The GCN Blog is closed…

No more news will be posted on this blog.

Please head over to www.gamingconsolenetwork.com for the latest news and reviews.

The official Firmware Update 2.10 is now available for download.

Firmware 2.10 for the Playstation 3 is now live to download. This new system update enhances media playback on the PLAYSTATION 3 in a number of ways that the PS3 community has indicated are important.

DivX and VC-1 (WMV) videos become playable in the Video section of the XMB. This update also brings the PS3’s Blu-ray drive up to Profile 1.1. “Picture in Picture” and other enhancements become available on Profile 1.1 compatible Blu-ray discs.

A voice changer feature is added, enabling you to change the tone of your voice during voice or video chat.

Firmware 3.80 is also live for the Sony PSP system.

Source: http://blog.us.playstation.com/

What I think Sony needs to do to have a successful 2008.

Over the week I am going to throw out some of my own personal thoughts on what I am hoping all three game companies do going into the 2008 gaming year. This weekend I am going to start with Sony, followed by Microsoft and finally Nintendo… 

GCN Site News…

 

A little website news for you… I am in the process of getting a server name (www.gamingconsolenetwork.com) as well as a server for the site. Right now things are at a stand still until the end of 2007 (Xmas is kicking my wallet’s ass). That means there will be a whole new look and you won’t have to deal with that “wordpress” in the site name. This template (black & red) is also glitchy and generic. Its a slow process but it will happen. Gaming Console Network started 2 years ago but went down last year due to server problems (the server we had went out of business.. imagine that) so I was in limbo for about 7-8 months (and went back to NLG). I will still work at NLG but this website will be my new home as well… We got 4000 hits the last week or so… not too bad…

Thanks everybody for checking us out. We need the support… Also if anybody out there is interested in writing reviews or stories (PS3, 360, Wii, DS, PSP related) please e-mail me at gcnsean@hotmail.com . I could use all the help I can right now.   

PSN Shop Update 12/13/2007

It’s time again for the PLAYSTATION Store weekly update.

Weekly Thoughts (December 7th 2007)

This is the first of what I guess you could call a end of week thought. Hell, every blog seems to have one now. Everybody has a “end of day thought” or whatever… So here are my thoughts of this weeks gaming news…  

Games Releases for December 3rd – December 9th 2007

December 5th

Alvin and the Chipmunks (PC, Wii, DS, PS2)
Atari Classics Evolved (PSP)
Band of Bugs (PC)
Beowulf (PSP)
Dance Dance Revolution Universe 2 (360)
Draglade (DS)
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (Wii)
Pocket Pets (DS)
The Golden Compass (PSP, PS2, 360, PS3, Wii, DS)
Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2008 (DS)

December 6th

Godzilla Unleashed (Wii)
Myth Makers: Super Kart GP (DS)
Warriors of the Lost Empire (PSP)

December 8th

The Elder Scrolls: Shivering Isles (PS3)

Analysts say things looking up for Sony as PlayStation 3 sales pick up.

Things seem to be looking up for Sony Corp. After a tough first year, sales of the PlayStation 3 (PS3) are finally gaining momentum while the company’s new flat television is reviving its reputation for innovation.

Vivendi and Activision merge to form Activision Blizzard.

Activision, Inc. and Vivendi today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to combine Vivendi Games, Vivendi’s interactive entertainment business — which includes Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft, the world’s #1 multi-player online role-playing game franchise — with Activision, creating the world’s largest pure-play online and console game publisher. The new company, Activision Blizzard, is expected to have approximately $3.8 billion in pro forma combined calendar 2007 revenues and the highest operating margins of any major third-party video game publisher. On closing of the transaction, Activision will be renamed Activision Blizzard and will continue to operate as a public company traded on NASDAQ under the ticker ATVI.

Never Count A Video Game System Out.

I am really tired of reading every other day that “The Nintendo Wii is just a gimmick and will lose the system war” or “Sony will be in last place with the Playstation 3″ or “The Xbox 360 is doomed”. I just read a story on a everyday typical Gaming Blog that was talking about how the Nintendo Wii will not last against the Xbox 360 and Sony PS3. So I thought I would throw out there my personal take on this system war.

Black Friday System & Game Sales.

VGChartz has just released a list of sales for systems and games. Looks like Super Mario Galaxy has gone over the million mark. Below are the hardware sales for Black Friday week as compared to the previous week for the current platforms (PS3, 360, Wii, PSP, and DS). 

Hardware Sales, 24th Nov 2007
          Japan  America  Others Total
 DS – 120,031 684,202 521,085 1,325,318
Wii – 47,497   421,419 174,503 643,419
PSP – 90,034  194,723 82,915 367,672
PS3 – 56,211   174,045 102,631 332,887
360 – 6,006     254,680 71,785 332,471

New battery for PSP Slim coming soon.

This new battery kit will be available at retailers for $44.99 (MSRP) in mid-December. The new PSP Extended Life Battery Kit includes a 2200 mAh battery pack that can double the battery life of the new PSP model (PSP 2000). Because the extended-life battery is slightly thicker than the one that comes with the new PSP, we’ve included two custom covers in “Piano Black” and “Ice Silver.” Those of you with the original PSP (PSP 1000) may recall that we offered an extended life battery pack (the stamina battery) previously, and this battery remains compatible with that system as well.

Source: http://blog.us.playstation.com/

Greenpeace hippies at it again, this time with Nintendo, Sony & Microsoft.

Those Greenpeace hippies are at it again. This time they are rating big electronic companies. I honestly thing this report is a big joke. But this is news about the “Big Three” so here is the link to this rubbish. LOL… Nintendo scored a big fat “Zero”? Um… er… ok…

Sony releases Black Friday numbers.

 

Sony Computer Entertainment America has released statistics pointing to an upswing in sales over the Black Friday period in North America. They revealed that overall PlayStation brand sales during the week including Black Friday increased by 178%, while sales dollars increased by 154%. PlayStation 3 sales have increased by 245% compared to last year’s Black Friday sales. Further, Since November 2nd, PS3 hardware sales have increased by 298%, which includes both the 80GB and new 40GB models.

Source: http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=16378

PS3 tops Wii in sales in Japan for second week.

The sales figures from japan for the week ending November 18 are in. The PS3 sold almost 20,000 units more then the Nintendo Wii. The PS3 ended up selling 53,000 consoles while the Nintendo Wii sold 36,000. The Nintendo DS still kicked everybodys ass with 81,000 systems sold. The Sony PSP sold 66,000 systems. Sadly the Xbox 360 sold about 5,000 systems. I know people really don’t give a crap about japanese sales, but blogs are making a big stink over the fact that the PS3 outsold Wii for the second week in a row in Japan. Take it for what it is worth I guess…

Happy Thanksgiving from GCN…

Happy Thanksgiving everybody… Everybody have a great Thanksgiving and stuff yourself until you drop. Be sure to play plenty of Call of Duty 4 and Super Mario Galaxy…

GameStop’s Black Friday…

Gamestop has it’s Black Friday deals up online. Go check them out…

http://www.gamestop.com/gs/weeklyad/current/112307/default.asp?affid=3002&mc_id=1123nl

More Censorship BS in US… Senators call for Review of ESRB in wake of Manhunt 2.

 

You really have got to be kidding me. What the hell ever happened to freedom of speech and artistic freedom of expression. Sure, Manhunt 2 is bloody as hell (the way I like um…) but who gives these assholes the right to tell us what we can buy and not buy for our game systems? If kids get ahold of this game, its the parents fault, nobody elses!

Mario kicks ass and takes names in the US…

Super Mario Galaxy kicked some serious ass this week. It sold 751,322 copies in it’s American debut. Assasins Creed sold over a million copies, but this is PS3 and Xbox 360 sales combined…

PlayStation Store for PC Update.

Here is the initial content release for the PLAYSTATION Store for PC. To download these games to your PSP, navigate to http://store.playstation.com. There, you’ll find descriptions of the content and directions on how to get started.