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Is Sony throwing free games at the consumer instead of a price cut? US retailer Best Buy is to release a special PS3 bundle next Sunday which contains the PS3 80GB console, Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4 for the same price as the console on its own. Bad news for anyone who bought a PS3 recently although with a slim version rumoured to be on the way we’re not sure if this is the best deal going. You might be better to wait as your big fat PS3 value’s would plummet once the new one arrives.

Rumours are suggesting that the PlayStation 3 might get two additional downloadable content packages for Grand Theft Auto IV, PS3 Informer are reporting that one of the new packs will be named Blood and a Four Leaf Clover and will focus on the Irish family Nico helped in the first episode. It will also be available on the Xbox 360. There was no news on the other pack but this could be The Lost and the Damned Xbox 360 exclusive which was previously reported as coming to the PS3 when Mcrosoft’s exclusivity deal runs out later this year.

More news as we get it.

Reports are surfacing that Sony has filed a patent to cover an ‘Emotion Engine Emulation system’ that is capable of being used with the PS3’s Cell Processor.

The Emotion Engine was the name given to the chip in the original 60GB PS3’s that allowed it to become backwards compatible with the previous generation PS2 games. This technology was subsequently removed from later versions of the console in the name of cost cutting.

It looks as though Sony has found a cheaper way of incorporating the technology into the PS3 though some sort of software emulation. Maybe we’ll see it appear soon, possible in the much rumoured slim PS3 sometime later this year?

At the E3 conference today Sony has been showing off its new motion controller for the PS3, due for release early next year.

The demo consisted of a Sony engineer waving the controller around with a monitor replicating his movement but, instead of showing the controller, it displayed of objects including a tennis racquet, sword, Japanese fan and a torch.

The demo also exhibited a two controller swordfight as well as two motion controllers being used to handle virtual toy building blocks. Perhaps the most impressive demo was the ability to write free-hand with the new motion controllers.

We look forward to more details in the coming days and weeks.

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Sony has announced a new PS3 bundle including the action game Infamous. The package consists of the PS3 80GB, a DualShock 3 controller and the game. So far the package has only been confirmed for the United Kingdom. It will retail at the standard console price of £299 but includes the game.

The game is due to be released on 26th May in the U.S. and 29th May in Europe. The bundle will hit the shelves on the same day.

Warner Bros. have announced a 2-disc special Director’s Cut edition of the Watchmen Blu-ray release which will include the full version of the PS3 video game Watchmen: The End is Nigh. The movie is expected to be released on 21 July, although no price has yet been announced for the combo.

Pictures have been leaked of a slim PS3, adding fuel to the rumours that such a product will be announced at the E3 electronics show in June.

I’d say the pictures are fake. The product looks cheap and unprofessional and not up to the quality you’d expect from the likes of Sony. I know they want to cut costs, but surely not this much, especially considering the quality look of the current PS3 (although the design is a little hideous).

I think the big E3 announcement (which is coming) will be about some sort of Wii style motion controller. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Pictures here courtesy of afterdawn.

Media Create figures reveal that the Sony PlayStation 3 weekly sales figures for week ending 3 May were again ahead of the Wii and Xbox 360. The PS3 sold 23,500 units against 21,500 for the Wii and just 7,300 for the Xbox 360. This is the third week in a row that the PS3 has been ahead of the competition. Good news for Sony and probably bad news for those hoping for a price cut.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) have signed a last minute deal with publisher Atari to distribute the forthcoming Ghostbusters: The Videogame for release on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and PSP platforms. This ensures that the game will remain a Sony platform exclusive for at least the next few months. Ghostbusters: The Videogame hits the shelves on 19 June 2009 for the consoles with the PSP edition following later in the year.

Sony currently offers motion-sensing capabilities in the DualShock 3 wireless controller, which is available as an accessory to the PS3. However, the new controller would be far more advanced, possibly eclipsing the accuracy of the controller for the Nintendo Wii console.

The Sony controller would use light-emitting diodes and a Webcam to track the gadget’s movements, according to Variety. The technology would be able to track the direction of movements better than the Wii-mote, and also track velocity.
A Sony spokesman said Friday the company wouldn’t comment on “rumours or speculation.”

The controller is the second new product Sony is expected to unveil at E3. The game fan site 1UP.com reported this week that Sony would introduce the next iteration of the PlayStation Portable handheld game console.

Variety isn’t the first to report a new Sony controller is in the works. The site Kombo.com reported last month that Sony was reaching out to game developers, asking them to add support for the device in future games.

What impact the controller has on PS3 sales remains to be seen. Sony has been hit hard by sliding consumer demand during the economic downturn, which has impacted PS3 sales. Not helping demand is the higher price of the PS3 compared with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii. Sony has cut prices before on the PS3, which starts at $400. Analysts have said they expect the company to cut prices this year by about $100.

Source: Information Week