IBM and The Mayo Clinic have teamed up to open a research facility, which they hope will bring about advances in the field of medical imaging, and in particular to things like CT scans. At present, it can take a doctor hours to look over a set of scans, which in some cases can endanger a patient’s life. It’s hoped that by using the PS3’s Cell chip they can not only create 3D images of a patient’s brain much faster, they can also then compare those to earlier 3D images in only minutes, a feat which once took hours. Pretty neat, considering the Cell was built to, you know. Play games. The Mayo Clinic’s chairman Bradley Erickson says this is not the first time games tech has been used to aid medical science. In addition to their current research using the Cell chip, Erickson says that “other games technology”, including high-end graphics cards, are often used in medicine, particularly in the field of imaging.
Source: http://kotaku.com/343626/this-is-what-the-ps3-can-do-to-your-brain
We caught up with John Koller, senior product manager for the PSP at Sony’s CES booth this week, to get a quick update on the company’s portable plans. When asked about the success of the recently launched PC version of the PlayStation Store that allows those without a PlayStation 3 to download games, trailers and more to their PSPs, Koller told us that while it was a bit too early for accurate numbers, the company is expecting big things from the service. “We have an opportunity to bring bite-size experiences to the system, ten minute, pick up and play content that can be downloaded from the store,” Koller told us, part of an effort to expand the PSP’s demographic.
In addition to those short-session downloadable games, plans for more legacy PSP titles are planned. Koller said the company will be re-releasing older PlayStation Portable titles as downloads, ones that “retailers aren’t interested in carrying at this stage, games that we hear a lot of demand from PSP owners—titles like Wipeout, Twisted Metal—gamers who say ‘I want to play this’ but can’t find it at retail anymore.”
Speaking of retail, Koller confirmed that SCEA will be publishing more UMD movies and at a reduced price point. “We definitely understand that releasing a ’70s era romantic comedy at $29.99 didn’t appeal to most of the demographic,” he said, telling us that retailers were “bullish” on carrying the UMD movie format at a more sensible price point.
He said that the company wasn’t particularly concerned about the recently confirmed option to copy Blu-ray movie content to a PSP biting into the UMD video market, saying that “Any way we can help get that multimedia content onto the PSP, we’re going to take it.”
At the Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany, Sony unveiled the new features for it’s hand held PSP gaming system. These new features include Go!Video, which allows users in the UK and Ireland to watch video on demand, Go!Explorer which is a GPS navigation package and Go!Messenger which allows web browsing, RSS feeds and use of the PSP camera.
Source: www.techpowerup.com
While it may not be to everyone’s taste, this one-of-a-kind God of War PSP is certainly an impressive bit of console modding, boasting not just a spiffy paint job, but a few additions that dig into the PSP itself. Those include a red acrylic window on the rear of the unit that’ll let you see the UMD spinning, as well as some red LEDs that light up the PSP’s two shoulder buttons (head on over after the break for some more pics). Only the most die hard God of War fans need apply here though, as last we checked the bidding was around the $1,200 mark. On the upside, 15% of the final sale price will go to the Child’s Play charity, and you’ll also get that classy velvet-lined case to display your new prized possession in. Read the rest of this entry »
The one and only Hideo Kojima appeared at Sony Computer Entertainment’s PlayStation Premiere 2007 in Tokyo, and while everyone expected to see a the same trailer shown on E3, Kojima had something more “solid” on its mind.
While everyone probably held their mouth closed Kojima started an exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots gameplay demonstration.
Hideo Kojima showed a lot of details for the upcoming sequel, and as he claimed, his last one. First in line was a new scope named Solid Eye, then he showed two different factions that player can decide to, or not to, join. Other interesting features are, Octocam, a well known camouflage suit with some new add-ons, ability to take enemy’s weapons, and a lot of different weapons.
You can read the full demo description over at Gamespot.
SONY man David Reeves hinted a version of the PlayStation 3 in Europe could have hard drive capacity of 120GB.
He said it would not be worthwhile for punters to upgrade from 60GB to 80GB but a larger, 120GB version might be something Sony would look at. Reeves justified the fact that Sony released a Starter Pack for its PS3 rather than an actual price cut. He said that in Europe it is unnecessary to reduce the price because punters want “added value”. We guess that means that in Europe, customers are dumb enough to pay what ever Sony asks.
Not only does the US get a 80GB version of the PS3 it will continue to get it cheaper while European punters have to pay over the odds for a machine which actually is cheaper to build than the version Sony flogged off to our former colony. Although we may get a 120 GB machine.
More here
Source: www.theinquirer.net
Zapper is a gun designed to host both the WiiMote and the Nunchuk to act as a laser gun. The Zapper will retail for $20 and will be sold seperatly or bundled with specific titles.
Medal of Honor, Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles and a so far secret title will be the first games to utilize the zapper.
The Wii Wheel is a weird looking steering wheel which will launch with Mario Kart at the first quarter of next year but nintendo did not state its price.
Source: www.techpowerup.com
MICROSOFT HAS admitted that all the 11.6 million Xbox 360s sold in the last 19 months are faulty.
In a statement, Volish spinsters said that all of the consoles suffer from a design flaw which could cause the machine to fail.
However, the outfit said that while it is extending the warranty coverage from one to three years to compensate consumers, it had no plans to recall or exchange the boxes.
Volish gaming supremo Robbie Bach refused to say what the problem is, but said that units currently in stock will be upgraded.
More here.
Source: www.theinquirer.net
It’s not quite the PSP 2 some might’ve hoped for, but Sony is giving its handheld console a serious refresh in the form of a slimmer, lighter and faster “updated” PSP. The new unit still includes the 4.3-inch LCD and UMD, but is 33 percent lighter, 19 percent slimmer, has sped up game load times and improved battery life. The only real “new” features is a video output capability to allow you to play your PSP games on a big screen TV. You can score one in September in the original Piano Black, a new Ice Silver color, and a Star Wars Battlefront special edition. The latter two PSPs come in $199 bundles with related games and a 1GB Memory Stick in the case of Ice Silver. More pics after the break.
Update: Also worth noting is the fact that this new model “is equipped with enhanced feature to temporarily store game data from UMD, reducing load time during game play.” No complaints about that! Read the rest of this entry »
Microsoft will release a special edition of the Xbox 360 to co-incide with the launch of Halo 3. The special edition console will feature a “Spartan green and gold” case, although judging from the picture, it looks more like dark green and orange to us.
Apart from the console itself, you’ll also get a matching wireless controller with a play and charge kit, a matching 20GB hard drive (yes, only 20GB) and a special edition Halo 3 wired headset. You will also be able to download special Halo 3 gamer pics and wallpapers via Xbox Live.
You’ll also be happy to know that the special edition Halo 3 console will have an HDMI port, although it will only be supplied with a component video cable for HD quality output. Seems kinda stingy considering that only a small ammount of these consoles will be shipped.
Finally there’s an Ethernet cable in the box and a one month Xbox Live Gold subscription. You might wonder what happened to Halo 3, well, it’s not included, it’s a separate purchase, so there you go. No price has been announced as yet.
You can find out more here
Preorder: Halo 3 Halo 3 Limited Edition Halo 3 Legendary Edition
