3D Ridge Racer [Game Watch, Thanks ******* ***!]

Holy snot! Just take a look at Japanese gadget critic Yoshio Ohara's set-up. So sweet that a 20GB PS3 was hauled over to his house to see how it would look connected with a US $1,200 HDMI cable and projected on a 200-inch theater screen. Once hooked up, things like reading the print on the initial screens were difficult — Most likely, due to the fact the game wasn't designed for 200 inches. That aside, playing Ridger Racer 7 was compared to riding a theme park ride. Can you imagine? Brian Ashcraft

PS3 Blown Up [Arena]

This is painful not only on the ears, but the soul. The kids at Punch Jump got their retail version PlayStation 3 20GB model in the mail, only to have it crap out straight from the box. Talk about a buzzkill. Good luck with your next one, guys! Michael McWhertor

Here it is, kids, two days worth of PlayStation 3 sales data courtesy of Media Create. It tells a very sad story, not only for publishers, but for anyone looking to get their hands on PS3 hardware in Japan.

Total Hardware Sales: 81,639 PlayStation 3 60 GB: 45,774 PlayStation 3 20 GB: 35,865

Ridge Racer 7: 21,654
Mobile Suit Gundam: Target In Sight: 21,309
Resistance: Fall of Man: 13,545
Genji: Days of the Blade: 8,766
Sega Golf Club: 1,410

That's a total of 66,684 games sold alongside 81,639 consoles. Meaning at least 14,955 people did not buy any games with their PS3 unit. Who could possibly be happy about this?

I hate to keep being the bearer of bad PS3 news. It certainly does me no favors, as I'd really, really like to get one this Friday, along with a couple games and enjoy the hell out of it as I did with the previous two Sony consoles, but intense global greed is making it very difficult. I'm thinking about going into a coma until this whole next-gen launch farce blows over. Who's with me? Michael McWhertor

This is the first Japanese ad I've seen for PS3 game software. And you know what? It looks pretty much how they advertise the PS2 ones. How innovative! Brian Ashcraft

Shop like it's November 2005! Japan, it seems, is going full force at the hideously overpriced bundles that plauged the Xbox 360's North American launch. Here's a pricey bundle that Akihabara's AsoBitCity has put together just for the moneybags. For 345,000 yen (approximately US $3,000), get a 20GB PS3, HDD and HDMI cable, Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire, Ridge Racer 7 and a Bravia TV. This, I think I'll pass on. Brian Ashcraft

A Big, Pricey Bundle [AsoBitCity]

The notoriously picky Japanese game mag Famitsu has filed its reviews for PS3 launch titles. The scale is 1-10, and most fall in the arch nemesis IGN 7-9 range (though, Famitsu is willing to dip below that). Here's the round-up, plus the mag's comments:

• Miyazato Golf Club: 7, 7, 7, 7
• Good temp. Can't accurately determine where your shot will fall. Doesn't really look next-gen.
• Genji 2: Days of the Blade: 7, 7, 7, 8
• 
  Bad camera, but looks great. Challenging for noobs. Good controls and good amount of content.
• Resistance: Fall of Man: 9, 8, 8, 8
• 
  Standard FPS gameplay. Excellent netplay. Very high standard of next-gen.
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire: 8, 8, 8, 8
• 
  Superb Mobile Suits models. Great textures. Systems are problematic. Tons of options and unlockables. Opinions on this title are divided, apparently.
• Ridge Racer 7: 9, 9, 9, 9
• 
  Total satisfaction. Loads of content. High quality graphics and sound.

Looks like RR7 and Resistance are the must gets, which I'll be picking up here in Japan. Yous? Brian Ashcraft

Famitsu Scores Launch Games [QJ.Net]

Sexy, huh? Here's the PLAYSTATION TV. That's upper case for a PS3 demo kiosk, which will begin flooding Japan. Unlike the previous monolith, which only showed clips, this new version has demos, game videos, a photo slideshow and music. Players can select what they desire by toggling through the PS3's Cross Media Bar. Trial games include Devil May Cry 4, Power Smash 3, Gran Turismo HD and Ridge Racer 7. Sony plans to put 1,000 of these kiosks around Japan by the year's end—if anything, just to taught those unable to buy one. Brian Ashcraft

You Can Play This, But Can't Buy It [Famitsu]

Looks like Namco's Ridger Racer 7 is too taxing on the PlayStation 3. We caught this poor floor rep tending to the overheated, bugged out PS3 that shit the bed during the first day of TGS. Yeah, we know this sort of thing happens all the time when you've got unfinished code running on unproven hardware, but we also know that even though you've got a Bravia television and a high end PlayStation 3, your cooling solution is wicked ghetto.

Plus, 1080p and 60 frames per second don't mean squat when you're rendering a blank screen.

We've seen a couple of kiosks and machines go down, but can somewhat safely assume this is just software related and not an issue with the PlayStation 3 machines themselves.

We'll have more gratuitous fatal system errors soon, coupled with frustrated game producers and booth reps. We promise. Michael McWhertor

I've never been a big fan of the Ridge Racer franchise. I hated it on the Xbox 360 and expect to hate it on the Playstation 3. But I know there are those of you out there, Kaz among them, who love the game. So this is for you. Namco just sent out a big ol batch of Ridge Racer 7 screens for the PS3.

The game will include 40 machines, 22 courses (all of which can be driven in reverse), a new Grand Prix mode and a multiplayer online mode that supports up to 14 players.

Hit the jump for all of the sexy pics. Brian Crecente

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Joining fellow racer Ridge Racer 7 as a raspberry to the Xbox 360, Sega's Full Auto 2: Battlelines will be a PS3 exclusive and feature over 25 cars, 20 weapons and more than 20 fully destructible tracks. Trigger-happy players can level tracks to create shortcuts and smush opponents with flying debris. Sega says that the game will be the most "exhilarating combat-racing experience" for the PS3. And Sega is comparing this with...? Who cares, more 'splotions! More 'splotions!

More Here [DigitalBattle] Thanks, Armin!

Some high-res screens of Ridge Racer 7 for the Playstation 3 hit the net. They look impressive, but I think I'll reserve final judgement until we see it at E3.