Hardware

It's not the Stateside discount we've been waiting for, but at least Australia and New Zealand are looking at discounted Xbox 360 pricing across the board. No press release, just an update to the Aussie Xbox site indicating a new starting price of AU$349 Australian dollars for the Xbox 360 Arcade -- the same console which sold for AU$399 just yesterday. That makes it AU$50 cheaper than the Wii locally. Gamespot spoke to local Xbox exec, Jeremy Hilton, who confirmed that the Xbox 360 Pro bundle ...

var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playstation/PS3_firmware_2_40_is_live'; Yeah, that's right -- you can get it right now. In game XMB, trophies... the whole nine. Why are you still reading this?...

The chatter surrounding a possible Xbox 360 price cut got a little louder today, as several news outlets have picked up on an anonymously-sourced Hollywood Reporter piece claiming that Redmond will drop the 360 Pro's price to $299 sometime before E3. That jives with all those leaked ads that hinted at a July 6th date, so we'll see soon enough -- and we'll bet you that extra $50 the $279 360 Arcade sees some price cut love as well....

Nothing's worse than when you log on to raid Onyxia only to find that some loser sold all your elite loot. Fear not, vulnerable World of Warcraft denizens, for Blizzard is here to sell you the $6.50 "Blizzard Authenticator" dongle. Reacting to an upswing in account theft incidents, Blizzard has released a security token that allows hardcore users to add another layer of protection to their high-level (and attractive) characters. The device is basically a SecurID token with a six-digit code that...

Nothing's worse than when you log on to raid Onyxia only to find that some loser sold all your elite loot. Fear not, vulnerable World of Warcraft denizens, for Blizzard is here to sell you the $6.50 "Blizzard Authenticator" dongle. Reacting to an upswing in account theft incidents, Blizzard has released a security token that allows hardcore users to add another layer of protection to their high-level (and attractive) characters. The device is basically a SecurID token with a six-digit code that...

While the axe that comes with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is pretty sweet, if you were hoping to just get the game and use your Rock Band guitar, you're out of luck. Despite rumors that Activision had opened its doors to the Harmonix-made Rock Band guitar controllers, early users of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith are reporting that the Xbox 360 version game isn't being so friendly after all. The sad message: "An unsupported guitar peripheral has been detected. Connect either a Guitar Hero guitar or Xbox 3...

Filed under: GamingIt's been a long time coming, but in-game XMB will arrive on your PS3 tomorrow. That's right, Wednesday July 2nd and likely kicking off as a rolling, firmware 2.40, network update just as soon as the clock ticks over the top in Japan. You know, for those of you looking to get a jump on your Trophy collection. ...

It's never clear how a company plans on implementing a given patent, but Sony's patent application for a haptic touchscreen composed of "tactile pixels" lists former Sony Computer Entertainment chief Phil Harrison as the inventor and makes several references to potential use in "a game device" and to "game events," so it's a safe bet that it was at least developed with the PSP in mind. The patent app describes a sophisticated haptic feedback system that goes well beyond the basic rumble of toda...

Filed under: GamingWhile those of us 'round these parts have pretty much given up on the idea of a DVD-playing Wii a long time ago, folks in Japan have had some cause for hope based on promises from the company that such a system was, in fact, headed for the country sooner or later. It seems like they're now about to enter the acceptance phase as well, however, as Nintendo has just announced yet another delay to the system with no word about an eventual release date. According to IGN, Nintendo P...

While the original Rock Band is still going strong, Harmonix is already looking towards the next bit of kit that it hopes will be cluttering your place, with it now getting official with Rock Band 2 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Time time around, it seems the Xbox 360 will be getting a jump on things with a launch in September, with the PS3 version set to follow "later in the year." Both of those will, naturally, be coming with all new instruments, including the tasty Fender Stratocaster ...

It's here kids, in-game XMB demonstrated on a firmware 2.40 PS3 for the first time. Yup, that's the clock and date displayed upper-right with a quick hit of the PlayStation button. Sony also reveals that the 2.40 firmware update will deliver the Google search bar (like the PSP update last week) and the ability to play and control your own music stored on the hard drive in-game. See that and more in the video after the break. Continue reading Video: In-game XMB demonstrated on PS3 v2.40...

An enterprising nerd and Portal fan by the name of Ryan VanMiddlesworth has cobbled together an installable GLaDOS-simulating voice pack for Garmin Nüvis. Having "GLaGPS" guide you to point B seems like it'd be only slightly unnerving, but that's mostly to do with the fact that its constantly trying to divert you to cake-related points of interest. Video after the break.Continue reading GLaDOS GPS voice pack just wants to help you find your way. To the morgue....

Well, what do you know? That Guitar Hero axe that was spotted a few months back on How I Met Your Mother was actually a sneak peek of the six string that comes bundled with the new Activision title. The unwavering rockers over at FW Labs were able to secure a copy of the game in Chile before most everyone else on the planet, and rather than enjoying their fortune without telling a soul, they decided to snap a host of photos and even upload a few videos of the experience. The new toys in the att...

It may never garner quite the same broad appeal among DIYers as the incredibly versatile Wiimote, but it looks like the Wii Balance Board is nonetheless spurring on some hackery of its own, including being used as a navigation device for Google Earth and World of Warcraft. While those hacks are certainly impressive enough, the board has only just recently fully earned its DIY cred by being used to control a robot, which you can see in action after the break. What's more, the man responsible fo...

Now that you've already picked up one of those Metal Gear Solid 4 headsets, what on Earth are you to do with another? We're hearing that the Blu-ray retail version of SOCOM Confrontation will indeed include a Bluetooth headset, and as you can clearly see above, it's a PlayStation-branded one at that. You'll also find a much needed mute button for keeping everyone else out of your whooping coughs, and a bundled USB cradle will keep it charged up when the battle subsides. As for pricing, that tid...

Look, we've heard our fair share of PSP phone rumors, and there's really no reason to trust this one any further than your average baseless musings, but if Marketing Week's "sources in Japan and Korea" can be trusted, Sony's PSP phone could be hitting shelves as soon as Christmas 2009. What does seem clear to these shady sources is that Sony won't be forking over the PlayStation branding to its Sony Ericsson partnership, and instead will build its PSP phone all by its lonesome. Other "details" ...

Pictures and video of Sony's new Life with PlayStation service have finally made their way across the Intertubes after yesterday's unveiling in Tokyo. It's pretty much exactly as you'd expect news and weather to be presented on a Cell-powered globe metaphor. Another snap and video courtesy of Digital World Tokyo after the break. Continue reading Life with PlayStation in pictures and video...

Filed under: GamingAccording to Next-Gen, PlayStation boss and Kaz Hirai claims that PlayStation 3s have done the same with Cell chips since last holiday season, and that Sony intends to finish the process of shrinking its major chips to 65nm with the RSX graphics processor this fall. Die shrinkage will mean a lot less to PlayStation buyers than it did to 360 owners suffering from the red ring of death on Microsoft's less-reliable 90nm parts, but it still means Sony can save some cash on produci...

Since 2005, just about everyone that's ever had a RRoD or upgraded Xbox 360 asked for it, and strangely enough, our requests have been answered: Microsoft's pushing out its new web-based DRM tool in lieu of the usual spring Dashboard update. The intention is simple -- make your life a little easier when it comes to managing the worthless, arcane, irritating DRM that wraps the various bits of content (namely games and shows) one downloads from Xbox Live. If you have no idea what we're talking ab...

Filed under: GamingKaz Hirai took to a Tokyo stage today to give us a peek at the Playstation's future, and he let slip a couple of interesting tidbits. First, Sony will be launching a new program called "Life with Playstation" that will give users real time news and weather, using a globe metaphor reminiscent of the Wii's News Channel. Of course, since the PS3 has considerably more horsepower under the hood, the globe is a rendered weather satellite image showing cloud patterns, and it also sup...

What's this? Could it be? An Xbox 360 price drop on July 6? According to this image, the Xbox 360 Pro will drop to $299.99, at least at K-Mart. The little image circulating shows the "Xbox 360 20GB console" with a $299.99 price, but no word on pricing on the Arcade and Elite versions of the console. We had a feeling price cuts would be coming at E3, but it's entirely possible Microsoft waned to get pricing out of the way before the gaming conference to concentrate on other goodness....

With E3 fast approaching the rumor mill is unsurprisingly already in full swing, and this latest possibility to crop up is certainly one of the more tantalizing of the season, even it is a tad unlikely. If EGM's Quarterman is to be believed, however, it seems that Microsoft may be about to take a cue from the late, lamented 3D0 and begin allowing third-party manufacturers to build their own Xbox 360 hardware, which could conceivably include something as previously far fetched as a Blu-ray playe...

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Portable VideoSony just released a rambling update to it corporate strategy through fiscal year 2010. An interesting read for fans and competitors alike as Sony lays bare initiatives intent on moving Sony from recovery to the "leading global provider of networked consumer electronics and entertainment." Most notable in the near-term however, is word from Kazuo Hirai, chieftain of Sony Computer Entertainment, that Sony will make a movie download service av...

If you just can't get enough of what Sony Europe execs are saying, here's another mouthful just days after hearing from David Reeves. This time we've got SCEE's VP of publisher and developer relations Zeno Colaço shouting out on the state of PSP, and overall, his comments weren't that surprising. Most notably, he mentioned that the developer community needed to be "revitalized" so that it would get behind the PSP in a big way. When asked about the current dearth of games for the handheld, he co...

Just five days after ATI fessed up with an official release of its Radeon HD 4850, along comes a similar announcement for the just-leaked Radeon HD 4870. This dual-slot beast is finally being outed on the record, and at the very least, Diamond Multimedia's version will come stocked with 512MB of DDR5 memory, a clock speed of 725 MHz, 900MHz memory speed and 800 stream processors. The unit also provides CrossFireX upgradeability and should be available here soon from your favorite online retaile...