Opinion on what were claimed to be leaked chassis images and box-art for the upcoming Sony PS3 Slim tended toward the dubious, but they’ve just received a shot in the arm courtesy of of a cease & desist letter. Sent to Engadget (who bizarrely weren’t even the first site to feature them), the letter is not from Sony but from another, so-far unnamed Chinese firm, potentially the owners of the factory in which the leaked shots were taken.
C&D notice after the cut
Is this the Sony PS3 Slim, narrowed-down follow up to the PlayStation 3? That’s what workers in a Chinese manufacturing plant would like us to believe, but the jury as to the images’ authenticity is still out. On offer is the PS3 Slim box art and several shots of the supposed casing.
The Xbox 360 has seemingly been plagued with problems since it’s release, and though Microsoft has worked to resolve these issues over time, it’s been a bit slow going at points. However, the company posted a warranty extension today that now covers the E74 error message.
E74 is now considered the same thing as the 3-red-light issue, or as most people call it, the red ring of death. So, you can have this problem fixed by sending in your console to be repaired or replaced just as you would have with the 3-red-light problem.
The warranty has been extended to three years to accommodate for the problem. Also, if you have had the problem fixed before and paid for it, you’ll now get a refund. Even though Microsoft has called the E74 error a small issue, it actually could affect all Xbox 360 models shipped prior to the end of 2008.
There’s one thing we love more than a new gadget, and that’s a new gadget in pieces. Latest to get splayed out across the workbench is Nintendo’s new DSi, freshly launched within the past few days and already broken into its constituent parts by the good people at iFixit.
If you’ve ever had to hold chilled spoons to your eyes just to get them uncrossed after an epic Nintendo DS session, this Health Control Game Timer may be the gadget to save your sight. Plugging into the handheld console, the HCGT can be set to automatically shut the DS down after a preset length of time.
Sony have released the PS3 v2.70 firmware update, presumably the “significant global announcement” they had previously promised. Sony PS3 firmware v2.70 adds Text Chat functionality, a Friends List on the XMB, video backup to an external hard-drive and synchronization of PSP video over to the PS3 for big-screen viewing.
More details, plus video overview after the cut
Chubby, lurid and with a definitely Apple-inspired UI, the GAME-800 PMP could easily be dismissed as yet another Chinese knock-off. In doing that, though, you’d be missing out on some retro gaming action, as this “MP5 Player” not only has video and audio playback but an emulator for NES, Famicom, GameBoy, GameBoy Color and Sega Mega Drive games.
Sony’s PS2 will see a price-cut starting April 1st, that will bring the console down to $99.99. The console – which is almost ten years old – has sold 50 million units in North America alone.
According to games publisher Blizzard, Microsoft is currently working closely with game developers on the replacement to the Xbox 360, tongue-in-cheek referred to by some as the Xbox 720. Speaking at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Blizzard’s Rob Pardo confirmed that he and his team had taken part in talks with Microsoft about the next-gen console.
It’s been a while since we saw the first video demo of a completed pre-production Pandora open-source gaming handheld, and now a Stormtrooper-white version is here to show off its 60fps Quake skills. You’re still not looking at finalized hardware, but all the buttons, D-pads, LEDs and keys are doing what they should.
Video demo after the cut
SlashGear Japan
