After making a false start earlier today, Sony Computer Entertainment just announced the official, global launch of its free, Life with PlayStation PlayStation 3 (PS3) service. Initially, Live Channel will deliver worldwide news and information such as weather and live camera images from 60 cities around the globe -- more interactive content will be delivered in time. Check the video demonstration after the break for setup instructions and quickie overview.

[Via Playstation.Blog]

The Leipzig Games Convention (a.k.a. the GC) is going fast and furious through the end of the week in Germany, and Sony has started things off with a slew of updates and revelations about their PlayStation line of gaming devices. First, the company finally made the PSP-3000 official, another tweak to their aged but ultimately respectable PSP. It'll be more or less the same as the PSP-2000 (last year's slimmer model), but will feature an included microphone for Skype calling and a screen that is said to be better for outdoor gaming.

The rest of the news surrounds the PlayStation 3, which is getting a clip-on keypad for its controllers, very similar to the Xbox 360 keypad Microsoft released last year. No word on pricing or availability yet, but we have both of those stats for yet another PS3 bundle. This one features a console with a 160-gigabyte hard drive, a copy of 'Uncharted: Drake's Fortune,' and a slew of downloads from Sony's PSN store. That'll be $499 this November, but if you can't wait that long or don't need the extra disk space, the new $399 80-gigabyte model system is now hitting stores near you right this very moment -- unless you live in Europe, in which case you'll have to wait until tomorrow.

While it's not expected that Nintendo will be dropping any bombshells at the show, everyone's sure that a price drop for the Xbox 360 is in the cards in the very near future. Will Microsoft take this opportunity to let loose with the news? We shall see.

Yeah, you read that correctly -- the obsessive audiophiles / videophiles at the Criterion Collection use Sony's PlayStation 3 as its reference Blu-ray player. In all honesty, we can't say we're too surprised. Time and again, Sony's latest console has been rated very highly as a dedicated BD deck, and the plentiful firmware updates ensure that it's always at the forefront of whatever interactive functionality is next.

This snippet of factual goodness was extracted from a recent writeup that took an in-depth look at how the CC would be revamping its home theater, and even famed calibration guru Joe Kane gave his approval at using the console for playing back Blu-ray Discs. The real kicker? They also settled upon a DVIGear HDMI cable over one of those obscenely overpriced Ogre cables -- and that was after running clean out of coat hangers. [From: Sound and Vision Magazine via CNET]

Playing through a great single-player video game like 'Bioshock' can be a rich and engrossing experience, but when it comes to fun factor and laugh-out-loud moments with a few of your friends, nothing beats a great party game like, say, 'Guitar Hero World Tour' (pictured above). The party game genre, which generally includes a multitude of pick-up-and-play mini-games designed for four or more players, has been getting more and more popular as video gaming goes mainstream. To be honest, we've never before seen as large a collection of party-worthy games -- all of which are due by the end of the year (or early next) -- as were on display at this year's E3. Here are the ones we think you should unleash on your guests at upcoming parties:

Rock Band 2 - What more can we say about 'Rock Band 2'? The music game that took players beyond the guitar and brought a whole band to the genre (minus the pain of the inevitable breakup and eventual deafness) is back for an encore with 84 new songs from original masters by everyone from Devo and the Go-Gos to Talking Heads and Motorhead. Its developers also promise compatibility with "most songs" in the original game. It's not exactly a huge step forward for the franchise, but if you've played the first version, you're probably not looking for much. 'Rock Band 2' is hitting the Wii, PS2, PS3, and Xbox 360 this fall.

Guitar Hero World Tour - 'Guitar Hero' made rocking out with a friend while holding a little plastic guitar acceptable, and 'World Tour' will extend that basic premise to the whole band, à la 'Rock Band,' by adding drums and a microphone and letting several party guests participate at once. This was the most impressive looking music game at the Electronics Entertainment Expo, with new multiplayer modes (like battle of the bands) and extensive song-creation tools, as well as the addition of 85 new music tracks from artists like Metallica, R.E.M, and even David Lee Roth, to help this aged franchise maintain its kick. 'Guitar Hero World Tour' hits the Wii, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, and PC too this fall.

You're In The Movies - Gamers are used to pushing buttons, of course. Lately, they've also become used to talking into microphones and waving their arms about to control games. Moving around in front of a motion-detecting camera, though, is still something many gamers are wrapping their heads around. After a few minutes with 'You're In the Movies,' though, and everything makes sense. The camera records you as you play through some silly mini-games like swatting flies or running in a race, then stitches recorded footage of everyone playing those games back together to make a little movie staring you and your friends. The one shown to us took the footage and made a '50s monster-movie complete with an overgrown iguana, with footage of us and the folks around us seamlessly integrated into it. The result is huge laughs for up to four players when the game ships this winter, but only if you have an Xbox 360.

Wii Sports Resort - 'Wii Sports' is a modern classic, and 'Wii Sports Resort' is a logical extension, taking you to a tropical setting and adding a handful of new games to the mix that make use of Nintendo's new MotionPlus add-on to amp up the sensitivity of the Wii controller. The full list of games hasn't been announced yet, but we eid get a chance to check out a sword fighting game, in which players have to knock an opponent off of a raised platform. It alone seemed to be a good sales pitch for the game -- it's a million times more responsive and bouncy than the lame attempt at boxing in the current 'Sports' title. And the Wave-Runner-esque game -- you see, the game takes place at a 'resort' -- was more immersive than anything else we've tried out so far on a home console. The only problem with this game is that it's not due until sometime early next year.

Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party - The little Rabbids are back, and this time your butt gets into the action. Yes, you actually use your posterior on the Wii Balance Board to control one of these white-rabbit-like creatures on a snowboard (making for a nice workout!). Other games include a music dance game and surfing. Ultimately this is just another collection of silly little games on a console that's full of silly little games, but somehow those deranged little bunnies still crack us up. And you and your party guests will certainly have shapely behinds when you're done playing this one. This will be hitting the Wii and Nintendo DS later this year.

Wii Music - Nintendo made a big deal out of this musicgame when it announced it at the beginning of E3 this year -- the idea is that this game is easier to play than, say, the super-competitive 'Guitar Hero,' which can be intimidating for the average gamer. After playing it, though, we're thinking this one's only for those who are truly young at heart. Sure, the game boasts 50 instruments (everything from marimbas and saxophones to sitars and harpsichords) to play, but most don't sound particularly good. Unlike the other music games, which require a certain ability with pitch and rhythm, Wii Music simply asks you to hit random buttons and shake the Wii controller, which is only mildly rewarding. On top of that, there's no scoring and no winner, so it's certainly not much of a competition. Still, it might be fun for a bunch of inebriated party guests who're too out of it to focus on 'Rock Band.' 'Wii Music' drops this fall.

Our House - Another game angled toward younger gamers is 'Our House' from Majesco. In it, up to four players can use their Wii remotes or DS styluses to piece together an abode by dropping in furniture, painting walls, and getting upgrades to build faster than their friends. It's competitive, but in the end, all the gamers can enjoy the look of the new virtual house they built together -- before tearing it down and building a new one. The game hits the DS and Wii later this year.

Imagine Party Babyz - Get four toddlers in a room together in the real world and what do you get? A lot of pooping and screaming and running around, which to most folks doesn't sound like much fun. But in the world of gaming what you get is 'Imagine Party Babyz,' a little party title catering to the tween crowd of girls aged 8 - 14. They'll probably love this collection of challenges that has you playing as toddlers generally getting into mischief and playing games like red light green light while avoiding the gaze of their babysitter. Anyone outside of the tween demographic, though, isn't likely to be too into this one when it hits the Wii in a few months.

It's neck-and-neck but Nintendo looks to have just slipped past Microsoft in terms of total US sales for current generation game consoles. What's more, it's pulling away with a 3:1 sales lead for the month of June. NPD Group reports more than 666,000 Wii consoles were sold in June compared to 405,500 PlayStation 3s and 219,800 Xbox 360s. That makes for a total of 10.9 million Wiis sold in the US since it launched in November of 2006. Impressive. Even more so considering that Microsoft had a one year head-start to reach a second place position of about 10.4 million US console sales. [Source: Bloomberg]

Those of you who didn't stay up late last night and check out the new PlayStation Store on your own now have nowhere to go. Stuck inside your cube with no early lunch, no way to slip out at 3:00 -- nada. Thankfully, the crew over at PS3 Fanboy has the goods to satisfy your appetite until you get home. Tap the read link for a gallery of hands-on shots, and chime in below with your likes / dislikes once you've had a chance to meander around yourself. [Source: PS3 Fanboy]

The long delay until Sony launched its video download service (actually more like a few hours), is over. High Definition and standard definition (SD) rentals, and SD purchases from an assortment of movie studios is now available in the Playstation Store by selecting the video button at the top left. Need to know what's available in your region but aren't near your PS3? Check out the website for a list of what awaits. [Via PS3 Fanboy]

Sony's 2.41 firmware update for the PlayStation 3 is apparently out and riding the network updates. This according to our readers and those of the official PlayStation Blog. Now deep breath, install, and hope your system doesn't hang like it did for the few 2.40 unfortunates. [Source: PlayStation Blog]

[Thanks, David]

We've known for awhile now that the PlayStation 3 (PS3) is hardly a green machine -- it sucks down 200-watts of electricity whether it's playing a movie or just idling at the home menu waiting for you to boot up a game. Sometimes, though, it's hard to put that into context. An Australian consumer group has taken the time to do a little figuring against various other household items, and has found that your PS3 draws more current than an average refrigerator -- five times as much.

Of course, the PS3 is making waves as being one of the cheapest Blu-ray players on the market, not to mention the huge added benefit of being able to play next-generation video games. But that 200-watts power draw is also four- to five-times that of a standalone Blu-ray player, which over the course of a year could add up if you watch a lot of movies. Microsoft's Xbox 360 is slightly better with a power consumption at about about three quarters of the PS3, but Nintendo's Wii comes in first by drawing only a tenth of the power of a PS3.

So, not only can the Wii get you in shape, it can also save you money on your utilities bill. [Source: Intology]

Ha, seems our Japanese gaming overlords aren't the only ones looking down the retail barrel at the limited edition gunmetal gray MGS4 PS3. Sony's official Playstation.Blog is reporting that the MGS4 Limited Edition PS3 Hardware Bundle will be available exclusively from Konami.com for $600. For that you get a 40GB gunmetal PS3, matching DualShock 3 wireless controller, Metal Gear Online, an exclusive Blu-ray disc with 2-hours of additional content (making of documentary and look at Hideo Kojima's production team) and of course the MGS4: Guns of the Patriots Limited Edition game. Pre-orders from the "very limited supply" begin on Monday the 19th. Best set your alarms.

[Source: Konami via Playstation.Blog]

Edward Keith Stoddard Jr. really likes his PlayStation 3 (PS3). So much, in fact, that if you were to touch it, he may just kill you. Such was the fate of his neighbor, Douglas F. Abrams, who Stoddard suspected of stealing his PS3.

Police reports say that during an argument over the missing console late Wednesday night, Stoddard shot Abrams, fatally wounding him. After police showed up on the scene, Stoddard surrendered and is now in Land O'Lakes jail in Dade County, Florida.

Love your console, people. Just don't get jealous if it drops by the neighbors' house for some tea. [Source: Bay News 9, via PS3Fanboy]

The oft-delayed, eagerly-anticipated, and always controversial 'Grand Theft Auto IV' is just a day away from public consumption (less if you're hitting one of the many midnight launches tonight). But that doesn't mean that the lucky video game journalists of the world haven't been having their kicks with the game for the past few weeks and, with the press black-out lifted ahead of today's release, there's a veritable crush of reviews online to peruse today. If you had any doubt out whether to pick this one up, then reading any of them will get rid of that quickly.

Reviews were almost entirely perfect, with a string of 10-out-of-10 and 100% scores meaning this could be the highest scoring game of all time. IGN called the game "the American dream," raved about the graphics and fast load times, and said it delivered an immersive artificial world unseen anywhere else, giving it a perfect score in a whopping seven-page review. 1UP had much the same to say, talking about the game's "breathtaking vistas" and also laying on a perfect score -- despite complaining about a few minor flaws (repetitive car models and no mid-mission checkpoints to save your progress). Even the usually conservative Eurogamer gave this one a perfect score, calling it "miraculous" and indicating that it is the best written and most engrossing game yet in the series.

As far as the question of which version is best to play -- PlayStation 3 (PS3) or Xbox 360 -- the reviews seemed to show little preference. When there was any preference, the reviews tended to favor the PS3 version for its slight graphical edge, but ultimately leaned towards the Xbox 360's achievement system and promise of extra downloadable content in the future.

Regardless which platform you choose, it looks like you're in for some fun.

Rewind back to late 2006. The PlayStation 3 was launching alongside the Wii and geeky editors like ourselves were having a field day. We'd already managed to convince our good pal Ben Heck to build another Xbox 360 laptop and the Wii Laptop, so it was only a matter of time before we started brainstorming on how the hell we could possibly fit a PS3 into a "portable" enclosure. That's the part where Ben stepped up his game and worked his magic -- on and off for almost a year and a half -- to build... the PS3 Laptop!

The essential specs:

• Original backwards compatible 60GB model
• 17-inch LCD HDTV screen: 720p
• HDMI-DVI connection (same as last Xbox 360 laptop)
• Built-in keyboard, USB ports, stereo speakers, headphone jack
• Size: 17 x 13.75 x 3-inches
• Weight: 16 pounds!

You want this one of a kind piece of kit for your very own, PlayStation fanboys? You got it. We're auctioning this thing for charity real soon, so watch out for details (we'll also have some video of the PS3 Laptop in action on the site tomorrow). And, naturally, big ups to our pal Ben Heck for the long hours and love he put into this thing. The man is truly a hero of ours, so be sure to hit up his site to check out his other projects, as well as the other instructional stuff he's done here on Engadget.

For more images, check out Engadget's gallery

So the high definition disc format war is over, which is good news. But, if you celebrated the end of the war by running out and buying a standalone Blu-ray player then we hope you kept the receipt. A few of the newest players and disc releases support the new Blu-ray 2.0, offering a number of nice upgrades -- upgrades that the older players can't take advantage of. The exception is, of course, Sony's wunder-console, the PS3, which will be receiving an update later this month to make it Blu-ray 2.0 compatible.

Blu-ray 2.0, also called BD-Live, delivers a handful of niceties that were missing in the first Blu-ray spec. The big one is picture-in-picture, which means special feature videos can pop-up during the main feature if you so desire. Also added is Internet connectivity to allow you to download new special features and trailers. Not exactly must-have functional enhancements, but frustrating just the same to owners of non-upgradeable 1.0 players.

On top of the BD-Live update, the PS3 will get a few other minor tweaks, including: the ability to resume playback of Blu-ray movie where you left it off; the ability to use your PSP as a big, expensive remote control; performance updates for the PS3's web browser; and the ability to play back WMV and DivX videos that are larger than two gigabytes in size.

Again, no firm launch date, but it is expected by the end of the month.

From Engadget

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A smart computer is growing at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate NY. It's not the beginnings of Skynet (we hope) and won't be able to drive your car for you or do anything else you might consider practical. But, if everything goes right, it might just be able to fool you into thinking it's human, becoming the first such device to pass the benchmark Turing Test.

In 1950 computer science and artificial intelligence pioneer Alan Turing proposed a simple test that has since come to be synonymous with his name. In his test, a person using a monitor and keyboard chats with with an anonymous entity using only text. The person is free to ask any question they like to try to figure out if the entity on the other end of the wire is a person or just a computer pretending to be one. Turing proposed that if you couldn't tell the difference between the two the machine has passed the test.

In the 58 years since, no machine has repeatedly passed the test and RPI's researchers believe they may be the first when their "Rascals" system is fully ready to roll in October. It's powered by the world's fastest supercomputer, IBM's Blue Gene, which is so fast we can't easily compare it to even the fastest desktop computers without filling this post with a lot of 0's. Suffice it to say it would take a couple trillion PlayStation 3's with their powerful Cell Processors to match what that thing can do.
OMG!

From Engadget

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