PS3 Platinum Range Detailed For PAL Regions

More news from Sony's secret, PAL-only event in Santa Monica: the region's "Platinum" games range for the PS3 have a release date, as well as pricing info. The first batch of Platinum games will be appearing on August 1, and titles mentioned specifically included MotorStorm, Resistance, Uncharted, Assassin's Creed and Virtua Tennis 3 (with Heavenly Sword and Ratchet & Clank surely there as well). As for pricing, they'll be *deep breath* €30/£20/AUD$50/NZD$60.

R&C: Quest For Booty Getting Blu-Ray Release

Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty is, at its heart, a PSN game. It's meant to be short, it's meant to be downloaded. And in the US, that's how it'll stay. As a PSN title. But in Europe, consumers will have a choice. They can download the game from the PSN, or they can buy it on Blu-Ray, as a disc-based version of the game will also be released. No reason given, but our guess is one of the versions will ship with only a handful of major languages, so it hits the market quicker.

Ratchet Booty coming to Blu-ray [Eurogamer]

Sony Video Service Not Hitting Europe, Australia Until 2009 (At Least)

That new Sony video download service sure looks neat! I wouldn't know, though. Not American, you see. Seems I might not know for a while yet, either, with Sony's David Reeves announcing that PAL territories won't be downloading movies on their PS3s in 2008.

This will not come to the PAL markets this year, but Sir Howard Stringer has made the commitment that non-games will come to all regions in due course and it will. The dates for video content will come later this year. For us, and I think you appreciate most of you European, that local content is important, and that's what working on right now.

A shame, but not a surprise, given the legal issues Microsoft faced with their service (which, incidentally, Australia still doesn't have).

80GB PS3 coming to Europe, Australia on August 27 [GameSpot]

80GB PS3 To Hit "All PAL Territories" On August 27

Chatting at a secret Europeans-only gig in Santa Monica, SCEE boss David Reeves has announced that the 80GB PlayStation 3 - unveiled at Sony's E3 address yesterday - will be released simultaneously "across all PAL territories" (yes, that includes Australia) on August 27. It'll be priced at £299/€400, and as in the US, it'll be straight-up replacing the 40GB unit (which Reeves says is almost out of stock, and will not be seeing a temporary price cut).

E3 08: 80GB PS3 coming to Europe [MCV]

SCEA: "PS3 Is Open For the Ad Business"

Sony Computer Entertainment of America and Europe announced a partnership with in-game ad company Double Fusion today, saying that the Playstation 3 is open for the ad business.

Weird, I thought they were open for the ad business last month when they announced their deal with Double Fusion rival IGA.

Either way, I don't see adding in-game ads as something they or any company should be bragging about. Until I see a dip in game prices or service costs, it doesn't give me anything but an opportunity to help an international company rake in more dough.

Box Art Time: Europe's PS3 Platinum Range?

There are of course different names for them in the US and Japan, but in Europe and Australia, when games for a Sony console are re-released in a budget line, they're called Platinum games. We've had a fair idea of the titles that would make up the first batch of releases for a few months now, but were missing the most important piece of information: what the box art looked like. It's a delicate thing for these kind of releases! Too classy and you're not drawing the eye to the fact it's budget. Too budget and picky consumers won't keep the cases on their game shelves. So where, dear reader, do these (unconfirmed, but terribly legit-looking) PS3 boxes fit on that scale?

Primeros Títulos Platinum [ElOtroLado, via VG247]

Sorry Europe, No Metal Gear Database For You

If you're European, and ran to your PS3 this morning, clawing like a madman for the Metal Gear database that Japan and the US got, you'll no doubt already be sitting in a puddle of your own anguish, wondering aloud why SCEE couldn't follow suit and make it part of this week's downloads. Which they didn't. No doubt it's got something to do with translating Kojima's tangled storyline into 17 languages. If you've bothered setting yourself up with an American (or Japanese, it has an english-language option) PSN account, you'll have to jump in and grab it from there.

SCEE: We're Dedicated To Our First Party Studios, No Problems Here

Following a rumor this morning that Heavenly Sword 2 had gotten the ax at Sony Cambridge, and that Ninja Theory might be primed for a break away from Sony Europe, Kotaku checked in with SCEE to see if the studio could be undergoing a change of strategy - or whether it might be facing some issues. After all, if what our inside source said about HS 2 is true, then it'd be the third project to get the kibosh recently, after Eight Days and Getaway 3.

"I think it is fair to say that we do not comment on rumour and speculation, especially about games that have never been announced," said SCEE corporate PR manager Nick Caplin.

Caplin did tell us, though, some detail behind why Eight Days and Getaway 3 were scrapped, and why we oughtn't worry about SCEE:

Chalk this up as pure rumor for now.

An inside UK source tells us that Heavenly Sword 2 has been canned by Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe. The game was axed after months in development because it is no longer seen as commercially viable, our source tells us.

The news came during an emergency meeting set up for the Sony Cambridge team which was working on the game.

On a side note, Ninja Theory, who have already said they weren't working on the sequel to their Playstation 3 exclusive, have grown increasingly bitter about their treatment at Sony's hands, our source tells us. I'm told that the development studio, which once had offices in the same building as Sony Cambridge, have started packing up to move to a new location.

I guess when they said they wanted to move away from Sony and get into multi-platform development they weren't kidding.

If true, this marks the third major project, counting Eight Days and Getaway 3, that has been canned by SCEE. Is the Europe arm of Sony in trouble? No clue, but we've asked for comment.

SCEA Has No Plans To Offer Sixaxis Bundles In North America

A Sony rep has just confirmed to Kotaku that Sony Computer Entertainment America has no plans to echo Sony Europe's move to clear out PlayStation 3 Sixaxis controllers by bundling them with games.

The bundles, retailing in Europe for €60, include one Siaxis controller and one of the following games: F1, GT5 Prologue, Folklore or MotorStorm. Looks like the package deal will be Europe-only, though.

Sony Looking At Including Euro Content On PlayStation.Blog

Buried at the bottom of their self-congratulatory first birthday post (happy birthday!), SCEA's PlayStation.Blog team have a little note for their long-suffering European brothers, long without a decent blog of their own. They say they hear your pain, feel your pain, and are in talks to “bring more PlayStation news to you from that part of the world”. Which I read as "we can't be arsed setting up another blog, but we'll post Euro stuff on this one". Good news, Europe! Your days of relying on the regrettable Three Speech for community info (PSN updates, release dates, etc) may soon be over.

PlayStation.Blog is a Year Old Today [PlayStation.Blog]

SCEE Announce Sixaxis Bundle Clearance

Hey, Americans, are you enjoying your DualShock 3? I sure am. Got mine from Japan, where they're enjoying it also. How about you, Europe? Oh. That’s right. They’re not out there yet. Silly me, should have known. Ah well, chin up! They’ll probably be there soon, because Sony are about to start bundling their leftover, outdated Sixaxis controllers with a bunch of leftover games, in a not-as-dumb-as-it-looks attempt at shifting the remainder of their stocks. To retail for €60, the bundles will include one Siaxis controller and one of the following games: F1, GT5 Prologue, Folklore and MotorStorm (note: just the game + controller, NO console).

Des nouveaux packs PS3 ? [Game-Class, thanks Frank!]

Poor, put upon Europe. You either had to pay exorbitant prices to import a Japanese or North American version of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII or simply wait patiently for the game's release on your continent on the 20th of this month. Well SCEE feels your pain, and they hope to ease it somewhat by offering a limited edition PSP Crisis Core game bundle, complete with the game and the silver engraved PSP the Japanese got when the game first launched there.

Of course those of you in the UK who already have a PSP they don't wish to replace with shiny silver goodness still get to benefit from the exclusive special edition, so while it might take a bit longer for you to get the games, Square Enix and SCEE definitely love you guys the best of all.

FFVII PSP Bundle Bound For Europe [Next Generation]

Eight Days And Getaway 3 No Longer Going Concerns

Remember late this past April when we warned you that PlayStation 3 titles The Getaway 3 and Eight Days, first showcased during the early preview days of the console, wouldn't be seeing the light of day for a while? According to a statement released today by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, that while is now officially a never as production ceases on both titles.

"This decision was made following an internal review of all games and it was deemed that with the incredibly strong list of exclusive first party titles coming up both this year and in the near future, resource should be reallocated to enhance those projects closer to completion.

You heard them folks - they have so many strong titles coming out that they can afford to just toss a couple into the rubbish bin to keep the games flowing. Good riddance I say. I never understood why they'd try to continue the Getaway series after the heaping helping of crap that was Black Monday anyway.

Sony stops work on Eight Days and The Getaway [GI]

Sony Skipping Afrika For Europe

Afrika for the PlayStation 3, whatever it is, looks very pretty. We look forward to enjoying whatever Afrika is, whenever Afrika arrives. Oh, and thank heavens that we don't live in Europe, as it appears Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is dropping the publishing ball, telling Eurogamer that it shan't be publishing Afrika in the region. Why? We're as clueless to the reasons why as we are to how Afrika plays, but it doesn't give us much confidence in the title if SCEE can't be bothered.

Perhaps it's just a localization nightmare, but we hope that SCEA will invest in the game(?) and bring it to American PS3s. We've got an e-mail in with them now, just to see how interested they are in escorting Afrika out of Japan.

No Afrika for Europe, says Sony [Eurogamer]

Reeves: PlayStation Home Was Deserting Gamers

It takes a big man to admit that he made a mistake, or an even bigger company. Sony execs have been pretty candid about the missteps made in the early life of the PlayStation 3 lately, and now SCEE's David Reeves admits that the development of Home was hindered by too big of a focus being placed on non-gaming applications, such as getting together sponsors.

"In that sense we were deserting gamers. So, we're concentrating on the gaming by launching games in Home, and attracting people who are into gaming in first - instead of the Nike people, or Adidas people who are into fashion and not necessarily into gaming."

Reeves: Home was too ambitious [CVG]

Sony Considering Official External HDDs For PS3?

We launched with 60GB and to reduce the price we went to 40GB. We're not sure we want to stay with that configuration of hard drive, and I think what you're going to see in the future is maybe consumers can choose

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