Sony Corporation has finally named its new baby – you know, the one with the glowing ball on its head. The name was announced at GDC today, as were some other details. In case you couldn’t figure it out from the title, the new Sony motion controller is called the PlayStation Move.

The PlayStation Move (or the P-Mo, for those of you in the know) will be released later this year in one of three configurations: as a stand-alone purchase for those that already own the PlayStation Eye (which the device requires in order to work), bundled with the PS Eye (for those with a PS3 but no Eye), and as a complete bundle with the PS3 system, the Eye, and the P-Mo. Each configuration will include one PlayStation Move controller.

Also being previewed at GDC are some games that will feature support for the P-Mo, including Little Big Planet, Sports Champions, and SOCOM 4. Also set to feature support for the Move, as reported yesterday, is EA Sports’ Tiger Woods PGA Tour® 11.

No date or price was given for the new motion controller, but it is said that Sony intends to bring the release price in at under a hundred dollars. Click here to watch the entire press conference from Sony about the PlayStation Move.

Source

Shields at the front and spears at the ready, its time for another edition of EpicBattleCry! In this week’s skirmish, we reflect on the PSN ApocolyPS3, check out the Blur mutiplayer beta, mourn the delay of Red Dead Redemption, and ponder the graphic differences between Final Fantasy XIII on the 360 and PS3.

First up in the main course this week, we talk about Steam coming to the Mac and all that means for Apple gamers. We also take a look at the rumors Sony is prepping some sort of mobile device to compete with the iPhone. Next up, we look back over the drama between Activision and Infinity Ward and what the future holds for the Call of Duty franchise.

The Battle Cry of the Week goes to the G.G. Collection, Valve, Mafia II, and The Secret World.

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Sony is preparing new handheld products to compete with Apple’s iPhone and upcoming iPad, according to the Wall Street Journal. They are reporting that Sony is prepping a “smart phone capable of downloading and playing videogames,” in addition to “a portable device that shares characteristics of netbooks, electronic-book readers and handheld-game machines.”

No details on whether the smart phone would be a PSP-branded machine, but Big S certainly has an interest in defending its mobile device business. For Sony, as a manufacturer of both phones and portable gaming devices, Apple is becoming an increasingly formidable competitor.

via Kotaku

Sony Computer Entertainment has acquired Media Molecule, developer of the PS3 exclusive Little Big Planet. The Surry, England based studio joins other notable devs like Team ICO, Polyphony Digital, and Naughty Dog as part of Sony Computer Entertainment World Wide Studios. Formed in 2006 by Lionhead Studios alumni, Media Molecule’s first title is Little Big Planet which has won over 90 awards, including 2 BAFTAs and 8 AIAS Interactive Achievement Awards.

‘Lo Axeheads, we know the weekends can be a depressing time; the Axe isn’t updated very much and its a long wait till the new episode of EpicBattleCry on Monday. But unlike those blue freaks who are threatening to kill themselves if Avatar ever leaves theaters, there’s hope for you. So come, ye mighty children of the Axe, and lets mainline a little mirth, mischief, and mayhem to liven up the days that begin with “S”…Welcome to EpicBattleAxe.com’s End of the Weak, a new feature designed to explore the interesting, weird, and downright idiotic from the world of gaming and beyond in an attempt to deliver unto thee a reason to have more SLAUGHTER than SLEEP on the weekend agenda. Grab a goblet of something awesome…we’re kicking things off after the jump!
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Hey everybody, DK here hoping you had a nice weekend and kicking off another week of Member BattleCries here on EpicBattleAxe.com. Now, in the most recent edition of EpicBattleCry (going live later today here on the ‘Axe), we discuss several different console-exclusives throughout the show. It got me to thinking about the importance of console exclusives and which ones you all think have the most value in the industry. Which exclusives are the biggest in all of gaming? Which ones are guaranteed system sellers and which of your favorites have stood the test of time? So with that in mind, I pose the following question to you in this week’s MBC Topic Starter:

WHICH CONSOLE-EXCLUSIVE FRANCHISE(S) DO YOU LOVE THE MOST AND WHY?

Now, remember, we’re talking about past, present, and future here. Perhaps a good side question to keep in mind when commenting would be, “Which franchise is most likely to make me buy a console in the future?” Of course, the discussion is open to any game, any genre, and any system. Just speak your mind and if you have a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT subject you’d like to sound off on, feel free to do that in the comments section below as well. As always, we’ll feature a new Member BattleCry each day here on EpicBattleAxe.com and then highlight the Member BattleCry of the week on the next skirmish of the EpicBattleCry video podcast. Oh yeah, don’t forget to vote in our poll this week on the console that you think has the best exclusives overall!

Cool gang, I’m really looking forward to hearing what you all have to say! Let’s kick off another great week of Member BattleCries right NOW!

Peace,
DK

Be among them and attack from behind, its time for another episode of EpicBattleCry! In this week’s skirmish, we cringe as Tony Hawk sinks to new depths to sell copies of Ride, warm up our trigger finger for Metal Slug XX, rally around the rumor a new NBA Jam is headed our way, and discuss the recent Sony survey that points to premium (as in paid) subscription services coming to PSN.

With the Consumer Electronics Show 2010 behind us, we take a look at the offerings for gamers. Microsoft announced Game Room, and also confirmed Natal will be out this year. Sony launched the first salvo for 3D gaming and announced an expansion of PSN video services beyond the PlayStation platform. Who brought the heat, who stabbed themselves in the face? We sharpen the Axe on CES 10.

The Battle Cry of the Week calls on Nintendo to bring OLED technology to the next DS console, thanks George Lucas for the greatest unintentional entertainment of the week, celebrates Darksiders and other new, kick-ass IPs, and has love for Crystal Dynamics and the hope that we may see a new Legacy of Kain game one day.

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SCEA top dude Kaz Hirai spent some time at CES 2010 laying out Sony’s strategy for leveraging PSN on other platforms. In the broad strokes, Sony is going to be bringing PSN video services to televisions, Blu ray players, and Windows PCs. Hirai stated that SD and HD streaming movies would be available on these devices in the U.S. starting in February 2010. Check out the video after the jump for more details.

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Joystiq has an excellent breakdown of a recent survey from Sony Europe to a number of UK PSN members which may indicate that some type of premium subscription service is headed to PSN. Prices range from $5 to $25 USD per month to $32 to $160 per year. Features run the gamut from early access to content, to being able to play through the first hour of a game for free, to something called ‘token wagering.’

What does everyone think about paying for access to premium features on PSN? Microsoft has certainly demonstrated that people are open to a subscription based service. Considering Sony already offers many of the same features found on XBL Gold plans for free, what will they need to offer to entice people to sign up? Leave your thoughts below and hit the permalink for a full list of features discussed in the survey.

Source

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Take a good hard look at the image above.  Now ask yourself, do you want another PSP model?  If your answer is “yes” then by George you just might be in luck. Destructoid was able to snag an image of an advertisement for the Little Big Planet Starter Kit which includes a bunch of LBP accessories for any PSP including the PSP 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 and PSPgo. Yep, the PSP 4000 is listed even though it doesn’t even exist…yet.

Now this could be a miss print or a forgery so we shouldn’t get our panties in a knot quite yet, in fact, it’s now even being reported as a “mistake” by the creators of the ad, but considering recent rumors that due to the PSPgo’s lack of success Sony is preparing a new PSP with a UMB drive included, anything is possible. Of course, Sony hasn’t commented on the matter as of this post, but we’ll keep you informed as we learn more.

So, it should be interesting to see how this turns out. The ONLY way I can see Sony getting out of introducing yet another PSP model without mutiny is if they finally put a damn second analog stick on the system, but that won’t happen until the seemingly fictitious PSP 2 finds its way out of a gamer’s dream and onto store shelves…

Discuss.