The classic PSOne title, Final Fantasy VIII, will be available to download in Europe by the end of January. Mike Kebby over on the EU PlayStation.Blog has responded to various requests on a release date in stating that “FFVIII should be available by the end of Jan.” Kebby was also the one to suggest Final Fantasy VIII would be available in Europe by end of 2009. Lets hope its true this time.
Although games already support 3D audio in the form of 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound, in-game audio between players still lags behind. There is no dimension in the voices you hear when playing with friends online – you cannot tell if the player is behind you or on the side. Dolby have solved this problem with their latest product: Axon.
The first PlayStation Video Store update for the US is now live, adding several recent movies including Jennifer’s Body, 9, District 9 and The Final Destination. Check out the clip below for a sneak peek of the latest installment in the “Final Destination” series. You will also find a free sneak peak to season 8 of 24 and several other free videos.
The release date for Heavy Rain has finally been confirmed for the US and Europe. The game is currently going through some final tests and checks, but is expected to be available in the US from February 23rd 2010, followed by mainland Europe from February 24th 2010 and finally the UK and Ireland from February 26th 2010.
At Sony’s CES Press Conference, Kaz Hirai announced that the PS3 will be fully 3D compatible this year. There will be two firmware updates at some point in 2010 — the first will add 3D Stereoscopic Gaming functionality to the PS3 and the second will add 3D Stereoscopic Movie functionality. Kaz also revealed that 2009 housed the most successful holiday season in the history of the PlayStation 3, with over 3.8 million units selling worldwide over the last 5 weeks of the year.
The first PlayStation Store update for 2010 is finally here. For Europe, a number of new demos are available as well as four new downloadable games. New games are on offer until January 21st too, including Rag Doll Kung Fu and Savage Moon. The US has received two new demos as well as the latest episode of Qore. New DLC is available for Borderlands, PAIN, Rock Band and other titles.
The GT Academy 2010 competition enters the third week of the online time trial competition, with a huge number of gamers vying for a place in the Top 20 in their country and a seat at the national final. With this in mind, the winner of GT Academy 2009, Lucas Ordonez, has released a inspirational video on how he went from Gran Turismo player to real-life racer.
The development team over at Harmonix have been listening to the fans of Rock Band 2 and have released a new update to the game. The update, which will be released later today, addresses some common feature requests from fans, using feedback and suggestions. New functionality includes access to the Rock Band store, once launched, and SingStar wireless mic support.
The end of 2009 has given PlayStation 3 sales a huge bump. According to a Sony Press Release, over 3.8 million PlayStation 3 consoles were sold between November 23 to December 28 worldwide. This equates to a 76% increase in hardware sales compared to the same period in the previous year, marking the highest record sales for PS3 hardware for a holiday period. As of January 3rd 2010, a total of over 38 million PlayStation Network accounts have been registered since it’s launch.
