In an interview with MCV, UKIE Chairman Andy Payne explained that the PC chart is more complicated than an XBLA or PSN one. He went on to say that they were now in talks with both online services and talked about why they hadn’t begun with them first before the PC. He said ‘At the time, people were touchy about data. But attitudes have changed amongst content owners and platform holders.”

This news will be no doubt welcomed by most people, but there are some who feel this transitional stage of all games becoming digital could have a negative impact on the market. The folk over at VideoGamer are pleased to see this kind of action being taken meanwhile, saying ‘it is an important step to get digital charts up and running now,’ so as to avoid what happened when Steam and other similar services launched and as a result the PC games market lost out on sales.

This threat is imminent for consoles as future consoles are likely to embrace digital distribution, for example the OnLive console has already begun enjoying some success as there is a gap in the market for consoles such as these. What do you think of the introduction of console download charts? Will it benefit console gaming?

More About: ps3, UKIE, Xbox 360

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According to an article over at MP1ST the new patch has been released for all consoles to download. This was recently promised by Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling, and the Thanksgiving patch is expected to fix problems with lag, rank loss problems, and matchmaking.

The size of the download is 4MB for the Xbox 360 and 21MB for the PlayStation 3, and it should become available as soon as you log into the multiplayer section of the title. Currently there are no official notes to accompany the latest update, but it has been promised that Bowling will reveal what the already released patches have sorted at a later date.

Currently feedback has suggested that some of the issues have been fixed but not for everyone. Some have said the lag is now gone but others are saying it still exists. While the update is still being pushed out across the world it won’t become clearer until more users have used the game after updating.

Have you downloaded the update? Have you noticed any issues?

More About: infinity ward, MW3, ps3, Xbox 360

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Currently both consoles are the only HD devices available until Nintendo launch the Wii U next year, and according to an article on Industry Gamers developers feel the PS3 has more to offer now than the Xbox 360. There has been talk recently that both systems were reaching their limits now and didn’t have much shelf life left in them, but some still think there is life in them yet.

Julien Merceron of Square Enix feels that back in the early years of the consoles many consumers felt the Xbox 360 games were better, but now things are different. He added that the PS3 still has some major improvements that can be made to it with regards to “parallelization and using more of the CPU for graphics tasks”.

By the end of the current life cycle of the current generation Merceron feels that many consumers will think the PS3 graphics are better if developers spend the time to really push the console. Meanwhile Yosuke Hayashi of Team Ninja also thinks the PS3 will have a slight edge over the Xbox 360 in the final years of both the systems. Because the PS3 was a year later to come out he feels it has “a slight advantage in performance”.

Owners of either system could argue all day about which system is better, but at the end of the day they both have their pros and cons. The Playstation 3 may arguably have better graphics, but the Xbox has the Kinect that looks to have plenty more to offer than what we have seen so far.

Do you think the PS3 has the edge over the Xbox 360?

More About: microsoft, ps3, sony, Xbox 360

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In the build up to its release, Sony has announced their plans to launch an Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception PlayStation 3 bundle at the same time the game is released. It will be a limited edition that offers a copy of the game as well as a month subscription to PlayStation Plus, free of charge and a 320GB PS3 console all for $299.99.

So far the deal has only been confirmed to be available to the US, with no word of a similar deal in the UK or Europe as of yet. CVG believe it won’t be long however, before we do hear about a similar offering elsewhere, judging from the backing Sony is giving the game. However the game won’t be out in the UK until November 2nd.

We recently brought you an article comparing which storylines will be wining your hearts out of this PS3 exclusive and the Xbox 360 exclusive Gears of War 3. Both games belong to successful franchises and will already have a well-established following, but most people will only be able to play one or the other. We also revealed some special edition content you can expect from the game in another article, which consists of an in-game multiplayer bonus and a manual which folds out into a map.

Are you looking forward to Uncharted 3’s release? Will you be getting the limited edition PS3 bundle?

More About: naughty dog, ps3, Uncharted 3

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The research for the study was carried out by students at Nottingham Trent University from the Gaming Research Unit team. During their study they discovered that out their 42 interviewees, a lot of them began describing similar experiences to each other, nothing harmful although clearly a result of excessive use. They were talking about transferring game elements temporarily into their real life, for example seeing falling blocks after playing Tetris for a long time.

Until now this experience, despite being a common phenomenon, had not been given a category or distinction, which is why the team named it Game Transfer Phenomena. Of course as soon as the results were publicized, the press snapped at the chance to blow it out of proportion, claiming that gamers were unable to distinguish the real-world from fantasy or the gaming world, much to the horror of the head of the Gaming Research Unit, Dr. Mark Griffiths, as this wasn’t the conclusion of their research at all.

According to The Guardian, Dr. Griffiths dismissed the claims by the press saying ‘This idea that players can’t tell the difference between reality and fantasy is just nonsense,’ explaining that from their interviews ‘it’s clear that gamers fully realize they’re not in a video game – they’re just taken back to it.’ He then summed up the study stating ‘We’re not saying this is a new phenomenon, we’re trying to categorize all the different types of experience.’

What are your views on this study? Do you agree that this phenomenon proves that excessive gaming is dangerous?

More About: ps3, Xbox 360

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The report comes from an article at Myona which compares two gameplay screenshots, one from each console, that were released by EA Sports. The images are both identical in the sense of the camera angles and both featuring an image mid-match between Chelsea FC and Newcastle United. The pictures seem to confirm that the textures on the PS3 version are a little more crisp than on the Xbox version.

The article also reveals that the resolutions used in these images are both 1250 x 703, which means it falls just short of the full HD standard. This could be the developers attempt at making the gameplay run more smoothly. While graphics play a large part in game quality as far as I’m concerned, a game like FIFA 12 will be an exception as it is all about the gameplay, so this news is not too bad.

While the difference between the two screenshots is by no means a significant one, as a PS3 owner I personally am glad and secretly satisfied that I will be experiencing the ‘better’ version and I’m sure those Xbox 360 owners will be a little disappointed that once again their console is being out performed. Check out the images below and see the difference for yourself

What do you think of the difference in graphics with two images? Will it make a difference to you?

PS3 version:

Xbox 360 version:

More About: EA Sports, FIFA 12, ps3, Xbox 360

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Hooked Gamers originally reported this morning that the game would be too large to fit onto a single Blu-ray disc, since then they have explained that there was mistake made in the translation from their source and later updated to report that Doom 4 is shaping up to include more content on the PlayStation 3 than on the Xbox 360, due to the size issues.

We previously brought you news that L.A Noire developers were forced to cut some of the final build of their game as it would not have fit onto one Blu-Ray disc. Today’s news comes from an interview with John Cormack at Quakecon where, in response to the question whether Doom 4 would feature the same updated graphics that the Rage PC demo featured, he explained that they were not sure how much data the final build of the games would take up. He also suggested that there may be a wait for the next-gen consoles if the build ends up being too big as they will use larger storage discs.

According to Hooked Gamers, in the same interview Cormack also revealed that he intends to make a Rage 2. The first Rage game is expected to be gracing the markets October 4th and PC gamers can expect a Super Texture pack, which adds enhanced graphics not long after.

Are you hoping to see Doom 4 soon or would you rather the developers wait for the next-gen consoles?

More About: Doom 4, L.A. Noire, ps3

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The answer from the UK government is that it is their policy not to use water cannons or bring in the army, and at the time of writing we can see on Sky news that a business women had to hide in another room to make two phone calls to the police while her friend was being beaten up, the police never came. What shocks us is if people start dying in the fires and London riots, will the UK still not bring in the army? When you are in need of help and your life is on the line, you call the police and expect help to come, this is not happening because they’re overstretched.

Social media sites have helped the yobs spread their message to others involved in the riots, and mobile phones have been used to record the disgusting behavior. While most of these rioters seem to be very young, this brings to question where are the parents, they could be affecting a lot of their friends that own a PS3. This is thanks to the Sony DADC (Digital Audio Disc Corporation) location in Enfield being set on fire, which is apparently where Sony games get packaged and pressed for Europe.

According to razzamataz.net this is also where some PC games get pressed, and the manufacturing of Blu-Ray, UMDs, DVDs, and CDs. They also report that this could delay the release of games on the PlayStation 3, and other Sony platforms, some people worry PS Vita. It’s a shame as the buildings also include a high tech research lab that works on cutting edge optical technology, which means these yobs are really hurting their country.

We’ll update you when we know the extent of damage to Sony’s facility, although some rumors point to looters carrying away Sony tech. You can see a video of the fire here.

More About: London, ps3, sony

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However, while the Welcome Back Package is still available, it comes along with some bad news that some users with a paid for PlayStation Plus subscription are having problems accessing their content for this month as part of the most recent update to the PlayStation Store.

If you do have a PSN+ account and pay for it, you’ll see that you can’t access the content available as part of this month, content which includes the likes of PSN games Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars, Golden Axe and also a PS1 classic game in Legacy of Kain amongst other minor additions.

The only pleasing thing about this, is the fact that Sony are already aware of this issue, and are working on a fix asap to ensure that PSN+ members can access all the content like standard members. Unfortunately though, there hasn’t been a specific reason from Sony as to why the problem is occurring in the first place.

James Thorpe over at the PlayStation Blog has written a brief update, informing users that a fix is coming soon, as a portion of his statement reads below:

”Currently, the Welcome Back offer is not expiring and so those that have purchased a full Plus membership are not able to access the full Plus content. We are working on this problem now as a matter of priority and expect customers to see this fixed over the next few days.”

So with any luck, the problems will be fixed within a matter of days if Sony’s indication is anything to go by. On a side note, we think it’s great that gamers can still access the Welcome Back Package as we’re sure there are many gamers who still haven’t redeemed their free PS3 and PSP games, let alone the 30-day PSN+ offer.

The majority of you have though, and a recent poll we run concluded that inFAMOUS and Dead Nation were the two most popular choices out of the five games that Sony were offering as part of the free PS3 games package. We admit that this months PSN+ updates are not the most desirable, but it’s still pretty frustrating if those who have actually paid money cannot access the content properly.

If you have been having problems using the PlayStation Store recently, leave us a comment below with your experiences. Is everything back to normal for you or not?

More About: ps3, sony

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Sony has told us that firmware update 3.66 for the PS3 is a minor update which will bring better overall stability when it comes to network services and software, sadly there is no talk of new features or intuitive improvements, therefore we are sure that PS3 gamers won’t be too excited when the update arrives, that said stability improvements will not be snubbed either.

A quick check of the comments on the PlayStation Blog reveals that people want new features, some are still asking for party / cross-game chat, whilst others ask for an improved in-game XMB and the ability to send 30-60 second voice clips. One pessimistic PS3 owner just asks for Sony to make sure this update doesn’t cause the YLOD.

Currently we are not sure whether this update will be mandatory, if so after all of the recent PSN-related problems Sony will be under pressure to ensure that this firmware versions fixes more than it breaks, do you have faith in Sony? If it is a optional update will you install it? Let us know in the comments section.

Firmware version 3.66 will be the 5th PS3 firmware update of the year, if you check out this link you can see what changes each update has brought to the games console. It has to be said in terms of exciting features there has not been much of late, in fact you could argue that the last titillating update we saw arrived back in September 2010, this was firmware update 3.50 and it prepared the PS3 for stereoscopic 3D playback when watching Blu-ray discs, it also improved the console’s Facebook functionality, its spam reporting capabilities and there were also minor improvements made to the PlayStation Store and Photo Gallery.

We would love you to share your opinions in the comments section by telling us what features you would like to see brought to the PS3, we think that party chat is a given, but what other inventive improvements would you welcome?

More About: ps3, sony

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