Gadgets and Video Games

You may have assumed this from the climbing PS3 sales Sony reported last week, but a report from Research and Markets provides further confirmation that the system is increasing in popularity around the world. “The PS3 is dominant in Japan and Korea,” the report notes, “and as of June 2008, has begun to outsell the Xbox 360 in Europe. It is also steadily increasing its market share in all other regions across the globe, including in the North American market.” The Xbox 360 is still ahead of the PS3 in North America. It’s worth noting that the increase in sales in Europe predates the price drop and introduction of the PS3 Slim. Research and Markets also provided a bit more information about the distribution of console sales

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Report: Global PS3 market share increasing

Danish developer Press Play would like to draw everyone’s attention to Max & the Magic Marke r’s US release on WiiWare this March. The game released late last month on European WiiWare for 1,000 Wii Points. M&TMM is currently available in the US, directly from Press Play and digital distributors, for PC and Mac at a suggested price of $20. With a WiiWare demo for the game uncertain, we suggest you try it over on the official website . We’re also drawing a direct link to some gameplay videos here .

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Max & the Magic Marker scribbles down March US WiiWare release

Here’s some data from Sony’s fiscal Q3 earnings and, as predicted , the electronics giant had some positives things to report out of its gaming division. However, like always, with the good comes the bad (and sometimes the ugly). The good: “Due to the launch of a new model, approximately 6.5 million units of PlayStation 3 … hardware were sold in the current quarter, compared to approximately 4.5 million units in the prior year’s third quarter,” reports Sony’s Q3 earnings report. The PS3 Slim continues to drive hardware sales, with its slim new form factor and, more importantly, slim new price tag

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Sony Q3: PS3 software and hardware up, PSP and PS2 notsomuch

A quick note for anyone out there still clinging to the first iteration of EA’s Skate : It’s time to move on. EA has updated the page for Skate ’s Reel service, which allows users to upload and share videos of their in-game exploits. The update reads, quite simply, “Servers for the skate.Reel feature will be shut down on March 1st, 2010.” It also notes that the game itself will still function properly, but users will no longer be able to upload videos to share either in-game or via the Skate website. As tipster Cal points out, there are some Achievements related to uploading videos, so you’d better start capturing those sweet runs and massive bails before it’s too late.

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Skate Reel servers totally bailing in March

The image above could serve as kind of robotic Rorschach test. What do you see? A cute little tripod help-o-bot, whose head is cocked curiously to the side, as though it’s studying its new master to better serve his or her robotic needs? Or is it a three-legged killing machine, who’s observing his new master’s weaknesses, which it plans to exploit with its now-charging eye lasers? Sadly, the answer’s not as provocative as either of those two choices — its actually a photo of a Project Natal prototype, as nabbed by the Seattle Times .

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Natal prototype model revealed (it’s either adorable or terrifying)

Click to start the unboxing. Japanese gamers are braving the cold right now, waiting on line to pick up Final Fantasy XIII . Square Enix and Sony have partnered up to create a limited edition bundle that includes a copy of the game, a white controller, and a pink Lightning-emblazoned 250GB PS3 Slim system . It’s unlikely this system will ever be officially released outside of Asia

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Unboxing the Final Fantasy XIII limited edition PS3

We think the redesigned PS3 is small enough. However, Sony’s Japanese designers, in their continuing desire to shrink things, noted that the PS3 Slim “could have been made even smaller.” Sony’s executive VP of technology Masayuki Chatani spoke with Japanese newspaper Nikkei about the challenges of designing a slimmer PS3. The goal was not only to cut costs , but to expand its attractiveness to “an even wider range of users.” Considering the Japanese penchant for small electronics, the original PS3’s girth was certainly a limiting factor. However, certain sacrifices would have been necessary for Sony to pursue an even smaller box

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The PS3 Slim ‘could have been made even smaller’

Sony Computer Entertainment America has some good news and some bad news to share. The good: Sales of PS3 hardware at its “top retailers” jumped 300% for the first week of September versus the week before the system’s price was cut to $299 for the 120GB “slim” unit . The bad: Um, well … okay, we lied.

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PS3 sales up 300% for first week following price cut in US

Yes, the 999% week-to-week sales increase that the PS3 reportedly enjoyed in the UK, after the release of the PS3 Slim , may seem a little … astonishing, but we’d like to help you make sense of the sequence of events.

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Chart Track: PS3 sales up 999% percent in UK

Now that the prices have been slashed on the Xbox 360 Elite, it would seem that the “Super Elite” is rising to take its pricey place. After yesterday’s reveal of the 250GB beast on Amazon Germany, XboxGaming.co.za is reporting that the “Super Elite” console (with two wireless controllers and a copy of Forza 3 ) has been confirmed by local distributors as coming to South Africa, this October, for R4,999 ($644). XG’s report also included an ad from local retailer BT Games, which touts a standard Super Elite bundle for R4699.

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250 GB ‘Super Elite’ 360 spotted in South Africa too