Xbox 360 sales overtake PS3 sales by 2:1 in October

The latest sales figures have just come in from the NPD Group, and predictably the PS3 is getting a drubbing. For the month of October the PS3 sold 190,000 units in the USA, compared to the Xbox 360's 371,000. In a truly shocking and unprecedented turn of events* the Wii outsold them both shifting an estimated 803,000 units.

It's not altogether surprising. The PS3 is simply overpriced. You could argue that the Blu-ray disc player adds some value, but it's unclear whether Blu-ray will be the next big format, especially when you consider Apple and Microsoft's forays into the field of digital distribution. It would be OK if the console could justify its price tag with a library of must-have releases, but the 360 continues to boast a stronger lineup. There's a lot of potential for the PS3 in future, but it simply doesn't offer enough to justify its price at the moment

via Kotaku

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*wink

LittleBigPlanet scores second place on UK sales charts

The UK Sales charts are in, and LittleBigPlanet has scored a very respectable second place. First place goes to Gears of War 2, but before you descend into fit of fanboy rage, remember that LittleBigPlanet is a new IP. It's original, smart, and a difficult concept to sell. People have a better idea of what to expect from Gears of War 2, and it's not surprising that it has sold better.

LittleBigPlanet aside, the picture for PS3 sales isn't that rosy at the moment. FIFA '09 for the PS3 comes in at 11th place. Fallout 3 is selling respectably, with the PS3 iteration coming at 12th place, compared to the fifth scooped by the Xbox 360 version. WWE Smackdown makes a small splash at number 13, and the PS3 version of Quantum of Solace has come in at 18th place. It's unsurprising that 360 releases continue to outsell PS3 ones in the UK, given the indications that the 360 install base is still higher. Still, it's encouraging to see LBP do well.

via Kotaku

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PS3 version of Fallout 3 not *quite* as good on PS3, fanboys predictably explode

The internet caught fire briefly when it was recently announced a when Future Publishing's PSM3 review of Fallout 3 was leaked. As you might expect, one line was singled out for attention- "The PS3 version compares poorly to its Xbox and PC counterparts."

Of course, it's a little less damning if you read it in the extra context that provided by the magazine's blog. "...the PS3 version looks the same as on Xbox, but things in the distance are slightly jaggier/rougher, the textures seem 'muddier' up-close and the frame rate is choppier..." the website wrote, explaning the review. However, it added that "the difference between the Xbox and PS3 versions won't hamper your enjoyment of the game in ANY WAY."

Still not the best of news for Sony though. While the difference may be pretty negligible, the PS3 still costs more than twice as much as a basic Xbox 360 capable of running Fallout 3. If you didn't have a next-gen console, and were tempted by Fallout 3, which console you go for? The one retailing for £129.99 that can play the title slightly better, or the one going for an RRP of £299.99?

via PSM3 Blog on CVG

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Tekken 6 gets release date... and multiformat release

Namco Bandai has just announced that Tekken 6 will come in Autumn 2009. In a first for the series, the game will also appear on a non-Sony console, with an Xbox 360 release also planned for Autumn.

Given the increasing costs of development for next-gen platforms, it's not exactly surprising that Namco Bandai decided to go for a multiplatform release. The Xbox 360 and PS3 have far more equal user bases than the Xbox and PS3. Sadly for PS3 owners, it makes sense that they'd want to get the title into as many homes as possible. Still, on the upside, it's unlikely that Tekken 6 will be the console defining release that previous iterations were. Beat 'em ups are a difficult genre to upgrade for the next-gen, and Tekken titles have often been more about incremental updates rather than sweeping changes. Fun for the fans, but it probably won't have the same wide appeal it once did.

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This is what Xbox gamers look like...

Well, we haven't stirred up the Xbox rabble for a while, now that our comments system is experiencing technical difficulties and they can't respond; seems unfair, you know. But these Xbox 360 'lifestyle shots' uncovered by CVG are just too good to pass up.

If you ever worried that maybe playing Warhawk into the wee small hours with nothing but an old pair underpants and an overflowing ashtray to hide your shame isn't quite as 'cool' as 'rocking out' with your trendy teenage mates, think again:

We've been mistakenly calling all those pre-pubescent homophobes on Xbox Live 'silly little boys' all along. The truth is so much worse.

Stringer laughs off PS3 R&D costs, claims that Sony can't keep up with console demand

Sony CEO, Sir Howard Stringer, has had a bit of a light-hearted chat with German news source Welt Online. He revealed that the $3 billion spent on developing the PS3 probably won't be recovered; well, "Not for as long as I live," he said. He had a good old chuckle about it though.

You've got to wonder at the wisdom of the amount of money spent on Sony's latest console endeavour, even though we're now pretty happy with the end result. I'm not sure Sir Howard is not playing a hand close to his chest here. Sure, that $3bn is NEVER going to earned from hardware sales of the PS3 - or at least not until it reaches PS2 levels of sales, which is now only a very distant prospect - but there's got to been a certain financial value on the high definition format war.

Sony has basically won that war, although Blu-ray hasn't yet succeeded in the same way as DVD. The PS3 was absolutely fundamental to that victory and the revenue that it will generate for Sony in the long term can only be guessed at.

PS3 put to shame by Xbox 360 on its home turf

Credit where credit is due: Microsoft did a real number on Sony last week as Japanese gamers went nuts for the Xbox 360 after the latest Tales of Vesperia launched as an exclusive on the console.

While the Xbox 360 had previously failed to show up as more than a mere blip on the Japanese console radar, the launch of the new title had people queuing up in the street for the hardware and shifted nearly 25,000 units. Meanwhile, the PS3, which basically had no new games to offer, exclusive or otherwise, lingered at a paltry 9,673 units.

Frankly, this reversal of fortunes is unnerving and unwelcome, and leaves a peculiar taste of bile and pus in our delicate mouths. It is however nice to know that even a steadily aging console can still make a splash in an unfamiliar locale when it asserts itself. Next week, who knows, maybe America will suddenly go nuts for the PS3?

(via Xboxer)

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Scott Steinberg sez: PS3 starting to pull ahead from competitors graphically

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, SCEA's Scott Steinberg has revealed that he reckons the PS3 is starting to pull away from its competitors in at least in one area.

Clearly it's not sales - the Wii is way off in the distance and Xbox 360 is grimly hanging on to its lead. It can't be games either - the others have tons (no matter how generic and half-arsed some of them might be); some have even set the now de facto standards of current-gen titles. Nope, it's graphics.

"We're seeing, graphically, PS3 games starting to create some distance and some of the other competitors are going to feel that they're getting long in the tooth, looking quite dated," Scott explained.

Ah. I'm not sure that's a wise observation, Scott. History, after all, hasn't been kind to the consoles with the 'best' graphics and most powerful hardware. I seem to remember the PSOne do a right number on the more powerful N64. I also recall the graphically superior Xbox failing dismally against the pixelly, low-res textures of the PS2.

For crying out loud, the Wii is already pooing all over both of it HD competitors and its graphics are as ugly as opening a Quality Street tin to find a long dead sparrow.

Final Fantasy XIII is firmly a PS3 title - Xbox 360 owners only get a port

Oh how things change. Was it really only a year ago when everyone was talking about how EA titles were 'better' on the Xbox 360 because they used Microsoft's console as the lead platform?

Well with Final Fantasy XIII now to be available on both consoles, the bragging rights have been in Microsoft's corner, proclaiming how they've stolen one of Sony's greatest gaming series. But according to series designer Motomu Toriyama, the Xbox 360 version will be nothing more than a port of the PS3 version.

"We haven't changed the direction of the development. We're making the PS3 version first, and then porting to the 360 later."

In fact, work on the 360 version hasn't even started, with the admission that, as of July 29, they're yet to have their hands on the required development tools. "I'm telling them to not think about the Xbox 360 right now. We can think about it after the development kits arrive."

The only downer is the news that the European and US versions of Final Fantasy XIII will be held back so both console iterations can be released at the same time. Boo!

Source: Gamespot
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Microsoft menace says PSN has "only a handful of titles"

Outrage grips PSPSPS.tv tonight as the newly appointed chief technology officer of Microsoft's interactive entertainment business group (try saying that after a few vodkas), Chris Satchell, totally slapped Sony round the round the face with a verbal rubber glove. Possibly one that had been used to clear the garden of doggy doings.

Satchell told SPOnG, "It's sort of funny. I mean, it's great that Sony has some sort of independent developers, but there's just this handful of titles."

Let me tell you, Satchell, it's not 'sort of funny'. Not funny at all. At least we've got some games on PSN; that's more than the three and a half Blu-ray ones we've got to play (I kid, I kid).

Seriously though, it's a fair statement - compared to Microsoft which had to remove games from Xbox Live on account of their shiteness and unbridled lack of popularity, Sony has very few PSN titles. Quite a few of them are, like, good though. And Sony has at least stopped repackaging ancient arcade games that people barely remember to sell for a few nostalgia bucks.

Microsoft is of course eager to big up its own games offerings this week following the Xbox LIVE Community Games announcement, due to start at the end of the year. It's a peer-review system that should make it easier for devs to get their content released quicker. We'll probably see about 18 Space Giraffe clones land in the first ten minutes.

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EA says PS3 development has caught up with 360

Great news! EA reckons that its mad PS3 dev skillz are so awesome that they are "at least as good" as its 360 ones. Yeah. Smoke on that, Xbox.

This inspiring revelation comes FIFA 09 producer David Rutter. Oh I see, it's a football game we're talking about then? Well that's embarrassing. There was me thinking that this might relate to a genre that hadn't been completely devoid of creativity since 1994.

If for some inexplicable reason you do care about football or 'soccer' *cough* wanker *cough* games, you may be pleased to learn that EA is certain, hand on heart, that FIFA 09 will be the exact same game as it was last year. Wait, no, it will be the exact same game on the PS3 as it was on the Xbox 360 last year. Oops, hang on. It will be the exact same game on the PS3 as it will on the Xbox 360. There we go.

Sony boss calls Wii an "expensive niche"

Speaking at the Allen & Co. media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, Sony CEO, Sir Howard Stringer, called the Nintendo Wii "an expensive niche game device".

Don't worry though, if you thought that Nintendo's ability to sell twice as many units to its niche market was in any way a threat to Sony's cut-price mainstream games console, Sir Howard observed that he "doesn't see it as a competitor". Phew.

``I've played a Nintendo Wii,'' Stringer revealed, although apparently he didn't look at the price tag nor take any interest in the people buying it. PS3 owners may now be wondering what their console is, if not the most expensive console on the market, and one that so far has sold to the smallest subset of electronic consumers in the latest console generation. Well, "it's still the best way to buy a Blu-ray player," he said.

To think I've accused Sony of forgetting that it's trying to sell a games console. I take it all back - it seems it actually was a just low-cost Blu-ray player all along.

What won't Firmware 2.40 do?

We already have a pretty good idea of what Firmware 2.40 does do, mainly because we've done most of the same things a year or two ago on a rival system that it's impolite to mention the name of.

Whatever happens, we expect to be getting to grips with the system tomorrow when the upgrade launches. In the meantime though, you're probably thinking, 'Well, gee, that Firmware 2.40 does pretty much everything I ever wanted the PlayStation 3 to do'. And you're right, almost.

However, it would be pretty unusual for one PS3 update to actually solve all the problems we wanted to be solved, so here's a list of the things it doesn't do:

Rock Band 2 announced, but Xbox 360 has already snapped up the timed exclusive

We're still waiting for our PS3 versions of Rock Band, but you can forget about it, and its hatred of Britain's PlayStation faithful because... *drum roll*... Diablo 3!!! I mean, ROCK BAND 2!!!

Rock Band 2 is expected to be out in September in North America on the Xbox 360, meaning that we can look forward to unwrapping out own copies at around Xmas, 2015. The game itself isn't going to mess with its very successful formula, but co-founder of Harmonix Alex Rigopulos states that some necessary improvements are being made to the online functionality and to make it more party-friendly.

"As successful as the original Rock Band continues to be, we've now had the benefit of the last eight months to listen to our fans' requests and to build upon that foundation," he said.

For what it's worth, Rock Band 2 hopes to be available on all other platforms by the end of the year. And who knows, now that we've all bought all (or would have, but for the obvious problem) the relevant accessories, maybe we won't have to wait for hell to freeze over before we get a version over here.

Rock Band (via Next-Gen)

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Microsoft man disputes Sony's European console lead claim

The elaborately titled David Gosen, European VP of strategic marketing for interactive entertainment at Microsoft EMEA, has questioned Sony's famous claims of overtaking the Xbox 360 in hardware sales in Europe. In fact he claims the noisy white box of errors is "three quarters of a million ahead of PS3."

Well, fair enough - we had a nagging feeling that Sony's announcement was just a little too well timed to be completely free from porky-pies but calculating hardware sales is an inexact science at best and heavily supplemented by guesswork. What we do know is that the PS3 has been more successful here in Europe than across the pond, and were it not for Sony continually treating us like a third-rate bitch we'd happily say that Gosen is sick, SICK liar, devoid of moral fibre and probably guilty of doing unnatural things with gerbils.

But it does, so we won't. Hell, we'll even quote him some more. "Anyone trying to call a winner this Christmas is calling too early," he said, presumably in response to a question about who is going to win this Xmas brawl. Both companies are touting a strong line-up too, so yes, it is hard to call a winner, but you'd think Microsoft would be more bullish about its chances.

Expect Sony's 'Xmas 2008 is already won' announcement in mid-August.

(via MCV)

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NPD results are in: PS3 back on top of Xbox 360

PlayStation 3 has reclaimed the top spot in May, topping the Xbox 360 hardware sales by a cool 20,000 units. According to NPD data, Sony managed to shift 208,700 PS3s, while Microsoft lingered on 186,000 units.

May's results are particularly interesting as they demonstrate just how many units the long, long awaited Grand Theft Auto sequel managed to shift. The answer in both cases is basically 'not a hell of a lot'.

Sony is up on its lacklustre performance in April, but an extra 20,000 units basically means that probably only a fraction of people who bought GTA IV used it as a specific reason to pick up a console. Guess it wasn't quite the system seller it was supposed to be.

You can guess who won the GTA IV units competition. Xbox's version of the game racked up nearly double the number of sales over the PS3 version, which is a victory for them considering PlayStation's close ties with former entries in the GTA series, but not entirely unexpected given Microsoft's ongoing hardware lead in the region.

Sony will, however, need more than a few months of topping Xbox 360's hardware sales by 20k units if it's to claw back that lead advantage.

Needless to say, the Nintendo Wii dominated the hardware charts entirely, selling a little short of 700,00 units, along with 780,000 copies of Mario Kart and 687,000 units of some gimmicky add-on that makes fat people feel all cool and modern.

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Ninja Gaiden creator critical of PS3's Ninja Gaiden port

What does Tomonobu Itagaki, the man behind Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive, think of the PS3 port of Ninja Gaiden? Not a hell of a lot really. "It's no good" he told CVG in an interview.

When the interviewer pointed out that he had liked it, and of course there is a fair slice of PS3 gamers that like it too, Itagaki observed: "All you need to do is play Ninja Gaiden II and then try and play Sigma afterwards and you'll see why."

Apparently the man won't even sign copies of the game. But then he didn't have much direct involvement with the port anyway.

Last week he told a similarly named rival publication, TVG, "It was a weird chimera of a game, with some things here and some things there. From a game design standpoint, I don't think it was done well at all. This [Ninja Gaiden II] is the definitive version of Ninja Gaiden..."

Fair enough, I suppose. You can't really argue with the man who makes the game when he says these things. You win this round Microsoft, assuming the game is still any good now that's it has been dumbed down to appeal to the noobs a broader audience.

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Microsoft's Greenberg scoffs at GTA IV PS3 DLC claims, calls it "wishful thinking"

Speaking in an interview with Gamasutra on the back NPD's April sales data, Microsoft product management director Aaron Greenberg has launched a withering attack on the prospect of any of Xbox 360's exclusive GTA IV downloadable content coming to PS3.

"It's not possible as far as I'm aware, but that would be a good question to ask Rockstar," he said. "Rockstar and Xbox have only said there are exclusive episodes coming this fall to Xbox 360," he added. "I might put that up for a bit of wishful thinking on their end."

When quizzed about GTA IV DLC after the recent PlayStation Day event, David Reeves was being a little coy, seeming to suggest that it would come to PS3 sooner or later.

Annoying though it might be, I think Greenberg is probably right on this one. Although there will certainly be money to be made from Rockstar releasing the exclusive content, even say a year later, on the PlayStation platform, some kind of agreement has been signed between Rockstar and Microsoft to ensure its exclusivity. In the meantime, it seems highly likely that PS3 will get its own brand of DLC, just not on the same scale as Xbox 360 is expecting.

PS3 predicted to make more money for Electronic Arts than Xbox 360 by end of fiscal year 2008

EA has revealed its financial results for end of its fiscal year and it has a surprising revelation: the PS3 is set to be the second highest earning hardware on its list by the end of the financial year.

Revenue from sales of PS3 games is predicted to be up 192% year on year and reach a total of $152 million.

The PS2 is still earmarked as the winner (with $166m in revenue) because there about a trillion of them kicking around the planet and all EA has to do is break wind to produce a fresh smattering of soulless sequel cash-ins.

This leaves Xbox 360 in third place, languishing at a paltry $128m. Now believe me, if it were the other way round, I'd be the first to poke fun and assert that Xbox 360 owners only buy movie tie licensed games and copies of the same old sports title re-released year in, year out. However, Xbox 360 has been applauded for its utterly superb attach rate - meaning that its customers buy more games per console - which, considering that Sony and Microsoft each lose money on their console sales and recoup from games sales, is a very important factor.

Kaz bullishly confident about PS3's future success

Yeah, bullishly. Kaz is a raging bull in shop full of china consoles. Here's what he told the BBC "I am very confident that after the 10-year lifecycle we will have the install base that we are looking for and that is obviously to be in the leadership position."

That's the kind of fighting talk we like to hear. But wait, there's more: "We've only really begun to scratch the surface with PlayStation 3". Yeah - hear that Nintendo? And you Microsoft? The lid is barely even off this can of whoopass.

He's certainly not beyond a bit of shameless game name dropping either "If you look at line-up coming out this year - Metal Gear Solid 4, Resistance 2, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift , Little Big Planet, there is a whole raft of titles between now and the end of the year which will really help fuel growth of the install base." Yeah, ladies. He didn't mention Haze or Home though...

David Reeves dismissive of GTA IV Xbox 360 DLC exclusivity, hints at something for PS3

SCEE boss David Reeves was beaming with pride over the PS3's success in Europe at PlayStation Day on Tuesday. However, when he left the stage VideoGamer was able to quiz him on a few more specifics. Specifics relating to GTA IV.

The effect of Microsoft's deal with Rockstar over exclusive GTA IV DLC has been a very interesting issue of late, even though we're a long way off actually seeing any actual downloadable content in the immediate future.

When asked about the possibility of GTA IV PS3 DLC, his response was cryptic, but intriguing: "Well I think you probably will see it, it's just that a deal obviously was struck between Microsoft and Take 2 to do that." He added "And if that's what they want to do, I think that's the last shot they have."

Last shot? What? I'm lost. And then when questioned further on whether there would or wouldn't be any PS3 DLC, things became only murkier "I'm honestly not going to make any comment on that because it's too big a thing to... we can make an announcement when we make an announcement."

Essentially, it could imply that Microsoft's exclusivity deal might not be as permanent as some would think.

Sony and Microsoft argue on which version of GTA IV is selling best

Oh dear. It seems Microsoft have been forced to utter a few porkie pies in order to try and claim that the Xbox 3460 is THE system for the recently released Grand Theft Auto IV.

Aaron Greenberg, director of product management for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live strangely claimed that, "what we've heard anecdotally from our retail partners is that the Xbox 360 version of the game is outselling the PS3 version by a margin of two-to-one."

Sony have been quick to hit back, stating that this ratio "doesn't line up" with what Sony has been hearing from retailers.

In the first day of sales in the UK, the Xbox 360 version did indeed outsell the PS3 game, with 335,000 versus 274,000 respectively. Which means that the US sales - the ones which Greenberg are making his lofty claims about - will have to have gone way against the UK sales to be true.

Let's see what Sony tell once the true figures are out there. It certainly looks like Microsoft are trying to claim a victory that simply doesn't exist. Are they getting that desperate?

Source: Next-Gen
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The verdicts are coming in - PS3 GTA IV the BEST version

With the Grand Theft Auto IV review embargo finally passed, the first batch of online reviews are starting to appear online. And the general consensus is that PS3 owners will be getting the BEST looking game.

According to Kotaku, the PS3 version "loads missions a couple of seconds faster and decreases pop-in," due to the mandatory 3.4GB install that all PS3 owners will be faced with. In comparison, the Xbox 360 version "can suffer from some very noticeable texture loading, as things like trees, vehicles, and building signs will regularly pop-in."

IGN too claim that the PS3 version is visually better, stating that "while GTA IV is pushing the PS3 and 360 to the limit, it also runs amazingly well. Sure, there are framerate hitches here and there and (particularly on 360) there is some texture pop-in, but it actually runs better than I expected."

They also continue to say, "for those wanting to know which version looks better, the edge goes to the PS3. The textures and framerate are comparable, but the PS3 has far less pop-in...The slight visual edge goes to PS3, but the 360 is no slouch."

Analysts: PS3 will win the GTA IV hardware battle

We've become more than a little sceptical about what analysts have to say on the subject of video games and hardware sales of late, probably because it's all shameless guess work mixed in with the blindingly obvious and backed up by healthy level of ambiguity. Much like any kind of fortune telling really.

However, this latest set of predictions goes a little against the grain because it's calling a PS3 win.

Wedbush Morgan's tamed seer is probably the most optimistic, reckoning that PS3 sales will beat Xbox 360 sales by 2:1. He cites the public's natural tendency to associate Grand Theft Auto with PlayStation and that many will be using this game as reason to upgrade from PS2 to PS3.

PS3 vs Xbox 360 battle over GTA IV continues, UK retailers divided over who's winning

Trade mag MCV has a donned its deer stalker and done a bit of investigating into which version of GTA IV is doing the best from retail pre-orders and the results are pretty intriguing.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that the version that can be played on the cheapest console, already has the larger install base, has exclusive access to extra content AND has funded a rather underhand marketing campaign which makes no mention of a PS3 version would be beating its rival to death on the pavement with a baseball bat.

Well, for all that effort, it still seems like the PS3 version is doing fine - Asda's people say that the PS3 version is selling "three times that of 360" and admits that is "surprising" and "not in line with what [they'd] expect".

Comet's people are a bit more cagey but still optimistic, saying only "We have great expectations and believe it is going to be a massive hardware driver - especially on PS3."

Still Asda? Comet? The only chance of me actually buying GTA IV from either of these is if they either knock a good £10 off the price tag or if they accidentally-deliberately let it out early. HMV I might consider though and their figures differ slightly: "Demand for both formats is high, but our 1,000 Xbox points offer generated a huge amount of interest" HMV's Tim Ellis said. Funny how outright bribery will do that, eh?

Microsoft's 'double sales' doublespeak - PS3 still outselling 360

Spin. It's used so often when talking about sales figures these days that it's hard to tell fact from fiction, but it seems Microsoft's recent claim that the price-cut for the 360 had resulted in double the sales was a fairly pyrrhic victory.

That's because, as with the last fifteen weeks, in Britain, the PS3 was still ahead.

Desperate times call for desperate measures and all that, but is announcing a set of figures that later proves you're still behind really worth doing? It seems MS is getting increasingly worried about the competition, and with Sony having several big hitters lined up for later in the year, 2008 could see the PS3 move further and further ahead. After all, if you're doubling your number of units shifted and still not reaching your biggest rival, what chance have you got when this sales spike dies down?

Register Hardware (via Kotaku)

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Proof that analysts know nothing - Xbox 360 beats the PS3 in March

Regular readers will know that I'm often pointing out that all these "analysts" are about as needed as a paper bag raincoat during a horrifying storm of scorpions. But this time they really got it majorly wrong.

If you head back a few days (or click this link if you're lazy) you'll spy some analyst data that pointed to the PS3 walloping the Xbox 360 in the sales stakes for the third successive month.

But, erm, there's a bit of a problem. The true figures show that the Xbox 360 actually managed to beat the PS3 by five thousand units. A tiny figure yes, but it's not quite as pleasant to read that sales are "neck and neck" than the PS3 won for the third successive month.

Which all goes to prove that analysts are rubbish. My predictions for their next pearls of wisdom are that Grand Theft Auto IV will "sell out on launch day." Perhaps that Metal Gear Solid 4 "will help PS3 sales when released." It's these kinds of staggering insights that earn them their cash. And I just did their next few months work for them. So if you wish to donate, feel free to get in touch.

Source: Kotaku
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Rumour: GTA IV PS3 requires a mandatory install. This is a GOOD THING.

Rumours originating from neogaf and the author 1Up's GTA Preview suggest that the game requires a five minute long install. You don't have a choice in the issue.

This is the point where we're presumably supposed to bitch and whine and mope and scream bloody murder at the sheer impertinence of making us install things like some kind of disgusting PC game crawled its way on to the PS3 so it can die there. Well I think it's a good sign for the PS3 version, one that might sway my buying decision.

Uhoh, confession time. I haven't decided which version of GTA IV to get yet. At the moment I'm leaning towards the Xbox 360 (don't hurt me). The extra DLC hasn't swayed me one bit, I'm happy to say; or at least I'm convinced it's important to justify paying for all of it and all of that Xbox Live time when that same money could very nearly buy me a whole new game. But the majority of my friends will be playing the Xbox version, and given the new multiplayer modes, that's a big lure.

The PS3 version has its own advantages: the fact that playing it with other people doesn't involve paying out over and over again. Then there's the part where I prefer the PS3 control layout and it would be just plain unnatural playing GTA without a Sony pad. And now I can add the mandatory install as another to the list of benefits.

Why? Because in the games that have offered installs so far, five minutes of waiting has tended to yield better loading times over all, and more than five minutes saved in the long run. This could even indicate a better game experience overall.

Alone In The Dark arriving late on PS3, but in better shape

Well, here's a turn up for the books. While we were disappointed to learn that the PS3 version of Atari's superb-looking new Alone In The Dark game, we've learned today that developer Eden Studios has plans to make the PS3 version better than the 360 one.

According to Eurogamer's German site, "Eden Studios wants to adapt it instead of just doing a simple port. Additional content (episodes) might be possible for the PS3 version."

Which is obviously great news. Naturally, we'd prefer to have it earlier, but if it's going to be late, it might as well be a super-duper new and improved version.

The game is set to have a fairly episodic structure as it is - Eden have cited TV dramas like 24 as an influenced on the game being broken up into bite-sized segments. So any additional content released in this way would slot into the action very nicely. Not to mention the lack of a file size limit for DLC on the PlayStation Network would give Eden plenty of space to play around with.

Nice to see someone making the effort, basically.

(via Videogaming247)

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Poll points at Xbox 360 victory in GTA IV battle, but it's closer than you'd think

Even if your life does not seem to revolve around the fortunes of a faceless corporation, the launch of GTA IV is going to be fascinating to watch just to see the results of the respective console manufacturer's marketing strategies.

Joystiq has just published results of its poll measuring who's going to buy which version and it makes for interesting reading. Basically, the split is currently Xbox 360 58%, PS3 42%. Victory for Xbox 360? Disaster for PS3? Time will tell, but at the moment this is kind of grim news for Xbox 360.

Microsoft has desperately sought to 'own' the GTA IV launch ever since Peter Moore first unveiled his tattoo back at E3. The Redmond giant has paid for exclusive content, it has sliced console prices, it has numerous Xbox Live points and Gold Membership deals going to encourage pre-orders, and in the UK it is even paying for GTA IV advertising that doesn't even mention the PS3 version.

Taking the reasonable assumption that most of Joystiq's readers are based in the US, then the split between Xbox 360 and PS3 version should be more in tune with the hardware split in the region. So it should be closer to a 75:25 percent split in Xbox's favour.

BBC iPlayer coming to PS3 soon?

Yesterday, the Beeb announced a deal with Nintendo that makes its iPlayer video streaming service compatible with the console's web browser. The BBC's Darren Waters has since raised the question of why the PS3 and Xbox 360 haven't had the same treatment.

The Xbox 360 is probably out of for good - not only does it not have a web browser, but Microsoft has its own downloadable media interests to defend. Although Sony is planning something similar down the line, it hasn't reached that stage yet and it does have a web browser. So surely a similar PS3 iPlayer service can't be far off?

Darren Waters quotes the BBC's Future Media and Technology Group Controller who says ""If you want to get on the PlayStation or Xbox, they want control of the look, the feel and the experience; they want it done within their shop, and their shop only."

Opinion: A Wii-remote controller for 360 is a sure sign that Microsoft is giving up the console fight

There's excitement in Xbox land thanks to MTV breaking news that Microsoft is gearing up to release a motion sensing Wii remote wannabe by the end of the year. The news is a long way short of an official Microsoft announcement and it comes from some shady 'insider source', which could mean anything from a high ranking Rare employee blowing the whistle to the wildest imaginings of the latest work experience kid.

But for the moment we'll assume it's true - that Microsoft is releasing its own motion sensing accessory which gives a Wii remote like experience to Xbox 360 owners. We'll also assume that because Rare is supposed to be in charge of it, it'll be a reasonably solid design with some half way decent launch titles.

Now, how and why does that affect the PS3? Because it indicates that Microsoft is giving up the battle for the high end market and that it is moving its focus to the larger, so-called 'casual' player base.

GTA PS3 bundle to hit Europe - does Sony have the upper hand again?

The GTA wars are starting to get tasty now. Fresh from the news that the PS3 version of GTA IV is outselling its 360 counterpart by two to one, it seems that Sony has fired a second shot in the direction of its rival by setting up a GTA IV bundle to coincide with the game's release.

Site GTAgaming.com is reporting that Swedish retailer Webhallen has released a pic of the new bundle, comprising the 40Gb model and a copy of the game, in a special GTA-branded pack.

It's listed for 4499kr, which roughly translates as £299 in the UK. This is clearly a hugely important release for Sony, and it's going to do its damnedest to ensure that punters still equate GTA with PS3. Whoever wins this one could take giant strides in the battle for current-gen supremacy. Not long now...

Sony man reckons Microsoft played its best hands too early (and other analogies)

Sony's marketing VP has been doing the rounds on various publications banging the Sony drum much as you'd expect a head of marketing to do. Previously he's downplayed the importance of exclusive DLC in the GTA IV launch and now's got to bagging the competition in more general terms.

Speaking on the topic of Sony's Blu-ray victory and the PS3, he claimed that "[Sony's] competition has already leveraged all their big assets in the first couple of years and may have punched themselves out of the fight".

These words are probably music to the ears of Sony's most ardent fans but there is danger in writing off the competition prematurely, particularly when - at this moment - the competition is actually ahead of Sony in terms of install base. The recent Xbox 360 price cuts have probably also stemmed the brief period of Sony's lead in hardware sales.

GTA IV PS3 to cost a fiver more than Xbox 360 version?

Worrying news is coming in from UK high street retailers puts the PS3 version of Grand Theft Auto IV at a higher price point than the Xbox 360 version.

WHSmiths has already got posters up clearly demonstrating a £5 difference between the two - GTA IV Xbox 360 costs £39.99 while GTA IV PS3 costs £44.99 - and managers at Game and Gamestation reportedly expect something similar when they get their stocks in.

Aside from the high profile nature of this particular game, this isn't an unusual move for high street retailers - lot of other games cost more on PS3 on the high street. Maybe those Blu-ray discs weigh more and incur extra transport costs or something. Whether this will make a huge difference or not remains to be seen though - few people are lucky enough to have a choice of consoles to play the game on so they are just going to have to lump it.

It could have a more serious impact on new console adoption though. But Microsoft already has the advantage there anyway thanks to its exclusive content deal, not to mention the recent hardware price cuts. However, if you've got your heart set on a PS3 already, a fiver probably won't change your mind.