Late Night Consoling

It's been over a week, but PS3 news is back. For old time's sake, let's stick it right here, in the traditional top position.

A well-regarded member of the AV Forums with connections to Sony Computer Entertainment Europe had a meeting with SCE Worldwide Studios president Phil Harrison, and he brought with him a bevy of questions from forum inhabitants. Of course, none of this information should be considered final or confirmed, but it all seems within reason. Unsurprisingly, many of the questions were not answered, and some were given stock responses the press has been receiving for months, but there were a few noteworthy points:

- The hard drive will be included with the console.
- It has not yet been decided whether PS2 peripherals such as the Guitar Hero guitar or racing wheel controllers will be compatible with PS3.
- Similarly, compatibility with PS1/PS2 memory cards has not yet been determined.
- The controller is being redesigned in some way, and the console itself is receiving "minor tweaks."
- PS3's Blu-ray playback capability was compared to PS2's DVD playback capability (unsurprising since PS3, which includes a Blu-ray player, will no doubt sell for hundreds of dollars less than the least expensive standalone BD player).
- PS3's online service will feature global online play across the US (presumably referring to North America), PAL regions, and Japan. This likely means that, in other territories, online play will be confined to the particular territory in question.
- Use of Sony's online gaming service will be free. Revenue will come from Xbox Live Marketplace-like microtransactions, as well as in game advertising. Sony will likely use information in users' profiles to deliver context-sensitive ads.
- 50GB Blu-ray discs will be needed for launch titles. Harrison and co. took the opportunity to point out that a next-gen console needs about a 100:1 ratio between game disc storage space and system memory. PS3 has about 98:1 thanks to Blu-ray, as did PS2 and Xbox, but Xbox 360 is 18:1 or so.
- PSP was briefly mentioned, with Harrison raising the possibility of a PSP redesign. If it happens, it would include a hard drive.

Again, take with a grain of salt, but nothing there is too surprising.

Various bits of Revolution news and rumor popped up today, so here we go.

- MTV News, which--remarkably--continues to have better game coverage than many game sites, published an interview today with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. Again, Iwata promised that additional "unique features of the ... hardware that we haven't discussed yet" will be revealed at E3. Various developers, publishers, and internal Nintendo sources have made reference to unannounced features, but none have given any indication as to what they might entail.
- Intriguingly, Iwata stated he has "gained a little bit of interest in getting more involved in game development again." Prior to joining Nintendo just a few years ago, Iwata was in charge of HAL Laboratories, the development studio he co-founded with fellow programmers fresh out of college. Along with former HAL designer Masahiro Sakurai, he was instrumental in the creation of series such as Kirby and Super Smash Bros.

Iwata also mentioned that E3 would see announcements of various Revolution games developed by studios Nintendo met with at last year's GDC. Speaking of Revolution games...

- The generally reliable Advanced Media Network claims that sources from Nintendo of Europe have confirmed a platform-exclusive action game combining gunplay and swordfighting. Other sources have revealed that the game is an Ubisoft project called Katana (no relation to John Romero). There have been persistant rumors of Ubisoft developing a Revolution-specific shooter for quite some time now, but still, you know the drill. Grain of salt and all that.
- Independent developer AGFRAG announced that it has obtained the exclusive rights to develop a video game based on the late Bob Ross' television show and painting techniques. Yes, Bob Ross, the guy who taught how to paint clouds and trees while smiling and sporting a fro. Speaking to IGN, AGFRAG president Joseph Hatcher confirmed that the press release is real and not in any way an April Fool's joke, "but the side effect of people thinking it is might help us get noticed." The game is in development for Nintendo Revolution, Nintendo DS, and PC. - Press release.

Why stop with Revolution and PS3?

- According to translations of a report from German site GameFront Online, Microsoft is planning a relaunch of Xbox 360 in Japan. Japan has been a tough market for the console since the original Xbox was deployed there in 2002 but so far Xbox 360 has arguably had an even tougher time so far. It sold fewer units at launch than its predecessor did when it hit shelves, largely thanks to a lackluster launch lineup. Microsoft is hoping that lineup will be energized on June 29 when four high-profile titles are released: AQ Interactive's Bullet Witch, Sega's Chromehounds, Ubisoft's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, and Idea Factory's Spectral Force 3: Innocent Rage. Frequently, hardware is referring to as having an informal second launch when key titles or revisions hit the market, but since Microsoft is said to be making an announcement on the matter next week, it is likely something official will be in the works.

- Team NINJA's outspoken Tomonobu Itagaki revealed to Famitsu Xbox 360 that Dead or Alive Extreme Beach Volleyball 2 (X360) is being "fast-tracked" through development, and a trailer of the game will be shown at E3. The game will be playable over Xbox Live. This time around, it will also contain elements in addition to just volleyball, as Itagaki does not believe that just playing volleyball online would be particularly fun.

GamesIndustry.biz speaks with RedOctane CEO Kelly Sumner. RedOctane recently gained fame for publishing Harmonix's acclaimed Guitar Hero (PS2).