Report: Sony Still Losing Money On Every PS3 Sold
[Sony]

One of the main reasons Sony ditched the "George Foreman" build of the PS3 and went with the new "Slim" was to cut back on manufacturing costs. Try and get back into the black. But they're not quite there.

According to a report on iSuppli - who have been doing this kind of thing for a while now - the total cost of manufacturing a PS3 Slim as of December 2009 is $336.27. And they sell for $299. Meaning Sony are still slugged with a $37 loss for every console sold.

Sounds bad - and when you multiply that $37 by millions, it certainly seems that way - but it's a damn sight less money than they were losing this time last year.

With the cost of materials continually on the decline, provided Sony can stick at a $299 price point for a while to come, you'd expect the PS3 to start generating a profit sometime next year.

Sony Gets One Step Closer to Breakeven Point with Latest PlayStation 3 Design [iSuppli]

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New Pokemon Movie Has Double The Ash [Anime]

The trailer for the upcoming Pocket Monster movie Pocket Monster Diamond & Pearl: Genei no Hasha Z (The Phantom Champion Z) is streaming online. It features two Ash (Satoshi in Japan) characters.

One of which does not look so nice. Movie out next summer in Japan — July 10, 2010.

Watch The Trailer [Pokemon-Movie via Saishin Anime

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iPhone Game Review: Luma

by: Tina Amini
NEWS - Disney’s Luma is a cute puzzler complete with decent controls and a colorful game design.

The iPhone/iPod Touch game reminds me of one really long, really in-depth BioWare-esque puzzle. It consists of rearranging circular nodes to direct a line of light from the starting point to the ending point. Each node contains a line symbol that shows where the light will be directed. Some are simple “one point to another” shapes, while others might direct the light in three different branches. You wont gain access to nodes further away from your starting point until you’ve tracked your length of light closer to them. This adds to the challenge of the game.

Further along in the puzzler, you’ll also find similar nodes with the addition of a color code. Some ending points will indicate what color will be necessary to complete the puzzle. This might need to be accomplished by combining colors, so I hope you remember your ROYGBIV color scheme from art class.

There are also obstacles in some of the 30 levels you’ll encounter in Luma. These will restart your rearrangement work if the light is passed through them, so be careful where you point.

Given these bits of gameplay, Luma is quite well rounded without feeling too forced. The controls that compliment gameplay aren’t the most comfortable aspect of the game, but they do the job. A slider on the left hand side of your game screen will turn and angle the node that you’ve selected to rearrange. The control is intuitive in the sense that sliding up and down will give a corresponding movement in your node, but there is a limit to how high or low the slider will go – essentially turning your node 360 degrees. This makes messing around with your node a bit of a hassle because of the lag in having to restart the slider.

This isn’t too much of a problem, though, until you get to Survival mode after completing all 30 levels. Then you might have some complaints about the half a second you missed because of the damn slider. Survival mode is interesting in that you trek through a series of levels in succession under a time constraint that increase in difficulty. Starting at a level at your leisure is no option; the game will start you at level 1 and determine what time you have on the next level to complete your goal. Fortunately, you have some lifelines at your disposal. You can reset the clock, clear out unnecessary nodes, or take a quick glance at the correct path needed to complete the level.

Luma is a relaxing puzzler that requires good planning and, sometimes, quick thinking. I generally don’t get addicted to puzzler games (except Sudoku, of course) but this puzzler kept my interest because it felt challenging in a healthy and smart way. Completing the path between nodes feels like an accomplishment instead of a relief, which sometimes becomes interchangeable in puzzler games.

Luma: $0.99


Read The Full Article:
http://www.gamingnexus.com/FullNews/iPhone-Game-Review-Luma/Item15405.aspx

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Closer Look At Final Fantasy XIII PS3 [FFXIII]

The game (and thus, PS3 bundle) is not out until December 17, but that didn't stop pictures of the console and its cardboard box from popping up online.

White and pink!

FF13 ??????~~~~~??? [PS3]????13 A9VG???????? [A9VG Thanks, James!]

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Judge Rejects Bethesda Motion to Stop Sale of PC
Fallout Bundle [Lawsuit]

A federal judge has shot down a motion by Bethesda Softworks to stop Interplay from selling three PC Fallout titles it published. The decision also means Interplay's work on the Fallout MMO continues, though the lawsuit against them still lives.

Here's the score: Bethesda sued Interplay, claiming the Fallout Trilogy bundle it was selling and marketing through digital distribution services was "confusingly similar" to Bethesda's Fallout 3 products going out this year. Bethesda also wants to terminate Interplay's contract to develop the Fallout MMO, a deal signed when Bethesda bought the rights in 2007 - for $5.75 million - from Interplay, the series' original publisher.

But U.S. District Court Judge Deborah K. Chasanow rejected Bethesda's request for an injunction, without giving any reasons, in a ruling first found by Fallout fan Web site Duck and Cover, and reported today by Gamasutra.

Court Denies Bethesda's Motion To Block Interplay Fallout Activity [Gamasutra]

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NYKO unwrapping new Wii accessories for the
holidays

by: Dan Keener
NEWS - NYKO sent out a note earlier this evening touting some new accessories coming for the holiday season. There wasn’t much info, but a picture does tell a 1000 words. In addition to the previously announced Charge Base IC, there are new Kama colors as well as the WAND only compatible Gungrip hitting retail shelves real soon. The Kama colors match the same color scheme found on the WAND that was announced earlier this year, with blue, black and pink added to the basic white. Check out all the goodies below, and we will get you a full report on their 2010 lineup and plans after visiting with them at the 2010 CES in January.


Read The Full Article:
http://www.gamingnexus.com/FullNews/NYKO-unwrapping-new-Wii-accessories-for-the-h
olidays/Item15403.aspx

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Lull Your Baby To Sleep With BioShock, Colossi
[Bubbies]

You remember that Left 4 Dead mobile from a few months back? Andrea made that. Andrea also made these newer models, one for BioShock, the other for Shadow of the Colossus.

So you've got a choice! Either indoctrinate your baby from an early age that its entire existence has been to serve as a puppet for its maniacal master, or...teach it that killing helpless, innocent monsters just to save some dead broad is an OK thing to do.

SaltyandSweet's Shop Announcement [Etsy]

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For EA Sports, Few Options Other than Toxic Tiger
[Scandal]

"Sponsors like Gillette and Electronic Arts are going to drop Tiger Woods regardless of what they are saying now," writes a Forbes national editor. But who would that leave to carry on EA's golf franchise? Nobody, basically.

"Forget about any golfers picking up the sponsorship slack," says Michael K. Ozanian. "According to E Poll Market Research, aside from Tiger, they generate no buzz with consumers."

He's talking about all products, not just video games, but if Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk can't sell shaving cream, they probably can't push a $60 title either. Tiger Woods has been the lead endorser of EA Sports PGA Tour series since 1998 - only John Madden has a longer association on the title of a sports video game. EA axing Tiger is a far different thing than AT&T or Accenture (although Nike and Gatorade have comparable product lines in play here too.)

This is all speculation of course. EA Sports' latest guidance is this stand-by-your-man news release. It's got a major release coming up with Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online, a free-to-play browser-based product that's been in a closed beta already, with another coming up soon. And as said above, if Woods is so toxic that he can't rep a game, EA Sports would have no reasonable fallback. Of course this scandal is a disaster for Woods as a business; it's not a party for his corporate partners either.

Tiger's Troubles: The Winners [Forbes]

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