbox 360 gets HDMI output dongle

Don Reisingher — 1202960004

When the Xbox 360 was first launched gamers worldwide wondered why Microsoft failed to include an HDMI port on the back, particularly given the coming flood of HD TVs and Sony's decision to include the connection on the PlayStation 3. Later models corrected that omission and now early adopters can get their high-def fix too.

According to MadCatz, it has finally developed "the relief Xbox 360 owners have been waiting for". Dubbed the HDMI Conversion Kit, the company's product allows current console owners to plug the adapter into the standard output jack on the system, providing 1080p output and support for HDMI 1.3.

MadCatz also claims the $90 (£45) Conversion Kit allows audio to be carried through Dolby Digital and DTS, but it can be routed through a secondary optical output for home theatres that use a receiver instead of HDMI's audio functionality.

Sony PSP catches fire in child's pocket

Anna Lagerkvist — 1202383878

A 12-year-old boy from Michigan suffered second-degree burns when his trousers caught fire after his Sony PlayStation Portable exploded in his pocket.

The fire burnt a hole in Harold Clay’s trousers before a teacher managed to get the burning Sony PSP out of his pocket. Police said the games console overheated and exploded, the ClickOnDetroit.com news website reports.

Ironically, the last game little Harold had been playing was called 'Burn Out'.

"It was unbelievable, because [the Sony PSP] wasn't on. It was just in his pocket," the victim's father, Harold Clay, told ClickOnDetroit.com.

Déjà vu all over again as Wii smacks down PS3

J Mark Lytle — 1202121149

About this time every month we get the games console sales figures from the critical battleground of Japan, indicating how well each of the major players has fared in the previous four weeks.

As we well know, the PS3 has been blazing a comeback trail, but January's stats surprised everyone by showing the Wii with as healthy a lead as ever.

What's going on?

The first month of 2008 saw Nintendo's white wonder restore its dominance by selling three times as many consoles as Sony's PlayStation 3. The raw data show 479,931 Wiis sold and just 165,719 PS3 boxes shifted.

Although Sony doesn't comment on unofficial data, the numbers must make executives in its newly profitable games division privately disappointed. Still, at least it isn't in Microsoft's position - the Xbox 360 sold just 27,044 units in Japan last month.

Of course, no one was expecting anything but a Wii victory at this stage, but January appears to represent the equivalent of a 6-0 thrashing, rather than the tight one-nil the form book suggested.

Xbox 360 in profit shock

Dan Grabham — 1201263476

Remember when Microsoft Entertainment and Devices chief Robbie Bach said the Xbox business would be profitable by 2008? Most of us scoffed. Seems though, like we were wrong. Microsoft shipped 700,000 more consoles in the first half of the fiscal year - 6.1 million as opposed to 5.4 million the year before.

As well as detailing the last quarter for the division, first-half earnings were also released. While the division didn't signpost much revenue growth over the last quarter - only 3 per cent - sales were up 25 per cent.

Helping hand from the Zune

And the big numbers were an income figure of $524 million compared to the whacking $423 million loss in the same period last year. It's not all down to the Xbox - Bach's division also incorporates PC gaming as well as the Zune MP3 player.

There's no doubt about what it thought was responsible for the improved results though and it was a certain console.

"Xbox platform and PC game revenue increased $1.0 billion or 35 per cent during the six months ended December 31, 2007, as a result of increased Xbox 360 console sales, video game sales led by Halo 3, Xbox Live revenues, and Xbox 360 accessory sales," said Microsoft in its filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Games industry enjoys a bumper 2007

Dean Evans — 1201092555

While the US markets teeter on the edge of financial meltdown, the games industry has just enjoyed its strongest year ever, with record sales of $18 billion - up from $12 billion in 2006.

Year-end figures from US market research firm NPD and analysis from the next-gen.biz website show that the three leading console makers - Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo - all had a bumper 2007.

An obvious winner

Nintendo was easily the biggest winner of the three. It took top-spot in terms of sales in all but one month of the year, when on the back of aggressive price cuts the Wii was temporarily outsold by Microsoft's Xbox 360. Overall though, Wii sales rose by a robust 124 per cent year-on-year, as demand for the Wii far outstripped production rates.

Interestingly, during December last year Nintendo sold more Wii consoles worldwide than it claimed it could actually produce. This has led to some speculation that the company may have stockpiled consoles earlier in the year. While that charge remains unproven, the Wii was by far the most in-demand console over Christmas 2007, with total December sales in the US of over 1.3 million units, with a further 670,000 sales in Japan.

Sales of Microsoft's Xbox 360 console rose from a total of just under four million in 2006 to well over four and a half million in 2007, an annual increase of 17.7 according to NPD's figures. This surge was despite the very public admission from Microsoft that hardware failure rates were much higher than they had envisaged.

Consumer fears over the 'red ring of death' clearly didn't materialise into a drop in sales then.

PS3: the comeback kid

Sony also enjoyed a successful 2007, although sales of its PS3 console lagged some way behind that of its main rivals. Like Microsoft, Sony was able to turn the console's fortunes around mid-way through the year with some aggressive price-cutting and the introduction of the cheaper 40GB PS3 model.

Sony's PS2 console also continued to sell surprisingly well, no doubt on account of its low price-tag and huge back catalogue of games.

So, what are the predictions for 2008? Well, by plotting all the data and comparing the resultant graphs next-gen.biz predicts that the 12-month head-start enjoyed by Microsoft means that its 360 console will remain the leader in terms of sales by the close of 2008.

Nintendo's Wii console won't be far behind though, with Sony's PS3 some way behind. Of course, should consumer interest in Blu-ray suddenly take off, then that could all change.