The newest iteration in the terrific Ratchet and Clank series is going for quality over quantity -- Sony has announced that the game will release for $15 on the PSN sometime this summer, and will feature "a shorter game at a lower price." The game will describe what happens to Clank after the end of Ratchet and Clank: Future, and will serve as a "great introduction to what R&C is all about."

No official date yet ("just this summer"), but looks like some good and cheap Ratchet and Clank fun.

Think $20 is a good price for a greatest hit. How's a couple of bucks suit you?

Ubisoft is redefining the term "budget software" with the recent British release of three classic (read: old) PC games for just £1 (about $2 US). Thanks to the super-low price, Rayman 2: The Great Escape, Brothers In Arms: Road To Hill 30 and Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time all made the ChartTrack top 10 for the week despite their age. In an interview with MCV, a ChartTrack analyst predicted similarly-priced re-releases would follow suit from a variety of publishers.

It makes you wonder -- if a couple of bucks is enough to cover manufacturing, packaging, shipping and retail space for these reissues, why do downloadable console and arcade classics that have none of these costs routinely go for more than twice as much?

One of the primary tenets of episodic distribution is a lower price for a shorter game. In the case of Half-Life 2: Episode One that means $20 for about 5 or so hours of Gravity Gun-wielding fun. Err, rather, that meant $20 for 5 hours but, if you cash in on the current promotion at retailing box-store Circuit City, you'll nab it for the low, low price of $8! That's like $1.60/hour if you're good. If you suck, you're talking about a pretty phenomenal dollar to hour investment.

The jig is up June 17th, and it isn't available online, so you best get going before the eBayers start grabbing em all. Indeed, at this stage in their evolution, they can smell a deal; their senses are acutely tuned to major retail discounts. For anyone who's already purchased a copy, don't feel bad ... cause you got to play yours earlier, right? Alright, you can feel bad.

[Thanks, Andy; via Insane Central]

Sony has officially announced the U.K. price of the Playstation 3 as £425, representing the fully featured PS3 which comes in at $599 in the U.S. and 599 EUR in Europe. GamesIndustry.biz suggests that Sony won't be selling the cut down model over the pond, although this isn't confirmed. The PS3's price in England is higher than the console's price in the United States and Europe but we're not entirely surprised by this: British consumers are used to paying more for their consoles (although traditionally the U.K. gets identical or lower prices compared to Europe). Here's a breakdown of the U.K. premium over U.S. and EU prices:

• £109 more than the U.S. "Premium" PS3: the U.S. price is $599 which converts to £316. Take this away from £425 and you're left with a £109 premium.
• £20 more than the EU "Premium" PS3: the EU price is 599 EUR which converts to £405. Take this away from £425 and you're left with a £20 premium