Monthly Archives: July 2010

Yamauchi: Gran Turismo 5 Looks Like a PS4 Game‎

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It’s no secret that Gran Turismo 5 looks good. Like, REALLY good. Like “I can’t tell if this is a video game or an actual race” good. But did you know, exactly, how good it looks?

In an interview with Official PlayStation Magazine (via CVG), Polyphony Digital’s Kazunori Yamauchi reveals that “The level of precision we’ve achieved [in GT5] is actually more suited to the next generation of machines.” Also, referring to the game’s vehicles, “The detail that goes into a premium model [has] gone beyond the level of the current PlayStation,” says Yamauchi.

You heard right…Gran Turismo 5 uses technology that HASN’T EVEN BEEN INVENTED YET.

In one way, it’s easy to look at these statements as yet more hyperbole from Sony, much like how PlayStation founder Ken Kutaragi found criticism in the past for his wild statements about the capabilities of his consoles. But in this case, it’s hard to see where Yamauchi is wrong. GT5′s animations are so fluid and the details on each vehicle and even tracks are so lifelike and real, it appears to truly be the first game to come close to the breaking point where virtual reality and reality are blurred.


The detail will also extend to the game’s real-time vehicle damage. According to the OPM article, vehicles will crumpled and bent realistically to “an absurd degree” with the game’s newer vehicles all but disintegrating when they crash.

Again, this is more of the incredible attention to detail that Polyphony is known for. Gran Turismo 4, despite being a PS2 game, still featured life-like graphics that looked in ways better than close competitor Forza Motorsport on the more powerful Xbox. It seems that Gran Turism 5 will set a new standard when it releases on November 2.

Then again, what’s most frightening about this statement is that if Polyphony Digital can pull off PS4 level detail on the PS3, just imagine what they could do with an ACTUAL PS4.

PS3/PSP Minis reach 1 million downloads

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Sony has said today that their PSP, PS3 Minis have reached one million downloads.

The Minis are low-priced games available via the PlayStation Network on either the home console or the handheld.

It is unclear whether the number includes free demos, but if it does, the number is even more insignificant than it already is.

Only 1.7 percent of all PSP owners have downloaded a Minis game, compared to 51 percent of iPhone owners and 54 percent of BlackBerry owners.

Minis were released 9 months ago, and there are over 60 million PSP owners, in all variations.

Of the 86 games available, PocketGamer says the following 10 are the best-selling:

Age of Zombies (Halfbrick)
Monopoly (EA)
Fieldrunners(Subatomic)
Zombie Tycoon (Frima)
Bloons(Hands-on)
Spot The Differences! (Sanuk)
Pinball Fantasies(Cowboy Rodeo )
Mahjongg Artifacts: Chapter 2 (G5)
Yetisports Pengu Throw (Xendex)
Breakquest (Beatshapers)

PS3 To Gain Support For 3-D Movies On Blu-Ray and YouTube

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An anonymous reader writes with news that Sony is planning a firmware update for the PS3 to enable 3-D playback from Blu-ray movies and YouTube. The update is scheduled for September, and support for 3-D photos will come later. Sony’s Kaz Hirai spoke recently about how the PS3 was designed with these kinds of upgrades in mind. “Given how fast technology turns over now, we knew going in that we had to pack a lot of horsepower into the PS3. Four years ago — when you look at the console’s power and its retail price — a lot of people were critical with the fact that there was so much packed under the hood. Now we’re especially pleased to be introducing things like Move and 3-D gaming because we’re able to show tangibly why we released the PS3 with the power it has, and why it makes so much sense to future proof a console.” Sony also updated its PS3 Terms of Service to warn against too much 3-D viewing.

Hulu Plus Preview Available Now for PS3

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PlayStation Plus subscribers can now download the Hulu Plus application from the PlayStation Store.

Starting today PlayStation Plus subscribers can, after downloading the Hulu Plus application, launch it and request an invitation to the exclusive  preview.

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Hulu Plus expands their library by allowing to you view every episode aired from the current season of popular shows like glee, House, Family Guy and The Office. It also adds a  huge library of older shows, movies and documentaries. If accepted PS3 users will be required to pay the $9.99 fee Hulu is charging for access to the enhanced content.

Some would argue that the days of needing a centralized HTPC are going by the way side because of the enhanced functionality consoles are delivering to the living rooms and this is yet another example.  Between movies and television content being delivered on the PlayStation Network, Netflix, and now Hulu Plus, PS3 owners have quite a choice for their media content.