Bloodborne Expansion Confirmed By Sony

PS3 price drop due August: How will Xbox respond?

There are rumours that Sony plans to slash the price of the PS3 to around 199, with some retailers likely to offer the console as low as 179. Can the Xbox 360 compete?

With all that Playstation Network hacking nastiness, PS3 fans have had their noses put out of joint by the security problems that kept them off PSN for weeks. Some good new might be on the way, however, as industry sources are reporting that Sony will cut the price of the PS3 - meaning you could soon snap one up for less than 200.

Since the PS3 launched the rival Xbox 360 has had price as a trump card but soon the top-end Xbox is going to be the same price as a PS3 - and it doesn't have Blu-Ray to tempt you into buying.

Although there are rumours of a new Xbox console next year, nothing has been confirmed and Microsoft might have to get creative to stay competitive. Hopefully this will mean more price cuts but we expect to see better Kinect bundles and other goodies to entice gamers to the 360 side of the fence. Either way, there could be some real bargains on the way.

The PS4 Wins November

The Phantom Pain is indeed Metal Gear Solid V!

So here we are, official confirmation that the game previously known as The Phantom Pain is the fifth chapter in the Metal Gear Solid franchise. The initial trailer fooled just about no one, the internet was a blaze with MGS theories mere moments after it was shown at the Spike VGAs. Nice try Kojima!

There’s a new trailer to help fans understand what’s going on but man I gotta say I was more confused after watching it than I was before! The basic premise is that Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain are both elements of Metal Gear Solid V and what we see is the aftermath of events that transpired in Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker.

The best news is that those of us not looking forward to scraping up cash to play the game on a new system won’t have to. Metal Gear Solid V is going to release (date TBD) for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360! Hit the break to peep the full press release and hit the MGS site here to watch the 6 minute trailer.

KONAMI ANNOUNCES METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN

Next Chapter of METAL GEAR SOLID Franchise is Revealed in All-New Trailer

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - March 27, 2013 - Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced the next chapter in the METAL GEAR SOLID franchise, METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN, will be released on the Sony PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. To reinforce the announcement and address all the questions fans have been asking all year, Kojima Productions unveiled a brand new trailer for the new title at this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco.

“Following the success of METAL GEAR SOLID 4: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS, we have extremely high expectations for METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN,” said Tomoyuki Tsuboi, President of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. “We hope to expand and revolutionize the METAL GEAR SOLID franchise utilizing the FOX Engine, while providing fans the high-quality and immersive experience they have come to expect from Kojima Productions.”

First unveiled in METAL GEAR SOLID: PEACE WALKER, the new METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN trailer shows the fall of Mother Base and provides visual hints that unveil the connection between METAL GEAR SOLID: GROUND ZEROES and METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN. The trailer also showcases the FOX Engine’s exceptional level of visual quality with seamless integration of gameplay and cut scenes.For the newly released METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN trailer, please make sure to visit:www.metalgearsolid.com.

METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN will be released on the Sony PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

For more information on METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN, please visit:www.konami.com

“PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE are either registered trademarks or trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.

About Konami Group
Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. is a leading developer, publisher and manufacturer of electronic entertainment properties. Konami’s titles include the popular franchises METAL GEAR SOLID, Silent Hill, DanceDanceRevolution and Castlevania, among other top sellers. The latest information about Konami can be found on the Web at www.konami.com. KONAMI CORPORATION is a publicly traded company based in Tokyo, Japan with subsidiary offices, Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. in the United States and Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany. KONAMI CORPORATION is traded in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KNM. Details of the products published by Konami can be found athttp://www.konami.com.

PS4 Details Will Possibly Emerge This Month

Rumors are abound that Sony is set to reveal more details about the much-anticipated PS4. It was widely believed that they would use E3 to finalize details or at least give us more info but now speculation is that Sony will make an announcement as early as this month. Sony likely wants to keep the hype train rolling in their favor after the not so surprising PS4 announcement this past February.

My own personal opinion is that Sony wants to have all details available and perhaps even start taking pre-orders before Microsoft announces their next console. In January Microsoft posted a countdown to E3 on its blog which most people assumed was to be taken as a countdown to the NextBox. However there’s still a chance Microsoft will also preempt E3 with their own standalone announcement. Both consoles could possibly release by the end of 2013.

Eventually I will own both consoles but my first choice and the console I will pre-order in hopes of getting my hands on at launch will be the PS4. I think a lot of gamers have similarly made up their minds regardless of announcements. So geeks, what’s your thoughts on the impending next console generation? We’d love to hear your thoughts on what will undoubtedly be a competition that in the end can only end in a win for us gamers.

Game installs will be a mandatory thing on Xbox One.

No, no, no, not this again. We’re hearing from sources that the Xbox One will require gamers to be installed on the hard drive before playing is allowed. If for some reason you want to take that new game over to a buddy’s house, you would have to pay a fee to MS just to play it. The game will be tied to one Xbox Live account, no mention yet if it can be unlinked for another account.

Yeah I hate installing games to my PS3. I have a puny 80GB hard drive and it fills up quick with all the mandatory installs. Plus who wants to buy a brand new game, rush home and then wait while 5GB of data is slowly transferred to their deck? Not I that’s for sure. The Xbox One may have a 500GB drive but that sucker will fill up very fast with games, here’s hoping for TB drives.

What this seems like is Microsoft’s use of the Xbox One against the used games market. Sure EA ditches Online Passes but then someone still has to pay to play used. Stay tuned geeks as more info will eventually emerge.

Shelly Palmer Radio Report – February 21, 2013

Sony has officially announced the PlayStation 4. While no price or exact release date was announced, we do know it will come out later this year. Sony didn't show what the console will look like, but instead, showed off the system's new controller. It looks sort of like the PlayStation 3 controller with a touchscreen in the middle of it. The controller also has a share button, which is one of the PlayStation 4's most hyped features. You can upload game clips and even broadcast live to your friends around the world, who can watch or take remote control of your game to get you through a tough spot. Sony also announced new entries in the Infamous and Killzone franchises and said that Diablo III and Bungie's new game Destiny will come to the system. Sony said it wants to win the war against reality by offering the best gaming experience in the world. While it's still very early, it looks like the PlayStation 4 is off to a good start.

Data watchdog fines Sony £250,000 over PlayStation ID hack

Information commissioner fines company for security failures after millions of gamers' details were leaked online in 2011

Sony Computer Entertainment has been fined a record 250,000 by the data protection watchdog after the personal details of millions of gamers - including passwords and credit card numbers - were leaked online.

The privacy blunder happened in April 2011, when computer hackers targeted the Sony PlayStation Network.

The Information Commissioner's Office on Thursday said the security breach was "one of the most serious" it has handled under the Data Protection Act. The 250,000 fine is the maximum penalty awarded by the ICO against a private company.

"There's no disguising that this is a business that should have known better. It is a company that trades on its technical expertise, and there's no doubt in my mind that they had access to both the technical knowledge and the resources to keep this information safe," said David Smith, the ICO's deputy commissioner and director of data protection.

The watchdog said millions of customers were exposed to the risk of identity theft after their names, addresses, email addresses, dates of birth and account passwords were leaked online.

The ICO launched an investigation into the leak immediately after the hack in April 2011. It concluded on Thursday that the attack could have been prevented if Sony's software had been up to date, and separately found that passwords were not handled securely by the games giant.

The security breach was a huge blow for Sony, forcing its then chief executive, Sir Howard Stringer, into a humble apology and causing its share price to tumble as investors worried about the ultimate cost of the hack.

The 250,000 fine is the third largest penalty ever imposed by the ICO, with only two local authorities fined more than Sony.

Smith said: "If you are responsible for so many payment card details and log-in details then keeping that personal data secure has to be your priority. In this case that just didn't happen, and when the database was targeted - albeit in a determined criminal attack - the security measures in place were simply not good enough.

"The penalty we've issued today is clearly substantial, but we make no apologies for that. The case is one of the most serious ever reported to us. It directly affected a huge number of consumers, and at the very least put them at risk of identity theft."

The ICO did not reveal how many gamers it believes were affected by the security breach. At the time, it was estimated that as many as 100 million users may have been impacted.

It is not known who was responsible for the hack, described by the ICO as a "focused and determined criminal attack" on Sony's network. The hacking group Anonymous denied that it was involved back in May 2011, after reports quoted some members as admitting responsibility.

The data protection body said the attackers exploited a "vulnerability" in Sony's network following several distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, which overwhelmed Sony's network by flooding it with requests to load information.

The Japanese electronics giant failed to address the vulnerability even after it had spotted the unauthorised access on 19 April 2011, according to the ICO. It said that the Sony network had now been completely rebuilt.

Sony responded robustly to the fine, saying it "strongly disagreed" with the ruling and planned to appeal.

It added in a statement: "Criminal attacks on electronic networks are a real and growing aspect of 21st century life and Sony continually works to strengthen our systems, building in multiple layers of defence and working to make our networks safe, secure and resilient.

"The reliability of our network services and the security of our consumers' information are of the utmost importance to us, and we are appreciative that our network services are used by even more people around the world today than at the time of the criminal attack."

The company pointed out that the ICO found in its investigation that the "personal data is unlikely to have been used for fraudulent purposes" and that there was no evidence that encrypted payment card details were accessed.