It’s been quite some time since the PS3 was released, and yet, somehow the PS2 almost managed to out sell the PS3 in North America during the month of July–roughly 120,000 to about 108,000. It’s no surprise that the recession has taken its toll on the industry. Many gamers are resorting to spending cash on cheaper consoles, and waiting before purchasing the newest games. It’s scary to think that Sony has out marketed themselves, but let’s face it, $99 is a good price point for a console, and when your system lacks games, it’s going to have a hard time going up against something with the established game library that the PS2 currently boasts.

On the other hand, this isn’t really that bad for Sony, considering they’d be outselling themselves. I also wouldn’t be too worried about the PS3 making a rebound. With the rumored price drops, a slimmer console on the horizon, and the holiday season creeping up on us, I’d say it’s only a matter of time before we see those sales numbers reversed. Most developers seem to be pushing their release dates closer to the end of the year, and some are even going as far as to move them into next year. As a result, it creates a waiting game that we’re all forced to play.

[Image Source: Sony Computer Entertainment Japan]

Next month, Rockstar and Take-Two interactive will be releasing their latest PSP title, Beaterator. The title was developed by the same studio that brought you the portable versions of Grand Theft Auto, namely Vice City Stories, Liberty City Stories, and the recently released Chinatown Wars. The new game will be available via the Playstation Network as well as on UMD, most likely in preparation for the upcoming release of the PSPgo.

Unlike those other titles mentioned however, Beaterator is more of a music suite which takes many of the tools you’d find in a studio and throws them into a music generator, making it easily usable by anyone. This allows you to easily create beats on the go. Famed music producer Timberland apparently contributed to the direction of the project, providing insight and lending his experience to the development of the title.

“I’ve worked closely with Rockstar Games to make something completely unique,” said Timbaland. “Beaterator is like taking my music studio and turning it into a suite of tools anyone can use. We can’t wait to hear the beats people make and share with the world.”

Apparently it was originally created as a flash application on the Rockstar website, but recently they decided to build on that, as it gained popularity. The title should be avaliable in North America on September 29th.

Recently, Peter Moore went on record stating that he felt Electronic Arts had cracked the female market. The sports market, which is EA’s largest cash cow, has long been male dominated with titles such as Madden and Tiger Woods. Moore noted that EA is finally talking to women and has brought them into their sports community. How? I’m not even sure. But he really seems to believe that, which has me wondering what he means exactly.

 I can only assume he’s talking about their foray into the fitness world with the Wii title EA Active. Of course, he went on to state that it wasn’t merely a franchise that EA was planning but an entire platform moving forward. I guess there’s something I’m missing, but you’d think that they’d want to solidify their base before making statements like this. If they had released more titles that aimed to attract women, and men alike, then maybe they’d have a basis for the claims, but I’m still not buying it. Of course, it’s only a matter of time before we start seeing more titles aimed towards women– I have no doubt that it’ll happen eventually.

Sony actually went out of their way the other week to remove in-game advertisements from their online racing title Wipeout HD due to customer complaints. Apparently the game had been experiencing longer load times and slow down as a result of the ads that were introduced during a recent update for the game. After experiencing issues, a large number of customers actually complained enough that Sony took notice and went out of their way to update the game, removing the ads in question. It’s incredibly rare that company like Sony would go out of their way like that.

I know from experience that the moment ads show up on a site that people frequent, consumers take notice. In fact, another site that I write for recently had an issue where an advertisement company decided they would create ads that auto-played video and sound without first consulting the owners of the site. This caused a number of the readers to panic and complain. While I don’t blame them, some of the readers were over the top with their responses–enough so, that I almost wanted to reply “in kind.” It’s a good thing I didn’t. Still, the ads were eventually pulled after giving the agency a stern talking to. I suppose it goes to show that complaining can really work in your favor some times. I’m still impressed that it worked with Sony.

As for Wipeout HD, I own it, and enjoy it quite a bit. I haven’t played it since they introduced the ads, but from what I gather, that was very short lived, so it would have been easy for people to miss out on that. For a racing game though, it’s an excellent title and recommend that anyone who like futuristic racing titles give it a try. If you’re a PSP owner, then give Wipeout Pulse a try as well. It looks great on the handheld and plays pretty well.

[Image Source: Sony Computer Entertainment Japan]

It appears that Call of Duty 4 will be finally heading to the Wii after being out for over a year on it’s competition. While I understand that graphical prowess needed to actually create a decent port would probably one of the stumbling blocks for anyone trying to port the game, you have to wonder why this hadn’t happened yet. Case and point being that a port of the game had already been released on Nintendo DS. The popularity of the title alone, combined with the desire to actually shoot people with a Wiimote gun must have struck someone as a good idea early on. So why hadn’t we seen it before now?

Well, one reason could be that Infinity Ward isn’t a Wii development team. I have a hard time believing that that was the only reason though. It just makes me curious as to why they hadn’t out-sourced the job prior to this. Finally, Treyarch took up the cause and got the port finished. It should be hitting stores on November 10th, in conjunction with the launch of Modern Warfare 2 on the other major consoles. The game hasn’t been rated by the ESRB, but I can only imagine it’d get the same rating as it’s next-gen counterparts, and that’s, of course, M for mature. The rating aside, it’s a wonderful title which I’ve spent many hours playing. Sure it’s got some graphic content, but it’s a game about war. I’d think that’d go without saying. If you enjoy first person shooters, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy if you haven’t already.

It seems that Ubisoft, the developer of such popular series as Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia, doesn’t seem too concerned about console piracy. Recently Yves Guillemot, CEO and Chairman for Ubisoft went on record stating, “Altogether on console, the piracy is low. On the PC the piracy is quite a lot. We are working on a tool that would allow us to decrease that on the PC starting next year and probably one game this year.”

This isn’t surprising as piracy has plagued PC releases for quite some time, causing developers to shift their development towards safer, and more profitable platforms such as the home console market. As a result, we’ve seen an increased trend of Console games with the occasional PC port, often times following months after the game is initially released. On top of that, many studios that had previously developed exclusively for PCs and Macs have found themselves being sold to larger publishers. A recent example being the classic FPS developer Id Software. 

It’s a sad, but almost inevitable trend, and while some developers have found answers to the piracy problem, only a handful have managed to do well with the measures they’ve taken. Steam is a good example of how to properly market online games for digital distribution, but it can’t be the only method. And, if you look at the DRM issues that Bioware went through with titles like Mass Effect, you almost have to wonder how worth while developing security measures actually is. In the end, I can’t blame Ubisoft for being just the least bit concerned about the market, how about you?

You read that right, MTV is reporting that the upcoming Xbox 360 title, Avatar: The Game, will be the one of the first titles that actually require an HDMI connection for the full 3d experience. That means that not only will you need a compatible television, but an Xbox 360 capable of using HDMI. Early adopters of the 360 should take note, as their consoles are not equipped with an HDMI port. This is assuming your Xbox didn’t red ring at some point, causing Microsoft to send you a new system.  Assuming you have a PS3, HDMI, and a TV capable of displaying 1080p, you’ll be able to get the full 3d effects from the get go. Later model 360 users who also have the aforementioned should also be good to go.

The reason the developer is giving for the HDMI requirement has to do with the 1080p aspect ratio. Apparently the only way the 360 will be capable of properly rendering the effects requires that resolution via HDMI out. It should also be noted that the Wii version of the game will not be capable of the full 3d experience. Avatar: The Game is based on the James Cameron movie of the same name and is due out this December.

[Editor’s note: A reader pointed out–rather rudely, mind you–that the 360 is capable of displaying 1080p via RGB. I assume he meant through component, but rather than trying to argue the difference between rendering and upscaling, I’ll merely point out that these were the claims of the developer. I simply reported them. I also clarified as to what I believe he meant by changing the above paragraph to read “rendering” rather than “display.”]

Microsoft recently reiterated it’s long time stance on Blu-ray, bluntly stating that it still isn’t even being considered. These statements come after Toshiba announced that they’re looking into Blu-ray development, having previously supported their own HD-DVD format, which failed to secure a market during the brief format war. In a statement released by Microsoft, they went on record to defend their current strategy of distribution with digital downloads and streaming via Netflix. They pounded their proverbial chest, going on to mention the overwhelming number of titles available on their Xbox Live! network, which is currently around 20,000, 5,000 of which are currently available in high definition.

I find it sad, considering they were so quick to jump on the HD-DVD bandwagon when it was first introduced to the market. I even own one of their HD-DVD players. I don’t really regret it, considering I’m one of those guys who just has to have everything. How else was I going to watch Serenity in HD– at the time, it was exclusive to the format. With so many shows and movies going Blu-ray these days, you’d think that’d be a market that’d be easy to tap. It’s not like introducing the drive as an add-on would actually hurt their sales numbers. If anything, it’d hurt their competition even more, as being a Blu-ray player is one of the major selling points for the PS3. Am I alone on this one?

[Image Source: Microsoft]

It’s been confirmed that Halo 3: ODST, like it’s predecessor Halo 3, will not be running at full HD. Instead it will use the same 1152×640 resolution that Halo 3 employs, though I can hardly see how this will keep anyone from buying the game. Having had more than one opportunity to sit down with the title at E3 and again this weekend at San Diego Comic Con, I can verify that any Halo fan will absolutely love it. The game features the same amazing game play, and the new levels will satisfy anyone who has been craving more, since Halo 3 launched last year.

Bungie went on record stating that the graphical enhancements were due to the hard work of their artists and not the  engine itself, which is borrowed from the previous title. This means they used the same tools to go back and really add some extra finish to the engine which they have already had quite a bit experience working with. No doubt we’ll all get to see how that pays off when Halo 3: ODST launches this September. Until then, you can always sharpen your skills online.

So in the US last month, both the DS and DSi systems combined sold more than 766,000 units. That’s more than all current-generation consoles combined. The NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States, released the numbers the other week clearly showing the hand-held systems’ domination over the competition. While I don’t have the exact numbers, the break down had nearly 424,000 DSi systems and more than 342,000 DS systems sold. 

“More consumers continued to gravitate toward products that offer quality experiences and great value for the whole family,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Consumers again selected Nintendo systems for those experiences, particularly our hand-helds.” Their other systems weren’t doing bad by any means either. Wii Motion Plus accessories also seem to be doing very well, and the system itself is still going strong despite the intial craze starting to die down. Of course, that leaves me wondering, how many people are still having a hard time finding the console? I’d think by now there really shouldn’t be any sort of shortage.