Interactive storytelling was the goal developer Quantic Dream sought to create, and Heavy Rain is the product they and Sony have pushed oh so hard to make. Surprisingly, they fail in so many ways, while still making a unique and noteworthy title that many will undoubtedly enjoy, and many will definitely hate. (more...)

The PSN error 8001050F which kept PS3 (fat) owners off their systems, by Sony's advisement, appears to be fixed. Forum users around the interwebs are announcing functionality returning to their console, and I myself with my 60 GB fatty have encountered no problem signing into the PSN or playing some Uncharted 2. Things appear to be fine now, although Sony has made no official announcement.

Bet you didn't know your console could be floored by a teensy little clock sync bug, did ya? Let us hope this eventful day is one of a kind and nothing more than that.

The PSP hasn't exactly been the most steady platform in the industry, especially with the outright miserable launch the PSPgo experienced. Industry Gamers recently spoke with SCEA Senior Vice President of Publisher Relations, Rob Dyer, about the current state of the PSP and what Sony is planning to do about it. Dyer explains how piracy has really hurt the PSP but says that they are addressing it. He also promises that "big" games will be coming to the platform this year.

"I think we had a great lineup last year. The biggest problem that plagued PSP was piracy; we have not been able to slow that down," said Dyer. "We think we have some answers going forward, but we're not ready to talk about that publicly at this point. So we're working on fixing that, because that's been a big problem. Publishers, when they put out good games, are not getting the same sales results that they got a few years back. So piracy's been a big issue and we're working on that very diligently to bring about some solutions.

"That said, we still have a very robust lineup this year from third parties on the PSP, starting with Metal Gear Peace Walker," he continued. "I won't go through the whole lineup because I want our third-party partners to make those announcements, but there are some big, big titles coming out this year and you'll see those announcements at GDC, DPS (Destination PlayStation) or E3. We're into the sixth year now on the platform, and that's a long time for a handheld. I think given where we're at right now, we're doing very, very well. But yes, the business has had problems and I think it all stems, candidly, from the piracy."

[via TVGB]

A patent, spotted by GoRumors, has been dug up that suggests Sony is working on a controller that will work with the Xbox 360, Wii and PS3.

"Just like remote controls, game consoles, and thus game controllers, are becoming widespread," reads the patent filing. "It is not surprising to find more than one game console in a household, especially when competing game console manufacturers attempt to attract unconventional consumer groups in the gaming industry.

"As understood herein, it would be useful to have a universal controller that would be able to work with a variety of game consoles."

The controller is said to be an LCD display that shows different layouts depending on the console used.

"A game console controller includes a hand-holdable housing and a touch sensitive liquid crystal display (LCD) on the housing. The LCD is caused to present, depending on what type of game console a user has selected, a controller key layout for a first type of game console or a controller key layout for a second type of game console," it describes. "A key layout includes plural keys selectable by a user to input commands to a game console."

Adding on to his criticism of Microsoft, SCEA senior VP of publisher relations Rob Dyer took a shot at Nintendo, saying that third parties are leaving the Wii and DS.

"What publishers have said is they're not going to spend the resources on Wii," the Sony exec told Industry Gamers. "In my job, we compete against Microsoft and Nintendo, and we're competing for resources.

"So when I walk into a publisher, I ask, 'Where are you guys pushing your resources?' In the past, it was 'look how hot the Wii is,' or 'Look how hot the DS is,' and 'we should put resources there.' They did that and realised, 'You know what, third-party products just doesn't sell on that platform.'"

Dyer says publishers are instead shifting their resources towards the PlayStation 3 as a result of Nintendo's weak third-party platform. "Now they're taking those resources, coming back to us and saying, 'Sony, we're going to be able to provide you with that exclusive content,' or 'We're going to put more engineers on it and figure out to maximize the Blu-ray and get more out of PS3.' That's what we're seeing now.

"And I don't even have to fight for their hearts and minds," he claimed, "I just show them the TRST data with regards to how many top 10 titles are third-party titles on the Wii, or how many top 10 titles are third-party titles on the DS. Not many.

"It's not a hard story to sell, and they get that. Unless they've got a particular franchise that's worked well on the Wii, you don't see a lot of innovative new IP coming out on that platform."

[via CVG]

The Official PlayStation Magazine reports that cross-game chat on the PlayStation Network could be a subscription-based feature.

"Aside from the 3D goodness, cross-game party chat is the obvious next big feature, even though it might be restricted to paid subscribers," the mag writes.

Just a couple weeks ago, Sony mentioned that it was "actively thinking" of ways to charge for PSN content.

We all know them, love them and are aware of the great games that they make, but what makes Naughty Dog such an excellent developer?

The studio has a tendency to create a new IP every generation for the Playstation. As we all know, they are the creators of the hugely popular Crash Bandicoot franchise on the Playstation. They moved on to their Jak and Daxter series. While boasting rather similar platforming, the sequels brought guns into the mix. Of course, on the Playstation 3, they began their Uncharted franchise, which boasts amazing visuals and an incredible cinematic experience.

I list the following reasons why Naughty Dog is one of the best developers around.

(more...)

Discussion surrounding the possibility of fees coming to PlayStation Network have been floating around for the better part of two months. It was pretty evident that Sony was planning on rolling out some new premium, subscription-based services. They've come clean today, saying that the company is indeed "actively" considering the idea.

"It's been our philosophy not to charge for it from launch up until now, but Kaz recently went on the record as saying that's something we're looking at," said Sony's Peter Dille. "I can confirm that as well. That's something that we're actively thinking about. What's the best way to approach that if we were to do that? You know, no announcements at this point in time, but it's something we're thinking about."

It sounds like they're pretty sure about it, so it's only a matter of time now. However, Sony has assured PS3 owners that the gaming side of things will remain free. The charges would just be for additional content.

[via IGN]

Sony expects to surpass Microsoft in sales very soon, and "it's  not going to take long." Peter Dille, Sony's VP of marketing and head of the PlayStation Network, made the statements, even going so far as to say the Xbox 360 won't be around in 10 years.

"I don't think they'll be around in 10 years, so I'm very confident we'll pass them within that time frame," he told IGN. "I mean, we've got 31 million [units sold] worldwide right now -- they've got 39 million [units sold]. I don't even need to go out 10 years. I'm not going to make any predictions for your interview today other than we'll pass them, but you look at where we are today and where they are today, and they had an opportunity to sprint as far ahead of us as possible when they had the head start. Well, we're breathing down their necks and they can see us in the rearview mirror and it's not going to take too long to pass them."

Those are some pretty ballsy words. Can the PS3 pass up the Xbox 360, or has it been too costly (particularly around its launch) to catch up?

PSPgo was a crash-and-burn attempt by Sony, which is why a second attempt at a first impression isn't so farfetched. Gamervision reports sources close to Sony have confirmed that a PSPgo "relaunch" is coming, this time with a full marketing campaign instead of the half-assed one the first PSPgo received.

We don't have any other details on what else the relaunch might entail, but, as Gamervision suggests, a price reduction seems logical. What would you like to see in the relaunch?