New PS3 Bundles Include Killzone 2 and MGS 4

The PS3, as most of us are aware, hasn’t sold as well as expected and rumors of price drops have been circulating about it for quite some time, though mostly proven false. However, a new report from Kotaku might be just the clue we’ve all been looking for. Recently, Kotaku received an image from a Best Buy employee of a new PS3 bundle that will come with Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4 for $400 - the current price for a PS3 without a game.

Is this the beginning of the price cuts or is Best Buy trying to liquidate stock? Either way, this is a great deal for anyone who wants a PS3. The new PS3 bundle is, according to Kotaku,  going to hit the stores this Sunday.

Sony gives Kunimasa Suzuki a promotion

Sony Computer Entertainment has appointed Kunimasa Suzuki to Representative Director, Deputy President of SCEI effective July 1, 2009, in addition to his current role as SVP, Deputy President, Networked Products & Services Group, Sony Corporation . Suzuki will report to Kazuo Hirai, President and Group CEO, SCEI, and EVP and President, NPSG, Sony, and assist him in managing the day-to-day operations of the PlayStation business overall. He will specifically be tasked with strategy and product planning, with both divisions reporting directly to him.

Suzuki joined Sony in 1984. From April 2008 to March 2009, he served as the EVP Sony Electronics in the United States. In April 2009, Suzuki assumed the position of Deputy President, NPSG, and is now working in tandem with Kazuo Hirai in formulating strategies and business direction as well as executing various key initiatives.

Activision not keen on PlayStation family

Activision’s top executive Bobby Kotick has told The Times that his company is not keen on the PlayStation family of consoles systems. In that article Kotick has gone as far as saying that, at some point, his company may have to stop supporting the PS3 and PSP.

“They have to cut the price, because if they don’t, the attach rates [the number of games each console owner buys] are likely to slow. If we are being realistic, we might have to stop supporting Sony,” Kotick told the Times Online.

“If we are being realistic, we might have to stop supporting Sony…When we look at 2010 and 2011, we might want to consider if we support the console - and the PSP too,” he added.

If Activision actually did this it wouldn’t be good for Sony. PS3 owners would miss out on a lot of key franchises including Guitar Hero and Call of Duty. We’ll continue to follow this story as it develops.

Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce DLC released

KOEI’s first set of add-on content for Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce is available now on PlayStation Network. KOEI will offer a new Quest Pack a month for an undetermined period. Quest Pack #1 includes five new missions and challenges:

Arena Challenger - Assault Wu and gain rare materials. (Difficulty: 2)

Battle of Guan Du X - Return to Guan Du to finish the fight. (Difficulty: 5)

Multi Attack! - Use Multi Attack with your allies to take on Cao Cao. (Difficulty: 1)

Battle of Mei Castle X- Return to Mei Castle to finish the fight. (Difficulty: 5)

Ice Bi Xie Appears! - Defeat Ice Bi Xie at Hu Lao Gate. (Difficulty: 9)

For the latest updates on new add-on content visit www.koei.com/strikeforce.

Sony Under Pressure to Cut PS3 Price

Okay, okay … so we know that the console wars will never end, and as long as there are video games, there will be people staunchly defending their console of choice. Still, in business, the bottom line is all about the numbers, and Sony is starting to feel the heat as its numbers continue to drop … at least as far as video game publishers are concerned. In an article on Bloomberg, Sony is being pressured to cut the price of the PlayStation 3 in an effort to build the consoles install base with consumers. The former leader of the console market has been hit hard with its current generation of hardware, with the PS3 consistently placing a solid third in sales behind the Wii and Xbox 360. Making matters worse, U.S. sales of the PS3 have steadily declined for three months straight.

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PlayStation Home Finds Its Voice

Last Thursday, we reported on Sony adding a new patch to its Home service, which added facial hair to the avatar options while disabling the service’s voice chat capabilities. Apparently, a weekend of silence was more than enough though, as Sony has released a brand new patch to the Home beta, giving users back their collective voice … with a few conditions.

Ostensibly, the voice feature was originally dropped due to the strain the feature was putting of the service. Of course, the decision to yank the feature was probably helped by the fact that much of the chatter going on in Home was of the juvenile smack talk/pickup line variety. Now that the voice chat feature has been re-established, players will be able to go back to hitting on each other, but only in the comforts of their personal spaces and clubhouses. So, you’ll have to actually convince someone to come back to your place before you can try to talk them into “coming to your place”.

By clicking on their PlayStation Home icon on the PlayStation Network column of XMB, Home users will be automatically prompted to update to 1.05. Users who are online with PlayStation Home will need to log-off and click on PlayStation Home icon for the update to register.

Home Loses Voice, Gains Facial Hair

To say that PlayStation Home has had a lukewarm launch would probably be one of the biggest understatements of the year. The PS3’s social networking service has been plagued with server crashes, stripped features, and even reports of widespread hacking. Sony seems to be scrambling to fix things, though, as a post on the PlayStation blog is reporting that the service will be undergoing another round of maintenance today to try and fix some of the issues.

The new update, moving things up from v1.03 to v 1.04, is supposed to address “the difficulty some people are having accessing PlayStation Home due to the high demand for the service”. It also looks like Sony thinks some of the issues may be stemming from the chatter going on in Home, as the voice chat feature on the service is being “temporarily suspended”. Who knew that that smack talk and cybersex could take up so much bandwidth? Well … who besides more than three quarters of the people who ever go into virtual worlds? (Second Life anyone?)

To make up for the temporary case of laryngitis on Home, the new update will add give players something extra in their avatar closets: beards. While the selection is extremely limited, and you still can’t create the “Mirror, Mirror” style evil twin of your Home persona to blame for all your actions, there’s a nice big set of muttonchops and even a full beard/moustache combo that would do Santa proud. If nothing else, this should bring a little more diversity to the appearance of the Home population. The fairer sex, though, is out of luck. With no new additions to the female avatar toolbox, it looks like the Bearded Lady will have to be content to stick with her carnival act.