Yes, I know there is an enhanced version of this out (MGS 3 Substance), but I couldn’t wait to feature this game. Besides, the enhanced version of the game is already $25, so it will drop in price soon enough anyway.
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When the X-Box 360 had problems playing original X-Box games it was somewhat expected. It was announced a good while before launch and the reason was because the hardware was so different. Up until this weekend Sony’s claim was that backwards compatibility would be supported for PlayStation and PS2 games. Now that it’s released in Japan we see that that’s not true at all.

According to this BBC article a Japanese newspaper has claimed that 200 games don’t play properly on the new system. Though Sony has acknowledged the problem and first stated it on their web site the day of the Japanese release of the system, they aren’t giving a number of how many games are affected.

As usual promises are made to add compatibility for problematic games through patches available online. This is all so familiar.

Sony now has the following statement listed on their description of the PS3’s features:

NOTE
Some PlayStation 2 or PlayStation format software titles may perform differently on this system than they do on PlayStation 2 or PlayStation systems, or may not perform properly on this system. PS3 does not support a vibration controller.

Gamers can go to this page on Sony’s official site to check to see what games don’t work. Unfortunately it’s all in Japanese so good luck in making much sense of it. Search for nothing to get a list of all games. The right colum shows if the game works or not. In fairness it took me a while browsing through that list to find a game with a reported problem but if you narrow your search down to include only PlayStation 1 games you’ll notice that problems are a lot more common. Use this to translate.

It still remains to be seen if Nintendo shares the curse of the current generation of game systems but given their track record of backwards compatibility in their handhelds I’m not terribly worried.

Last year’s X-Box 360 shortage caused a ridiculous amount of overpriced systems selling on ebay within the first week of the system’s launch. After about a week the auction closing prices settled down to about 10% over the sticker price. So what does the world learn from this? Absolutely nothing apparently.

Check out these completed auctions for a $1,995,00 Wii and even worse a $14,900.00 PS3. These aren’t even auctions for systems now. They’re pre-orders to be shipped this weekend when the systems are launched. Sure they include a few launch titles but those are terribly unlikely to sell out in the first couple of days. One only needs to do a quick ebay search for Wii or PS3 to see the ongoing auctions and ebay users can click on the “completed items” box on the left to see what these auctions finished at.

Sure the PS3 will have less systems at launch than the X-Box 360 but with it’s heafty price tag it will also sell that many less systems. Is making sure you get a system on launch day really more important than say… a car? Paying more than a couple of dollars over sticker price for the Wii is terribly ignorant seeing as the sytem is likely to be able to fill demand into December. You can pay 2000$ on ebay or you know… you can pay 250$ in a store next week. I personally walked into a Toys ‘R Us on a random Sunday afternoon in Septemeber and pre-ordered my Wii which I’m told is almost certain to be in 9am launch day according to the expected number of systems they’ll be getting. That’s a net savings of $1750 US!

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity. Keep checking ebay to see just how much higher these people are willing to pay for these systems before the price drops back to MSRP.

Fox “News” reports on the many dangers of Internet and somehow associates them with the PSP.

Parents are advised that buying their children a PSP will surely cause them to become sexual deviants, nazis and the target of sexual predators. If only the PSP had good games on it these kids wouldn’t have to find alternative uses for the unit. Get your children a DS to keep them out of harm’s way!

Thanks to Shiv’kala for the heads up.

I previously mocked the state of the corporate giant with my post “Where Is Mighty Sony?” But I’ll be damned if they don’t keep falling on their face over and over.

First up, the battery recall. Seems Sony was a popular provider of Lithium-Ion batteries for companies like Apple and Dell. Suddenly, it was discovered the batteries can “short-circuit, causing some computers to overheat or even burst into flames.” as a Yahoo report stated. 9.6 Million batteries have been recalled at a cost of over $429 Million in US dollars.

Next, the deal with Lik-Sang. Lik Sang was a popular import shop that provided gamers the world over access to new games and systems. When Sony pushed back its release of the PSP last year in Europe, Lik-Sang filled the gap by allowing many to buy the portable from its stockpile. Taking notice of possible lost revenue in their important European Launch (and overlooking that any PSP sold is still a dollar in their pocket) Sony filed suit that the import was unlawful. Lik-Sang, unable to fight the injunctions and legal accusations in the multiple European nations it delt to was forced to close shop since they could not afford to fight the case. Gamers and Bloggers are furious, but Sony seems to think they did their EU customers a favor by protecting them from using voltage adapters to plug in their games.

Finally, a report today reveals the PS3 is more than just the most powerful game system, its a power hog! The PS3 will gobble up a whopping 380 watts! The Xbox 360 only takes 160 watts. I certainly hope the PS3 overheats as it will keep your gas bill down so you can spend more on electric this winter, because this will cost consumers more if you play the PS3 regularly.

On the bright side, Sony Announced a Silver PS2, and it looks like I might finally break down and buy one. That is unless Sony breaks down before I get the chance.

Update: Minutes after posting this article, I see the Japanese PS3 Launch is Downgraded to 80,000. Whether this will lead to more Wii sales or grudging acceptance of Microsoft’s gaijin console, only time will tell.

No one on Powet staff is getting one, and we’ve all got better things to do than talk to anyone who is. But the PS3 pre-order lines are news, and Screw Attack sent Stuttering Craig down to a Toys R Us to taunt the shirtless guy in a lawnchair waiting to spend his $600.

Big news about the PlayStation 3 comes to us from Gamespot. For a limited time the PS3 system will have an extra incentive to buyers with a free Blu-Ray version of the hit movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. While Sony seemed to be losing the race earlier in the year with it’s heavy price tag, weak showing at E3, lack of games, poor controllers, console that looked like a George Foreman grill, suicidal Blu-Ray support, ridiculously under produced number of systems for launch day, late start in Europe and laughable advertisement campain this move is sure to make up for these minor shortcoming.

This movie will truly make the most of the Blu-Ray high definition standard as it brings us breathtaking images of Hollywood hunks Will Ferrell and John C. Reiley like only 1080p high deffinition can!

So set aside a few dollars a week for a PlayStation 3 and high definition TV because mock Nascar never looked so good.

So let’s do the math!

Blu-Ray player: 999.95$
Talladega Nights Blu-Ray: 22.99$
PS3 + Talladega Night Blu-Ray: 599$

That’s a 421.94$ savings for the Blu-Ray player and disc alone! Let me break that down for you, the consumer. Sony is paying you over 400$ to buy a game system! And this thing even plays games!!!

Price of the Wii: 249$

Price of Wii – Net prices of PS3 = 249$ – (- 421.94$) = 670.94$

That’s right my friends! Buying a PS3 is actualy 670.94$ cheapers than buying a Wii AND you won’t have an additional cumbersome Blu-Ray disc player taking up valuable real estate in your home entertainment area this way.

Sorry Nintendo but Sony just won the console wars.

Joystiq has some coverage of Ken Kutaragi’s apparently uneventful keynote here. An amusing live pictochat session during the keynote can be found here.

Highlights from a post-keynote interview:

• 20 GB version price dropped about 20% (Japan only for now)
• HDMI support added to 20 GB model