[PS3] PlayStation 3 Discussion Thread

Originally Posted by Qwarky

Yeah, I also took a shot of the custom screen, not that it was that informative.

Not much in there? Did it have strange resolutions, or what? For example, a lot of LCD HDTVs have a native resolution of 1368 x 768 or something odd like that.

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Well, the TGS code of motorstorm really does have slowdown when there's a lot of cars on screen at once, but it didn't stop it from being a lot of fun. I absolutely love that the AI drivers crash and bump each other as much as you do, there's constantly vehicles flying off cliffs or burning in the way.

Yeah, I've heard. Apparently there was 1 build for the first day and then they brought in one that fixed the problem (DCharlie and Wollan from GAF attended the show at different times and reported wildly different accounts of the slowdown). Looks like you got the first one, but I'm glad to hear it's fun.

What vehicles did you try? I want to know, since they mentioned each type has their own "heft" to them, something you can feel while controlling them. Did you purposefully cause any crashes?

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As for Genji, the demo was so short, but being a fan of the original, it was bliss. The counter attack timings work outside Kamui, just the way I like it, but I couldn't for the life of me get Benkei to do his regular three-strike combos. Shizuka moves wonderfully, though her weapons take getting used to.

If PSM is correct and what I saw in the podcast was the TGS demo, doesn't it pop up How-to menus with little pictures telling you how to pull off a move?

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Wait, my photos? Can you give a few links, cause I'd love to see where I get mentioned.

Sure thing!

Link 1

Link 2

For two places where I've seen your pics.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Qwarky

Well damn. They could have linked to the god damn blog for source. I could use the hits.

That's the problem. They keep crediting that one guy Sephiroth VII (see the GAF link) when he looks to have copied it off the thread from TXB.

BTW, a little OT, but here's some random shots of the XBR2, the TV that keeps showing up alongside the PS3 (same one that was present at DigitalLife, along with various size SXRDs):

This thing does an amazing job with SD, a rarity among HDTVs.























How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by SOLDIER

MOMO...

Does it look good?

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Damn, I sped out of work as fast as I could, only to learn that the show starts at 5pm est, not 2pm. That's another hour and a half.

Whoa, you must've confused the 2pm PST/ 5pm EST times.

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New Resistence impressions in IGN.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/740/740239p1.html

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Good News: Enemies now react to whatever part of their body you shoot (go for the hoses!)

Excellent, now we don't have to deal with shooting the equivalent of unresponsive moving walls.

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Bad News: Max resolution is now 720p. Now this won't be the prettiest launch game (resolution-wise).

It was 720p at DigitalLife too, running upscaled on a 1080p set. It looked fantastic at something other than its native resolution, so I can imagine what it'll look like on a native 720p set.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Qwarky

Yeah and I see you whining for him to give you credit for the photos even though they're mine.

Kindly get him to fix a few complete lies in the first post.[/quote]

Check the TXB link, it's obvious you're mentioned there. He simply took the liberty of ignoring that, just like he didn't even post where he got the pics from.

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1) The photos I took are not of the final XMB (nor are they courtesy of you). Like I said, they are from a very early firmware which lacked almost everything.

2) I am not a fucking "PS3 dev", I don't care if he misunderstood you or not, but I am not a fucking official source and you better make sure he understands that and fixes it right away. That's spreading misinformation, and to call crap like that a Q&A session is fucking ridiculous.

Oh shit, I'll simply drop this in the thread for him to see.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Looks good, but are the tint/hue settings correct, SOLDIER? Just mentioned it because they look like they're pink or something. Other than that, nice.

And you're right, what's up with him? Luckily, you provided a much better alternative.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by TheXeno

I"m sorry to hear about the photo mishap Qwarky, you might want to start tagging your images?

I just read the 1up blog and it has some interesting stuff I recomend it.



I don't know if i'm willing to pay 15 bucks for a game. Maby if it is interesting like Defcon (it is based off War Games). I bought a ps2 at the US launch but I think i'll wait out the ps3 one. Hopefully I can save dome dough by doing this.

Criminal Crackdown (David Jaffe and Insomniac) - http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/6957 (We need more games like this)

Def Jam: Icon - http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/6937

Fight Night Round 3 - http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/6941

Notice he set a maximum, not a minimum. Hopefully PS1 games won't be $15 bucks, though that won't matter much with BC present.

Gamespot Conference Coverage

Originally Posted by Brendan Sinclair @ Gamespot

SAN FRANCISCO--With less than a month to go until the North American PlayStation 3 launch, Sony is holding a Gamers Day. Today's event will show off the system to around the assembled gaming press--and perhaps answer a few final questions about the system. The PlayStation Network Platform, the PS3's answer to Xbox Live, seems to be the biggest question mark, particularly its downloadable content, online store, and suite of features for online play.

Sony chose Dog Patch Studios to host the event on an unexpectedly warm October afternoon for the Bay Area. With any luck, it will be here, south of downtown in a neighborhood where residential homes jut up against industrial buildings, that Sony chooses to detail the remainder of its launch strategy.

1:30 p.m.: Half an hour after early attendees started lining up outside the building, Sony allows them to start filing in. A stage at the front of the room features a large screen running PS3 promotional video, all shots of the system and controller. Before long a couple hundred members of the press have crowded the room and the din of chatter threatens to drown out the house music.

1:52: A voice asks everyone to take their seats. The show will begin in five minutes. Apparently their clock is ahead.

1:55: Banks of speakers flank the side of the stage, with TV displays on either side showing the same footage as the big screen. "Two minutes," the voice says.

1:57 p.m.: The music fades and chatter soon follows. SCEA president Kaz Hirai and fellow Sony execs take their seats in the front row. The voice says, "During this Sony event, video and still photography is not allowed. Thank you very much."

1:59 p.m.: Another voice says "Can I get an encore? Do you want more?" The music kicks up loud again and a montage of gameplay footage is shown as the lights dim. If you can name a PS3 title, it's probably in here. All kinds of games from all publishers are shown. The date "11/17" is shown and Kaz Hirai is introduced.

2:00 p.m.: Kaz takes the stage. Apparently starting the show on time caught the techies by surprise; it takes a second to turn the microphone on.

2:01 p.m.: Kaz, Jack Tretton, and Phil Harrison will take us through what comes in the box, launch titles, peripherals, the PlayStation Network, and the PlayStation Store, including downloadable content.

2:02 p.m.: They're going to try and show us as much as possible in live demos during this session. After the presentation, we'll be able to get our hands on the games, so check back later for GameSpot's hands-on coverage of all the titles.

2:03 p.m.: Hirai teases a surprise guest providing entertainment at the night's event.

2:04 p.m.: Hirai says the final boxed product is rolling off the assembly lines as we speak. Then he shows the retail packaging. He says they will have 22 launch window titles, including games like FEAR, Call of Duty 3, Full Auto 2, Genji: Days of the Blade, NBA Live 07, NBA 2K7, NHL 2K7, Rainbow Six Vegas, Tony Hawk's Project 8, Untold Legends, and Riiidge Racer 7. (Yes, he said "Riiidge.")

2:05 p.m.: He talks about specific games, including Genji and NBA 07, which he touts by saying "there is no more realistic NBA action than NBA 07." Now he's turning to Resistance: Fall of Man. He calls it "the most robust lineup of any console launch for titles." And it's another montage.

2:11 p.m.: The video ends with the Play Beyond slogan and a round of applause from the crowd. Kaz talks about going deeper into what we'll find on launch day, and introduces Jack Tretton.

2:12 p.m.: Tretton welcomes everyone to the event and says Sony is very excited for the big launch date. Now he's going to tell us what we'll find at retail on Nov. 17. We hope he says "a system." Nope. He says "a crowd." He recaps the two different PS3 packages and reiterates the previously announced US prices.

2:13 p.m.: He says the Cell processor, which makes its consumer debut in the PS3, runs at 256 "thousand million teraflops per second," but admits he's not the one to tell us what that means. He mentions the array of movie studios and tech companies supporting the Blu-ray format. He does emphasize that it does play DVD, CD, and Blu-ray video, so they're going to pack the Blu-ray edition of Talladega Nights in the first 500,000 PS3 systems.

2:14 p.m.: The movie doesn't hit retail until December. Now he's showing us a trailer of Talladega Nights. Who doesn't love John C. Reilly?

2:16 p.m.: Props to whoever decided to put Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Kind of Man" in the trailer.

2:17 p.m.: Tretton says they worked closely with Sony Pictures to make the promotion happen and says "there can only be one no. 1 because two no.1s would be 11 and we don't want that." I think someone snickered. That might have been a sneeze though.

2:18 p.m.: Tretton brings up the Sixaxis controller, emphasizing that it doesn't require any outside sensors, and says we'll see some wonderful uses for it in the very near future. Also in the box is an AC cord (no brick), a USB mini cable, an Ethernet cable, and a multi-AV cable with composite connector.

2:19 p.m.: First-party software will debut at $59.99 for Genji, Resistence, and NBA 07. The controller will be $49.99. Memory card adaptors will be $14.99, while the Blu-ray remote (in December) will be $24.99.

2:20 p.m.: Now it's time to talk demo kiosks. Sony will send out 15,000 kiosks that will debut October 26. They will feature Sony Bravia HD monitors. "Universally, PS products will have the lead-in position. They will have dominant shelf space," he says. He also says the kiosks will be networked so they can stream game demos and they'll no longer be dependent on someone carrying a disc into the store and loading it up.

2:23 p.m.: Harrison says the team is in the home stretch, and stresses how proud Sony is of what they're going to show us today. He introduces Insomniac Games' Ted Price to the stage to talk about Resistance and give a live demo.

2:24 p.m.: Price is showing Nottingham, England after the alien invasion. He demonstrates some of the weapons, like the standard assault rifle, the bullseye (tag an enemy and then fire tracing bullets at him), or a temporary shield.

2:25 p.m.: Now he brings out the lark, a rocket launcher that lets him pause the rockets in mid-air, then control its speed with the analog stick or have it splinter into a barrage of tinier missiles.

2:26 p.m.: He pauses the game and moves the camera around the frozen world in a debug mode. He fires a hedgehog, a spiky bomb that jumps into the air and shatters into shrapnel.

2:27 p.m.: The other thing he wants to mention is the game's online mode. He talks about the 40-player online mode, a first for a console launch title, a lobby with community features including buddy lists, clans, and stats. He asks everyone to check out the PS3 online with Resistence at launch and turns it back over to Phil Harrison.

2:28 p.m.: Harrison brings up Blu-ray again, talking about the ratio of disc-based storage to the system's main memory. He mentions that historically a balanced system has about 100:1. Hey, what a coincidence! that happens to be the PS3's ratio!

2:29 p.m.: Now Harrison is talking us through a live demo of Genji. The main samurai slaughters enemy after enemy before switching out for a guy with a gigantic pole, Shizuka, and then back to the original samurai.

2:31 p.m.: Harrison ends the live demo and brings up high definition. He mentions that NBA Shootout was the first fully polygonal 5-on-5 sports game on the PlayStation, and compares it to NBA 07 being the first sports game in 1080p resolution.

2:33 p.m.: He talks about the detail in the player faces and has the guy giving the live demo go into the instant replay mode to show off the sweat on players in the middle of gameplay. "I'm told that's a cool thing," Harrison says.

2:34 p.m.: Now Harrison is talking about the Sixaxis controller and welcomes the founder of Factor 5 to demo Lair.

2:36 p.m.: It starts off with a soldier walking up to a dragon. The player uses the controller's motion sensitivity to control the camera, and then jumps on the dragon. Once on the dragon, he uses the motion-sensitivity to control it. He says it's the ideal way to implement flight control, and compares it to holding the dragon's reins. By jerking the controller to one side, the dragon moves evasively in that direction.

2:37 p.m.: The dragon lands and starts wandering through a field of enemy archers, spilling them on one side before taking off again.

2:38 p.m.: Now he enters into combat with a dark dragon. Upon closing the distance, the dragons enter into melee combat, the enemy rider is dismounted, the protagonist drives his weapon into the dark dragon's head, and jumps back to his own winged terror.

2:40 p.m.: That ends the demo, and Harrison is now talking about the PS3 features again. He says it can be turned on from the controller, and intros the launch sequence. A smoke-like wisp on a black background lies behind a few icons that players will use to log in their profiles. He hints at the parental control features, then dives into the PS3's PlayStation Portable-like cross media bar, which will also be used in Sony TVs.

2:42 p.m.: He says it's a very intuitive, simple setup (the settings menu is very similar to the PSP's), then moves onto the photo menu. He shows a high-res photo, and says players that do have high-res displays will never want to show their friends photos any other way once they've done this. Instead of just scrolling through the pictures, he shows the photo album, which basically creates a 3D representation of all the user's photos spread out on a blank white table.

2:44 p.m.: Harrison moves over to the music bar, where players can manage their Mp3s. He plays a Beyonce/Jay-Z song for a few seconds to show off the music visualizer, then moves on quickly to the video icon. All the videos on the system are being previewed in real time as thumbnails on the cross-media bar.

2:46 p.m.: He shows off the Spider-Man 3 teaser trailer and then the trailer for the new James Bond movie Casino Royale which launches the same day as the PS3.

2:46 p.m.: Harrison continues to play up the PS3's multimedia features. He talks about how easy and quick it is to jump in and out of videos, then moves onto the network functionality part of the cross media bar, and a friends list. He has a bunch of friends with some familiar gamer pictures next to them, including God of War's Kratos and Sly Cooper. The keyboard interface to send messages uses predictive text, but you can hook up a USB keyboard as well.

2:47 p.m.: In the Network Functionality part of the media bar, there's an Internet browser. Harrison says it is fully functioning and free out of the box. He opens up a YouTube page with a quick recap of Sony's E3 conference. "Riidge Racer!"

2:49 p.m.: "When we talk about PS3 being not just an entertainment platform but a computer as well, this is what we're talking about," says Harrison. Now he's talking about Remote Play, the intersection of a PSP and the PS3. He's running the PS3 cross media bar on the PSP, and loads up the Casino Royale trailer where it left off.

2:51 p.m.: Harrison then goes to the PlayStation Store icon on the Network section of the cross media bar. He says they turned to Sony Online Entertainment to help out with their approach to the PlayStation Store and network service, and introduces SOE president John Smedley.

2:53 p.m.: Smedley takes the Sixaxis from Harrison and begins the demo. The PlayStation Store hub has a blue background with headers for featured items, demos, downloadable games, and "view all." It also has a featured graphic (this one for Resistance), and a couple sidebars with the top downloads and what's new listed.

2:55 p.m.: He says the image is just the out-of-game experience. Developers will be able to build the store directly into their games. There are a number of icons in the featured items tab, including Lemmings for PS3. On the demos list, there are Blast Factor, Cash Carnage Chaos icons, and the downloadable games tab has PSone games listed like Jet Moto, Syphon Filter, Twisted Metal, and MediEvil.

2:57 p.m.: To demonstrate, Smedley clicks on the Blast Factor icon, which takes him to another page with the price ($.01 in the demo) and the ESRB rating. He adds it to his shopping cart. That takes him to a cart viewing page that lists his Wallet amount. The Wallet has $76.38 in it, so it looks like it'll be done in dollars instead of Sony Points or anything like that. Smedley says parents will be able to set an online allowance.

2:59 p.m.: He confirms the purchase, and Harrison interrupts to emphasize that this is a live demo that will work exactly like this at our own homes. If you buy it on one PS3, you can go download it on up to five more PS3s.

3:00 p.m.: Harrison says they haven't priced everything just yet, but they expect downloadable games to be $14.99 and under, with very low pricing for game components. Smedley shows off the "View All" tab, which breaks the content down into categories like demos, game content, standard-definition trailers, high-definition trailers, etc.

3:01 p.m.: "We think that the PlayStation Store is the next generation of online gaming," Smedley says, and turns it back over to Harrison. It doesn't appear that most demos or trailers will need to be bought. The ones shown had "Free" listed next to them.

3:02 p.m.: Now Harrison introduces a live demo of MotorStorm, and mentions that gamers will be able to download a demo of the game on day one.

3:03 p.m.: The demo shows a red truck racing along treacherous canyon roads as the terrain blurs by. The demo's player takes the truck off a cliff where it falls for a few seconds before resetting on the track, and then completely wrecks it to show off the car blowing up and flipping before the demo ends.

3:05 p.m.: Harrison introduces Blast Factor, noting that it was developed by just five people. He mentions it will have full multiplayer online rankings, and will support the Sixaxis motion-sensing abilities. He says it will have adaptive difficulty levels. Jolting the controller to one side will tilt the playfield and affect the enemies on it. Harrison mentions that this will be key to strategies on later levels.

3:07 p.m.: Back to the cross media bar again, and Harrison introduces God of War director David Jaffe to show off what he's been working on for the last few months. Jaffe takes the stage and says the most exciting thing about the system for him is Sony's support for original content and downloadable games on the PlayStation Store. He says it's the most exciting part of gaming today for his studio.

3:08 p.m.: It's Criminal Crackdown, and they're looking at a February release for the game. They're working with Incognito Inc to make a game "that harkens back to the old 16-bit era," things like Bomberman. Gamers pick a variety of vehicles and play bounty hunters who have to chase after criminals and then take them back to a jail. Gamers get more points depending on which entrance of the jail they use. The front door is one point, the ramp that lets players jump their vehicles into the jail is two, and the twisting ramp up to the roof is three. Ramming enemy cars ejects criminals from them.

3:10 p.m.: Criminal Crackdown will have up to four-player splitscreen running at 60 frames per second in 1080p, and Jaffe says they'll show a lot more in coming months.

3:11 p.m.: Harrison says that's the whole PS3 experience. The games, the network functionality, the store, the downloadable games, the Web browser. He says Sony is proud to show it to everyone and asks people to enjoy the rest of the afternoon playing games, then hands it back to Kaz.

3:12 p.m.: Kaz says Sony has "an unparalled lineup of launch titles" and emphasizes that there are a lot more exciting titles after launch, like MotorStorm, Lair, Warhawk, and a few others.

3:13 p.m.: "We've been keeping our cards pretty lcose ot the vest on the PlayStation Network," Kaz says, adding that it's "an incredibly robust offering" and it's only going to grow with revisions.

3:14 p.m.: Kaz thanks everyone for coming, gets a round of applause, and then leave the stage as one last montage plays. The show is over. Thanks for reading and check out GameSpot's PlayStation 3 launch center for continuing coverage from the 2006 Sony Gamers Day.

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flOw Hands-On: Mysteries of the Deep
Sony actually gave us an informative rundown--in English--of this quirky downloadable game first quietly exhibited at last month's Tokyo Game Show.
By Brad Shoemaker, GameSpot
Posted Oct 19, 2006 6:22 pm PT

At the Tokyo Game Show, we came upon an unexpected, serene, aquatic action game called flOw that was just sitting there on the show floor, minding its own business, without any particularly informative English description. Luckily, Sony brought the downloadable game along to its San Francisco press event so we could try it again for ourselves and try to make some more sense of it. We also got to speak with Kellee Santiago, one of the game's original contributors, who explained a great deal about this mysterious game that will be available as an "e-distributed" title for the PlayStation 3 shortly after the system's launch next month.

So here's the story with flOw. It began as one of USC student Jenova Chen's graduate projects, which is actually available in simplified form as a Flash game that you can play right this moment. On the PS3, flOw has evolved with high-definition visuals (the game will run in 1080p at launch) and other, more sophisticated production values. But it's all based on Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's 1990 work Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, which explores the human engagement with the immediate activity, positing that man is happiest when completely one with the action at hand.

What that means in gameplay terms is that flOw is as serene or as aggressive as you want it to be. You control a spiny-looking aquatic creature, swimming around and eating other organisms to grow and evolve. Or not. If you don't want to attempt to eat bigger creatures--which will in turn try to eat you--you're free to swim around lazily, and your fellow life forms will remain docile while you do. But to progress in the game, you've got to eat, which you do simply by swimming up behind and over other creatures. When you successfully eat another life form, its unique physical attributes will be added to your own, and naturally, the bigger you get the stronger you get, and the more damage you can take from aggressors.

There really isn't much more to the gameplay than that, from what we saw. A few colored organisms float nearby as you swim around. Eating blue ones will make you swim upward toward the surface, and eating red ones will make you descend to the depths, where the boss of each area lurks. There are five playable creatures in the game, and each time you consume a boss, you'll rise to the surface and evolve into the next form to begin the new area.

flOw is pretty simplistic from what we got to see, but it's big on concept, and it seems like the perfect sort of game to zone out with on your couch after a grueling day at the office. It's basically a game of eat-or-be-eaten, and you could probably swim around for hours and hours without actually engaging the core gameplay if you really wanted to. flOw's sparse visuals convey the feel of primordial underwater life quite well, and we imagine they'll look pretty nice on a good HD display, too. It's due out as a downloadable game on the PS3 sometime before the end of the year, so lucky early PS3 adopters should keep their eyes peeled for one of the more unique games we've seen in quite a while.

Gamespot

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http://playmagazine.com/movies/blastfactor2.zip

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

The yellowed bloom that was in every screen was also either toned down or completely removed. It's easily one of the biggest improvements (and one of the most obvious) to the game.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by SOLDIER

Also, is it confirmed that Best Buy is setting up the kiosks this Friday?

That's the date given by Sony themselves when they announced there would be 15,000 kiosks spread throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Edit: Some more Resistance gameplay videos.

Try using a FLV player to open and watch these:

Hedgehog Grenades 30MB
http://ps3movies.ign.com/ps3/video/a...lvhighwide.flv

Stepping Outdoors 32MB
http://ps3movies.ign.com/ps3/video/a...lvhighwide.flv

Stalker Machine 29MB
http://ps3movies.ign.com/ps3/video/a...lvhighwide.flv

Attack the Titan 32MB
http://ps3movies.ign.com/ps3/video/a...lvhighwide.flv

Sniper Focus 26MB
http://ps3movies.ign.com/ps3/video/a...lvhighwide.flv

Shotgun 28MB
http://ps3movies.ign.com/ps3/video/a...lvhighwide.flv

Dropship Enemies 26MB
http://ps3movies.ign.com/ps3/video/a...lvhighwide.flv

Photo of the Playstation Store (Hopefully they'll have Einhander on there one day):

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There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Inhert

the sony HDMI cable (sold separately) 49.99$

LOL!

*A New Challenger Appears!*

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3 foot HDMI Cable - $5.80

Coming Soon Oct 30th, 6 foot HDMI cable - $6.37

10 foot HDMI cable - $7.10

DO NOT BUY CABLES FROM BRICK AND MORTAR STORES

I can't for the life of me figure out why they're charging $100 for a damn cable (coughMonstercough) when you can get much better wiring off the net, especially Monoprice. A while back I had a serious need for some optical cabling. Their bulk packages are a godsend, as are all their adapters and transition cables (DVI to HDMI, etc..). $50 bucks is still too much, especially when you can get much more cable at a higher quality (heck, at a gauge you want) for the same money, elsewhere.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by SouthJag

I'm kinda disappointed Sony's raising the price of the Sixaxis controller to match the 360's wireless price. Earlier in this thread the price was said to be roughly $40 worht of Yen. Damnit. That was a big kick in the face to the 360's $50 wireless controller, too.

Glad the memory card adapter's still cheap though.

They're likely trying to squeeze as much profit out of peripherals and so forth, since this is one big area where they make money.

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New MotorStorm trailer

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We spent most of yesterday evening playing PlayStation 3 games ranging from the genuinely superb to the humdrum-but-still-impressive. It’s fair to say that, despite our extensive coverage of Sony’s bumbling difficulties these last few months, we’re finally prepared to run around the room, arms waving, squealing in delight. Read our impressions…


They cut the games off for rapper Ludacris at the tail end of Sony’s big PlayStation 3 press event. The crowd, by then maybe some 250 or so strong, filtered down from the second and third floors of the San Francisco studios Sony had chosen to host the venue, for equal parts free food, alcoholic libations, and hip-hop. And although the music was suitably rocking, everyone wanted the games turned back on.

Sony and its third-party allies showed off some 20 or so titles at yesterday’s event, offering playable versions of the sublime (Resistance: Fall of Man) to the gorgeous but ultimately plebian (Marvel Ultimate Alliance). And Next-Gen was there to separate wheat from chaff.


Resistance: Fall of Man (Insomniac Games, Sony)—A gorgeous first-person shooter, Resistance: Fall of Man puts a series of vaguely futuristic weapons in players’ hands for an all-out war against space invaders in what would have been the post World War II era had that conflict been fought. These aliens want shooting with, say, the sniper rifle that can slow time for brief periods, or the gun that can lock on to a target and blast it with bullets even when the gun’s pointed in another direction. Multiplayer action supports 40 players at one time, and if this is mankind’s last stand, man it’s going to be a sweet, sweet apocalypse.


Virtua Fighter 5 (Sega, Sega)—The Queen Mother of all 3D fighting games makes its triumphant next-generation debut on PlayStation 3 with 17 brawlers. The game’s roster includes old favorites such as Sarah Bryant, Akira, and Kage-Maru, and adds two new fighters to the mix: the masked wrestler El Blaze and the monkey kung-fu artist Eileen. In addition to smooth 3D brawling, Virtua Fighter 5 also offers a wealth of character customization options allowing players to, say, deck their chosen warrior out with jewelry, tattoos, glasses, and the like.


Fight Night Round 3 (Electronic Arts, Electronic Arts)—Boxers can be introduced, time and again, to their new best friend pain in the reworked Fight Night Round 3. The game was decidedly excellent when it saw release for Xbox 360, and now it’s been improved with a split-screen mode with a first-person view. Electronic Arts has also altered the graphics so the boxers don’t appear as sweaty plastic robotoids, but rather humans (or a decent representation thereof) who glisten when they sweat and look absolutely hideous when they take 50 too many to the face.

MotorStorm (Evolution Studios, Sony)—In MotorStorm, riders don’t just wipe out. They make an art form of it, rocketing off their bikes and spinning, twisting, tumbling, and rolling in slow-motion close-ups. The first- and third-person off-road racing here is stunning, and comes complete with picturesque dirt and sand-stages, as well as vehicles that shatter, rocketing parts off in destructive sprays. Players can drive a variety of vehicles here, including big rigs, motorcycles, buggies, and ATVs, with each having its own particular strengths and weaknesses in terms of how it moves and navigates through the tracks.

Call of Duty 3 (Treyarch, Activision)—Uncle Adolf takes it on the chin here, as the Allies storm the beach at Normandy and liberate France in the year of our lord 1944 A.D. Players take the role of four different heroes in the first-person perspective as they shoot Nazis, blow Nazis up with grenades, and drive vehicles with the intent to kill Nazis. The game’s cut-scenes serve as load times, allowing Call of Duty to feature almost seamless play, and the new developer Treyarch has created this game specifically for next-generation platforms.

Lair (Factor 5, Sony)—The unfriendly skies are best flown on a killer dragon’s back. Lair lets players control a huge, fire-breathing beast of burden simply by tilting the Sixaxis or thrusting it forward to perform dragon-to-dragon attacks. It happened to be good, very good to have eyes to witness, say, a huge dragon landing on one of Lair’s battlefields and tearing into enemy troops with tooth, claw, and flames while its scaly brown hide was penetrated by thousands of spears and arrows.

Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega, Sega)—Sonic, Silver, and Shadow form, if you will, what historians will someday refer to as the hedgehog holy trinity. All three characters were playable at Sony’s event, but the true star proved to be the new character, Silver. Silver possesses telekinetic abilities which allow him to levitate for short times, arrest enemy projectiles in mid-air and hurl them back at their sender, and wreck the holy hell out of the game’s environments to get to new areas. Oh, and the game’s sharp, bright, colorful stages are visual cotton candy to be greedily gobbled as the game whips along at a hyper-kinetic pace.


Virtua Tennis (Sega, Sega)—Ah, courtly love. Sega’s Virtua Tennis offers real-world racketeers such as Martina Hingis, Roger Federer, and Venus and Serena Williams. The game is remarkably smooth and fluid, and its control system is accommodating enough that even novice players can take to the courts with some confidence. Anything but simple, well-meant praise would seem hyperbolic; Tennis has balls aplenty, pardon the boorishness.

Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII (Ubisoft, Ubisoft)—It is entirely possible to dress up a pig. Blazing Angels was a mediocre World War II flight-combat game on Xbox 360. Spit, polish, and Sixaxis-tilt controls have transformed the game into something playable, and certainly something that warrants inclusion on this list for its surprising metamorphosis. Players manuever their fighters with simple, subtle movements of the Sixaxis controller, and it just feels right. In the words of eminent sage Prince, color us peach and black, color us taken aback.

Blast Factor (Sony, Sony)—A Geometry Wars-style shoot-’em-up available via download, Blast Factor proved to be one of Sony’s pleasant gamer’s day surprises. The goal is to blast a series of whatsits ad nauseam, but the neat twist is that the Sixaxis can be used to flip the trippy, pulsing, and colorful game worlds in order to give players a better shot at certain targets. Sony promises the game is smart enough to adjust its difficulty to match players’ performances.

Source

Most amazing jew boots

Here's news on what Sony plans to do with the controllers and their batteries once they're depleted. Good news for everyone worrying about this:

As for that PS1 game download business, it seems like the titles you buy/download from them are different than what you've got on your disc at home. This "no ehancement" news clicks with previous news that initial PS3s would be using the PSTwo's Dragon chip (which has the EE+GS on one chip). Basically, you're getting a literal PS2 inside the PS3. The bad thing is that we get no enhancements via software for them.

The good news is that the previous articles mentioined that once they get software compatibility coupled with enhancements, they would make a patch available to the console to allow for these in older PS3s and newer ones would simply play PS1/PS2 games via emulation only (opening them up to 4x AA, faster load times, etc..).

Quote:

Sony to replace PS3 controllers
Ellie Gibson 12:27 20/10/2006

Wireless pad batteries will last for "many years" - spokesperson

Sony has told GamesIndustry.biz that the company will provide a service to replace wireless PS3 controllers "when and if" their lithium batteries degrade.

A report on GamesRadar.com observed that the pads do not feature removable battery packs, arguing this would render them "effectively useless" as wireless controllers after a certain number of charges.

This, the article claimed, would leave consumers "forced to shell out" for replacements.

But a Sony spokesperson told GI.biz, "This is a purely speculative story and is largely untrue. The latest generation of Lithium Polymer batteries hardly suffer any memory effect at all, so it'll be many years before there's any degradation in terms of battery performance."

The spokesperson went on to confirm, "When and if this happens, then of course we will be providing a service to exchange these items."

A European price point for the pads has yet to be announced, but yesterday SCEA announced they will retail for USD 49.99 (EUR 39). It was also confirmed that PS3 owners will be able to charge and use their controllers via a supplied USB cable.

Lair videos:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=46VE8XLG Video 1
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=S2PK4BVU Video 2
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Y1G9Q52U Video 3
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=R26FPNKT Video 4
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BS6WI485 Video 5

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Simo

I'm more concerned about PS3s shipping with composite leads and not HDMI, or heck even component.:eyebrow:

Is this the situation for both SKUs or will the $600 unit come with something better?

Most people don't have HDTVs, so no component. Both have the same thing in the box. Ah, forgot to mention: If you have PS2 component cables, they're compatible with the PS3. It still uses that Multi A/V out that all the Playstations share.

Edit: Ok, just finished downloading and playing the Motorstorm trailer on the TV. Wow. All the previous reports were in no way kidding about how gorgeous this title looks. The lighting is spot on for the time of day, the track and scenery is also eye catching (notice the event equipment up on a bluff near the start of the video, as well as the speakers placed sporadically throughout the track). I noticed it does chug at the beginning when all the racers are bunched up, something that hints towards the completely informal (even wild) nature of this event. I coan see where some might mention it seemed slow, but using the turbo boost knocked that the the back of mind.

One of the little things that really impressed me was the sprawled biker towards the beginning, lying near his totaled bike. Another small detail was the buggy's springs realistically crunching down towards the track when he used the boost on the curved section of the stage.

If it's as fun as it looks, MotorStorm is sure to be a hit.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Qwarky

I have to say Resistance is no Halo, but if Insomniac can pull of at least a competent PS3 shooter out of it, it'll steamroll everything with its setting and magnificent sound design alone. Other than that they've sadly gone the PC-shooter-to-console route instead of actually engineering the FPS mechanics around consoles, like Halo and Goldeneye 007 did.

What I'm waiting for is for IGN or Gamespot to record a 40 player match and talk about the stages (like Cheddar Gorge) and the lag that's present, if there is any. The reports I heard about 40 player being one of the most frenetic gaming experiences you'll have sound promising, but I'd like to see more on it.

Quote:

The new(er) code we got to play of Motorstorm managed to look a whole lot better than the TGS demo. The sunlight and shading is ridiculously close to photorealism, they've done fantastic work. Looking at the screen a bit further away, it moves exactly like live footage would and the cars have a very "physical" look to them, even when the physics in-game are still so playful.

Amen. Watching it on my monitor wasn't enough, since you have to sit at a proper distance away from 720p+ material in order to grasp how it might look on an HDTV. Luckily I have on on hand and it definitely got "what channel is that?" from my dad before he went to work. Now, I've heard that they've included nighttime races, something that and I'm really looking forward to.

Quote:

Updated blog entry with photos (and video) once I get home. My Genji/Motorstorm one even got a few comments

Aww, Genji. SOLDIER's got me hoping for "GIANT CRAB" commentary from the characters.

Pre-Launch CNet review of the PS3:

Quote:

PlayStation 3 shines in prelaunch test
Sony rolls out the red carpet for journalists and analysts a month before the game console's launch.
Photos: PS3 in basic black
By Daniel Terdiman
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: October 20, 2006, 4:00 AM PDT
Tell us what you think about this storyTalkBack E-mail this story to a friendE-mail View this story formatted for printingPrint Add to your del.icio.usdel.icio.us Digg this storyDigg this

reporter's notebook SAN FRANCISCO--I'm standing in a room full of gamers in what must certainly feel to some like heaven: Sony's PlayStation 3 prelaunch press event.

From the street, it's not clear why such an event would matter, but inside, on two floors filled almost literally to the rafters with high-definition TVs and PS3s, it's obvious that this is the center of the video game universe today. And that's borne out by the fact that nearly every important American video game journalist is on hand.

Earlier in the afternoon, the 200 to 300 reporters, analysts and video game industry professionals in attendance sat for an hour-plus press conference in which Sony unveiled the PS3 launch titles lineup, as well as information about the next-generation console's peripherals, online and networked functions and more.
PlayStation 3

But now, everyone has moved to two levels above for hours of video game play, cocktails and light snacks. And for anyone who has wanted to try out the PS3, this is the best chance they'll get before the Nov. 11 Japanese or Nov. 17 North American launch of the much-anticipated console.

This event, by the way, is being held at Dogpatch Studios, an increasingly popular events venue. I know that, in part, because Microsoft held an invite-only reporter's showcase for the Xbox 360 here last year in advance of that console's launch. And in talking with Sony PR folks, I'm not sure they were aware of that. It doesn't seem like they would want to convey the message that they're following Microsoft.

Some details on the machinery: There are two versions of the PS3, both of which come with Bluetooth wireless functions and a Blu-Ray drive for high-definition video. The low-end version, which has a 20GB hard drive, is priced at $499, while the high-end console swaps in a 60GB hard drive and adds Wi-Fi capabilities for a price of $599.

PS3 players who don't want to do their gaming in isolation will be able to use the PlayStation Network to indulge in multiplayer games and chat with other players. They'll also be able to download games, surf the Web, view photos and video, and listen to music.

Thursday's event, meanwhile, is a chance to compare the PS3 to Nintendo's Wii, which I tried out last week and Microsoft's Xbox 360. It's a bit of a challenge, since I'm not a hard-core gamer and many of the games that Sony and its publisher partners have brought together here are aimed at those who are nearly certain to be in line to buy a PS3 at 12:01 a.m. on launch day and who will no doubt be buying as many of the well-reviewed games as they can afford.

Still, I'm attracted by a healthy number of the games in the room, even if I can't actually get close enough to play them all. That's because there are so many people in the room--which is small, and therefore overly crowded--that there seem to be at least three people for every available console.

Finally, though, I get to a console loaded with Sony's own basketball game, "NBA 07."

I'm excited to try this because I do like sports games, and because I'm eager to give the PS3's motion-sensitive controller a road test. After all, that was the feature I liked best about the Wii: A controller that removes some of the guess work by tying on-screen movement to the way you actually move your controller. On the Wii, it's a snap to learn, and as someone who has had trouble with the complex controllers of other consoles, motion-sensation is a real gift.

I'm certain I'm not the only one, of course, since the whole reason Nintendo and Sony have included this feature in their controllers is to give gamers an easier time. Plus, it's pretty cool to be able to control things simply by moving your hands, something that is a heck of a lot easier and intuitive than thumbing a joystick.

I start to play "NBA 07" and promptly get my head kicked in by the computer's Golden State Warriors team. But it's not as bad as it seems. For the first few minutes, my Seattle Supersonics team is playing the computer close. I hit about five straight baskets and I feel like I'm getting the hang of the controller and the game itself.

Ghoulish graphics
The graphics are beautiful--as should be expected. But as I've written before, the problem with such realistic graphics is that anything unrealistic stands out. And in every next-generation sports game I've seen where the realism is so good that you can see muscles rippling, the players' ghostly, vacant eyes leave me feeling so creepy I just want to slink away.

I wish there was something that could be done about this. But this is the curse of the "uncanny valley," a theory from robotics that applies to video games as well. In essence, it describes the reaction of people to nonhuman characters--the more realistic the character, the more favorable the reaction, except for a nearly human look that's lacking in some key detail. Think corpses, zombies, prosthetics and other things that create an uneasy feeling.

Regardless, I keep playing, and though I'm getting the hang of the game, I'm falling further and further behind. At first, I don't think the game utilizes the motion-sensitive feature of the controller, but then a helpful Sony representative shows me how to use it to do spin moves and all kinds of other tricks.

That's cool, I think, as I proceed to give up something like 15 straight points.

Frustrated, I walk over to a nearby machine and pick up a controller and begin to play "Formula One Championship," a cool-looking racing game.

I get behind the wheel and begin to drive. I gear up, I go fast and I'm in the thick of things. Until I miss a turn, smash into a wall and lose any chance of competing for the lead.

Strangely, this game doesn't utilize the motion-sensation of the controller at all, and that's a real shame. If it were up to me, every PS3 racing game would use the feature, because as has been shown with Wii racing games, there is very little that's more intuitive with a motion-sensitive controller than driving a car.

But I come to grips with the lack of the feature and soldier on. I fall further behind, but I get the sense that with a few more practice rounds, I could be a contender. And it's fun. I think to myself that I might well buy this game when it hits store shelves.

I then moved over to another PS3, where a TV crew was filming Sony Online Entertainment's "Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom."

The game looks good, but I can't figure out who's playing it, because there's full action on the screen, but no obvious players.

Then I turn around and I notice that a gentleman is standing about 10 feet away slashing and smashing monsters with a wireless PS3 controller. And while it should come as no surprise that a wireless controller can be used in this way--since both the Xbox 360 and the Wii offer such a wireless feature--it is a nice example of how it works.
In other news:

* iPod turns 5: The little device that could
* PlayStation 3 shines in prelaunch test
* Powering back the electric motor
* News.com Extra: NFL dirty-bomb threat post a hoax--FBI
* Video: Change initiative worked against Fiorina as CEO

I then went upstairs and watched someone playing 2K Sports' "NHL 2K7." Again, I couldn't get near a machine given the number of people in the room, but I could watch.

And I was impressed by this game, despite the fact that I can barely be bothered to acknowledge hockey in the real world. But this game looks good, and since it doesn't focus on the players' faces, I don't have to get creeped out by their eyes.

Instead, I focus on the stellar graphics, the realism of the ice, and I have to remind myself that this is not a televised hockey game.

Also not being televised is the Alpine racing track I see in a game of "Gran Turismo HD." The fellow playing it is racing his way through what appears to be some Alps, and I am stunned by the realism of the graphics. As he winds his way up and down the precarious mountains, I think, "Now this is truly an uncanny valley." And I mean it in the best-possible way.

At that point, I had to leave. But I walked away thinking, the PS3 is going to be tough to compete with. Of course, the Xbox 360 has a year's head-start and many more games, but given time, I trust that Sony will find a way to stay on top.

Source

Oh man, basically the same thing I felt when I they zoom in on the players in '07.

FELIPE NO

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

I forgot to mention, the yellow things you see there under price say "Free". I have to thank SOLDIER for pointing that out yesterday. Oh and IIRC, the games there are Siphon Filter, Twisted Metal, Medieval and... I can't make out that one.

Originally Posted by MageDie

I'll believe the PS3 only when i'll see it. Sony used to change release's date so there is a problem with it.

What the hell? Novemeber 17th isn't actually the release date because there's something wrong with the machine?

I tried.

I'm sure Skills (who is currently GOD KNOWS WHO, SCHWARZE-3?) will enjoy these:

Warhawk:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

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What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Omnislash124

But if previous PS1/PS2 cables are still compatible with the PS3, then, by all means, a component connection wouldn't be a bad idea.

Quote:

Most people don't have HDTVs, so no component. Both have the same thing in the box. Ah, forgot to mention: If you have PS2 component cables, they're compatible with the PS3. It still uses that Multi A/V out that all the Playstations share.

Quote:

BTW, the screens look awesome. It seems the FPS games don't have HUDs while in gameplay. Is this the new trend or something? Because I liked the HUDs.

Don't know about everything else, but Resistance doesn't have much up on the screen aside from the health, occasional ammo pickup and your own command to bring up the customizable weapon's menu.

Spoiler:

Quote:

I'm referring mainly to this shot, by the way:

Looks like a cutscene shot to me, since the health stays up there all the time except for cinemas, as scene in the videos I posted above.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Spoiler:

Originally Posted by SOLDIER

Disney on Blu-Ray

Originally Posted by SOLDIER

Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc could look gorgeous, but I think I'll settle with Aladdin, just because.

My God, The Lion King... in HD. Everything else is nice and all, but that tops them all.

Spoiler:

Quote:

Damn!

Spoiler:

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Double Damn!!

Heh, I loved that part of the video but I'm sure people want to see it for themselves:

MotorStorm Motorcycle

MotorStorm Truck

MotorStorm Buggy (this guy does great)

There's nowhere I can't reach.

The PS3 comes with composite cables, which is basically the red, white and yellow ended Multi-AV cables we've used since the Playstation. If you already bought component cables for the PS2, they are compatible with the PS3 because they both use the Multi-AV end.

No Component or HDMI out of the box for the PS3, for reasons stated earlier (most people do not have HDTVs).

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Slayer X

And if they did include an HDMI cable, thoes things are damn expensive even for a 6ft cable therefore making the system more expensive.

No, they're not. Manufacturers are simply overpricing the shit out of them. I put up links to one of many sites that offer affordable cables with quality on par with the overpriced junk out there like Monster.

Here it is again:

3 Foot HDMI cable

6 foot HDMI cable

10 foot HDMI cable

Quote:

I have a question though. They have HDMI to DVI converters right? And would I be able to use my wide screen 19" monitor that I use with my computer for my PS3? Like I said, my monitor has DVI input.

Spoiler:

DVI/HDMI cable

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by SOLDIER

Does anyone know the chepeast place to get 2.5 hard drives? I skipped out on the $600 system because I figured I could get a higher capacity HD for less than $100, but I've never shopped around for 2.5 drives before. Some suggestions and links would be nice.

Is this one good? I made sure to go 5400rpm, since picking standard speed for laptop HDDs drives the prices up considerably.

Edit: The OS will likely format the drive, but it's simply a 5400rpm SATA laptop drive. IIRC, made by Seagate.

Speaking of Seagate, they've got 100GB drive right here. Too bad it's expensive as hell.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by AcerBandit

Have they really? Seems like a pretty bad idea for Sony. I can imagine this being an extremely easy way for hackers to mess with the system.

Just like Linux is an extremely easy way for hackers to fiddle around with the machine. The problem there, and it's the same one that'll plague them while they try to go about this, is that the architecture of the machine has these security features built in, as well as the OS.

If these savvy guys get SNES/NES/Genesis/etc emulators running smoothly on Linux, it'd pretty much make the machine worth it on that count alone.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

5400 is what was given when it was announced. That also seems to be in line with the average laptop drive, as well as explaining why the 7200rpm ones cost so much.

And yes, if they're using it for caching, there should be some improvement. I'm assuming this is similar to putting your programs on a 10,000rpm Raptor where they run faster than, say, on a 7200 or 5400 drive.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Cobalt Katze

I asked this a few pages back, but it got lost in the Metallic image spam

Hey, I suffer from that too. I put up pictures and often time I make a big spread only for it to get lost as the last post on a page.

Quote:

Like Slayer, I'm going to be using HDMI->DVI for my PS3 connection since I've got a nice 20" wide Dell monitor.

However, does anyone know of a (relatively) cheap solution to be able to plug both my computer and the PS3 into the monitor at once and be able to switch between them without the massive unscrewing requierd for DVI connections?

Here's what I have in mind:

Use an DVI to HDMI cable to go from your computer to your monitor, and have that go into an HDMI switchbox.

PC (DVI to HDMI cable) -> HDMI switchbox

Now, have the PS3 go into the switchbox with a regular HDMI cable:

PS3 (HDMI cable) -> HDMI switchbox

Now, you're going to need an adapter to connect your computer's DVI cable to the HDMI box, unless it's removable and you can simply get an HDMI to DVI cable, or vice versa. Here's a switchbox:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...ormat=2&style=

HDMI cable:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...ormat=2&style=

DVI to HDMI cable:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...ormat=2&style=

Quote:

One solution I have is to take a cut in monitor clarity and just use the VGA connector for my monitor... But ideally that's not the best solution. There's a box out there that can do this, but it's designed for being able to control two computers at once with one monitor and keyboard & mouse, rather than just being a switchbox for DVI inputs.

How's the solution above?

Quote:

---

And another, unrelated question: Has anyone checked out their local Best Buys for PS3 kiosks yet? They were supposedly rolled out yesterday the 20th, but I hadn't heard any big fangasm about them since the allegedly false PS3 fanboy lineup from earlier in the week. I was going to check it out today, but wanted to check with other folks first before depleting a chunk of my day

Hmm, haven't checked either. Of course, the rollout date is the 20th, doesn't mean all the stores will just have one magically appear.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by AcerBandit

Yeah. Get a DVI male to female cord and just plug the cable you want in at easy reach access.

Double Post:
Oh Metal, have you seen a switch box like that does the opposite. I want one that takes one input and switches between 2 outputs. I have two displays and would like to switch to both of them on the fly.

Hmm, that should be easy to find. I'll just edit this post with the link to it.

Edit: Err, I think I found one:

http://sewelldirect.com/gefen2x2hdmiswitch.asp

Problem is, that thing is expensive. Well, HDMI switchers with more than one output are expensive, just to clarify.

Playstation 3 XMB Walkthrough

Spoiler:

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From VG Aficionado:

Spoiler:

Originally Posted by Gamespot

GameSpot confirms:

American racing fans have been without a Formula One game for some time now. After EA lost the license, only to see it snapped up by Sony, F1 games have been exclusively released seemingly everywhere else but here in the good old USA. That problem is about to change in a big way, thanks to today's news that Sony's Formula One 06 for PlayStation 3 will be released in the States in 2007. We got a chance to take another look at this open-wheel racer and, we're even more excited for this game than before.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Cobalt Katze

Male to female cord seems to be the best option in this case I think The switchbox is on backorder, dunno if it would get back in stock by release. Male-female option is also a bucketload cheaper, though of course still requires screwing in the cable. But it beats dealing with the back of the monitor.

Yeah, I'd rather go with the easy way. But since you mentioned switchbox I made sure to incorporate that in there (that and no screwing).

Quote:

Subtle surprises were revealed, like the sound of the orchestra tuning that hums when a PS3 is turned on. Also unexpected was a feature in "Genji" to install the game, committing 4GB of data from the game's Blu-Ray disc to the PS3's hard drive — a three-minute one-time-only procedure available from the game's start menu that a Sony rep said cuts down in-game load times from about 15 seconds to four seconds. That's something Sony can offer, given that both versions of its console include a hard drive — 20GB and 60GB, respectively. "Genji" also happens to be done. The game is ready to be manufactured, one of the PS3's first finished works.

Source

Looks like getting a faster/larger HDD is inevitable if you want to get a few of your games loading faster.

Phil Harrison has confirmed that demos, trailers, updates and some other downloadables will be free of charge.

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Originally Posted by Slayer X

Perhaps this was mentioned somewhere else. But allowing you to install the game, wouldn't that make it easier for people to rent it, install it, and then play the game whenever you want afterwards. This ultimatly taking away from game ssales. Or does Sony have a plan in motion like game ID#s to stop this from happening?

It's not actually "installing" the game, so much as it's putting info on the HDD so the game doesn't have to read them off the disc. Even though 2x BR = ~6x DVD in terms of transfer rate (due to larger aperture), it's still slower than a 12x DVD drive. This is one of the reasons why the machine is quieter than its competition too.

IIRC, this is basically HDD caching.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.