AMD (Jaguar?) x8 x86_64 chips? :P

Are these AMDs new "Jaguar" x8 x86_64 custom prototype chips destined for PS4/Xbox720? :P Could be... :)

PS3 YLOD

Not to bash Sony in any way. Or to criticize too much either.., I love their work and innovation :)

That being said: I didn't buy the first PlayStation3 revision, thankfully. A lot of friends bought both the first, and second revisions which both had their fair share of hardware and software issues.

The third one, you would have thought would be fairly stable and sufficient. And it was, after mediocre use over 4 years. But just at the end of the fourth year, mine had started making annoying noises from the BD-drivebay. At this point, the warranty was void. And after a month or two, the fan ran on constant maximum. Then, the horror. I got up one morning and pushed the power-button, it started up as usual, flashed an YLOD, shut off and blinked red. FML...



I am now a proud (yet, distraught) owner of a fourth generation PlayStation3 Slim. Yes, it is a little less powerfull than the "phat", but generally quite noiseless. I also bought a PS3 Slim horizontal cooler stand to pre-empt another YLOD incident.

I also do regular backups because of Sony's updated firmware that doesn't let you swap disks from one system revision to the other ( which worked fine on the third gen ).

I bet it will bring me hours of HD film and gaming joy. But I must admit Sony has done theirs to make it quite an awfully expensive hobby. And I'm not sure I will continue to endorse Sony if this continues to get worse in the time coming :/

PlayStation® 15 år!

Ja, da kom jeg plutselig på at det var meningen å blogge om 15 års jubileumet til PlayStation®. Sinnsykt at det allerede har gått 15 hele år :| føler ikke at det var så lenge siden jeg satt i stuen hos søskenbarnet mitt å spilte det første RayMan-spillet(!) :p

Og ja, det er en modchip bak på maskinen på bildet (hadde problemer med å laste opp bildet på Picasa, så derfor mangler nederste del). Det er min trofaste første PlayStation, som har gledet i mange, mange år (som faktisk fremdeles virker utrolig nok etter all mishandlingen den har gjennomgått).

Min PlayStation 2 :)

Og min PlayStation 3 med fluoriserende docking / usb-hub ;D

Les mer på PlayStation.com.

Facebook på PS3

Nå har Sony (etter lekkasje av et bilde på deres egne websider) bekreftet at de innlemmer Facebook på PlayStation3.

Så kan det se ut som vi som eiere av PS3 kan oppdatere og chatte via Facebook mens vi gamer også :P GØY!

Oppdatering tirsdag 17. november:

Det viser seg da at facebook-implementeringen blir veldig enkel. I første omgang skal PS3-funksjonen bare kunne oppdatere din status med nedlastinger fra PSN og pokaler du får i spill, dette fordi PS3-utviklerne vil at tredjeparts-utviklere (spill-utviklere) skal videreutvikle funksjonaliteten i sine egne spill. Det er altså opp til spillselskapene å være pionerene på facebook-integrering i PlayStation3.

Greit nok det, forsåvidt, men jeg synes personlig at Sony kunne lagt litt mer arbeid i system-funksjonen på maskinen. I alle fall basis-funksjoner, da disse er relativt enkle å legge til siden facebook kjører datakommunikasjon gjennom PHP/AJAX.

Oppdatering 27. november:

Ok, så viste det seg at 3.10 oppdateringen la til Facebook, men det viste seg også at facebook-tjenesten på PS3 var relativt simpel. Den begrenset seg bare til status-oppdatering dersom en får pokal og/eller gjør et PSS-kjøp.

Link:

http://www.nettavisen.no/

PS2-bakoverkompatabilitet ++

Nå har det lekket ut et dokument om et møte som fant sted i sommer, mellom Sony og Sega henholdsvis. Dokumentet omhandler bl.a. tidligere Dreamcast-titler og PS2-bakoverkompatabilitet som emner. Det blir også nevnt distribusjon gjennom PSN (PlayStation Network) av nevnte titler.

Hvis det viser seg å være fakta, vil dette bli en gullgruve både for Sony og Sega. Dreamcast ble ansett av konsoll-entusiaster som den beste konsollen noensinne, men drev aldri salgstallene den fortjente når den ble sluppet. Spill-titlene til maskinen derimot, skapte mye blest og bravado for nytenkning på en tid da det egentlig ikke var attraktivt å være så nyskapende som det er den dag i dag.

Oppdatering, torsdag 24 september:

Sega slapp maskinen i 1998, rett rundt hjørnet for slippene av f.eks. PlayStation2, Nintendo GameCube og Xbox. Maskinen var forut sin tid, med både web-browser og avtagbart modem (ja, MODEM), og diverse grafikk-teknologi andre konsoller bare kunne drømme om. Sega sluttet produksjonen av maskinen i 2001 p.g.a. for dårlige salgstall, og la ned hardware-avdelingen i selskapet for å fokusere mer på software.

Foruten Nintendo Inc., er Sega den eldste spill-leverandøren som fortsatt eksisterer etter konsoll-krigene på 90-tallet. Og de har noen av de største spill-samlingene av de større aktørene.

Link:

http://www.itavisen.no/

http://www.dinside.no/

v3.0 PS3 firmware released!

Finally, after a couple of months, the long-awaited system update to the PlayStation3 has arrived! Version 3.0 ;D New features include:

• New management for trophies, sub-trophies and add-on content.
• Multiple audio-out (simultaneous connections).
• New messages/friendlist indicator.
• "Placed-anywhere" PlayStation Store shortcuts.
• New customization functions (avatars, dynamic themes with animated objects).

All-in-all, it promises to deliver the experience Sony has promised for some time now :)

Info-link:

http://www.ps3news.com/

Update, wednesday september 2nd:

I really enjoyed the new FW. The 'multiple-audio-out' function was awesome! Now I can mix analogue audio in through my Audigy-card on my media-machine, through an ADC (analogue-to-digital-converter), and pipe the audio-stream to whatever machine I want to receive it on my network :) Lovely.

I also liked that the fonts have been re-sized on 1080p resolution, now I can read everything. When I think about it, the whole XMB UI has been re-sized to better fit high-def resolutions.

The new message/friendlist indicator (located in the top right corner) also made the whole interface more symmetric and clearly set. It no longer blocks the view of the clock when you either switch to pause-mode in-game, or generally just use the 'PS'-button to check your battery-level or whatever.

Next-Gen Consoles

As EAs chief creative officer, Rich Hilleman says:

"I expect to see PlayStation 3.5 before we ever see PlayStation 4, or Xbox 560 before we ever see Xbox 720"

In other words, re-engineering and development on the console has become quite expensive when you take into consideration the performance-levels of today's gaming consoles. So we'll probably see additions, before we see machine-level upgrades on any console-systems existing today.

Link:

http://www.edge-online.com/

PSN online badge

Click here to scroll down and see my PSN-badge

PlayStation

I've been a huge fan of Sony's gaming-department for quite some time now, and I'm one of the lucky bastards with my very own PlayStation3 console system. And this post is meant as a rant, to elaborate a little about this wonderful system.

I don't think people (read: non-techies) realize what a revolution the PlayStation3 gaming system really is. Compared to earlier TV gaming consoles, the PS3 is a pure console-monster (technology-wise) and it's virtually expandable to the end of time.

With gyro-sensors in the controls, upgradable harddrive storage and USB-connectors, the PS3 has endless capabilities. Not to mention the internals. 8 (yes, EIGHT!) cpu processors, one of which is used entirely for complicated 3d rendering, and the rest for: game-engine, data, sound, emulation, etc. (My console version does not sport PlayStation2 emulation-code, but it doesn't matter. I've got a PS2 Slim console to do that job.)

And with additional peripherals, like: light-guns, arcade-sticks, etc. You can turn your entertainment-center into a real-life gaming arcade! No coins needed!

And with the PS Store and PSN, Sony brings the gameshop to your livingroom and makes worldwide gaming-connections for you. Sony also develops games exclusively for PSN, sold at the PS Store. And they also offer ported PS1-titles, for the hardcore oldschool gamers. Personally I downloaded quite a few PS1-titles to have them readily available at the touch of a button. Atm I'm going through Final Fantasy VII for the 3rd time, because it's an RPG classic (one of my favourite RPGs of all time).

It simply puts all the new technologies from the last years together in a superb' package, and hits your face like no other gaming system!

PlayStation3, live a little...