PS3 Fanboy

Joris de Man is the man behind the music of all the Killzone games, including the new one which hits PS3 next month. Music4Games caught up with de Man during the KZ2 score recordings at Abbey Road Studios back in November, and have gotten quite a few interesting tidbits out of him regarding the game's composition.

Said de Man, "In total there is around 60 minutes of interactive in-game music (the music adapts its intensity to the gameplay), which was done with midi, and 28 minutes of orchestral music for the front-end and cutscenes, which is being recorded here at Abbey Road." All of that will be new music, but that doesn't mean some old tunes won't appear. Lovers of the original "Helghast Theme" from the first Killzone will be excited to know that it'll still be around in KZ2 but with "a new variation."

Another part of the interview which tickled our interest is the possibility of a separate soundtrack album release. While gaming soundtrack albums are all too common in Japan, Western titles have yet to truly pick up on the trend -- GTA and its myriad of radio station compilations don't count. De Man said "it's something we're looking into with Sony Music."

Media research group Nielsen reports the PS3 ranks 5th in 2008's "Video Game Console Usage" from data collected during the months of January through October. In that period, PS2 took the top spot with a 31.7 percent share followed by the 360 and Wii with 17.2 and 13.4 percent, respectively. The PS3 is right under the original Xbox's 9.7 percent share by a meager difference of 2.4 percent.

But hey, it's not all doom and gloom. Our choice console did beat out the GameCube by a whopping 3.3 percent. The full statistics can be found after the break.

[via Joystiq]

How dedicated is the vocal cast of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots? So dedicated that they believe they are the characters to which they breathe sound and life into. Is it some form of hypnotic gene therapy which brings out such wondrous talent? Maybe ... it's the work of the Patriots? *Cue dramatic music* Whatever the reason be, they now meet up regularly to (jokingly) discern between what really is game and reality.

Dr. Sadie, records one such session documenting how far our beloved actors have had one too many serums in the neck. Paul Eiding (aka Colonel Campbell) is on a junkie binge for some Scissors 61. While Christopher Randolph (aka Otacon) reveals he's been turning his cat "Mark" into Mark II ... by strapping a camera to its back. David Hayter (Old Snake), Jennifer Hale (Naomi), and Quinton Flynn (Raiden) are all there with their buddies with some hilarious consequences. See it all after the break. Thanks go out to Dr. Sadie for totally breaking doctor-patient confidentiality!

[Thanks LAZoftheTamarinds!]

Choosing a GOTY in 2008 was far more difficult than in 2007. Why? The number of great games on PS3 exploded in 2008. However, the writers and readers of PS3 Fanboy both agreed on one game: Metal Gear Solid 4. It was a tough vote, with LittleBigPlanet creeping in right behind it.

Last year, critics were pretty much unanimous about one choice: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. However, the diversity of PS3's lineup this year shows how even the critics are varied in their choice for PS3 GOTY. Here are what some other outlets chose:

• GamePro chose LittleBigPlanet as PS3 and overall GOTY. "Despite the deluge of ultra-violent shooters, our favorite game this year was the user-fueled platforming fun of LittleBigPlanet."
• GameTrailers chose Grand Theft Auto 4 as PS3 and overall GOTY. "The game manages to create characters and situations that make you genuinely care."
• GameSpot chose Metal Gear Solid 4 as PS3 and overall GOTY. "It's surprisingly easy to pick up and, at the risk of sounding cliche, it's almost impossible to put down even after you've beaten it."
• GameSpy chose LittleBigPlanet (but chose Fallout 3 as its overall GOTY). "There's nothing like this game anywhere else, and that's the beauty of LittleBigPlanet."
• IGN chose Metal Gear Solid 4. "Metal Gear Solid managed to tie almost every plot point together, piled on the cinematic flair and played more accessibly than any previous game in the series"
• Joystiq chose Metal Gear Solid 4 as their top PS3 game of the year. "MGS4 experiments with previously unknown possibilities of the medium (you know, it's "innovative"), while sticking to some established conventions."

PlayStation Home will be host to a few virtual meetings operated by Ernst & Young to reduce carbon emissions. The hope is that a suitable online world will help eliminating the daily need to commute and meet in real-world offices. The project is being led by Dr. Nipan Maniar and Manish Malik from Portsmouth University and includes other participants, like Microsoft and Merill Lynch.

"Audio and video-conferencing solutions have emerged but the use of virtual worlds may offer the next evolution in overcoming the tyranny of distance - a more realistic and learning-enhanced environment," Andrew Mawson, managing director of Advanced Workplace Associates said.

As bloggers, we certainly know the benefits of telecommuting. Who knows? Maybe in the future all of us will be able to work from home and log in to the office using our PlayStations.

[Thanks, DirtyOFries!]

There are many people that are new to PAIN and its various expansion packs. The "Abusement Park" add-on is corrupted for anyone that downloads it right now. Many are blaming the recent 2.53 patch, which adds a free character and YouTube support to the game. "If you did not have the Abusement park addon downloaded from PSN prior to the update the level is destroyed and unusable, Items fall through the landscape the background image is blank white and the level is unusable."

Direct-feed video of the glitch shows how the game is rendered unplayable ... because nothing gets rendered! Unfortunately, this glitch doesn't appear to be affecting a small group of people. A quick look at this thread shows a lynch mob asking for Idol Minds' head. Once again, this being the holiday season, it seems unlikely that affected individuals will get a patch in the immediate future.

[Thanks, ThatBozGuy!]

There's one company that's getting rich out of every video game system you buy. IBM chips are at the heart of all three home consoles, from Wii to PS3. While PS3's unique Cell processor is well-known for its supercomputing power, a new book from one of Cell's designers explains how R&D spent on PS3's advanced chip was used in making the Xenon processor for Microsoft's Xbox 360. "The Race for a New Game Machine" from David Shippy and his co-worker Mickie Phipps delves into their time at IBM working on the chips for both of these competing consoles.

Sony approached IBM to create the Cell processor in 2001, with plans to target a Christmas 2005 launch for the PS3. Microsoft approached IBM in 2002, and it appears Sony agreed to let Microsoft not only see early prototypes of Cell, but purchase components as well. "All three of the original partners had agreed that IBM would eventually sell the Cell to other clients. But it does not seem to have occurred to Sony that IBM would sell key parts of the Cell before it was complete and to Sony's primary videogame-console competitor. The result was that Sony's R&D money was spent creating a component for Microsoft to use against it," the Wall Street Journal book review summarizes.

While the end result for Cell and Xenon are both quite different, it's ironic to think that Sony may have inadvertently aided its primary competitor. Of course, console success stories are always based on quizzacle corporate decisions. Let's not forget that Sony's first console, PlayStation, was originally a collaboration with Nintendo to make an extension to the SNES.

[Thanks, DirtyOFries!]

At the very beginning of the year, we made some bold predictions about the state of PS3 in 2008. Let's see how well those turned out for us, shall we?

PS3 Prediction #1: Warner Bros. will go Blu-ray exclusive.
Looks like we were right about this one. In fact, Warner Bros. went Blu-ray exclusive just days after we made this prediction. We were a bit wrong in assuming that the HD format war would continue in 2008. We're glad to be wrong about that one.

PS3 Prediction #2: A new color for PS3 will be introduced.
We were right about this one, especially the part about a new color being bundled with Metal Gear Solid 4. It didn't take long before the "Limited Edition" systems were on eBay. We also stated that "America may introduce a new premium bundle in White that includes an even larger hard drive and a hotly anticipated game." We were wrong about the White color, but we got the premium bundle correct: an Uncharted bundle was released late this year with a 160GB hard drive.

PS3 Prediction #3: Video rental service will begin this year.
Three in a row? Nice! At E3, Sony announced plans for a video rental service, which is now available in Japan and America. We were slightly off in thinking Sony wouldn't offer fully downloadable movies, thinking "Sony won't want to cannibalize its own Blu-ray sales." The video rental service doesn't offer HD downloads, but SD movies can be purchased and even transfered over to the PSP.

Stopping cancer, simulating black hole collisions, and now ... breaking internet security? Is there anything the PS3 can't do? Researchers have been using the PS3 in interng ways. Most recently, a team of researchers from the U.S., Switzerland and the Netherlands have found a way of bypassing the security of digital certificates provided by companies like Verisign. These digital certificates help transmit your credit card information on the internet in a secure manner.

By using 200 PS3 systems linked together, researchers were able to do the math that helped them decrypt the MD5 hash that's used by Verisign. The researchers would be able to mimic online retail sites, potentially stealing tons of valuable information from consumers. It appears researchers want the hash to be replaced by a more potent one.

It's unrealistic to expect hackers will be able to replicate the results of these researchers any time soon. Getting 200 PS3s linked to each other can be quite a pricey feat! Of course, when you're stealing all of the internet's credit card info, you might be able to afford buying a few hundred PS3s.

[Thanks, BPerry!]

Some users are reporting a terrible glitch in LittleBigPlanet which affects the game's save data. According to this forum post, random things will go missing from one's save. For example, progress in the MGS4 level pack may disappear. "I've completed all five acts, and when I turned off the power and played again, all that was unlocked was Act 1-3. However, my scores from Act 4 and 5 were still in place-- it's just that I need to unlock them all over again as well as collect the prize bubbles," says SuperPhillip.

The more frightening consequence of this bug is the deletion of user-created content. "I lost four costumes and she lost all 12 of her saved costumes, as well as losing the level status. Also we found that all of our community and saved photos were erased too," says justsayno2girls. Some are theorizing that the glitch is caused by bloated profile data. Since the release of the game, players have collected tons of objects from community members. The MGS pack also adds a large amount of data to one's profile. The game may be automatically deleting content when a profile gets too large.

Considering its the holiday season right now, Media Molecule hasn't offered an update on the situation, but we're certain they'll work on a patch in the coming weeks. However, we'd recommend that users avoid creating new levels for now -- we wouldn't want anyone to lose a level they worked on.

[Thanks, Terry W.!]

Demon's Souls was a surprise PS3 game revealed at Tokyo Game Show. From Software, the makers of the Armored Core series is working on this brand new action game. This trailer is three minutes long, and gives us a good idea for the game's mood. However, we want to see more gameplay footage. We're not getting too hyped over this game, so we'd like to see more footage.

[Thanks, Christian H.!]

Finally! We're done counting all the votes. This is the best of the best. Check out our winners, and find out what you (the readers!) voted for. Did your favorite games win? Find out!