Remember a time when everyone though that the Blu-ray format would fail? Since Blu-ray won over the High-definition format war (against HD-DVD), the format has been gaining great momentum. The latest aggregated sales figures from Home Media Magazine puts revenues from BD sales in the US for the first quarter of 2010 were $331.31 million, which accounts to an increase of 68.5% compared to the Q1 2009.
The recent PS3 Firmware v3.21 update is at the center of many discussions at the moment, but this time the issues are more serious than the removal of the OtherOS feature. The PlayStation Forum appear to be the centre of much of the discussions, with many users complaining of problems on the PS3 after installing the update.
The very first episode of FirstPlay goes on sale today on the PlayStation Store. FirstPlay is the new weekly interactive show from the team behind Official PlayStation magazine, costing only 99p each or £8.99 for a three-month subscription. FirstPlay is packed full of HD reviews, previews, and screenshot galleries, with access to betas and downloadable goodies included as often as possible – check out our impression of the pre-release episode here.
If you can’t get enough of MAG, you’ll be happy to know that you will be able to personalize your Home Personal Space and Avatar with furniture and costumes from the game. You can find the Ballistic Armour set for S.V.E.R., Reinforced Composite Armour for Raven, while for Valor there’s the Reinforced Fibre Armour. Also available for each faction are a Footlocker and Lamp or Light Fixture.
The UK PlayStation Store has been updated a bit later than usual this week due to the Easter holidays. On the store this week, you can find a total of five new titles to buy and five new titles to rent. In addition, the April Foolishness Sale is still on so be sure to check out the available titles, starting from £5.99.
If you haven’t updated to official firmware v3.21 yet because no OtherOS support, here is some good news for you. iPhone and PS3 hacker George Hotz (aka GeoHot) has released a video showing his custom firmware in action with the OtherOS functionality still enabled. The custom firmware hasn’t been released yet but using it on your PS3 does not require any hardware or software hacks.
Quantum Theory was first unveiled back in 2008 as a new IP for Tecmo Koei, and was scheduled for release in March 2010. The title has now been delayed with a ballpark date of “Summer 2010,” according to Tecmo Koei America. Tecmo Koei originally announced that the game would not make the March 2010 release date back in February of this year.
The exclusive PSN title, Blue Toad Murder Files, is coming to an end tomorrow when the final three episodes are released on the European PlayStation Store. Fans of the game will finally be able to decipher the mysteries surrounding Little Riddle. Episodes 4-6 will be available to purchase for £9.99 and the first episode of the title will be required.
Soon you will be able to join Zidane, Garnet, Vivi and the other characters from Final Fantasy IX. The will soon be joining the ranks of Final Fantasy VII, VIII and Tactics, when it is released on the PlayStation Network. Square Enix has confirmed that the title will be heading to Japan soon with North American and European releases in the future.
The latest PS3 accessory from Japan is perfect if you travel around a lot. Japanese game peripheral maker HORI (which also sells stuff in the US) announced a portable LCD screen, which, once attached to the top of a PS3 Slim, makes the console (somewhat) portable. The product is licensed by Sony and sized at 295×255×55mm. Buyers also get a built-in stereo speaker, two headphone jacks, and component/ multi-AV out interfaces.
