Owners of Sony's Playstation 3 console haven't gotten a lot of cool exclusive first and third party games yet (there's Resistance: Fall of Man and that's about it), but later in March the highly anticipated off-road racing game Motorstorm (from UK developer Evolution Studios) is finally scheduled to bring PS3 owners a fun and visually arresting title to their console. At the Sony booth at CES this week firingsquad.com played a near final build of Motorstorm...
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Insomnia was nice enough to drop by the Official Playstation forums and give some tidbits on the upcoming multiplayer patch.

"Hey everyone, we've been hard at work here at Insomniac on improving the game, we've decided to let you in on some of the upcoming improvements! They're coming in two forms: a server-side update for ranked games, and a downloadable client-side update. Here's some of the things we'll be changing:

Server-side (ranked game) update:

* Map size determined by the number of players in the game
* All maps available for ranked games
* Score limits for team deathmatch adjusted based on the number of players in a match
* Time limits added for all game types that were missing them

Client-side (downloadable) update:

* Added a game option to allow "map voting", which will allow players in a custom game to vote on a new map from the results screen

* Expanded tactical element of squads. In objective based team games (CTF, Meltdown, Breach), players will be able to select to spawn near their squad as well as all the previously available spawn points. Additionally, squad members will be displayed different on the map/radar so that you will be able to find them easier

* We've been busy refining the balance between the Chimera and the Humans in order to make both races more fun to play, and to give players improved tactical options (you'll have to wait on the specifics)

* We've improved the spawning algorithm to prioritize spawn points that are away from enemies and near teammates and squadmates

* Wins/Losses are now displayed on the character sheet

* We have replaced the Skeleton skin with a new skin, the Mechanic. We've determined that the Skeleton is much smaller and more difficult to see on many levels than any of the other skins. The skins were never meant to give a gameplay advantage, but to offer y...
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The NPD Group has released sales data for November 2006, and while the PlayStation 3 wasn't able to crack the overall top 20, it appears Resistance: Fall of Man had a high attach rate.

Resistance sold twice as much as the next best-selling title, Madden NFL 07. The ever-popular WWII setting allowed Call of Duty 3 to round out the top three.

Here are the top ten best-selling PlayStation 3 games for November 2006, as provided by the NPD Group:

1. Resistance: Fall of Man

2. Madden NFL 07

3. Call of Duty 3

4. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

5. Ridge Racer 7

6. Need for Speed: Carbon

7. Tony Hawk's Project 8

8. NBA 2K7

9. NBA 07

10. Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom
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The debate over which is the more powerful next-gen games console has been raging for over a year, but in the last few weeks we've finally been able to pore over some first-hand evidence. The Call of Duty 3 conversions to Xbox 360 and PS3 are more closely comparable, perhaps, than many fanboys on either side would have predicted. More interesting is the unspoken rivalry between Gears of War and Resistance: Fall of Man - two showboating titles with similar themes and environments.

One thing has become clear. Totting up specs isn't going to help us choose a winner. On paper, PS3 has more raw processing grunt than Xbox 360, but at the moment - with second generation titles under their belts - developers seem to be extracting more performance out of Xbox 360. That's natural considering their greater experience with the platform. The question is, how much further can Xbox go?

Frankly, the only views that matter in this debate are those of programmers who have experience with next-gen hardware. So this week Guardian.co.uk spoke to Richard Hackett a head of technology at Blitz Games about his experiences with both machines. He feels that CELL has an ace up its sleeve and it's not something you might have predicted...

"As a result of the kind of processing power we have available we're going to see a lot more procedurally generated effects and dynamic visuals than we've seen before. This means not all game visuals will be created by an artist in the traditional way, an increasing amount will be created in real-time from algorithms and parameters.To make sure the artists stay in control and we don't resort to graphics created only by programmers (which is often a bad thing), we're working on systems for artists to create and edit these systems themselves without needing a degree in Software Engineering."

"Certain procedural effects are easier to create on the PS3 because of the power of the SPEs. Effects like water ...
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Those of you playing Resistance: Fall of Man online will be pleased to hear that Insomniac's working on a patch to spruce up a few things.

This from the developer's lead multiplayer programmer Eric Ellis, whose latest blog post (down at the moment?) offers some insight:

"I can't yet talk about all the things we've changed, but I really think that people will be very pleased to see how responsive this is to some concerns that have come out since we went live," he writes.

"We've addressed a few key balance issues and put a big focus on making it possible to more effectively use a variety of strategic and team-based tactics in the game. I'm very excited to see how people like the change when it releases. That should happen very soon, so stay tuned."

Resistance: Fall of Man is due out alongside the PlayStation 3 in Europe next March, although there's no word on whether that version will be patched up prior to release.
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Sony has issued a statement revealing that the first shipment of PS3s were sold "within hours." The 60GB model sold better than the 20GB unit - presumably there was more of the 60GB units to go around - and Resistance: Fall of Man topped the PS3 sales.

If you missed getting a console on day one then Sony says that there will be regular shipments of the console arriving at retail now that manufacturing is running smoothly.

The launch of the PS3 was also good news for other Sony consoles; the PSP saw a 30% rise in sales at the top five retailers, and PS2 sales were also up by 24%.

"Sony Computer Entertainment America couldn't be more pleased with the response we have seen from consumers since the launch of PlayStation 3 on Friday," said corporate communications boss David Karraker. "This truly demonstrates the power of the PlayStation brand and further validates our belief that consumers see real value in an entertainment system that will define the next decade of digital entertainment."
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its quarterly financial statement call, GameStop revealed some surprising attach rate numbers for the PS3 and Wii. Sony's latest console saw a low attach rate of 1.5 games per console sold, with Madden NFL 07 and Resistance: Fall of Man the best-selling titles. Wii saw a "surprisingly good" attach rate of 3.0 games per system sold. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Red Steel were the top sellers at GameStop and EB Games.

GameStop executives believe the low attach rate for PS3 is do to the "large percentage of PS3s resold at a huge premium." It is believed that once the PS3 is in the hands of "real gamers," PS3 titles should see a growth in attach rate.
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Sony has tapped VoiceAge Corporation to enhance the online audio in Resistance: Fall of Man. While IGN editors have had little difficulty with online voice chat, VoiceAge is expected to "dramatically enhance voice communications" by allowing for greater clarity and a more dynamic range.

"VoiceAge is proud to contribute to the impressive realism of playing Resistance: Fall of Man on the PS3 online with many other players -- with this added capability Insomniac Games and Sony Computer Entertainment America are poised to deliver an unmatched game-playing experience," said Laurent Amar, President of VoiceAge. "People are essentially social beings with a strong attraction for teaming and communicating. Therefore, the addition of reliable and high quality voice to online multi- player experiences will enhance the naturalness of communication between the players."
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What's the first thing you'd do when you finally got your PS3 home? The logical step would be to slap in a Blu-ray movie or enjoy some Resistance: Fall of Man on your mammoth 1080p screen. One gamer had none of that and decided that booting up Super Mario Bros. -- a game released in 1985 before high-def was even an idea -- on his nexst-gen console. While we only see a brief flash of SMB followed by some Linux command lines -- which could very well be faked -- this video could show where the PS3 is heading...
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The launch of the PlayStation 3 has proven to have had little effect on the Japanese weekly sales charts, with only two titles scraping into the top ten during one of the slowest selling weeks in recent months.

Nintendo's latest Touch! Generations title, variously translated as General Knowledge and Common Sense Training, returned to the number one spot, but proved to be the only title to sell over 100,000 units. The highest new entry of the week was a new Kanji writing quiz title at number five, although not one published by Nintendo themselves.

The highest selling PlayStation 3 title was Namco Bandai's Ridge Racer 7, with Media Create quoting total sales of just 21,655, less than Enterbrain's estimate of around 30,000. Namco Bandai's Kidou Senshi Gundam: Target in Sight (aka Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire) was agreed to be the second best selling title of the launch, although in a busier week neither would have been likely to chart in the top ten.

The third best selling PlayStation 3 title was Resistance: Jinrui Botsuraku no Hi at number thirteen with 13,545 unit sales. Genji: Kamui Souran was next with 8,766 unit sales at number twenty-one, while Miyazato San Kyoudai Naizou: Sega Golf Club sold just 1,410 units and did not chart within the Japanese top fifty.

In terms of hardware sales, Media Create's figures were also lower than Enterbrain's PlayStation 3 figures, with a total put at 81,639 units. This was split fairly evenly between 35,865 units for the cheaper 20GB hard drive version and 45,774 units for the more expensive 60GB hard drive version.

As expected, the best selling console of the week was the Nintendo DS with 148,453 unit sales. Following the PlayStation 3, the PSP was next with 19,123 units ¿ its lowest figure for many months. The PlayStation 2 sold 16,157 units, also well below its usual amount. Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 dipped from its high last week ¿ following the debut release of the Core vers...
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Gears of War. Resistance: Fall of Man. Two great next-gen shooters, but which one to buy? Here's the point-by-point breakdown.
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Sony's PlayStation 3 is set to arrive this week on November 17th. With just 400,000 units available at launch in the USA, and an unknown number of game consoles arriving the rest of year. The total is expected to be below 1 million units in 2006, as a result many publishers have decided to delay their games so more time can be spent polishing them.

From minor delays like Need for Speed: Carbon being delayed until November 20. To big launch lineup losses like MotorStorm which was delayed to March, 2007. The PS3 launch will now have 13 titles including Resistance: Fall of Man and Ridge Racer 7.
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PS3Sony may have been marred by bad publicity, but come to think of it, bad publicity is still publicity and free face time is always good, we suppose. So let's stop the sulking and focus on that bright side of the bargain.

The Japanese PS3 that will be released tomorrow has surprisingly low software prices. Launch titles such as Resistance: Fall of Man and Genji: Days of the Blade will be carrying a price tag of 5,980 Japanese Yen (roughly US$51).
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Threespeech.com got some answers out of PlayStation conserning online user name, backwards compatibility, data transfer and more.

ONLINE USERNAMES
Online, it'll be one user name for all games. You'll get a master ID once you are registered. On some games, you'll be able to set up your own buddy list. If you meet someone playing one of these games, you'll be able to transfer them to your master buddy list. The thinking being that not everyone you're playing Resistance: Fall Of Man with is necessarily someone you'll be communicating with about other things.

BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY
Phil Harrison has confirmed that backwards compatibility will be achieved via hardware, not software. As long as a game meets TRC guidelines there'll be no issues ¿ and this will be the case with 99% of games. No firmware update will be required.

DATA TRANSFER
The easiest way at present to transfer data from a PC to a PS3 is to burn in onto DVD, or use a memory stick or USB hard drive.

DOWNLOADING PS1 TITLES
Phil Harrison has also said that, from day one on the PS3, you'll be able to download PS1 titles from the store onto the hard drive. These will only be playable on a PSP to start with in North America and Japan, but will work directly on a PS3 from the off in Europe.

ONLINE USERNAMES
Online, it'll be one user name for all games. You'll get a master ID once you are registered. On some games, you'll be able to set up your own buddy list. If you meet someone playing one of these games, you'll be able to transfer them to your master buddy list. The thinking being that not everyone you're playing Resistance: Fall Of Man with is necessarily someone you'll be communicating with about other things.
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Sony won't tell us, mostly because they don't want to make any promises that aren't 100 percent confirmed, but here's the list of what Playstation 3 games will be available at Best Buy and when:
PS3-Call of Duty 3 7917043 T $59.99 Nov. 14
PS3-Full Auto 2 7917365 T $59.99 Nov. 14
PS3-Genji 8136297 T $59.99 Nov. 14
PS3-Madden NFL '07 7916945 E $59.99 Nov. 14
PS3-NBA 2K7 8136322 E $59.99 Nov. 14
PS3-NHL 2K7 8137143 E $59.99 Nov. 14
PS3-Resistance: Fall of Man 7917025 M $59.99 Nov. 14
PS3-Tiger Woods PGA Tour '07 8136304 E $59.99 Nov. 14
PS3-Tony Hawk's Project 8 7917114 T $59.99 Nov. 14
P3-Need for Speed: Carbon 7917061 $59.99 Nov. 21
Hit the jump for the list of Blu-ray movies and accessories that will be available for the PS3.
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In an interview recently, Insomniac games' Ted Price revealed that the upcoming Resistance: Fall of Man will not use the central buddy list created for use online, but will have it's own separate buddy list, clan registry and in game chat services. According to GamesIndustry.biz, this will be the same for all of the PS3 launch titles...
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Three more launch titles will require a firmware update before you'll be able to play them. Much like what happens with the PSP, you'll see an alert that says you must upgrade to a newer firmware version before playing.

Genji: Days of the Blade, Ridge Racer 7 and Resistance: Fall of Man will all require a system update to version 1.02. The update ships on the disc so that you won't need to be online to download anything, but you should of course be able to update before the games come by hopping online.
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In a recent Insomniac newsletter, the team reveals that they are now done with Resistance: Fall of Man and are free to start working in full swing on their next big development; Ratchet and Clank for the PS3.
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Despite being one of the best-looking titles for the PlayStation 3 at launch (unless you're Ridge Racer 7 fetishist Tom, it's between this and MotorStorm really), Insomniac Games' Resistance: Fall of Man will not be integrated with the console's online functionality, specifically the built-in buddy list - instead, it will use its own buddy list, clan management system, and so on.

That's according to Insomniac boss Ted Price, who was speaking to Eurogamer's Rob Fahey earlier this week in an interview for the ThreeSpeech blog. While the decision to make the game run its own buddy list and so on is a blow to Sony's claims of an integrated online service - and in fact, it harks back to the bad old days of the PS2 online system - Price apparently left the door open for the possibility that the two systems could be reconciled in future, saying that "it is definitely possible to update the game via online."

At least the news about the rest of the game's online functions is more positive. According to Price, the game supports four player split screen, and up to 40 players online - with games being hosted on Sony's own servers for low-latency play.
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Now that Resistance: Fall of Man is in the bag, what's up for Insomniac Games? A little vacation, probably some press events, maybe they'll finish weather treating that patio. Oh, right, and the next Ratchet & Clank for the PlayStation 3!
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