Review: Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition (Move Edition)

After a thorough playtesting of Sony’s Move controller over the launch weekend I delivered my final verdict on the device and most of its launch line-up last Monday. A few games were missing however. One of those was Capcom’s seminal survival shooter (come on now it’s hardly a horror game is it) Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition; an updated version of RE5 containing two extra single player chapters, and via a patch available from the PSN, full PlayStation Move support.

Seeing as RE4 on the GameCube still ranks up there with some of my favourite games of all time (it’s in my top ten), and that the Wii Edition remains in my opinion, the definitive version to play, I was more than a little interested to see how the Move enabled RE5 would turn out. After all, surely the precision tracking and lack of latency on Sony’s motion controller would make for an even better experience than on the Wii? Sadly, that isn’t completely the case, with the developers arguably just including Move support without really thinking too much about the end results.

Okay, perhaps that’s a slightly harsh statement, because while RE5: Gold Edition does feature a few glaring flaws with regards to its new motion control implementation, it’s also still a reasonably playable experience, just not as much so as when using the standard Dual Shock or Sixaxis controllers.


Part of the problem lies in both the button choices used for each configuration (there are two types) and how the Move’s pointer has been implemented in place of using the standard analogue sticks. Character movement is handled by the analogue stick on the Navigation Controller, whilst all aiming and menu selection is done via the Move. Holding down the T-Trigger brings up your aiming cursor, and pushing the Move button shoots you gun. A quick waggle of the Move also delivers a delayed slice of your knife.

When using the Move there is no dual control for both moving and aiming at the same time, as is possible with the standard PS3 controller. Instead, you can only choose to either move, or aim and look around when stationary. The analogue stick on the Navigation controller allows you to look around freely, whilst the Move is used to aim. This will be familiar to those who have played Resident Evil 4 on both the GameCube and the Wii, and may come as a hindrance if you are not used to such a system. Thankfully, I didn’t find it to be all that much of a problem, though the lack of a Move equivalent to the dual analogue solution is somewhat disappointing.

Using the Move button to fire, rather than the T-Trigger also feels a little odd. When pressing down on the trigger, your thumb immediately uses the top of the Move’s surface to hold it in a steady position, maintaining a strong grip in the process. However, when you let go, and then push down again to make each shot (whilst still holding down the trigger) your initially steady grip is reduced somewhat. Surely, it would make more sense to have the Move button being held down in order to bring up the aiming cursor, and then using the T-Trigger as the fire button. That would make the whole experience feel far more natural.

Thankfully the existing set-up works rather well, and when blasting away at fifteen, twenty enemies pushing the Move button to fire whilst holding down the trigger isn’t particularly uncomfortable, just maybe not the most thought out choice.


What IS an issue, and by far the biggest oversight in implementing Move support, is how the aiming cursor constantly reconfigures itself in accordance to the Move’s position, often with unwanted results.

For example, when you push down on the T-Trigger to bring up your aiming reticule, the Move’s position is immediately determined at that point. However, after you’ve finished shooting, and thus releasing the trigger, the calibration seems to get thrown off. If you bring up your reticule with the Move positioned a little lower down than before, then it will appear higher up on screen than it should, or if you are aiming a little too far to the left or right before pushing down on the T-Trigger, the reticule also appears too far on either side of the screen.

By contrast, in Resident Evil 4 the position of the Wii Remote and pointer was always tracked from a specific point (I certainly don’t remember it being like this), so when you go to aim the reticule would automatically be positioned accordingly. Not so with Move and RE5 – the cursor on screen simply doesn’t line-up unless you position the Move at its starting position each time before hitting the T-Trigger.

At least the Move does provide noticeably greater accuracy than the Wii remote when it comes to lining up your shots, and quickly moving from target to target. Initially the default settings feel rather slow, and are in fact pretty sluggish compared to Wii Resi 4. However, you can adjust both the pointer speed and sensitivity in the options menu, which tightens up the controls considerably. Perhaps the only fault when doing this, is that when the game slows down, dropping framerate, the additional latency present is far more noticeable than if you had the cursor sensitivity, and speed set at lower levels.


Another issue is with regards to the use of the four face buttons found on the DS3 and Sixaxis controllers for performing certain moves, and to access your inventory screen. Running is done by holding down the ‘cross’ button, whilst ‘triangle’ is used to bring up the inventory screen. Now this doesn’t sound too bad, and in actual fact using ‘cross’ to run is perfectly fine. However, seeing as both ‘square’ and ‘triangle’ can be a little uncomfortable to reach it would have made more sense to make ‘cross’ or ‘circle’ the inventory and map buttons, leaving running to be done using the L2 trigger on the Navigation controller.

Playing in a dark room with the buttons obscured by the lack of visibility can be somewhat annoying, especially as the face buttons are divided by some length with regards to the Move button’s placement in between. The problem lies in being able to quickly toggle in and out of your inventory in the heat of battle, swapping weapons and items around between both characters, or just reorganising some space to equip new ones found along the way. Navigating these screens using the pointer is fine, as is using both the Move button to select items, and swap with other players. It’s just the ability to bring them up quickly that can be troublesome.

Other than that Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition does work reasonably well with the Move. Aiming in particular is faster and more accurate than when using a normal controller, and losing the ability to move whilst looking around or aiming isn’t a major loss. You can also see the reduced latency the Move provides over the Wii remote in terms of basic response time, although the game’s erratic framerate does on many occasions diminish this greatly.


Slight to heavy annoyances with the button configurations, and accentuated controller lag due to slowdown aside, it maybe isn’t quite as bad as you initially might think, once you get used to it. Sadly, it is a little behind the Wii version of Resident Evil 4 where the overall nature of fluid and intuitive controls are concerned. The Move might offer lower latency in moving the cursor around on screen, but it is also hindered by a game designed for far quicker reactions with a standard control pad.

Despite this, the actual RE5 game itself is still as fun to play as ever, though lacking any real sense of horror. Instead, most of the time you find it regularly turning into a crowded shooting gallery of sorts, with you becoming involved in a juggling act of babysitting your AI partner, and navigating menus as fast as possible. The storyline is classic b-move Capcom fodder, the character, and enemy designs are solid though sometimes uninspired. And visually. Well, it’s still one of the best looking games this generation. Resident Evil 4 may clearly be a better game all round, but there is still much to like about Capcom’s aging survival horror, turned survival shooter series.


Those after a state of the art reason to own the Move, or even just a finely tuned experience may want to look elsewhere. That said, even if you already own the Gold Edition of RE5, been playing through it to death, finishing every chapter, unlocking every little morsel of extra content, then it is more than worth another look if you so happen to own Sony’s motion control combo. However, it is also definitely not worth buying both a Move and Navigation controller specifically for. Or the other way around if you’re looking for more compatible titles.

VERDICT: 6/10

The above score relates solely to the use of Move controls in RE5, and not as an assesment of the overall quality of the game.

Feature: PlayStation Move: The Verdict

There is no doubting the Wii’s initial success; it was the right time, and the right place for motion controls to really start to take off. Promises of life-like, eventual 1:1 motion, combined with that feel-good, family fun factor when people come together to play were all jostled about like F1 cars battling for that coveted no.1 spot. However, amongst all the hype, the potential to change the face of traditional gaming forever, was the hard reality that, for all Nintendo’s promises the Wii had largely failed to deliver on them as a whole.

The lack of true 1:1 motion control led to what is known as the ‘waggle’ factor being included in games; a series of predefined moves in the game where by the data from the Wii remote and sensors would be processed and interpreted by the Wii console into these actions. The result: a mere illusion of proper motion control, in which you were simply waving your arms around (or the flick of a wrist) in order to do what seemed like a number of overly flashy button presses.

Nintendo finally brought in the Motion Plus upgrade to alleviate the problem, finally delivering on that original 1:1 promise. And although it did, by and large succeed, it was far too late, and the end results were less than impressive. There was still some form of waggle being present, and the lag in titles which actually used full 1:1 tracking was noticeably high. Suffice to say the Motion Plus was too little, too late, and by that time both Sony and Microsoft were eying up the market for them selves.


Whereas MS are clearly aiming themselves at the casual gaming market with their completely controllerless solution in Kinect, Sony, with PlayStation Move, are in fact attempting to cross over into the best of both worlds; luring gamers with the incredibly high-precision of their device, whilst also catering for the mainstream via a selection of highly accurate mii-too sports and entertainment titles.

Unlike Nintendo, who in the beginning promised accurate 1:1 motion tracking and a fast, responsive solution, Sony have actually delivered on just that. The sheer accuracy and precision of the Move is simply incredible. Not only is true 1:1 tracking fully available, along with advanced depth perception, it is also able to operate with in just 1 or 2 frames of latency (that’s between 66ms and 132ms of lag), with just an additional 22ms stemming from the Move device relaying data to the PS3 itself.

If those numbers at first seem a little high, remember that most 60fps titles operate with 66ms latency at standard, with 30fps titles hitting around the 100ms mark. Interestingly, both Halo 3 and the forthcoming NFS Hot Pursuit operate at 100ms, whilst Killzone 2 is around 150ms. Incredibly, that puts the Move right up there with standard controller response times in an average to best scenario. This completely overshadows Microsoft’s Kinect, which on average operates at around 200ms latency when using full body tracking.

Indeed, a few of the Move’s launch titles show off the device’s unflinching precision when it comes to movement tracking. Pin-point accuracy is commonplace in the best titles, whilst latency is noticeably well below levels found on all the best Wii games. What this means is that the most accomplished launch titles for the Move don’t suffer from having that bolted on, or artificial ‘waggle’ feeling to them.

Case in point: Sports Champions demonstrates uncannily realistic 1:1 motion tracking in it’s Table Tennis game, carefully replicating nearly every subtle movement of the player onscreen. Granted, the demo does seem to feature some kind of additional assist function auto-enabled, though this can be turned off in the final game for exact precision tracking.


All this is only made possible because of the unique make up of the Move hardware itself, and it’s relationship with Sony’s own PlayStation Eye camera. Whereas Nintendo went for a combination of infrared tracking, and built-in accelerometers to detect motion and positioning, Sony on the other hand have used a whole array of extra sensors, including LED marker tracking (by far the most important) in order to replicate true 1:1 mapping in a 3D space, whilst also using the PS Eye camera for a simpler form of full body tracking like seen in MS’s Kinect.

The combination of Move’s motion sensors, LED light, and PS Eye camera is just what gives its incredible accuracy. The glowing orb on the end of the controller is tracked by the PS Eye camera, which in turn uses both the data from the internal Move sensors, and the LED light on the front, to intricately track the position of the controller in full 3D. Effectively, it uses the size of the orb within its viewpoint as a guide to determining the distance of the Move, and thus tracking it accordingly.

It’s only when the Move is obscured behind various objects (people, furniture, etc) does the precise nature of the tracking go off-kilter, instead briefly, for a moment reverting back to Wii methods of determining position and movement. When this happens the precision is temporarily lost, resulting in less accurate tracking and an increase in controller latency. However, the Move quickly corrects this as the LED orb on the front of the controller comes back into view.

From a technical standpoint then, the Move offers not only the best of both worlds; precision 1:1 motion control, and full body tracking as well, but also manages to clearly be the most responsive and overly accurate of all three current motion solutions.


Onto the actual hardware itself, and you can see that both the Move and the Navigation Controller (Nav Con) have been lavished by Sony’s high-end design expertise. Both are very comfortable to hold, and benefit from their ergonomically crafted, curved and rounded shape. Compared to the blocky Wii Remote, the Move remains comfortably in your hand for far longer, weighing less, whilst providing better grip and control. The same principles apply to the Nav Con, which feels weighty, but light at the same time.

The fact that both controllers effectively almost weigh the same, and pretty much feel the same, is a big plus. Where as Nintendo went for the most iconic handheld device in the home (the TV remote control) as the base of it’s Wii motion controller design, complementing it with a more traditional feeling Nunchuck, Sony have instead unified their design in a more succinct, albeit stylish manner.

Both the Move and the Nav Con are wireless, working off bluetooth like with the Dual Shock 3 controller, and feature rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Charging is done via the same USB cable that the Sixaxis and DS3 use to connect up to the PS3, and you can expect each full charge to last between seven and eight hours; which isn’t at all bad considering what the Move has to do, although far less than a regular Sixaxis pad.

Seeing as Sony doesn’t provide any additional USB cables with either the Move or the Nav Con, you might want to invest in one of the few double charging stations that are available. The Sony one in particular features a similar high build quality to that of the Move itself, although more expensive than the lesser third-party solutions available.


In terms of button placement and functionality, both Move and the Nav Con provide ample options as a replacement to the standard Dual Shock controller. The Nav Con features an analogue stick closely matching that of Sony’s DS3 and Sixaxis pads, whilst also having both an L2 analogue trigger and the L1 button (feeling much like the ones on a DS3) slightly beneath the front of it. The Move itself features a new custom T-Trigger on its underside (more like a trigger from a gun than the one from the DS3 pad, it has a softer resistance to it compared to the L2 trigger on the Nav Con) whilst also having the standard four face buttons situated around the brand new Move button, which serves as the units main action/start button.

Furthermore, the PS home button is featured on both the Move and the Nav Con; indented into the controllers to prevent accidental presses from occurring, and on the Move, the Start and Select buttons from the DS have also been lowered into the plastic casing for the same reason.

Annoyingly, the main face buttons feel rather small, and have a cheap, but strong resistance to them. Pushing down on these feels like it requires more effort than it should, as it also does with both Start and Select buttons, making using them slightly uncomfortable. It would have been better to not only make these buttons (the main four face ones) bigger, but also giving them a softer click when pressed.

Thankfully, the rest of the controller is a complete joy to use with no more such mishaps; a quick pull on the T-Trigger, a move using the Nav Con’s analogue stick, or a push of the Move button is quite satisfying, reiterating the high build quality of both devices.

Perhaps the only real downside is that the Nav Con is lacking any kind of motion tracking at all in its innards, making its use somewhat limited compared to the Wii’s Nunchunk. Instead, games that may well work best with two motion controllers require the user to have two Move’s, thus limiting the experience in other areas as the Move doesn’t feature either a d-pad or an analogue stick.


Another, is that the PS Eye is maybe a little too basic in its spec for advanced full body tracking without lag, and that its relatively low resolution display (640 x 480) sometimes makes tracking the LED sphere on the Move difficult in brightly lit areas. I personally found the bright morning sun shining through a window behind me, to the side, mildly affecting its overall performance.

The onscreen image produced from the camera is also very grainy. It’s not so bad in daytime conditions, but in low light situations clarity is replaced with plenty of grain and some digital noise. Having the camera’s lower resolution feed upscaled to match the output resolution of the software using it doesn’t help much either, and the difference in sharpness between the two images (game and camera feed) only provide a disconnect from the experience. Having a HD camera would have been far more beneficial, giving not only better image quality, but also more accurate bright light and body tracking as well.

Saying that, outside of these issues there’s very little, if anything to complain about, and Sony have clearly produced something that is as functional as it is stylish. The accuracy and lack of any heavy latency in accomplished games is obviously the Move’s main talking point, secondary to it treading old ground where early ideas are concerned.


However, all this is in vein if the software doesn’t accurately represent what the tech is actually capable of, and this is one area where the Move is distinctly let down. Out of the Move specific launch titles there is only maybe one of two games worthy of your attention, with some of the best ones being PSN-based download titles.

For this reason alone, I decided not to purchase any games off-hand for review purposes, instead opting to playtest the various demos available via both the Starter Disc that comes packaged with the Move and the PS Eye, and from the PSN.

Sports Champions is clearly the main draw out of all the games and demos available. It is the game which really showcases the Move’s potential over and above that of both the Wii and Microsoft’s forthcoming Kinect. On the Starter Disc two separate games from this title are available for demonstration: Table Tennis, and Disc Golf. Both are incredibly accurate in terms of the way they play, the kind of 1:1 tracking expected, and with regards to their extremely low latency.

In Table Tennis pretty much all of my movements were accurately mapped using the Move, from the angle of my shots, to the speed in which I was moving. The amount of lag that was detectable was minuscule, practically absent, and better than most normal games in framerate dropping situations. To word it better: it WAS like using your arm as an instant controller. The only downside with the demo, is that it had some kind of assist function activated so that hitting the ball was made easier, though its reactions weren’t always as realistic as they could be. Apparently this doesn’t happen in the higher difficulty modes (demo is on easy) as no assist takes place.


Disc Golf was also very accurate and responsive. I could make both drastic and subtle changes to how I wanted to throw the disc by naturally throwing it differently each time, and the Move would pick up on this. The delay was slightly higher than in Table Tennis, with you needing to let go of the T-Trigger just a tad earlier to get the desired effect. Even then adjusting to this took only moments, and the result was still far in advance of anything comparable on the Wii.

Tiger Woods was a huge let down. Although the quality of the actual motion tracking seemed pretty good, there was still a noticeable amount of lag going on – not as much as say Motion Plus Tiger on the Wii, but still more than expected.

Thankfully putting fared much better than on the Wii title. Unlike with Motion Plus Tiger 10, the delay in my movements to the actions on screens was relatively small, and I could see my character’s club moving almost as the Move controller was. On the Wii I had to swing harder than I needed to for the game to respond to my movements, but not so here with the PS3 Move version. This meant that I could accurately gauge both my position and power of my shots quite easily in comparison.

Sadly, the controls are let down by having to hold down one of the face buttons in order to put spin on the ball, and that you need to use a Dual Shock in order to start the game and navigate the menus.


Start The Party was pretty much an enhanced Eye Toy affair, with the player using a virtual fly swatter to hit various insects that appeared on the screen. Video feed of the player is projected on screen, along with the image of the swatter you are holding in place of the Move itself. Control was really poor, lag was instantly apparent, and on many occasions it felt like the game wasn’t registering all of my hits. It was also difficult for me to determine distance in a 3D space on screen when 3D graphics are laid over a video feed, leading to missed shots and bouts of frustration. Despite the novelty of seeing you hold a virtual racket on screen, Eye Toy Play’s Kung Fu was a far better game.


EyePet: Move Edition seemed a little pointless. Although it uses the Move quite well, it’s also made redundant by the fact that the game is far more fun by simply using your hands to interact with your creature. Having Move support didn’t add anything to the overall experience, not when you can already touch and play with your virtual pal without it. The new stuff is a nice diversion for a short gaming (if you can call it that) session or so , but that’s about it.


Interestingly, my favourite game out of the bunch of demos that I played, was the PSN game, Tumble. The concept is very simple: the idea is that you have a certain number of blocks that you have to stack up onscreen, each having different properties such as size, shape and weight. The starting block at the bottom has to be touching the pressure pad on the floor, and you can only build on top of this. Obsticales are also presented to the player, such as avoiding moving objects, and another challenge sees you blowing up an existing tower seeing how far away you can blast the blocks.

The control seemed to me to be pretty accurate, although the cursor speed didn’t react quite as fast a my movements. This can be remedied by upping the Move’s sensitivity in the XMB menu however, so not really an issue. You can turn and flip blocks using a quick flick of the Move in any of the four main directions (left, right, up and down), and navigate the onscreen pointer around the on screen environment by literally Moving the Move controller around the room. The best part however, was both the simplicity and fun of the whole concept; the demo had me glued for about an hour repeatedly trying out new things. It’s hardly revolutionary, but lots of fun.


Other than the Move specific game demos found on the Starter Disc and PSN, there are a few other titles with added Move functionality worth considering. Ruse looks especially suited to the device, and the new Move controls in Heavy Rain are quite well thought out, definitely bringing the player even closer to the game than before. There’s also Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition, which has Move support enabled in the latest download patch, although its implementation leaves a lot to be desired. But more on that in another report if I get the time.

Overall, the range of software for the Move is decidedly a mixed bag of sorts. On one hand, you’ve got the likes of Sports Champions clearly showcasing just what Sony’s motion controller can do, Ruse and Heavy Rain showing genuine improvements over the standard DS3 controller. On the other, there’s shovelware type rubbish as seen with Start The Party, and missed opportunities with the latest Tiger Woods, neither of which really make you feel that the Move was a worthy investment. Even the impressive Sports Champions suffers from a total lack of personality. It feels bland and completely soulless like many of the other Move-specific offerings. At least the art style doesn’t try and patronise you like say Start The Party or anything.

So software-wise the Move doesn’t quite deliver on all accounts. Despite some genuinely impressive flashes of brilliance, there’s a lot that needs serious improving. Nothing out of the current line-up of titles screams of being an essential purchase, a real reason to own the Move. Hardcore gamers are likely to enjoy downloading and trying out the various game demos that are available on PSN, especially Heavy Rain and Tumble, whilst casual gamers may well wonder just what all the fuss is about.


Going back to the hardware though, and it is apparent that Sony have absolutely succeeded in delivering something that not only works as promised, but also something manages to offer a level of precision and accuracy not found in other motion control solutions. Sure, the full body tracking capabilities of the Move + PS Eye camera may not be able to match the Kinect in this area, but the tracking of the Move itself and the upper body is easily as good, with overall accuracy being to a far higher standard with vastly lower latency.

Certainly, the experience of proper 1:1 tracking with precise depth perception is undeniably impressive, and seeing it implemented here with minimal latency – were talking about 1 to 2 frames as standard (66ms to 132ms) - is arguably Sony’s coup d'état against both Nintendo and Microsoft. But it remains to be seen if that’s really enough.

There’s no question that for a variety of experiences, from family party games, to high-end hardcore FPS’s that the Move unquestionably provides the strongest baseline to work from; you’re going to need an additional control device for some types of game to work on kinect, but not with Move. However, the issue is whether or not Sony can convince developers to spend the extra time in crafting advanced AAA Move experiences. Unlike Kinect, there doesn’t appear to be the same amount of processing overhead when using the device so I don’t see why not. But time, and consumer spending will dictate whether or not that uptake will happen.

For the time being then, PlayStation Move is definitely worth a look. The technology is clearly up to scratch, and there is a fair amount of free content to try out if the likes of Sports Champions isn’t quite your thing. It’s just a shame that some of the software fails to live up to the Move’s potential, failing to expand outside of the mii-too clone market and into something a little more polished and unique.

So, at this very moment the Move represents an impressive technological demonstration, but lacks any true must have titles to really back it up. The promise of what it was supposed to be able to do has been fulfilled. All that’s left is for more games to do the same thing.

Gran Turismo 5 To Feature 10GB HDD Installation

If you’re anything like me then you’ll always install PS3 games onto the hard drive if there’s an option available. Loading times are just another one of those things – along with poor texture filtering – that you just thought you’d see the back of with each progressing console generation. But like with image quality, there is always a reason, or two, for it to crop up again when least expected.

For Gran Turismo 5 Sony are once again providing an additional install option on top of simply being able to simply pop the disc into the drive and play the game. According to Kazunori Yamauchi (via his Twitter page) GT5’s installation feature will allow for a ‘smooth’ experience, but at the expense of a whopping 10 gigabytes of HDD space – double that of previous PS3 games.

If you just want to play the game, then you’ll only need a paltry 256 megabytes in order to do so. But then I imagine that loading times will be far more noticeable without the installation.

But what of Yamauchi’s ‘smooth’ quote? What could he possibly mean by that? Well, to be fair, those expecting some kind of framerate boost, or better performance in 1080p are going to be disappointed, as it's likely that GT5’s producer simply meant that quicker loading times would mean less noticeable break up between sections of play than if you didn’t install the game.

There’s nothing worse than having a lengthy session of loading screens between some highly impressive, fast-paced racing, and Yamauchi knows this. If nothing else having shorted load times will make for a more seamless experience, one which could be described as ‘smooth’, and very much the opposite of a more jarring ‘stop-start’ nature often caused by poor data management and long loading screens.

Nevertheless, 10 gigabytes is a huge file size, and it will be interesting to see just how much of a difference such a large install will make.

Sony Announces New Slim PS3 Models

In what could been seen as a reactionary move by Sony is there ever was one, the company announced at their press conference at this year’s Gamescom in Cologne, Germany that they were planning to replace the two current models of Slim PS3 with ones containing larger hard drives.

The existing 120GB console is to be replaced by a slightly larger 160GB model, and the 250GB one gets upgraded to 320GB. The pricing structure for both machines is to remain the same as the current models. So expect to pay £249.99 for the 160GB version, and £284.99 for the 320GB one.

While these newer models are due to arrive in stores from 15th September, Sony also point out that there might be a cross over with old stock as the old models are phased out, meaning that it is likely that some places may be run additional ‘clearance’ deals for those not too fussed by having a smaller amount of storage capacity.

Currently, PS3 sales are officially standing at 38 million worldwide, whilst the 360, on 41.2 million, leads by a small margin. However, in Europe the situation is reversed with Sony commanding the largest lead in console sales between the PS3 and the 360 in any territory. With this in mind Sony’s Andrew House commented that the launch of these new models of PS3 was to ‘maintain leadership’ in that particular territory.

After the slow start in sales following the launch of the PS3 in March 2007 in Europe for a whopping £425, it appears Sony is well and truly back on track with the PlayStation brand, and that means the battle can only get more interesting from here on out. Perhaps now’s the right time for the company to turn their attention around to the ailing PSP brand, and the inevitable PSP2.

PlayStation Phone Emerging?

Over the last few years there have been a few rumours doing the rounds singling out a potential link between the PlayStation brand and the mobile Phone. Many still believe that in order to truly succeed, as well as compete against the iPhone and DS casual market, that the PSP2 will effectively double up as a mobile phone and a lead gaming device, offering all the usual gaming and multimedia functionality on the go along with the ability to make calls.

Today, Engadget is reporting that Sony may well be planning to release a new mobile phone that not only has some serious gaming potential, but also that it features the prominent PlayStation branding firmly on its design. The new smartphone, currently in development at the Sony Ericsson wing of the company, is reportedly powered by the Android 3.0 operating system, and features a version of the Snapdragon SoC (system on a chip) running at 1GHz.

The device is speculated to have graphical capabilities somewhere in the region of the original PlayStation (PSX) to that of the PSP, and Sony are said to be interested in bringing existing franchises such as God Of War, Call Of Duty and Little big Planet to the system.

Apparently, the design of the phone is similar to both the Samsung Captivate and the PSPgo, featuring a panel that slides out to reveal the controls used for gaming. A d-pad and action buttons were mentioned, along with some shoulder buttons and a touch pad to replace the analogue nub found on all versions of the PSP. The device will also feature a 5 megapixel camera, and the overall screen size is estimated to be between 3.7 to 4.1 inches.

An October release date was said to be possible, which means that the device would arrive to market long before the PSP2 and provide Sony with a reasonable alternative to Apple’s domineering platform.

Interestingly, the phone is said to be labelled with the Xperia brand, although the PlayStation branding will also make an appearance. Could this be part of a unified branding strategy across all Sony platforms?

It definitely looks that way. However, having two devices with the strong PlayStation branding could very well split the market, with some wondering whether or not this phone is a proper successor to the existing PSP, or simply an extension of the brand in a different form. Certainly, it isn’t the PSP2, as rumours from other sources have already confirmed that it is being worked on independently from other mobile projects, meaning that this new smartphone is more of an extension of the whole PSN and PlayStation branding concept revealed by Sony a while back.

Saying that, the report also mentions Google, and the company's plan for a new 'ecosysyem' with Sony, so maybe this is only part of their original strategy.

Perhaps the biggest question that needs answering right now, is how this device will fit in the grand scheme of things with Sony’s own PSP2, and the PlayStation platform in general – something that isn’t apparently clear to us at the moment, and certainly makes little sense given the likelihood of the PSP2 emerging shortly.

Either way it is clear that the company sees incredible value in the space Apple currently occupy, and are looking towards this new cross branded phone as a way of entering that market.

Editorial: Why Sony Mandates 720p For 3D Gaming

Creating games in 3D is an arduous task, with the need to render two separate frames (one for each eye) baring a heavy load both on the consoles and for the developer, the quest to reach that mythical 18080p status weighing in on the back of their minds against the ever increasing demands of the consumers this generation.

The solution then, it seems, is simply not to participate in such an endeavour in the first place, instead dictating somewhat more manageable terms to developers and anyone looking to venture into the 3D space. And this is exactly what Sony are said to be doing, mandating a standard of 720p for all developers wanting to make their games in 3D.

Just a few weeks after Housemarque and Ilari Kuittinen revealed on the PlayStation Blog that they had Super Stardust HD running at 1080p and 60fps in 3D, Sony's Simon Benson recently commented at the Develop conference in Brighton that the company was planning to enforce a 720p maximum resolution mandate to developers. This means that even if you are able to get your game running at a higher resolution it will be downscaled by the machine into 720p, much like what will be happening Super Stardust HD as soon as the next PS3 firmware arrives.

The reason behind the move is simple. It’s partly due to the HDMI 1.4 specification not supporting 1080p60 officially (1080p24 is the highest it will go), and to make things easier for developers by taking the pressure off in trying to get things running in 3D at 1080p by removing the option. Perhaps that is not such a bad thing as many games struggle to render in native 720p let alone 1080p, and at 60fps that whole scenario dramatically worsens considerably.

Benson also came to this conclusion and mentioned at the conference that despite the mandate being applied to most games, some ‘more cinematic’ titles which could benefit from using a higher resolution and lower framerate would be allowed access to the 1080p24 3D rendering mode supported by the console. No games would be able to use 1080p60 even if the developers had comfortably implemented it.

Sony’s argument over the use of 1080p60 then, or rather, 1080p for 3D gaming in general seems to be directly aimed at the stresses of getting games running to that standard in the first place. Benson emphasised the difficulties that many developers would be facing and told attendees that this mandate was a way of curtailing that. A preventative measure of some sorts, restrictive but at the same time ultimately beneficial, especially when you think that having more stuff on screen at 720p is usually far more impressive than a game being cut back in order to hit 1080p.

However, rendering at 1080p60 in 3D doesn’t have to mean rendering one frame for each eye, as Crytek has shown so enthusiastically at this year’s E3. Instead it is possible to render in one single frame for 3D, like with normal 2D rendering, and to simply apply a form of 2D displacement tech to the image (2D to 3D conversion) thus creating a final 3D display without any of the usual workload involved. We talked about Cytek’s solution here, although Sony have also said in the past that they were working on something very similar.

So the question is why are Sony restricting the rendering resolution on 3D games when clearly they have, or will have in the near future, a solution which circumvents rendering two frames instead of one. Surely that in itself would make things much easier for developers without taking away another all important check-box feature. But perhaps that’s the point, that for this generation 1080p is largely just that, a check-box feature that has more use on paper than practically in games development, and when you consider the potential performance costs incurred by running in 3D then it makes perfect sense.

Either way, the removal of 1080p60 and 1080p24 does very little to harm the end user. When you consider how many titles actually use the resolution effectively, and that contain more detail and visual effects when running in this mode, you can see why the chase for the supposed holy grail that is 1080p isn’t particularly justified, and could even be described as wasted.

That said, there is no doubt that some of us out there will still salivate over the potential of seeing another title pushing that magical 1080p60 resolution on consoles. It’s an incredible feat when you see it in 2D, so how much more spectacular would it be seeing it in 3D, full 1920x1080 no less. This is not something that we will be able to tell you with Sony’s proposed plans, but is it really going to make all the difference? I suspect a resounding no is the answer.

Personally I’d much rather be seeing more titles running in full 720p and with at least 2x multisampling anti-aliasing, or morphological AA at 60fps than a misguided attempt at 1080p with absolutely none of those benefits. And judging by Sony’s reaction, and indeed Crytek’s 2D displacement tech, many developers feel the same way.

PS3 Gets More 3D Features

It’s not just games and BluRay movies that you’ll be able to view in 3D on the PlayStation 3. At an exclusive London event Mick Hocking, Sony Worldwide Studios head of 3D games, revealed that support for both 3D TV shows, and YouTube 3D was coming in a future firmware upgrade for Sony’s flagship gaming system.

"Crucially for us, PlayStation 3 will be able to store all types of 3D content. And we can do this through properly upgrading the Firmware on the platform.

Hocking also mentioned that Sony have plans to release a full 3D update for their PlayTV PVR add-on for the PS3, which will enable users to record both current HD broadcasts along with 3D Freeview content when it finally arrives. In addition, support for 3D photos and video camera recordings will be hitting the PS3 by the end of this year, although no firm dates were revealed.

"So you'll see 3D games in the next 12 months, you'll see Blu-ray movies in 3D, and as soon as the broadcasts start through our PlayTV services, you're going to watch 3D content [via that].

"YouTube will be supporting 3D content over the next 12 months as well - and you'll be able to watch that on the PlayStation 3. And as you start taking 3D pictures of your family or 3D camcorder movies, you can play those back on PS3, too."

This news means that not only is the PS3 vastly becoming a solid destination for all music, video, and games media, but also for all 3D entertainment content too.

All in all, Sony’s plan in attempting to conquer the living room appears to be going well, with BluRay becoming the next disc-based movie standard after a short format war with HD-DVD, and with strong support for 3D gaming already in motion, the inclusion of 3D TV show and YouTube support is the icing on the cake.

3D Stardust Sees 2D Performance Increase

Earlier this week Sony released a patch for Super Stardust HD finally enabling 3D support to coincide with the launch of their flagship 46” Bravia 3D LCD HDTV. Not long after the patch was released came reports that the update not only allowed the game to be played in 3D, but that it also added some graphical enhancements to the title as well.

Users reported a smoother image and cleaner look to the game when running the game in 1080p mode, and some have also stated what looks like additional anti-aliasing in when running in 720p. Yesterday on Sony’s official UK blog at PlayStation.co.uk this was indeed confirmed to be the case.


Super Stardust HD originally ran in 1280x720 with 2xMSAA and at 60 fames per-second for 720p, and in 1280x1080 with no AA for 1080p, also I might add at the prerequisite 60fps. That in itself is pretty impressive given the amount of particle effects and transparencies on screen at any given time, especially when you consider the game managed to maintain a smooth 60fps update throughout.

For 3D developers essentially have to render each frame twice, one for each eye, meaning that you’d either have to be doing 720p at 120fps to maintain the same resolution in 3D at 60fps, or halve the rendering resolution to keep up the framerate if this isn’t possible. With the upgrade Stardust manages to not only keep up performance in 3D, but the developers have furthermore optimised the title to enhance image quality overall for the game running in 2D.

Housemarque CEO and co-founder Ilari Kuittinen confirmed via the official blog that Stardust did indeed receive a noticeable performance boost in 2D owing to the resulting work carried out in order to get the title running suitable in 3D. Surprisingly most of the work done in getting the game running in 3D was done without an actual 3D HDTV.

“We had the first 3D version of SSHD running in autumn 2009. We didn’t have a proper 3D television at that time and we had to use paper anaglyph red-and-green (or cyan to be exact) glasses to see the 3D image on our monitors. The images we could produce didn’t even have proper color in them, but it was still really impressive.”

For 2D the developers have upper the level of anti-aliasing from 2x to 4xMSAA in 720p, and for 1080p now have the game rendering in full 1920x1080 and at 60fps with no AA. Previously the game rendered at 1280x1080 for 1080p mode, with the PS3 then performing a horizontal upscale to 1920 resulting in some loss of sharpness and some minor upscalng atifacts.

The difference is easily noticeable with 720p looking cleaner and more jaggie free than before, and 1080p now looks mind-blowingly sharp. Both at 60fps too, which makes this upgrade all the more impressive.

Similar improvements can be found in the game’s split-screen mode as well. Before Stardust would only run at 30fps in this mode, but after the upgrade it is running in 60fps matching the single player game.

Both Housemarque Ilari Kuittinen certainly seemed impressed with what they have achieved, and so they should be as nobody really expected full resolution 720p and 60fps for the game running in 3D.

“3D certainly has a bright future ahead and we are happy that we had a chance to develop the first 3D PS3 game that runs 720p resolution in 60fps for both eyes, meaning that we are actually having 3D SSHD running in 120fps!”

A recap of the updates listed below as on the official PlayStation blog:

- 3D mode of the game running 720p at 120fps (60fps per eye)
- 2D mode of split screen co-op mode updated from 30fps to 60fps
- 4x antialiasing support in 720p and native 1920×1080p support in 2D mode

You should also check out the blog entry too, as it has a few insightful details on how the upgrade was achieved.

Editorial: 3D Visions - The Next Arms Race?

The lure of 3D to the gaming industry is no more surprisingly than the increased focus on the format in recent film production, with many new releases being retrofitted for screenings in 3D in order to generate that extra buzz required to bring more people into the cinema. Everyone it seems is after a piece of the pie, and given the renewed public interest in viewing movies down at the local picture house it was only a matter of time until some of gaming’s big guns got on board.


Cineworld recently reported a 17% increase in ticket sales directly as a result of 3D movie screenings, and most of which were at the higher price charged for seeing a film in 3D. The effect it has had for the film industry has not gone unnoticed, with various high profile game developers stating that this new format could well be the future of videogaming as a whole.

Many state the incredibly accurate depth perception that comes from using the format, along with the increased levels of immersion when putting the player visually closer to the action - taking them perhaps further into the game than ever before - as the main reason for pushing forward with the tech.

Perhaps in this case 3D does more for most games that it does for most films. Improving our judgement of space and distance on a 2D display, separating images clearly from one another allowing us to truly experience more life-like scenarios than ever before. For gaming, the use of 3D, and in coordination with motion controls opens us up to a world in which we can feel really connected in a way that a film never could. And it’s this feeling which has driven many software developers and hardware companies into investing in its future.

With the DS in its fifth year, and the two most powerful current-gen consoles in a strong battle of one-upmanship over features, 3D represents a clear path for at least one of those two companies to distinguish themselves. Sony in particular - going for the ‘it does everything’ impression with the PS3 - sees 3D as their next milestone in gaming, hoping to become synonymous with the format in time for the next generation of consoles still a few years away.

Despite support for the format from Microsoft (although more concerned with Natal at this point) Sony in particular want to be seen as ‘the company’ who delivers the most cutting-edge of all 3D content, lining up a barrage of compatible titles at this year’s E3.

Sony are clearly aiming at the high-end here, with the prices of 3D enabled HDTV’s starting around £1700 and going up to at least £2200 for Panasonic’s reference level VT20. Admittedly not cheap, and certainly out of the mainstream user’s standard price range, which means that any uptake is going to be rather slow and distinctly pedestrian at first.

However, Sony and many other publishers see a potentially bright future going down the 3D route, ensuring their focus is strong and their software line-up defining enough to make a dent in peoples impressions. Plus in a few years time it is expected that most 3D compatible tellies will be available from at least 37” as the norm, with some smaller high-end 32” models also featuring the tech. Eventually though, every single HDTV will support the format, and its inclusion will read out like another check-box feature such as ‘100Hz processing’ or ‘HD Ready 1080p’.

Clearly this is just what Sony are counting on, and their aim to deliver the definitive 3D experience in light of this potential is understandable. Sure, it may take a few years for the tech to become widely adopted by the mainstream, and the overall cost associated with development may well go up (inevitable regardless of the inclusion of 3D), but at least they could have a much stronger position in the market as a result. Or that’s how they appear to be looking at it, adopting a standard long before it has any real presence in the consumer domain and turning it around so that it does in fact become prevalent. It’s this forward-thinking approach which catapulted the PS2 to worldwide success, but which also stalled the initial uptake of the PS3 with the insistence on pushing BluRay.

Nintendo on the other hand, are trying something altogether different. Once again they are focusing on the handheld market, in which they’ve held nothing but a dominant position since they first unleashed the GameBoy to the masses some twenty years ago. With 3D they have found a clear gap in which to exploit, however gimmicky it initially appears, and this could indeed set them apart from other manufactures in the handheld space. Yes, I’m talking about the 3DS.

Nintendo’s latest handheld is likely to be a very affordable entry into the world of 3D – below £200 price point is likely – and with complete backwards compatibility guaranteed for all NDS and DSi titles they won’t be alienating their existing user base, simply building right on top of it. Also, if rumours are to be believed the company has something else up its sleeve with the 3DS outside of its auto-stereoscopic screen.

Currently, the effect of viewing 3D images on such a small scale is relatively unproven, though somewhat tantalising, and its use in at least one Japanese smart phone has apparently yielded promising results. And perhaps this is the reason behind the push forward into that realm of an extra dimension, not only because hardly anyone else has done this before, but because Nintendo have a clear track record of taking something untested and making it work in areas others have failed (VitualBoy aside).

Disruption like with the NDS and the Wii, is the key here. They need something other than motion controls and the touch screen - which Apple have made their own, and which Sony are no doubt eying up for PSP2 - to once again separate themselves from others in the market, and they know it. 3D is one of those things, but with the option to turn it off, not the only one it seems. More surprises then? All will be revealed at E3.

Like with Sony, Nintendo not only hopes to capture a large chunk of the market, along the hearts and minds of gamers everywhere, but instead also intend to be the first ones to bring affordable 3D tech into the home. The 3DS with its estimated sub-£200 price point (I’m gambling on £169.99 or 179.99 as the clincher) has far more potential at opening up the gaming mass-market to 3D technology, in both the handheld space and the home consumer market than the exuberant price tags that accompany bleeding-edge 3D HDTV’s.

Being cheaper and more affordable is a start, but they need more than price on their side. They need to impress. But what if this new technology turns out to be something of substance, really visually impressive on the small scale? It could convince many people into buying one of those expensive 46”+ size HDTV’s we mentioned earlier, thus in turn actually helping Sony and their high-end approach to 3D gaming, and industry adoption of the format in general.

Looking at it this way, it’s not hard to see that the consumer is presented with what looks like a win-win scenario, with both ends of the pricing scale accommodated for. I also imagine that Microsoft will begin driving forward 3D support in conjunction with Natal if the PS3’s attempt to capture this new market gains momentum, especially if it has a noticeable impact in 3D HDTV sales – more TV’s sold means more opportunities for pushing the format, and greater sales potential for all that extra work. Sales of current HDTV’s jumped with the advent of high-def consoles, and then exponentially so with the eradication of standard-def CRT’s from the market.

Either way, the thing to remember is that the notion of 3D isn’t particularly new, and it will take a few years of price reductions on HDTV’s, and impressive software to convince the consumer to invest. The glasses also are another hindrance, heavier and more bulky than their cinema equivalent. Even then, it’s hard to expect any revelations, or even a major impact on the console front before the next-generation of systems is upon us. 3DS aside, which looks to comfortably occupy its own space, for now anyway. In the end the seeds are being sewn, and the groundwork being laid. All that’s left is to see how we as consumers perceive the road lying ahead, and whether or not this is indeed the path we’d like to go down.

Other than trying to predict what might happen , something tells me that this story is going to be particularly interesting, it could in effect usher in a new level of interactive entertainment with both 3D and motion controls at the forefront. Or it could simply fall flat on its backside, another reminder of what happens when the industry tries to push something that just isn’t ready. The death of classic gaming this is not, that’s for certain. But a mere an expansion into areas that bring us closer to the games we play, and the worlds we get so immersed in.

Near defining statements aside, all shall be revealed at this year’s E3 in two days time. There we will have a better view on just what each manufacturers plans are for the format, and how this much-talked about 3D thingy finally fits into place.

Gran Turismo 5 To Feature 3D, Move Support?

This week more rumours have surfaced as to the increasing delays surrounding Polyphony Digital’s flagship driving game. According to the trade publication MCV, sources close to Sony are saying that the latest instalment in the GT franchise, due for release sometime this fall in the US and in Europe, will support both 3D visuals and inclusion of PlayStation Move control options.

The source goes on to state that the numerous delays that have been constantly pushing back the game, is due to the developers needing extra time in order to properly include these two new features.


Previously, Sony, when displaying the PS3’s upcoming 3D enabled capabilities, have nearly always showcased Gran Turismo 5 to demonstrate the depth effect 3D provides in more realistic circumstances. It is a known issue that rendering games in 3D takes considerably more processing power than to render the same scene in 2D, as most objects essentially need to be rendered twice before the two are combined to form a final 3D image. Usually, the resolution or framerate takes a cut as a result of this.

In GT5’s case, the game was displayed at 720p and running at 60 frames per-second, something that would require a great degree of optimisation. So it is perfectly believable that a lot of extra work and optimisations would need to be done.

So far Sony have failed to comment, although with previous demos shown off to the press, the 3D part of the rumour is at least likely to be true.

Gran Turismo 5 has been in development since late 2004, and has cost an estimated 65 million dollars to make so far. According to director Kazunori Yamauchi, the game is around 90% complete, and is due for a late summer release in Japan, with the US and Europe hopefully getting the game by the end of the year.

With E3 2010 just around the corner, it is likely more information about the game will be forthcoming from the event.

Sony Revises Slim PS3 Internals

Over the last two months or so there has been a growing worldwide shortage of PlayStation 3 consoles. Most people that I have spoken to seemed to have believed that this was due to the increasing demand for the machine whilst Sony struggled to make enough to go around, especially in lieu of their hard hitting ad campaigns for both Heavy Rain and God Of War 3.

However, like with most hardware shortages there is something else at work behind the scenes. In this case an internal revision of the insides found in both the 120GB and 250GB model slim PS3’s. First discovered at a site called PocketNews, we lay out the info for you right here at IQGamer.


The latest revision of the console, which should come with the CECH-2100A model number, features a new 45nm size RSX GPU shrunk down from its existing 65nm production node, and keeps the existing 45nm version of the CELL CPU from a previous process reduction. With this also comes a smaller cooling solution, and a lighter power supply unit, which naturally draws less electricity to match the reduced power in put required by the internals.

In addition to these changes, the system’s traditional use of four separate 64MB XDR RAM modules has been replaced with two 128MB versions instead. Again keeping overall costs and complexity down. The motherboard has also seen a reworking in order to accommodate these new components, being simpler to construct, and cheaper as a result.

With all the changes at hand inside the machine, it makes this latest revision of the slim PS3 the cheapest, coolest running, and most power efficient version of the console yet. This should translate into an increase in revenue made on each console, maybe even allowing a route to another price drop further down the line. Seeing as both Natal and PlayStation Move being launched in fall of this year, Sony are clearly positioning themselves to allow a better degree of flexibility on both machine pricing and maximising their revenue stream, with an eye, no doubt, into closing the ever smaller gap between both PS3 and 360 consoles.

Now that these new PS3 slims are rolling off the production line and into stores, there should be an end in sight for the shortage that has hampered PS3 sales recently. I expect there to be an abundance of shiny new consoles at your local retail outlet in the next couple of weeks. If not, then shortly thereafter.

Update: It has since been confirmed by Sony that the process node used for the new RSX inside these latest slim consoles is in fact a 40nm one, and not at 45nm as originally thought. This is rather surprising news, seeing as nobody thought that Sony would be using its 40nm fabrication process for its PS3 GPU. It was original going to be used for memory components only.

Sony Outlines 3D Plans

Today at the 3D Gaming Summit in Los Angeles, Sony’s David Coombes (Platform Research Manager) discussed plans for the upcoming 3D enabling PS3 firmware update, talking about how it will affect the machine’s performance in actual game scenarios, whilst also detailing ways to curtail certain issues using a game’s existing engine, and code base. Specifically he mentioned using an existing split-screen game engine as the base for rendering the two separate images required for 3D to be displayed, as the extra work has in theory been mostly carried out already. But more on that later.

Coombes specified that the firmware responsible for delivering 3D content via the PlayStation 3, would be released in two separate waves. The first allowing the option of playing 3D enabled games on the system; and the second, to allow the playback of 3D Blu-Ray movies, which should arrive soon after the initial update. Part of the plan is to have the PS3 at the forefront of the 3D home revolution, or so they hope, along with their flagship range of Bravia 3D ready LCD TVs coincided for release at around the same time as the firmware update.

In terms of game development in 3D, Coombes confirmed that for a game to be playable in 3D it would have to have been coded and designed for the medium in order for it to work. Meaning that unless a game is specifically written to take advantage of the 3D technology, it won’t be displayed in 3D. Sony will not be providing any kind of post-process 3D conversion software into the firmware update, stating that whilst it would be possible, they are leaving that for other TV manufacturers to do.

Instead Coombes proposed a series of solutions in order to help ease the performance burden of having to develop with 3D in mind. For example rendering a scene in 3D takes roughly twice the computational power than that of rendering in traditional 2D, with each frame having to be drawn twice. However not all aspects of the scene need to be handled this way. Coombes gave the example of shadows, which are generally flat, and could easily be shared between left and right frames used to make up the 3D image as a way of rendering certain objects only once for each frame. These objects, or graphical effects, would have to be made up of ones which have no-3D information, or rather, no depth buffer, in order for the process to work. The savings however, can lead to a performance boost or could be used to leverage the remaining GPU power for other optimisations.


Some games though, are already ripe for an easier 3D conversion process. Coombes highlighted titles which featured a split-screen two player option as having most of the graphical optimisations already needed for a quicker route into rendering in true 3D. Essentially 3D works by rendering two individual frames, one for each eye, and uses shutter glasses to alternate each image to for form a single frame displayed to the user. With split-screen rendering the engine is basically drawing everything on screen twice, requiring very few optimisations in order to work in the context of creating a 3D image. Using this as a starting point, it could allow developers to better optimise their titles, keeping higher framerates and more detail that otherwise might have been lost.

PS3 3D games, and 3D Blu-Ray movies will be compatible with all 3D enabled HDTVs that meet the HDMI 1.4 standard. The ‘3D Ready’ official standard in the UK also means that TVs displaying the slogan will be compatible with all PS3 games and Blu-Rays that are available in this format. Also, in terms of scaling, it was reaffirmed that the PS3 would scale the 3D output to whatever resolution was supported by the users HDTV (720p, 1080i and 1080p), depending on which check boxes have been ticked in the ‘Display Settings’ menu in the XMB.


Lastly, Sony revealed that final 3D software development kits have been in developer’s hands since January this year, and announced that they would be showing off a whole host of 3D enabled titles at E3 later on this year. Along with this, Sony reiterated the list of known compatible titles including PAIN, Wipeout HD, and Motorstorm Pacific Rift.

With 3D being the buzzword of the moment, and with gaming potentially leading the way on early uptake of this latest display technology, we at IQGamer will be following its development very closely.

PS3 3D Support Confirmed For This Summer

We’ve talked about 3D before at IQGamer, about the ramifications on how it could affect game design, as well as the possibilities in providing an experience that is literally closer to home. However this 3D revolution could actually be hitting you sooner than you might think, especially since by this summer, most of the large flat panel manufacturers will have 3D enabled displays finally on sale.

Sony are one such manufacturer, and whilst in the past there has been speculation as to when exactly the firmware update will arrive to enable the PS3 for 3D output, possibly hinting at it appearing in time for the launch of their first 3D Ready HDTV, it has now officially been confirmed by Sony themselves.

The company plans to launch their first 3D enabled TV in Japan on June 10, a 46-inch 1080p Bravia LCD screen, costing around 350,000 yen. Panasonic are also planning to launch a 3D HDTV in time for this summer. Their flagship 50 inch VT20 3D Ready Plasma is set for release in early May, right here in the UK, and is a screen which borrows some of the legendary technology used inside Pioneer’s exceptional Plasma displays. Some leaked shots of Firmware 3.20 confirmed the plan to offer PS3 owners with a 3D solution earlier this year, and now a report on Japanese site AV Watch dates its release for this June.


This report has since been officially confirmed by Sony themselves, and just yesterday, Sony engineer Ian Bickerstaff, in an interview with Gamasutra, speculated on what kind of initial uptake to expect, and how development studios themselves were planning for a potential 3D revolution.

"I think (3D gaming uptake is) going to depend on the uptake of 3D televisions. We're not going to spend crazy, crazy amounts of money (on 3D games) expecting everyone tomorrow to have 3D TVs, clearly. But, we believe this is the future, and three or four years from now, you won't be able to buy a television that doesn't have a 3D capability."

"To be honest, we have not had an internal project to throw at people to make their games in 3D, yet there are loads of games in 3D, like MLB 10, Super Stardust HD - that looks fantastic - and so on," he said. "And that's really just because of the enthusiasm from the developers themselves."


He also added that Sony as a company were taking the cautious approach, but were very optimistic with the potential by going down that particular (3D) route. By the same token, he also stated that it would take time for 3D to really take off in the home, boiling down to how fast an uptake there is with people buying 3D TVs.

How fast will it take for 3D to finally hit the mainstream? Well that all depends on the price of entry, as well as the ability to buy a 3D TV in a smaller screen size, such as a manageable 32-inches, or something similar. Currently all 3D offerings are at least 42-inches or above, with pricing starting at over £1000, not something anyone will be able to rush out and buy. However, with 120hz accepted input and 3D support likely to be integrated into all new HDTVs in the future; it’s perhaps only a matter of time before it becomes another standard check-box feature to tick off your list.

We look forward to finally getting our hands on at least one 3D enabled display at IQGamer. You never know, hopefully someone will be kind enough to let us to sample the mighty Panasonic VT25 upon release, but we doubt it.

Editorial: Preowned & Project Ten Dollar

The debate over the second-hand (preowned) market has been a thorn in the side of both retailers and publishers. With supermarkets selling games at below cost price, retailers have responded by pushing preowned further into the public eye, and publishers are left feeling short-changed by the lack of any income via sales of used games, determined to claw back some of the money they have lost, which once would be found in selling brand new releases of older titles at cheaper prices. All the while retailers are constantly upping their prices of preowned games whilst reducing or keeping the trade-in price low. Consumers on the other hand are buying more games than ever, playing through more, and exchanging them more regularly as to keep being able to purchase new titles as soon as they are released.


It’s all a bit on the messy side, with different views held up high by all three parties, and a behind the scenes battleground between retailers and publishers, consumers caught right in the middle. As always with such complex matters, it’s neither simple, not elegant finding a solution, and sometimes perhaps, requires all individuals concerned to give up a little in order to do what’s best for everyone in the long run.

At the forefront of this is something EA like to call ‘project ten dollar’. It is a policy which entails the company providing a sizable chunk of downloadable content for a game at launch, for no extra cost to the consumer, redeemable via a download code contained inside the box. The first release to feature this was Mass Effect 2 with a code for the ‘Cerberus Network’ included in the box, and this will be repeated with the forthcoming Battlefield Bad Company 2, which is said to include a large chunk of DLC available from day one, all included for your standard £39.99 when you buy the game. Like with most DLC codes it can only be redeemed once, so anyone buying the game used will have to fork out $10, or what will probably be around £10 in British money, to get the extras.


Sony however, seem to be taking things a step further, by actually making standard features locked out on the actual game discs, until the gamer uses a redeem code inside the box to enable access. The game in question is the latest Socom title for PSP, in which the multiplayer mode is locked out until you activate the code contained in the box online. For users who purchase a preowned copy, they are expected to pay up a fee of around $20 to get the code from Sony. Now seeing as Socom is a primarily online title it isn’t as bad as it sounds, although not allowing people to play what is arguably the point of the game just because they bought it second-hand, is perhaps just a bit too unreasonable for many consumers to accept.

The EA system however doesn’t sound too shabby, and actually provides a good reason for you to pay up a few quid extra over a second-hand copy for the privilege. Certainly for people like me who only buy new (unless it’s sealed) can feel rewarded for supporting developers, and hopefully which will lead to new IP and more niche titles being made - though I’m sceptical on this front. It’s almost a win/win situation, except for the fact that not everyone can afford to buy a new game at launch.


There are many gamers who rely on trade-ins to be able to afford new releases, and part of that appeal is a reasonable trade in price, one which brings down the cost of the game to that of a much older title. For example, after playing Bioshock 2 I could trade that game in for around £22 and get the money off something like Heavy Rain, paying only £18 rather than the full £40 if I were just to buy the game outright. For younger games, students, and people who aren’t on a high income, it allows them to purchase a greater number of games per year than if they couldn’t trade their old ones in. The publisher’s still get their share of the profits by the retailer buying stock of the game in the first place, and the gamer goes home happy because they’ve saved some money. It could be argued that more people trading in equals more people buying games. In addition it also means that more people are likely to spend their money on unproven titles rather than just the big AAA releases, which surely benefits new IP to an extent.

However the grey area, and the one that is offensive to so many publishers, is the fact that once a game is traded-in and sold by the retailer, they make absolutely no money from that sale. In addition if a consumer trades-in their old games for a preowned title, the publishers make no money. The worst cases are when gamers are trading in a copy of last week’s new release for a preowned version of this week’s newest hit, traded in only a few days after release and sold for a huge mark up by the retailer. Again the publishers don’t see any of those profits. Also an added problem with this, is that they cannot judge how well a game that didn’t do well at launch has sold later on down the line. Titles like Mirrors Edge and Dead Space have become cult classics (especially Dead Space) through strong sales of cheap preowned versions, brought on by via word of mouth recommendations, and good reviews about the game by the press. Of course, it would help that publishers were at least getting a cut of these late sales, as it would help in funding future new projects based on new ideas, or niche avenues.


The big issue here, is that many publishers and people inside the industry believe that preowned games de-value the price, and perceived worth of new releases, especially when the mere notion of trading-in week on week for new titles incites that your hard-earned work, costing millions of dollars, becomes effectively nothing more than a disposable item, rather than something for people to keep and enjoy over a long period of time. This is something the likes of EA and many other publishers are trying to reverse. You only have to look back as little as seven or eight years ago, when new versions of games were still selling quite well as a brand new item months after release, yet at a reduced price which still gave the publisher back some income, whilst providing a cheaper alternative for consumers. Effectively you could keep selling a new version of the game for much longer than you can now, benefiting all of the industry whilst at the same time allowing games to consistently pick up older titles without the lottery of seeing if they had been traded in.

This is something that I myself would like to see, a greater selection of new stock available in store when compared to the huge selection of used available, not always in good condition. Indeed, when browsing non-specialist stores there seem to be many back catalogue titles available new, whilst at the big specialist chains you mostly only have the option of buying an alternative second-hand copy.

So what if ‘Project Ten Dollar’ does become a success for publishers, what will that mean for the industry?

For retail, initially it would have the effect of reducing the selling price of preowned games; in addition the trade-in price would also be lowed to maintain the sometimes-ridiculous amount of margin retailers make on, to keep profits up so new releases can be sold for less than RRP to compete with supermarkets and other discount happy outlets. It would also mean an even harder push towards the cheaper preowned alternative as well as accessories sales, damaging the once good customer service even further into the hard sales culture it has become.

Consumer wise, they would benefit by getting extra content previously reserved for quick release DLC a few months down the line, an added extra to say thank you for buying new. Although some publishers and developers may try to cut down the game intentionally to promote this ‘benefit’, when in reality you could be ending up with exactly the same product before this whole ‘Ten Dollar’ idea came to market. It might also become harder for certain gamers to be able to afford new releases, instead choosing to wait until the price goes down on the new version, or instead just buying a cheaper preowned copy after a price reduction, sans later buying the DLC. Alternatively people may be turned further towards piracy and illegal downloading, chipping their consoles to get their fix. Of course most will simply, I imagine, be more than happy to pay up the full £40 more often, especially if it means that they will see the money being channelled into new ideas and IP in addition to the usual AAA blockbuster releases (I know that I would).

Publishers will naturally get a greater slice of the retail pie than with what there getting at the moment, so long as sales of new titles don’t slow down as people may decide to hold off buying, or simply may no longer have the money to do so. In effect publishers could go back to having a new copy available in the shelves for longer, gradually over the year reducing its price in small increments allowing more gamers to pick up the title as an alternative to preowned, thus making more income from the same title over and over. This potentially would mean the end of selling large AAA titles such as Call Of Duty for the full £40 some two years after its release, especially if they don’t want customers picking up the cheaper used alternative.


These however, are only some of the changes which might take place in our much loved, but often-contradictory industry. It’s far too early to accurately gauge just what will happen, how retailers, publishers, and consumers will react, as well as to how far reaching the implications will be. One thing’s one certain though, it will make for a long and interesting debate, one which is sure to spurn on a wealth of ideas, along with an obligatory backlash and leaving many confused as to just what is going to happen.

With piracy, price discounting and preowned all presenting the industry each with its own set of problems, each interlinked with one another, it’s only fair that the industry finds new avenues to explore profit and self-preservation, whether it be with DLC, bonus code incentives for new games, or simply by thinking outside traditional consoles altogether.

Either way we at IQGamer will be following these events closely.

For more thoughtful discussion and insights into other issues surrounding the gaming world as a whole, be sure to check out gamesindustry.biz for another informative read.