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.
After much delay, SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 has finally gone gold in North America and is off to manufacturing. You’ll be able to pick up the third iteration to the Fireteam Bravo series from shops and via the PlayStation Network from February 16. If you haven’t preordered the game yet, see below for some exclusive incentives to help sway your decision.
The second Digital Comic update, and the first for 2010, is now live for Europe and North American. 40 new comics are available for purchase in Europe, including new episodes of The Avengers, Paranormal Activity, and Star Trek. The US has received just over 40 new titles as well, including new episodes of Daredevil, G.I. Joe and Transformers.
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 first PSP Store update for 2010 is finally here. This week, Europe has a number of new downloadable games available for purchase, as well as some new PSOne classics. Two new Minis titles are available and some XMB themes too. Three new downloadable titles are available in the US and a number of free and premium XMB themes. The January 7th 2010 episode of PULSE is also available to download from the US Store.
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.
The January 2010 issue of Qore is on the way, featuring Dante’s Inferno, Heavy Rain, Bayonetta and BioShock 2. Veronica Belmont circles around EA to experience how the developer plans to bring the epic 14th century poem to life in Dante’s Inferno. The Heavy Rain coverage includes an extensive preview and an interactive cinema demonstration of the consequences of a few of the choices you can make.
