Game maker says "no comment" to reports that the 80GB PS3 will be discontinued and possibly replaced by a 120-160 GB version.

DualShock 3 to debut with new PS3?

"Sony is, in fact, phasing out the 80GB PS3," a reliable insider told Ars Technica on Sunday. "Sony is going to stay with the two-SKU approach though, and the prices look to stay the same."

According to the unnamed source, the new model will also reintroduce rumble with the inclusion of DualShock 3. Wired's Chris Kohler speculates that Sony will also ditch PS2 backward compatibility and memory card slots "once and for all," in an effort to cut costs like the company has done with the 40GB version.

Sony responded to the reports with "no comment."

Last week, an alleged Best Buy memo revealed that the 80GB PS3 would be discontinued. "The 80GB version of the PS3 is going closeout and won't be replaced at this time," it reads. "Only the 40GB version of PS3 will be sold in Best Buy stores at this time."

What we heard: With God of War II occupying the history books for nearly a year, fervor is building for God of War III, the next console iteration of Sony's series that is as popular as it is brutal. However, aside from former God of War II director Cory Barlog's wagging tongue in March mentioning the game would feature 1080p resolution and rumble support, followed nearly nine months later by an official Sony Computer Entertainment America confirmation of its existence, God of War III remains little more than just a name.

Be that as it may, PlayStation World UK, via CVG and GamesRadar, reports God of War III will surface for the PlayStation 3 no sooner than late 2009. Citing "reliable Sony sources," the mag gives no other pertinent details on the game, saying only that "we shouldn't expect to see Kratos blowing his fuse until around Christmas 2009 at the earliest."

So how does the report stack up? Taking into account the dearth of information or assets currently available for GOWIII, a 2008 release seems doubtful. At issue, then, seems to be the "late" portion of the 2009 equation. Traditionally, Kratos has staked his claim on the first half of the year, with the original God of War, its sequel, and the soon-to-be-released PSP prequel God of War: Chains of Olympus all surfacing in March. A March 2009 release would also line up nicely with the two-year interlude between GOW and GOWII.

However, as has been seen time and time again in recent months, developing for the PS3 has proven to be a far more involved affair than crafting games for the seven-year-old PlayStation 2. Combine that with the series' cinematic approach to creating epic moments and boss fights--events that require countless hours of development to get a comparatively minute section of gameplay just right--and the series' debut on the PS3 could very well require more development time than its PS2 predecessors. Thus, an announced March 2009 release date, followed by a delay to late 2009, seems like an entirely plausible hypothetical.

Another factor to take into consideration is the marketing effort Sony will undoubtedly pour into the game. Being an established franchise that has received high aggregate review scores, GOWIII has the potential to sell systems on a level similar to Bungie's Halo 3 for Microsoft. As such, in light of the PS3's lagging position in the console race, Sony does have motivation to release the game as early as possible. Of course, rushing a game to market tends to yield disastrous results, a risk Sony is unlikely to take with the coveted franchise.

The official story: "SCEA does not comment on rumor and/or speculation. We have not announced a release date for GOWIII."--A Sony representative.

Bogus or not bogus?: Without even the vaguest of release windows yet and the likelihood that GOWIII on the PS3 will require a longer development period than its legacy console counterparts, a late-2009 release seems entirely reasonable. Tentative not bogus.

Sony's recent undertaking to turn the PlayStation Portable into a veritable Swiss Army knife has yielded a number of interesting new features in the past few months. For North America, this has amounted to Skype Internet phone technology, which is expected to arrive this month. Sony also said at this year's Consumer Electronics Show that GPS and camera add-ons, as well as the ability to copy Blu-ray movies from the PlayStation 3 to the PSP, would all arrive for the handheld later this year.

Now, Sony is returning to one of the original packed-in draws to the gaming device with a new emphasis on UMD movie content. The hardware maker has announced a partnership with MTV to bring a number of the Viacom-owned network's original programs to the PSP's UMD movie format. Whereas Paramount had been responsible for distributing MTV's original UMD-format fare, Sony will now be directly licensing the content from the cable network.

MTV titles currently slated to arrive this week in the UMD format are: Beavis & Butt-head: The Mike Judge Collection, Vol. 2 and 3; Jackass, Vol. 2 and 3, Wildboyz, Vol. 1 and 2; Viva La Bam, Vol. 2, 3, and 4; and Aeon Flux: The Complete Animated Collection (two-disc set). All titles will run for $14.99, and Sony expects to bring additional MTV programming on an ongoing basis to the PSP. Sony has also said it is in discussions with other studios to bring similar television content to the PSP.

Activision rocks their way to a couple of industry sales records.

Shhh& listen, listen closely, and you can hear the subtle yet distinct howls of those who decided not to release Guitar Freaks in North America. Activision announced today (via Game Industry Biz) that the not-entirely-original Guitar Hero series has set an industry record by raking in $1 billion in retail sales in just 26 months, selling a total of 14 million units.

Of course, much credit must go to Harmonix, original creators of Guitar Hero before moving on to Rock Band, but Activision has a right to gloat, too: they claim Guitar Hero III, their first crack at the series, has set another industry record by becoming the best selling title ever in a single calendar year. According to the NPD Group, Guitar Hero III -- if you add up sales across all platforms -- was the best selling title in units and dollars in 2007.

"Guitar Hero is one of the biggest brands and one of the most powerful distribution platforms in all of entertainment today," said Michael Griffith, president and CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. "Guitar Hero's popularity with broad audiences is a confirmation that video games have become a true mass medium."

But wait, there's one more feather for Activision to stick in their no-doubt very large and well ornamented hat: since Guitar Hero III's release in November, it has surpassed 5 million song downloads, doubling the 2.5 million songs downloaded through Rock Band. Damn.

Despite online reports suggesting others, SCEA says a $299 PS3 is nothing more than wishful thinking.

"We have no plans for any pricing announcements on PS3," a Sony representative told GamePro in an email on Tuesday. "What you are hearing is purely rumor and speculation."

Rumors of a PS3 price drop to $299 surfaced on Monday in connection with the newly confirmed white PS3.

According to multiple (and some hokey) reports, the $299 PS3 news stems from "several posters at SlickDeals.net," something a website administrator later clarified to just one vague and dated reference on an unrelated thread.

The Unreal franchise has had a comfortable home on the PC for many years. On the other hand, Unreal Tournament 3 is the first game from the franchise to hit a Sony console since the original Unreal Tournament landed on the PlayStation 2 in 2000. PlayStation 3 owners will be thrilled to hear that this version of UT3 is for the most part everything the PC version was when it was released in November. Aside from some online hiccups, it is fast, furious, and fun to play, and never fails to impress from a visual perspective. As a result, it stands up favorably against the other strong multiplayer shooters available on the platform.

There are a number of good ways to play Unreal Tournament 3. If you are new to the series, you'll probably want to start with the campaign. Rather than the traditional single-player mode you're used to, you'll fight against computer opponents in a series of matches that are bundled into an inconsequential story and basically meant to prepare you for the online portion of the game. You can also play against bots on the multiplayer maps, though the meat of the experience is found online, where you can compete against up to 15 others. There are several modes available: traditional deathmatch and team deathmatch; a one-on-one deathmatch mode called duel; capture the flag, with and without vehicles; and warfare mode, in which two teams compete to destroy each other's power core. From a content perspective, the PlayStation 3 version is identical to its PC counterpart. For more information on what that gameplay entails, you should read our PC review of Unreal Tournament 3.

Of course, there are some technical differences between the two versions, despite the fact that the gameplay experience is essentially the same. On the visual side of things, the PS3 version looks absolutely fantastic and features high-quality character and weapon models, detailed textures, and great lighting and shadow effects. As a rule, it runs at a fairly speedy clip throughout, with some occasional slowdown only when there are a lot of effects onscreen at a given time, though it doesn't happen enough to be annoying. For the most part, our online matches tended to be free of frustrating lag, provided that we chose servers with a low ping. However, this wasn't always the case. Even in dedicated servers, we encountered moments of noticeable lag. Likewise, even when things were running smoothly, we often found that there were noticeable delays when cycling through weapons. This was not common, and most matches were smooth, hitch-free experiences, but it's an issue worth noting--particularly when there are rather few servers available at any given moment. The game supports voice chat as well, and we used both USB and Bluetooth headsets with no noticeable problems.

You should also note that you can play with a mouse and keyboard on the PS3, which works reasonably well, though these controls don't feel as responsive here as they do on the PC. Thankfully, the Sixaxis controller does a great job of keeping up, and the control mappings are intuitive. You can also choose to filter out games that allow mouse and keyboard controls, so you needn't worry about those players having an unfair advantage in a given match. There is also room for modders and map makers to create downloadable maps, though the tools to create PS3 content have yet to be released, so there isn't any user-created content available as of this writing.

What's most impressive about Unreal Tournament 3 on the PS3 is how at-home it feels on the platform. The visuals look great and keep up splendidly, and the action is intense and satisfying. Even with such fantastic options as Warhawk and Call of Duty 4 at your disposal, UT3 is worth a purchase for anyone who likes to shoot guns in video games.

By Kevin VanOrd, GameSpot

The first Rainbow Six: Vegas was a smash hit for Ubisoft in late 2006, winning over the critics and topping the chart with relative ease. While it paired a fantastic single-player mode with rewarding multiplayer action, it was the spectacular location that really caught the imagination. With so many fans still playing the game over a year later, a sequel was a sure thing; thus, Ubisoft Montreal is readying it for release on the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 in March 2008. While that doesn't seem far off, the publisher has remained completely tight-lipped about the game--until now. With that in mind, we were at the front of the queue when Ubisoft offered journalists a first chance to see the developers and get a first look at the game in action.

Rainbow Six Vegas left players with a cliffhanger finale, and we have been eagerly waiting to find out how the story will progress. Although Vegas 2 will follow directly on from the events of the first game, it will also fill in some of the gaps in the original storyline, covering events both before and during it. From a story point of view, it's almost as if it's a sequel, a prequel, and a director's cut all rolled into one. And despite the success of the original's cliffhanger ending, the developers promise Vegas 2 will offer an "explosive finale" that will end this story for good.

Aside from bringing the story arc of Rainbow Six: Vegas to completion, there are a number of other things that Ubisoft Montreal wants to do with the sequel. The big idea is that you'll always be improving your character, whether you're playing through the single-player campaign or some of the brand new multiplayer modes. It's all determined by the Advanced Combat and Specialisation (ACES) system, which dynamically assesses how you're performing based on assault, marksmanship, and close combat ratings.

These rewards will be linked to your style of play, so if you prefer to blow through doors and use grenades, you're going to be given more explosives with which to play around. If you hang around and take people out from afar, you're likely to be given a shiny new sniper rifle instead. However you play, the more you engage in the world, the more you'll be able to add to your arsenal. Of the 11 new weapons, Ubisoft dropped in mentions of the M468 rifle and the SR-25 sniper rifle--the latter being a reward for good marksmanship.

With all this customisation going on, it would be a shame to have to give your new toys to a run-of-the-mill main character. The Persistent Elite Creation system allows you to change every aspect of your avatar's appearance and gives you the opportunity to create a black, Hispanic, or female character for the first time. The only restriction is that your main character is called Bishop, and you're the leader of the Rainbow Six squad. You won't be spending too much time looking at your main character in the game, though, because Ubisoft's aim is to make the game as interactive and seamless as possible.

While all these new features will definitely be a draw for fans, one of the main attractions will be visiting the Vegas strip one more time. Sin City will be replicated using an upgraded version of Unreal Engine 3.0, but more interesting than the technology is Ubisoft's stated intention to recreate "Vegas and beyond." This means new locales, such as streets and back alleys, industrial areas and oil refineries, and even the city's famous monorail stations and strip clubs. Playing as elite government soldiers, you won't be knocking on front doors wearing a cheeky smile though--you'll still be rappelling down the side of buildings, smashing through huge windows, and using whatever slot machine, dustbin, or stripper you can find for cover.

The combat in the original Vegas had a superb cover-and-fire mechanic, and technological improvements should twist this gameplay dynamic on its head for the sequel. You can no longer stand behind fragile objects safe in the knowledge that you're hidden because wood and barrels will break apart under gunfire. This has a substantial effect on your artificial intelligence teammates, whose routines have also been rewritten to react more realistically to the situations in which they find themselves. The development team demonstrated this by showing how previous AI would run on straight lines to get to whatever target you sent them, but in the sequel, they head to a point in a fire-and-move pattern, alternately stopping to cover teammates and running themselves.

In addition to offering new Vegas locales to explore, Vegas 2 clearly aims to reclaim the series' position as the thinking-person's shooter. It will still include such elements as rappelling and the snake cam. You'll also have to order your men to take corners and break through certain doors. Additionally, there'll be picture-in-picture overlays on the tactical map so that you can easily see things from your teammates' points of view, as well as your own. Your squad is also much chattier than before, feeding you intel and status reports over the radio as you move around. The idea is that you'll be able to make more informed decisions and react accordingly; perhaps ordering your team to suppress a zone that it has told you houses a number of enemies.

The single-player campaign is shaping up to offer another 10 to 12 hours of gameplay, but it's the multiplayer that really promises the long-term challenge. Housed on the disc will be 13 maps that mix brand new designs with Rainbow Six classics. The team says that it has tried to improve the layout of the maps for this outing with better choke points to encourage bouts of intense action. The improved graphics engine will offer the same benefit online as offline, so you can expect the same level of detail when you play locally or look further afield for a challenge. The standard multiplayer modes on offer will be assassination and conquest, although that's at the expense of the capture-the-flag-style mode. Ubisoft is also promising two new multiplayer modes, although at this stage, they're strictly under wraps. We expect more information before release, but for now, we're being kept in the dark.

On the other hand, Ubisoft was only too eager to reveal that the entire career mode will be playable cooperatively, with the second player joining in as a character called Knight (chess references abound). While Bishop will play lead and order the AI teammates around, the second player can jump in and out seamlessly, allowing him or her to play for short bouts or the entire game if he or she wishes. The much-loved terrorist hunt mode is also making a return, and you'll be shooting down a line of respawning bad guys in either single or multiplayer. Up to four players can engage in a group hunt online or one player can go it alone with two AI teammates.

Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 looks set to capitalise on the popularity of the first game with a sequel that offers a proper end to the story and new gameplay elements. While it does appear very similar to its predecessor at first glance, the new locales and the character upgrade system look like they'll be a good enough reason visit the gambling capital once again. We're pleased to hear that the main campaign will playable cooperatively and the many multiplayer modes on offer should provide a good deal of longevity post-release. With a March release for all three platforms already tantalisingly close, expect more information on the game shortly.

 By Guy Cocker, GameSpot UK

With high-profile games such as MotorStorm and Dirt already released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the bar has been raised for recent off-road racing games. Rainbow Studios' MX vs. ATV Untamed feels a lot like previous entries in the MX vs. ATV series and, as a result, doesn't meet that same standard of quality. Nevertheless, despite its problems, Untamed manages to be a worthwhile and jam-packed off-road racing experience.

As with previous versions of the MX vs. ATV series, Untamed tosses in a mess of rip-snorting off-road vehicles your way: everything from your standard MX bikes and ATV quad racers, to dune buggies, monster trucks, and even pocket bikes. The different vehicles have their handling quirks--for example, MX bikes are more nimble but less stable than ATVs --but all of the vehicles are governed by Untamed's fast-and-loose take on physics. The result are vehicles that are able to make epic jumps, turn and twist in midair, and, if you're careful, land with four wheels on the ground and minimal damage to vehicle or rider.

However, landing those jumps can be a dicey prospect. When tackling the largest jumps in the game, you never really know for sure when or if your rider is going to be eating a mouthful of dirt after a nasty-looking crash. Of course, part of this is a result of the game's rhythm-racing concept, in which the player is required to preload jumps by pulling back on the left analog stick and pushing forward at the lip of the jump to add extra height and distance to the jump. Learning when and where you need to preload is one of the skills required for making your way through the game. Unfortunately, Untamed is inconsistent in its approach here. Often what seems to be a perfect approach for a landing will result in a painful-looking and time-wasting spill.

As a result, gameplay in Untamed is an odd mix; the game encourages players to pull off massive jumps and chain together continuous trick combos but, because of the touchy physics, it often seems as if the game is fighting itself, preventing the player from landing those tricks. This is most pointedly felt in the freestyle events in the game's huge X-Cross Tournament single-player mode. The X-Cross Tournament will have you driving every type of vehicle in the game and playing in practically every single mode available as you make your way through a linear tournament.

Unlike the race modes that make up the majority of the X-Cross Tournament, the freestyle events are solely trick-based. Here, racking up trick points is the goal and, unlike the rest of the mode, the game's arcade physics seem bent on preventing you from succeeding at, or indeed enjoying, these freestyle events at all. One peculiar quirk of the X-Cross Tournament is that you can't restart an event once you've begun it, so if you fall behind quickly, you'll still need to finish the event completely before going back and trying again.

If frustration sets in during the X-Cross Tournament, the good news is that you can always move on to something else. Untamed is packed with things to do. In addition to the aforementioned X-Cross, the game has a number of event series (nationals, supercross, supermoto, and so on) to take part in, as well the ability to customize single events of your choosing. Then there are the multiplayer options, including split-screen, LAN play and online play for up to 12 players on the Xbox 360 and eight on the PlayStation 3 version. Though the online racing is straightforward enough, you can also check out some online minigames, such as Snake (think of a dirt-themed version of Tron's light-cycle game) or Tag, which challenges you to grab and keep a ball for a full minute. Each time you're "tagged" by an opponent, the ball changes possession.

Perhaps the starkest difference between the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Untamed--apart from the lack of rumble in the Sixaxis controller (which is especially noticeable in an off-road racing game full of bumps and jumps)--are the graphics. The Xbox 360 version looks superior in practically every way, with a superior frame rate, less aliasing, slightly sharper textures, and less graphical pop-in. Playing Untamed on the PS3 will result in some noticeable frame-rate chop in the corners, especially when multiple vehicles are making their way through the turns. Regardless, neither version of Untamed is a graphical showcase, with frequently indistinct textures that are especially noticeable in the lineups before a race begins.

The vehicle roster in Untamed is defined by its variety, and the same can be said for the game's racing environments. The open-door events are the best in the game; they're typically faster and more wide-open, with just enough narrow passages and tricky sections to keep you on your toes. On the other hand, the indoor events, namely the supercross events, are more technical by nature. As a result, supercross events are far more demanding (read: frustrating) because even the smallest mistake can put you off your rhythm or, worse yet, off your bike completely. A couple of new modes can be found in Untamed. One is endurocross, which you can think of it as an indoor supercross course with rocks, ponds, and logs as your obstacles, but it's a bit too plodding to be fun. Nevertheless, Untamed's best, most imaginative tracks are full of drastic elevation changes and challenging, high-speed series of jumps, and these are sure to give race fans the thrill they're looking for. In keeping with the game's "kitchen sink" approach, Untamed has a huge variety of difficulty settings. For example, in the early X-Cross Tournament events, there are nine artificial-intelligence difficulty levels to choose from, though that number shrinks as you progress through the tournament.

With Untamed, the formula for the MX vs. ATV series hasn't changed much, and the game is at its best when focused on freewheeling, pedal-to-the-metal speed. There are moments of abject frustration--think of the most tedious of the supercross events and practically any freestyle contest--but that frustration is mitigated somewhat by the fact that there's always something else to do in the game. Sure, it's more of the same with MX vs. ATV Untamed, but at least it's a lot more.
By Brian Ekberg, GameSpot