The Worst, Most NSFW PlayStation Ad Ever

We're not sure who advertising agency TBWA is appealing to here with this PlayStation 3 ad. Sure, the abs are washboard-like and the pecs appear to be rippling, but the tiny phallus safely hidden behind a Kotaku NSFW Fish isn't going to go over well with anybody but the most specific of fetishists—say men who dream of fucking a DualShock. Maybe there's some cross-cultural misunderstanding here—I'll admit to not being brushed up on my Austrian marketing—but if I were to wake up with a wee penis-digit, I'd be concerned less with draping my shirt over my perfect physique and buying PlayStation 3 games than I would be with sticking my head in the oven.

The full ad, hosted at the link below (alternately viewable in big, uncensored size right here) is definitely not safe for work unless your employer is cool with you checking out expertly groomed pubic hair and Photoshopped schlongs. You've been warned!

Sony PlayStation 3: Thumb [Ads of the World via Gawker]

Where In The World Is Brian Crecente?

San Francisco. That game would have been a whole lot shorter if they had just been upfront about things. I didn't even ask you guys a geography question! Crecente is out for the better part of this week, hopping between San Francisco and LA for various events with companies such as Electronic Arts, Sony, Ubisoft, Microsoft, Eidos, and Sega. While he is out of the tower he'll still be posting, in fact he should be posting some rather interesting information, starting this evening. Keep your eyes peeled, while the rest of us concentrate on juggling keeping the site from exploding while randomly uploading videos of our pets onto YouTube.

Take us out, Rockapella!

Third Parties Were So "Confused" By PS3

Americans Brag, PS3 No Letdown, Kotaku is Wrong

No, no, no! When Hideo Kojima said the MGS4 graphics on the PS3 weren't to his "satisfaction" or that he realized there were lots of "restrictions" the PS3 posed, he didn't mean it. He was just trying to be humble, you know! He's not disappointed with the PS3 at all. He is totally happy with it. The PS3 is awesome. Says Kojima:

On the internet, there's stuff saying "Hideo Kojima" isn't satisfied with the PS3. I'd like to talk about that today. I just got back from Paris and did 15 interviews and everyone asked me about it, did I say that. The meaning of what I said has totally been changed, made totally different. Today, I'd like to talk about that. Why did it turn into that? When I'm doing an interview, I answer in Japanese, and I can't control how the writer will interpret that into English... What I say is then translated in English, and the writer then changes that into their own words and writes that. So, right there, the meaning of what I say changes a lot.

Hit the jump for more.

Jenova Chen on flOw, Game Design, and Sony

flOw is one of those interesting little games that keeps on kicking (it's certainly made the rounds at this point) — it's spawned a lot of interest and discussion since its first appearance. Brandon Sheffield sat down with Jenova Chen (flOw designer and co-founder of thatgamecompany) at this year's GDC to talk about Sony's strengths, game design, and why making traditional games is 'too easy':

I think it's just too easy for us. And, also, if I just want to make violent games or fun games... It's not to say that fun games are bad, but I could just go to work for Blizzard, or go to work for Maxis. And they make fun games, they make creative games. I could get a lot higher pay, and a much more stable job. Why not?

Why would I start a company just to make the same kind of game which I can get a much better life in another company? You know, the reason we started this company is because nobody is making this kind of game, and to expand that emotional spectrum of video games — having more people be able to enjoy video games. The only way to do it is to just do it yourself.

The interview touches on a lot of issues — from Sony to Passage to Spore — and worth a read through.

Finding A New Way: Jenova Chen And Thatgamecompany [Gamasutra]

Sony So Aren't Competing With Microsoft Or Nintendo

I think that PS3, PS2 and PSP are all entertainment platforms so I feel that our competition is not Microsoft or Nintendo, but basically any form of entertainment that is competing for the consumers' attention.

My PlayStation 2.5

So I ran into a bit of a snag with my PlayStation 3 last week when I went to pick up Iron Man only to discover my system would not play Blu-ray games or movies any longer. PlayStation 2 games and DVDs run just fine, but Blu-ray just poops out without even trying to read the disc. I had put off calling support in the same way I generally put off calling the doctor, hoping that whatever is wrong will just fix itself (Mike, your arm's fallen off - It'll get better!), but after wistfully browsing the Blu-ray movie aisle at a local retail establishment it was time to make the call.

After navigating the PlayStation support line's various menus and advertisements, I got on the line with a support specialist I will call Denise, mainly because I completely forgot to write down her real name. Denise had never encountered this particular issue before, so she put me on hold to research a bit in between restoring the system's default setting and performing a hard reset. The verdict? My poor little PS3 is dead.

Gran Turismo: 50 Million Served

Aaron Greenberg Goes Berserk, Bites Sony In The Face

We haven't seen corporate smack talk like this since Sony exec Peter Dille went apeshit last July! Microsoft executive Aaron Greenberg takes the puffy sparring gloves off, picks up a battle axe and swings it at Sony. (While dropping bombshells like: "Today Xbox 360 has a 5-million-unit console sales lead on a global basis based on most recently public reported data from both companies. This includes more than double the installed base in the US according to actual NPD sell-through and over a 1-million-unit lead across Europe also based on reported sell-through from Chart Track and GfK.") Just listen as Greenberg unloads, spewing corporate venom all over Sony:

The "Good, Bad and Ugly" Of PSN Downloadable Games

The major consoles' digital download platforms have the potential to offer new avenues for indie game developers and innovative titles like flOw and N+, to name just a few. But in a new GameSetWatch opinion column, Gamasutra editor and Independent Games Festival chairman Simon Carless compiles information from Sony execs and developers like Everyday Shooter's Jon Mak and Capcom's Christian Svensson to note "some of the issues that are buried" regarding PlayStation Network in particular for indie development.

It appears - from both Capcom's evidence and speaking to developers off the record - that there are significant process issues to getting games released worldwide, or even getting games released in the U.S., with slow response times and confused procedure at times.

Opinion: PlayStation Network & Downloadable Games - The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly [GameSetWatch]

Reeves: PlayStation Home Was Deserting Gamers

It takes a big man to admit that he made a mistake, or an even bigger company. Sony execs have been pretty candid about the missteps made in the early life of the PlayStation 3 lately, and now SCEE's David Reeves admits that the development of Home was hindered by too big of a focus being placed on non-gaming applications, such as getting together sponsors.

"In that sense we were deserting gamers. So, we're concentrating on the gaming by launching games in Home, and attracting people who are into gaming in first - instead of the Nike people, or Adidas people who are into fashion and not necessarily into gaming."

Reeves: Home was too ambitious [CVG]

Formula 1 Gets Greedy, Sony Ditches License

MotorStorm 2 Does Not Feature Elvis

There is commercial pressure from Sony who want us to create a viable business product but we're more after the critical acclaim. I think there's less pressure now because when we were an independent developer we had the pressure of paying the wages every month. Now we don't have to worry about the next game or what we're going to be doing.

SingStar news! First item: SingStar producer Paulina Bozek has told PS3F that unlike certain other music titles available at the moment, the SingStar team have "no interest" in locking certain songs to certain regions of the world. Good news, that comes with a catch: they won't do it on purpose; stuff like licensing issues can still split the stores. Second item: the ultra-cheesy "My SingStar" video repository, which displays 30-second vids of your SingStar performances, is about to move online. Presently, it's available only within the game, but you'll soon be able to view it via a browser, so anyone who does post on it, think twice: your chances of being seen by a friend/loved one are about to go up 100x.

'My SingStar Online will hit the web this year,' says Bozek [PS3 Fanboy]

Peter Moore Wishes Sony Would Hurry It Up

Yeah, I just wish it [Home] would ship. I [previously] questioned it a little bit, whether I'd want to wander around there. Phil Harrison showed me a demo — it's very cool, but let's go already. And so I'm disappointed that it's been pushed back a little bit again. But I really hope it gets going and becomes that portal to the PlayStation Network and we can utilise it. But boy, I just wish we'd get going.

Sony Considering Official External HDDs For PS3?

We launched with 60GB and to reduce the price we went to 40GB. We're not sure we want to stay with that configuration of hard drive, and I think what you're going to see in the future is maybe consumers can choose