Yup, you heard it here first (or second:P)

Sony will announce tomorrow, that has bowed to consumer pressure, by not only reducing the price of its 60GB console, but also creating a 40GB version priced at £299 to go up against the Xbox 360 Elite.

Confirmed by multiple sources in the games industry in the UK, Pocket-lint has learned that Sony Europe will officially drop the price in the UK of the games console by £56 to £369 in an attempt to boost sales ahead of the Christmas rush.

The 40GB PS3 is expected to feature WiFi, Blu-ray, and SIXAXIS controller but will lose 2x USB slots, the memory card reader, and backward compatibility chip -- not a loss for European gamers whose compatibility is ensured via software. All the changes are expected this month if the rumor holds up.

If you haven't bought a PS3 yet, now will be a good time.

This will be a great holiday.

Source.

UPDATE:

I hate it when I'm right:P.

In a recent press release Nintendo announced that all new Wii systems, Wii Remotes and Wii Play bundles will now come packaged with one of these cushy-looking Wii Remote Jackets. The new bundles are shipping out today, and expected in stores by the 15th. The design of the things completely kills the simple aesthetic Nintendo was going for with the Wiimote, while really driving home the feeling of safety with the enormous padded helmet on the top of the controller.

"We're always looking for ways to improve our products and make sure everyone has a safe and fun experience," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "Many electronics manufacturers provide similar protective covers for products like cell phones, PDAs and MP3 players."

The Wii Remote Jacket is designed to be added and removed easily, in case users want to slip their Wii Remote into an accessory like the upcoming Wii Zapper.

This is what it looks like:

Kinda ugly, but it does the job:P.

PS: Now you can safely throw them at other people (heads up!!).

Nintendo DS - Over 50 million served

I remember back when Nintendo first announced the DS. How people laughed and jeered. Two screens? What a stupid idea! Well now that stupid idea has been proven not so stupid over 50 million times. Selling a hundred times better than your average hotcake, Nintendo's handheld gamble has paid off big time. In contrast, it took them 11 years to sell 100 million Gameboys, so as PC World points out, the DS should easily surpass that if momentum continues. Huge numbers, but it still means that only .07% of the world population owns a Nintendo DS, so pick up the pace, slackers!

I need my Pokem@n!

Credit to MIKE FAHEY

If you still needed more confirmation about Sony's new PS3 model, which most believe will be a slimmed-down 40GB unit, this might be just what you need. Sony's Blu-raySavings.com lists the new model as a qualifier to receive five free Blu-ray movies once you've purchased the system.

Earlier this week, Sony spun us into a frenzy when an FCC filing was published detailing some features of the CECHG01 model. At this point, we're not too sure what Sony's waiting for as it keeps declining to comment on one of the worst-kept secrets of recent memory.

Just go ahead and announce the thing already!

Last week a special Final Fantasy VII edition of the console was released, with a production run of just 77,777 units. This week the normal versions were launched, with overall sales for the format rising from 95,487 units last week to as much as 277,794.

The downwards trend for Nintendo hardware continues to be just as dramatic, with Nintendo DS sales again falling, by over 9,000 units to a total of just 70,538 for the week. Meanwhile, Wii sales have continued to slip - down by over 1,000 units to 24,992.

However, the PSP's upturn in fortunes is not entirely straightforward, with only a fairly limited presence in the software top fifty of just eight titles - only three of which are in the top twenty-five. Overall the general trend for all formats over the last few weeks continues to be below average sales for both hardware and software.

As such, PlayStation 2 sales have slipped by almost 2,000 units to 11,373 and the PlayStation 3 by over 2,000 units to 10,732. The Xbox 360 has risen by a few hundred units to 1,687, while the Game Boy Advance family of consoles has fallen by over a half to 382 units and the GameCube is down to just 68 units.

Credit to David Jenkins.

What's up everyone?
I'm going to start a new feature in my blog: The N3ws Blog (I couldn't think of anything better:P). Well, next to surfing Gamespot, I'm also keeping tabs on the latest developments in the gaming industry. Thus, sometimes I even get the news before it's posted on Gamespot.

I'm not very fond of posting news on forums so why not post them right here in my blog:)?

Every now and then I'll post some interesting news or rumors for your reading pleasure.

Sounds interesting? Yes? No? Feel free to comment.

PS: I'm still editing the image above.

Quote of the week....

Question: Why doesn't GS give out 10's?

Cause Gamespot only gives 10s when the planets align.random user

The Halo3 ending has already been spoiled:?. Is this a new record?

Yup, that's true, only one week left and the ending has already been revealed. I'm not going to give you the link (unless you really want it).

A review for this game is imminent. I don't care what score this game gets. I'm going to play it anyway:P.

But I've got few words of advice when the review is up. Don't let your emotions affect your actions, you may regret it later. This counts for anyone who can't take criticism.

JustPlainLucas made a perfect example what might happen and I quote:P:

"Halo 3 gets a 9.5 or 10

The forums will errupt with just about every Xbox fan losing their minds. They will get drunk and disorderly and act like complete fools. "OMG HALO IS THE BEST! 9.5/10!" They'll cheer and they'll gloat and they'll boast and they'll brag and they'll rub it in the face of anyone coming near. Old women will be battered as a result of overexcitement, and little children will run screaming for their mothers as Halo fans yell in their faces, "HALO PWNS YOU!" You know how sports fans act when their team wins a championship? That's how it'll be on the forums.

For the non-Halo fans. the accusations of bias will fly rampant. There will be a ****throwing contest that not even the most adept primate will be able to compete in. I thank God that I don't work for GameSpot and am given this assignment, because my blog will be overrun with hated comments such as "OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GIVE METROID PRIME 3 AN 8.5 AND HALO 3 A 9.5/10! YOU'RE BIAS!" My PM box will somehow be hacked with a message bomb that will render my computer useless.

Halo 3 gets a 9.0 or lower

The forums will errupt with just about every Xbox fan losing their minds. They will get drunk and disorderly and act like complete fools.You thougth the backlash from BioShock was bad? You ain't seen nothin' yet. "OMG HALO 3 IS WORSE/ISNT BETTER THAN BIOSHOCK?" They'll piss and they'll moan and they'll whine and they'll pout and they'll cuss and swear in the face of anyone coming near. Old women will be battered as a result of blind rage, and little children will run screaming for their mothers as Halo fans yell in their faces, "**** FLOPSPOT!" You know how sports fans act when their team loses a championship? It'll be worse on the forums.

For the non-Halo fans. the accusations of bias will fly rampant. There will be a ****throwing contest that not even the most adept primate will be able to compete in. I thank God that I don't work for GameSpot and am given this assignment, because my blog will be overrun with hated comments such as "OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GIVE HALO 3 A 9.0 OR LOWER! HOW IS HALO 3 NOT BETTER THAN PERFECT DARK ZERO?!"

My suggestion: If you have a calm personality, the patience of an angel and you don't mind running into Halo3 spoilers, feel free to roam the forums. Otherwise, tread carefully:(. Sigh....

This series of volumes is dedicated to the cl@ssics of the past, starting from the old and memorable NES era until the Nintendo 64 and Playstation 1 era, which also featured tons of masterpieces and pioneering cl@ssics. We might even uncover some games that didn't get much attention and/or deserve some sort of a 2nd chance to get a spotlight.

Relive some memories of the good ol' days, before fanboys got blinded by beautiful visuals, before games became an expensive hobby, back when 1st, 2nd, and even 3rd-party companies released gem after gem.

I do my best to bring you games that had a great impact on the gaming industry and that stayed in the hearts of gamers. I will bring forward games that I really enjoyed playing and which got positive feedback by its reviewers. Or I might show some games that could definitely benefit from today's gaming standards through a remake/sequel.

Games that deserve a remake Vol. 6: Kid Icarus

(Wiki)"In a time where man and gods coexisted in harmony, the kingdom of Angel Land was ruled by two goddesses, Palutena the Goddess of Light and Medusa the Goddess of Darkness. While Palutena helped the mortals cultivate their crops, Medusa used the darkness to destroy their crops and turn the mortals into stone. Palutena transformed Medusa into a hideous monster and banished her into the dark Underworld.

But she assembled an army of monsters of the underworld to conquer Palutena's home, the Palace in the Sky. War erupted and Medusa's minions overwhelmed Palutena's army and seized the Three Sacred Treasures and gave them to her most powerful minions.

Defeated and imprisoned, Palutena's only hope was to seek the help of Pit, a young angel trapped in the Underworld. Using the last of her strength, she sent Pit a magical bow. Thus, Pit set out on a quest to escape the Underworld, retrieve the Sacred Treasures that would help him defeat Medusa, and rescue Palutena and restore peace to Angel Land."

This edition features a very exciting, yet difficult, game from the NES era:

Kid Icarus

Games that use the Greek mythology like Age of Mythology and God of War have always fascinated me as a gamer, mostly because of the fascinating recreations of the characters from the Greek mythology and using them as a part of the storyline.

The gameplay consists of a mixture of action, adventure, and platform elements. The Kid Icarus franchise is known as a cult cl@ssic and sister series to the Metroid franchise.

(GS) "For some reason, Nintendo hasn't done much to keep Kid Icarus going as a franchise. The original NES game was released in 1987 and a sequel was produced for the Game Boy in 1991 and that was it."

I strongly believe that this game could make a comeback.

There are so many different elements that Nintendo can focus on if they want to remake this game. While they already have a successful platformer (Mario) and an action/adventure franchise (Zelda), I can understand that it might make it difficult to combine both elements in one game. And the fact that Pit can fly might make it more difficult to include the "platform" element: "Why do I have to jump if I can fly:D?"

On September 3rd, Nintendo released an introduction of Pit's 'decent' in Super Smash Bros Brawl:

[video=d3cyxTTx5b8JuD_e]

After watching this video, Nintendo convinced me (and maybe more gamers) that a Kid Icarus remake is possible. This one minute clip showed how many possibilities they have if they are ever going to make a Kid Icarus game.

What I think that will spark this game is that they are going to have to include a fighting element (which the NES version didn't have) in the game.

While he's on the ground, they could make the gameplay a close combat or hack and slash with God of war- type of camera action. Manual aiming can be done with the wii-mote when he's using his bow. Combine that with motion-sensing flying, lock-on aerial fighting, dive attacks, chasing enemies through valleys/caverns and you've got a tremendous action-packed game.

This game does have it's potential and Nintendo knows it full well.

I'm one of the few (or many) that believes that a new Kid Icarus game can definitely benefit from today's gaming standards through a well deserved remake.

Previous entries:

Volume 5: Donkey Kong 64
Volume 4: Golden Sun + Golden Sun: The Lost Age
Volume 3: Chrono Cross

It appears that Electronic Arts editing their wiki's history has been one-upped.

MaxConsole is reporting that Sony Computer Entertainment Europe was caught red handed editing the Halo Wikipedia entry by adding in the line "Although it wont look any better than Halo 2."

Don't believe me? Check this out and see for yourself.

Sony just can't get any lower, or can they:|?

I'm just thinking that this is Sony's last attempt at stopping Halo3.

Way to go Sony, real mature.