Big Sky in the Big Apple

Here it goes again - rumors of a possible PlayStation 3 price drop by Sony are really starting to heat up. I guess as it gets hotter outside, so does the rumor mill? I don’t know, but Sony insists that they are not planning to cut their PlayStation 3 prices any time soon. However, if they were, do you really think they would admit it? I mean, Sony wants to move units today, not have people sitting on their thumb waiting for a price drop.

Many in the industry have been dropping hints about a planned PlayStation 3 price drop, claiming that the popular gaming console will see an approximately one hundred dollar price reduction sometime in August. As this rumor has been batted around before, it does seem like Sony will lower prices, the question really is: when? Personally, the high price of the unit has kept me loyal to my Xbox 360, however if their is a substantial PlayStation 3 price drop that may very well change.

Sony is now showing off a new edition of its PSP (PlayStation portable) version of its PlayStation Portable gaming device, and has plans to release the unit in either October or November of this year. That’s right a new PSP will be made available right in time to sell as part of the holiday rush.

So what’s different about the new PSP? Well, the unit which is called the PSPGO has a brand new design with a sliding panel which gives access to the control buttons. Also the PSPGO makes the move to flash memory and includes WiFi. The WiFi his important as it gives players access to the new PSPGO game store. These are major improvements and should help Sony to move many units!

There’s some cool news out today for fans of the boy wizard Harry Potter: After a long period of speculation and rumors Traveler’s Tales has at long last admitted that a Lego Harry Potter video game is in the works! The game, will likely be called Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and will encompass events that were included in the first four Harry Potter novels. It is expected to be officially launched in 2010 and will include many of the characters from the books including Harry Potter (of course),as well as Hermione and Ron.

Oh and as the game is only going to span the first four books of the Potter series, you know what that means: a sequel should no doubt follow if the game’s popularity warrants it. Remember there are seven books total in the Potter series so that’s more than enough material for a second Lego Potter game.

Bad news for Sony stock holders as the company has recently released its annual numbers, and unfortunately they are posted a loss of just over one billion US dollars! That’s a big chunk of change and is, no surprisingly, the first loss that the giant electronics company has posted since the mid nineteen nineties (1995 to be exact). Also unfortunate, is that the company has warned that it is not expected to see growth in the upcoming quarters as its sales continue to decline in the face of this global economic recession. Also the decline of the US dollar against the Japanese Yen has been noted as another reason for the loss.

One of the worst performing areas of Sony’s business this year was its PlayStation division which lost almost eleven billion dollars in the last year. However, Sony has managed to cut down on the cost of manufacturing its PlayStation three console, and with software sales for the unit growing rapidly I would be surprise to see it operate it at a loss for too much longer.

For those of you who like to rockout to the Rock Band franchise of video games, you’re about to get a lot more selection in which exactly Guitar Hero version you choose to entertain yourself with. Because of the franchises huge sales success thus far, Activision is creating three new versions of its core game. So just what is this new selection? Well first we are expected to see Guitar Hero Five, which is simple the newest installment of the core game, and should include additional songs and functionality. Next, there is Band Hero which is a more family friend version of the game, including a sound track of top forty kosher songs. Lastly, and probably most exciting is DJ hero, which will provide users with a turntable experience as they take on the roll of a real DJ.

Look for the new games before the end of the year, probably in time for Christmas rush. Also there will be an edition of Rock Band coming out which features music for rock icons Van Halen. So if you’re into them, you’ll no doubt want to check that one out.

Apple has removed a 99-cent iPhone game known as “Baby Shaker” from its iTunes store after the idea behind it, calming down a crying baby with a vigorous shake, sparked an outrage. Based on the screen shots posted on some websites, once the user of the iPhone has finished shaking the device, the baby appears with large red X’s over its eyes.

The iTunes site describes the application as: “See how long you can endure his or her adorable cries before you just have to find a way to quiet the baby down!” Organizations, such as the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome and the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation, have condemned Apple for approving the game for its site.

The application was designed by Sikalosoft, and the company did not respond to comment requests, however the “Baby Shaker” was deleted from its website. The Apple spokesperson also wouldn’t comment on why they application was initially approved for sale. Apple screens each iPhone application, a process some developers have sounded off as taking weeks or months. Others have claimed that Apple offers little feedback when it accepts or rejects an application. Applications that allow users to throw virtual shoes at President George W. Bush or watch scenes from the “South Park” cartoon have been rejected in the past.

The Interactive Achievement Awards is considered by many to be the biggest video game awards event in the year, and this year, at the twelfth annual award show it was Little Big Planet who really stole the show, and took home some serious hardware. The game won a total of eight awards, including best console game of the year, as well as game of the year. While I haven’t yet played the game, I certainly plan to do now.

If you’ve never heard of Little Big Planet, it’s a very creative gaming premise which features small funny looking characters which are referred to as sackboys. These sack characters evolve over the game based on the wa you play them, and the different areas you take them to. It certainly sounds different, and I’ll probably post more after I give the game a go myself.