Autosport have revealed that Codemasters’ F1 2009 game will be released this autumn, but only on the Wii and PSP. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions will follow sometime in 2010 after receiving a makeover to enable HD resolutions. All versions of the games will feature the new KERS kinetic energy recovery system, slick tyres and the full 2009 aero rules. All of the current cars and drivers will feature including the new and very successful Brawn GP team with their BGP001.
Gamestop have confirmed that a silver Sony PS3 Dual Shock 3 game pad will be available in the US from June. We can’t see the point of a silver controller when all US (and European) PS3’s have been black to date. Does this mean that the games giant is about to release a silver edition of their console, and if they do will this be another gimmick in lieu of a price cut? We’ll keep you posted.
Resident Evil 5 from Capcom has sold more than 400,000 copies on the PlayStation 3 platform in Japan. The highly anticipated game was released to the local market on 12 March and has managed to shift some 412,000 copies, outpacing the Xbox 360 in the sales charts. This backs up the games solid performance seen in most other markets. If you haven’t got Sony’s latest console yet, get your very own free PS3 console from our friends at gadgets-4-free.co.uk.
Target, the US retailer, has received a new batch of PS3 consoles from Sony. They are the same recommended retail price of $399 but have a new product code (SKU) and inside the box are two ‘free’ games – Resistance: Fall of Man and MotorStorm. Is this Sony’s answer to a much hyped (and needed) price cut? We can’t see any other reason why Sony would produce such a package and it would obviously work in their favour to throw in a couple of games that cost them little to produce rather discount an already loss-leading console. It is not clear if this package will make an appearance in Europe. We’ll keep you posted on any updates.
Resident Evil 5 was released in Japan yesterday. Early figures for first day sales put the PS3 version of the game at 220,000 sales against the Xbox 360 version at just 56,000 sales. The PS3 obviously has a huge advantage but remember that in Sony’s home market their console has a user base some 300% higher than that of the Xbox 360. If haven’t purchased the Sony console yet then get yourself over to gadgets-4-free where you can claim a free ps3 so you’re ready for the excellent RE5.
It looks like the traditionally weak Xbox 360 sales in Japan are on the up. Reuters today reports that in the week ending 22 February the Xbox sold 21,013 units compared with Nintendo selling 16,900 Wii’s and Sony shifting 15,967 PS3’s. A good result for Microsoft which reinforces the PS3’s recent poor sales performance in other markets.
A Microsoft executive has commented that European sales of the Xbox 360 console was up 120% over the Christmas 2008 period compared to the same period in 2007. This backs up claims that the Xbox 360 has seen a huge sales growth in the US in comparison to a sales drop for the PS3.
Despite recent rumours that the highly anticipated God of War III will be pushed back to 2010, Sony have today issued confirmation that it will be released on the PS3 this year. Although no definite date has been given, we would expect it in time for the all-important pre-holiday sales period.
Sony have announced that they have sold 21.3 million PlayStation 3 consoles worldwide up to 31 December 2008. They do not split the figure down into territories.
Let’s see what figure Microsoft come back with for Xbox 360 sales! It should be much more considering their one-year head start and the recent sales performance reports.
Further to the NPD hardware figures released last week (Sony sees PS3 sales slump), Sony has hit back, claiming that their future blockbuster software releases will continue to drive sales figures Sony’s Peter Dille has commented “The PlayStation brand experienced a record year in 2008 and we believe our blockbuster line-up combined with PS3’s position as the best Blu-ray player and sophisticated entertainment device will continue to fuel increased marketshare and momentum into 2009.”
I suppose only time will tell whether these comments will hold true.