In theory, the idea that the game’s variable difficulty settings will make the game more accessible to someone like my mother is somewhat appealing. And then I think a bit and it’s not. When I toast Mom’s secondary for my sixth TD, I doubt I’ll get up, dance around, and mime like I’m teabagging her. But after nearly 20 years at this, beginning with Madden 93 on the Genesis, it’s almost an instinctive reaction.

I also seriously doubt guys’ girlfriends are going to be interested in one of the game’s great diversions — creating 6-11, 300 pound solid muscle running backs of all-99 ability, and giving them names like “Ass Raper.” My buddy David, from the Rocky Mountain News, and I did that on his Gamecube in 2003. (A.R.’s alma mater was Yale.) David brought him out against Jim’s Seahawks and paused every replay so Jim (another RMN pal) could read the guy’s name and number aloud. Jim responded the next week by creating his entire family as 99ers. His dog caught eight touchdowns.

In the new big-tent Madden community, you won’t see things like Spite Bowl, Late-Hit Bowl, and Halfback Option Pass Bowl, complete perversions of the game that can only be dreamed up by two guys, playing on the same couch, at equivalent levels of skill and sobriety. Spite Bowl pits two guys playing as their friend’s biggest rival teams. The object is more “do not lose to those overrated sons of bitches” rather than “I want my team to win.” The 49ers and Dolphins are a hideous matchup this year — unless they’re being led by Bills and Raiders fans.

Late-Hit Bowl, the object was to get flagged for as many late hits as possible and if the other guy ended up on the one yard line or scored on the drive, you got his points. Halfback Option Pass Bowl was a game invented with two other friends in Oneonta, N.Y., on the Playstation version of Madden 98. The only play you could run was the option pass and the only defense you could call was a prevent. Naturally, when you employed drinking-game rules this game became a lot more fun.

And while you might be able to have an online league with 31 of your closest friends, who the hell is going to buy the Taco Bell? There’s no league I could play that will top the Friday Madden League in 2004, with three other co-workers from the Rocky. Four-way, in-person cooperative play tells you just how strong your friendship is when your pal does stupid shit like whiff on three straight kickoffs. It forces you to invent your own hand signals and decoys. You dream up celebrations and end zone dances that didn’t depend on motion capture, quicktime, or moving to an endzone hotspot and pressing the right button.

None of this is to say I won’t enjoy Madden 09, and it's silly to resent others for enjoying it in different ways. But the tone of the game experience seems to be changing. Madden 09’s new AI is meant to tell gamers of all skill levels that there’s no wrong way to play the game. But my friends and I delighted in playing the game the wrong way, and I’m sure we weren't alone. Doing stupid things together online doesn’t have the same appeal, and it no longer provokes the same reaction from the game. It’s a little like your parents giving you permission to cuss all you want. After a few willful minutes on your own, you give up, and join polite company as a well-adjusted participant.

We had a secret test program in Europe back in 1997 on PSOne, running a black and white text-based, moderator-led community chat group with a special box called 'Net-Station' that hooked up PCs to the TV. Nick Parker ran it. The project codename was 'Moccasin 5'. I have no idea where it came from.

Then, at Sony Europe, we worked on a PS2 concept called 'Central Station' which was planned to stream its own PlayStation TV channel, back in 2002. This was four years ahead of YouTube. But uptake in broadband and wireless routers took longer to reach mass market levels than we expected, and we couldn't get other regions of the Sony PlayStation world to buy in.

It just goes to show, success isn't just about having a great idea or the ability to pull it off. In many ways, timing really is everything. And I'm guessing that actually releasing the product has something to do with it too.

Sony beat Facebook... to Facebook [MCVUK]

The US Patent and Trademark Office has taken a much more vague approach to determining what may or may not be patented. Its guidelines for patent examiners requires that the invention produce a concrete, useful, and tangible result, and gameplay patents are being allowed.

[Video games] are not inventions at all in the normal sense of the word. They are imaginary systems. Unlike mathematical theorems (which cannot be patented), game rules don't even have to be coherent — though obviously they should be for playability reasons.

The Designer's Notebook: Damn All Gameplay Patents! [Gamasutra][image]

ESRB Game Ratings

• Biohazard 2
• Intelligent Qube
• PoPoLoCrois Monogatari II
• Crime Crackers 2
• Atelier Marie Plus
• Tantei Junguji Saburo Early Collection
• Magical Drop
• Baroque
• Robin Lloyd no Bouken

PlayStation Store (JP) [PlayStation]

Rumor has it that the latest firmware updates for the PSP and PS3 have allowed playing of all PSOne discs on the Playstation Portable via the PS3 using remote play.

I haven't been able to check PSOne disc based games, because I can't find a single one, but we do have readers reporting in that they work on the system via Remote Play. In a bit of unwarranted exuberance I decided to see if any PS2 games would play via Remote Play, and the answer remains no. I did test out some PSOne games I had downloaded from the Playstation Store and they all seemed to work fine.

Another neat feature I noticed is that you can now assign which buttons do what on your PSP while in Remote Play meaning Lair should finally work if you want to play it remotely... and still own it.

Comment here if you can get your PSOne discs to work via Remote Play.

Update: SCEA just got back to us to confirm the rumors: "I can confirm that with today's firmware release, some PlayStation games can be inserted into PS3 and played via Remote Play on PSP." Sweet!

Only donors of the developer's last projects will be invited to the early beta, but we'll keep an eye out for the final release so you can spend your time worrying about other things, like "do these shoes look good with this phone, or do I need to burn them immediately?"

[psx4all NEWS] Playstation has arrived on the iPhone and iPod Touch! [via infiniteloop]

We've seen screen shots and video of Capcom's aborted Resident Evil 2 before, but nothing this extensive, and certainly not this long. The PlayStation Museum's walk through of many of the shelved sequel's areas provide a better look at what we could have been given instead of the proper, and arguably much better, final version of Resident Evil 2. Ten minutes of Leon S. Kennedy and Elza Walker await you above, with a proper preview of the prototype at the link below.

Resident Evil 2 Prototype (aka Resident Evil 1.5) [PlayStation Museum]

Hit the jump for the full list of classics coming today to Japan. King's Field III may be a necessary download. I purchased my original Playstation just to play King's Field II, but was lured in by the Twisted Metal series and never got around to it. Yeah...I played a lot of TM2...

Sanwa Pachinko Paradise (Irem) Sanwa Pachinko Paradise 2 (Irem) Alundra (Sony) XII Jumbo (Sony) Popologue (Sony) Hanafuda Graffiti Koikoi Monogatari (Hamster) Echo Night #2 (From Software) King's Field III (From Software)

Attendees at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival were witness to a prime example of spin control and knowing your audience.

Former SEE boss Chris Deering did a bit of dub work on the truth by using the price of beer to prove that the Playstation 3 is in fact cheaper than the original Playstation was when it was released.

"In terms of the number of pints of beer you have to forego to get a PS3 it's really just the same as the number of pints of beer you had to forego to get a PS1 back in 1995".

And the math checks out, according to Spong. The Deering Beers Scale proves that you could purchase a PS3 and nearly three beers for the cost of a PSOne. Whoever figured that out for Deering deserves a raise, in Guinness.

PlayStation 3 Cheaper Than PSOne In Beer [Spong]

The rest of this week's updates are mostly trailers, with video content for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, inFamous and Heavenly Sword ready for download. Movie trailers for The Brothers Solomon, I Am Legend, Resident Evil: Extinction and The Brave One round out the list.

European PS3 owners can also download a demo for 2K Games' The Darkness. Of course, North American gamers can also get their hands on it, they'll just need to create a UK account.

IGN followed up with Sony to find out exactly when we'll get that capability, a function of the PS3 that was expected by the end of 2006. The response?

We'll be replacing the older PS1 games with fixed versions sometime in May. Once the new games are uploaded, you'll be able to download the games straight to your hard drive and play them from there.

Plus, Sony clarified that users who have already downloaded the PSP-only versions from the store will not have to re-purchase the game for play on the PS3. Now, if we could just get some decent PSone games... Michael McWhertor

PS1 Downloads on PS3 Explained [IGN]

• You can now download PlayStation format software from the PlayStation Store and play it on the PS3 system.
• You can now use saved data for PlayStation format software on the PSP system.
• You can now use the vibration function of accessories that are for use with PlayStation and PlayStation 2 format software.

The PlayStation Store still lists the currently available PSone Classics for the PSP only. Tomorrow will see the weekly update to the PlayStation Store, however, so we won't be surprised when PS3 support is added for these downloadable titles.

I've done a quick look around for any other updates in the Cross Media Bar but so far nothing noticeable has caught my eye. Let us know if you spot anything. Michael McWhertor

The latest PSone titles to hit the Japanese store include:

• Rally Cross
• Crash Bandicoot
• Spectral Force
• A.IV.Evolution GLOBAL
• Logic Mahjong Soryu
• Resurgence of the Vampire Nightmare

At only 525 yen, how can you go wrong? By downloading Logic Mahjong Soryu, of course! Michael McWhertor

Excellent news, meaning one less reason to have my North American PlayStation 2 hooked up to INPUT 2 on my HDTV. Thanks for fixing this, Sony! Michael McWhertor

Sony just shot us a press release, letting us know about Rally Cross and the Genji Days of the Blade costume pack additions to the PlayStation Store. Thanks, guys, but we knew this last Friday! Old news!

But they also threw in a look at the upcoming content for the PS3 and PSP due to hit any time now. The goods:

Upcoming PS3 Content
- Blast Factor multiplayer pack ($2.99)
- Gran Turismo HD Concept trailer

Upcoming PSP Content
- WipeOut emulated PlayStation title ($5.99)
- Jet Moto emulated PlayStation title ($5.99)

Other Upcoming Content
- GOD OF WAR II trailer
- Warner Bros. movie trailers

Okay, cool. Jet Moto we like, but WipeOut? Guys, I don't want to tell you how to run your business, but we've already got WipeOut Pure for the PSP and it rules. How about something a little fresher? Maybe Vib Ribbon with MP3 support? Klonoa? Vagrant Story? We're dyin' over here! Michael McWhertor

Rally Cross, GT HD 1.1 Hit PlayStation Store [Kotaku]

Sony today announced that they have sold 1 million Playstation 3s in North America since the launch of the console six weeks ago.

That makes the Playstation 3 the fastest selling home console Sony has ever launched.

Microsoft sold 600,000 of their Xbox 360s from their November launch to the second week in January.

"SCEA went to great lengths to help meet demand for PS3, including airlifting systems into North America on a weekly basis to ensure a steady stream of units were available to consumers throughout the holiday season," said Jack Tretton, president and CEO, SCEA. "The fact that we were able to reach the one-million mark faster than our top-selling platform, the PS2, further validates the strength of the PlayStation brand and our belief that consumers are ready to experience true high-definition gaming." ... "Reaching the one million mark for PS3 is the first of many major milestones for us as we head into a new year. Even more impressive, is that we were able to accomplish this feat while successfully managing two other gaming platforms—PS2 and PSP," said Tretton. "With three PlayStation platforms now available to gamers, 2007 will be about software and delivering innovative, new experiences and award-winning franchises to consumers, both through retail and through our online PLAYSTATION Network."

Wow. Maybe all of those PS3s sitting around have more to do with ramped up production than dwindling desire. Brian Crecente

LAS VEGAS, January 8, 2007 -At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2007 in Las Vegas, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced that more than one million units of its recently launched PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3 ) computer entertainment system have been sold in to the retail channel in North America. The company successfully achieved this milestone by the end of the 2006 calendar year, just six weeks after the product was introduced on November 17, 2006.
PS3 has been selling-out at retail outlets across North America since it was launched. This high consumer demand drove the PS3 to reach the one-million mark before its predecessors, the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and the PS one game console - both systems have shipped more than 213 million units of hardware and more than 2.1 billion pieces of software worldwide.
"SCEA went to great lengths to help meet demand for PS3, including airlifting systems into North America on a weekly basis to ensure a steady stream of units were available to consumers throughout the holiday season," said Jack Tretton, president and CEO, SCEA. "The fact that we were able to reach the one-million mark faster than our top-selling platform, the PS2, further validates the strength of the PlayStation brand and our belief that consumers are ready to experience true high-definition gaming."
PS3 wasn't the only hot gift this holiday season, the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system continues to enjoy record-breaking sales in North America. In the first quarter of 2007, PS2 will continue to fuel industry growth with the highly anticipated release of the MLB 07 The Show and God of War 2 titles. PlayStation-branded entertainment and gaming content that will be shown in the Sony booth at CES 2007, includes:
FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION - PS3
MLB 07 The Show - PS3, PSP
MotorStorm — PS3
LAIR — PS3
Heavenly Sword — PS3
Gran Turismo HD - PS3 downloadable
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters - PSP
Killzone — PSP
SOCOM: Fire Team Bravo - PSP

Other features on display will include "Remote Play" for the PS3, which allows the consumer to utilize their PSP to access content on their PS3 hard drive, including movies, television shows, videos and music. A full demonstration of the PLAYSTATION Network, and PLAYSTATION Store for the PS3, as well as Location Free TV for the PSP, will also be shown.

Yeah, I don't think this compares to getting R-Types and Dino Crisis either. Still, it's better than nothing, and I'm still glowing from the Christmas Eve scheduled download of Gran Turismo HD. Michael McWhertor

The following will set Japanese gamers back 525 yen:

• R-Types (Irem)
• Tail of the Sun (Artdink)
• Migi Hidari U-SA (Artdink)


• Dino Crisis (Capcom)
• Global Force (Sony)
• Gekitotsu Toma L'Arc: L'Arc-en-Ciel vs Tomarunner (Sony)
• Little Princess: Maru Oukoku no Ningyou Hime (aka Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure) (Nippon Ichi)
• The Conveni: Ano Machi wo Dokusen Seyo (Hamster)
• Mr. Driller (Bandai Namco)

Hurry up, Sony. We're now way behind our Japanese brethren and would really appreciate some Jumping Flash support right about now. Any particular PSone title you're desperately hoping for? Michael McWhertor

A Playstation 3 owner put together a little video to show what happens to Playstation 2 games when they are played on the PS3. The end result, he says the video appears to show, is that you get more jaggies and artifacts when playing a PS2 or PSone game on the new console than if you were to play it on the PS2.

He says this is because the PS3 resizes the image at a low resolution with no filtering. I don't know, I noticed the same issue once I started playing PS2 games on my 50-inch high-def television, they just look like crap on a big TV. I haven't noticed a substantial difference between playing PS2 games on either system. Have you?

Judging from the forum posts about this, this particular issue isn't something everyone is running into. Maybe it's TV-related. Brian Crecente

Titles range from 157MB (for Hot Shots Golf 2) to 535MB (for Tekken 2) with each setting you back a cheap ass $5.99 (US). These are currently only playable on your PSP and require a PlayStation 3 for the download, but expect updates soon to make them playable on the PS3 and downloadable from the PSP. Michael McWhertor

PS1 games for PSP (US) [E-mpire Forums]

Michael Pachter, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst, doesn't really see Ken Kutaragi's promotion as a way to remove him from the game, but rather as a way to prepare him for heading up the entire company.

Speaking to GameDaily BIZ about the management shuffle, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter said, "I think it's prudent succession planning. Kutaragi is the visionary, and his work on PS3 was done at launch. They need to groom him to replace Stringer. The rest of the guys are competent, experienced, and loyal. I think each of the other moves made sense. In time, I think you will see Kutaragi given responsibility for other functions, like Blu-ray."

As Sony President Ryoji Chubachi explained it to the Nikkei, "Mr. Kutaragi's strength is his knowledge of technology. His position is, of course, chief executive, but this means he will especially be looking closely at the area of technological development."

I've come to realize that Sony uses the volcano school of management, heat from bad decisions and poor management builds until a key person involved in the decision-making process is pushed up and up and up and finally ejected entirely from the company.

I'm going to patent that shit, Brian's School of Volcano Management.

Kutaragi Being Groomed to Replace Stringer - Pachter [Game Daily]

This does not, fortunately, fall under PlayStation 3 eBay douchebaggery. Instead, it's painfully clear what you're getting. (You might want to lay down some plastic before continuing, as this auction might just blow your mind.)

The math? PS1 + PS2 = PS3. Gran Turismo 1 + Gran Turismo 4 = Gran Turismo 5. What? You're not sold yet? I'm going to let the seller take over.

Imagine being able to play Gran Turismo 1 at the same time as you're playing Gran Turismo 4 (two TVs required but not included). None of those other non-custom Playstation 3s out there allow you to play two games at once.

Think about that! Simultaneous gameplay! In addition, this bundle trumps the standard PlayStation 3's 4D gaming experience touted by Sony's Ken Kutaragi by giving you two 3D consoles, making this a 6D experience. Play beyond, indeed. Michael McWhertor

Custom built Sony Playstation 3. PS1 + PS2 = PS3 (Thanks, Tyler!)

Here's the as-official-as-it-gets numbers for October game hardware sales. It looks like Nintendo continues to slap Sony around in the realm of portable gaming, though Sony's PS2 delivered a sharp kick to the Xbox 360 groin.

They need to make a new video showing the three consoles beating the crap out of each other.

Console Hardware
PS2: 235,042
Xbox 360: 217,772
Gamecube: 32,533
Xbox: 3,549
PSOne: 295

Console Software

PS2: 4,477,692
Xbox 360: 1,341,029
Xbox: 1,254,388
GameCube: 953,518
PSOne: 22,270

Portable Hardware
DS Lite: 349,828
DS: 10,586
Total DS: 360,414
PSP: 130,466

Portable Software
DS software: 1,364,809
GBA software: 1,283,132
PSP software: 653,340

I'll be interested to see the November figures, though December will be the most intriguing for the year. Brian Crecente

After learning of the inevitable issues with some PlayStation and PlayStation 2 titles acting up on the PS3, Kaz Hirai, President/CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, says they're working on it.

We are aiming for perfect compatibility. Our goal is 100 percent compatibility. We are trying to get there as quickly as possible.

Sony expects to issue what Reuters refers to as "firmware" updates (presumably some elixir made of dried pixie wings and ground unicorn horns) to address problems with some 200-odd titles.

As long as my copy of Gitaroo Man works, I'll be a satisfied customer. Michael McWhertor

Sony software upgrades to fix PlayStation glitches [ABC News]
PS3 Backwards Compatability Has Some Kinks [Kotaku]

When I first got my PSP I was all about the homebrew. I made custom backgrounds for my savegames and etc. One time, while waiting for a flight at an airport, I got so involved in my homebrew DOOM game that I missed my plane by about an hour. After that, I lost my taste for the elaborate fiddling that goes into getting homebrew to run.

But with a functional PSX emulator available, I may be about to get back into the fray.

Yoshihiro has released the first public release of his PSX-P Playstation One emulator for the PSP. This first public release is a good demonstration of what could be in time an excellent Playstation Emulator for the PSP, once a dynarec is built in then Sony will have reason to worry or worry us .

This emulator works on PSPs from ver1.0 to v2.71 obviously after v1.5 youll need to use the Eloader.

So it sounds like the overall speed is currently not great, but this is undoubtedly the beginning of something beautiful. Eliza Gauger

original forum post here [DCEMU, thanks Hyperion]

This sort of makes me sad. I was randomly selected to participate in a Sony survey for the Playstation Portable. The questions read like something that comes up in the tailend of a really bad break up with a needy girlfriend.

I grabbed a couple of screenshots of the survey, just to highlight the thrust of the questionnaire. I found the third question to be quite interesting:

What statement best characterizes your opinion of Playstation overall (console & portable entertainment system) in terms of delivering a quality gaming experience?

*Playstation lags behind the competition in terms of gaming innovation.
*Playstation is no different than any other gaming manufacturer.
*Playstation is the technological leader in gaming innovations.

I kept expecting a question that read: Will you go to the dance with me?

*Yes
*No

Second screen grab after the jump. Brian Crecente

Last night Sony announced that they've finally gotten around to hiring a replacement for the Senior Director of Corporate Communications. Dave Karraker comes from Allied Domecq Spirits and Wine, where he was the veep of corporate communications.

His only gaming experience, it seems, comes from his time, long ago, as a fledgling flak for third party PR companies Rogers & Cowan and Access Communications where he worked with such clients as Sega, 3DO, 3Dfx Interactive and Microsoft.

So they went with a guy who's last job was all about convincing people to drink lots of Kahlua and Beefeater? Wow, just wow. Hit the jump for the full press release, if that's your sort of thing. Brian Crecente

Sony Computer Entertainment America Appoints Corporate Communications Leader

Videogame and Consumer Products Veteran to Direct Public Relations for
PlayStation(R) Brand, Including November Launch of PLAYSTATION(R)3

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Computer Entertainment
America, Inc. today announced the appointment of Dave Karraker to the post of
Senior Director of Corporate Communications. Filling an existing position,
Karraker will oversee all North American public relations for Sony Computer
Entertainment America's successful PlayStation(R) brand. He will report to
Peter Dille, Senior Vice President of Marketing, effectively immediately.
Karraker will manage the Sony Computer Entertainment America
communications team responsible for PlayStation products in the North America,
including the original PS one(TM) game console, PlayStation(R) 2 computer
entertainment system, PSP(R) (PlayStation(R) Portable) system and all
first-party PlayStation software. He will also supervise public relations for
the launch of the ground-breaking Sony PLAYSTATION(R)3, which will be
available in the North America on November 17, 2006.
Before joining the Sony Computer Entertainment America team, Karraker was
North American Vice President of Corporate Communications for Allied Domecq
Spirits and Wine, managing communications for such well-known brands as
Stolichnaya(R), Maker's Mark(R), Kahlua(R), Beefeater(R) and Courvoisier(R).
Prior to Allied Domecq, Karraker was Director of Marketing Communications for
Kmart Corporation, where he oversaw media relations for the discount
retailer's marketing efforts; proprietary brands, such as Martha Stewart
Everyday(R) and Joe Boxer(R); store network and e-commerce division.
Karraker's videogame and consumer electronics experience includes work
with public relations firms Access Communications in San Francisco and Rogers
& Cowan in Los Angeles, where his clients included Sega of America, Microsoft,
3DO, Virgin Interactive, Crystal Dynamics, U.S. Gold, ASC Games, 3Dfx
Interactive and Knowledge Adventure. Before joining the public relations
field, Karraker was a broadcast journalist for the CBS affiliate in Santa
Barbara, California and the NBC affiliate in Reno, Nevada.
"Dave has the ideal blend of videogame, large consumer brand and retail
experience to help us meet our goals with the PlayStation brand," said Peter
Dille, senior vice president of marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment
America. "SCEA's communications team will play a key role in the successful
launch of the PLAYSTATION 3, focusing on driving not only consumer demand, but
also retailer excitement and synergies across the Sony family of companies.
Dave has a proven track record for managing responsive, two-way communications
between all stakeholders and audiences for the companies he has represented,
which will be a critical component of our marketing program for all
PlayStation products."
Karraker holds a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from California
State University - Northridge. He will be based at the Sony Computer
Entertainment America corporate headquarters in Foster City, California.

It looks like the Playstation Portable killer app, a downloadable PSOne library, won't be hitting the portable until the Playstation 3 launches.

Gamesindustry reports that the new download service will operate via WiFi -enabled PCs and well as the PS3 and will be hitting in November with the console.

The service will also include movies. Brian Crecente

Kawanishi Reveals PSP Download Details [GI]

Up to 7,000 PSOne games emulated on the PSP by the end of 2007. That's what Sony is promising.

There's no release date or further details (like, HELLO! Pricing?), but Sony did confirm for the UK PSP Magazine that Tomb Raider, Symphony of the Night, Final Fantasy VII and VIII and Silent Hill.

That's a pretty exciting attempt to shore up the PSP's games line-up, although we're curious if these emulated versions will nix attempts to release Tomb Raider and Silent Hill remakes. But 7,000 games? Yes, they used the dreaded qualifier 'up to' but that's a bold claim that can only be good for those of us who haven't yet flushed our PSPs down the toilet. Crecente, I'm looking at you. Florian Eckhardt

New PSOne Emulation Details [Advanced Media PSP]

Quoth Sony spokesman Jonathan Fargher:

"The PS3 downgrade story is categorically not true.

"Developers have been working with PS3 dev kits for anywhere between eight and 12 months, and to suggest that we'd now take the decision to downgrade the hardware at such a late stage, is, well, ridiculous.

"Worse still is the suggestion that we couldn't fit all the technical components into a plastic box," Fargher continued.

"Granted, whilst all products are not perfect, we do have over 40 years of experience making consumer electronics equipment, and therefore, extensive experience in making things fit - PSone and Slimline PS2 being just two examples of that."

It's a pretty compelling argument up until that last paragraph. I mean, hey, Sony! How many years did it take you for you to figure out how to cram the Playstation into the PSone or the PS2 into the Slimline? Granted, the PS3 is a hundred times larger than those consoles, but still — they aren't good examples of your claims of expertise in 'making things fit'... at least as far as Rev 1 models are concerned. Florian Eckhardt

Sony dismisses rumours of PlayStation 3 downgrade [Games Industry]

Rest in peace, little PSone. I'm gonna delete a few saves from my Memory Card out of respect, homie.

Sony Stops Making Original PS [Gamespot]

Today I spoke to my game distributor and he informed me that Microsoft has officially discontinued the Xbox 1.0 today. It seems as though M$ has no intentions to keep their predecessor around and make it a bargain console like Sony did with the PS1. But then again, they never said they were going to.

Microsoft is checking on this, but hasn't gotten back to us yet. I'll post an update with their official response.

Update: Microsoft responded. If you read carefully, you'll notice they don't, in fact, deny a thing.

Crap doesn t look so much like crap when some one uses the Aw Yeah phrase to describe it. Take for instance this eBay auction for an Asciiware Fighting Stick, GunCon and Time Crisis, all for the PSOne. Typically, I wouldn t have event stopped to check out the auction and read the sweet the decription, but that Aw Yeah got me.

Jeffc8614 hooked may have dragged me in to his sad little auction with the Aw Yeah, but he hooked me with the hypnotizing pattern of bold and no-bold text in his description Aw Yeah.

Take for instance his description of the joystick, which comes complete with authentic Capcom stickers.

All buttons and the joystick and connections are in perfect working condition because I completely suck at fighting games and used it three times, maybe. The colored thingy-switches on the top of the joystick supposedly do cool things, and there's even a "slow" switch for slowing down reality so you can grab a sandwich in between beating the snot out of E. Honda, or whoever.*

BE WARNED, THIS JOYSTICK WITH STICKERS IS SO HARDCORE, OPPONENTS MAY BE TOO INTIMIDATED TO EVEN SPAR WITH YOU. I know that I lost a lot of friends, and hopefully, it will do the same for you.

That s pretty damn hardcore. I might want to bring this bad boy to work to keep editors and co-workers at bay. Maybe I could wear it around my neck at night to scare off muggers. And the pack is only $15! Aw yeah.

Fighting Stick + GunCon + Time Crisis: AW YEAH [eBay]

Ben Heck wrote the book on how to build portable gaming systems. It features photos, diagrams and templates for doing the work yourself. He even tells readers which end of the soldering iron to hold. That would be the non-burny end.

Check out his site for a free look at some of his excellent work with the Atari 2600, NES and Playstation One. Some of these bad boys have a very retro boombox feel to them.

Project 42 [Benheck]