Wipeout's a pretty slick portable game (and easily one of the best racers on PSP), but remember when it was a console title? Sony does, which is why they're planning not one, but two Wipeout releases for the Playstation 3, 1UP reports.

The first isn't a completely new game, but rather an HD upgrade (think: Gran Turismo HD); likely cribbing from Wipeout Pulse, the upcoming PSP sequel. The Sony team will also be working on a brand-new PS3 Wipeout sequel, tentatively due in 2008. Wipeout HD, which is planned for release on PSN later this year, will feature an online multiplayer mode. Further details will come when the game is officially announced, which might happen as early as E3.

At last! North Americans can now splash alongside Europeans in PSN's virtual tub. Anyone up for a game of Super Rub-a-Dub? ... Didn't think so. The tech demo turned 'bath-time nostalgia action-puzzler' has been tossed into the PlayStation Store pool today, treading water with (previously announced) Gauntlet II and some trailer filler. Here's a breakdown of the new content:

• Super Rub-a-Dub ($6.99); free trial also available
  
• Gauntlet II ($4.99)
• Super Stardust HD Trailer (free)
• Rampart Trailer (free)
  
• BlackSite: Area 51 Trailer (free)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Movie Trailer (free)

[Via SCEA press release]

You know how Nintendo's Virtual Console Monday has become like this totally reliable weekly retro-release date? Well, apparently Sony's keen on catching up. Tomorrow, the Japanese division will release a PS1 title for every week PlayStation 3's been on the market, and then some; 25 games in all. While the list is cluttered with oldies you've never heard of -- Marl Oukoku no Ningyou Hime, Yaku Tsu Noroi no Game, etc. -- the massive outpouring is perhaps a sign that Sony's ready to settle into an e-Distribution rhythm. (Hopefully one not marked by random bursts of content.)

It's possible that Sony sat on this stockpile in anticipation of PS3's firmware 1.7, which unlocks the system's "virtual console." But then, only 11 of the releases are actually compatible with PS3. Seemingly odd, until you consider that maybe Sony really has locked these downloads away for tomorrow's discharge; that is, perhaps the 14 games only playable on PSP are of the old, profoundly incompatible sort that will be straightened out by May. One thing's certain, working on PS3 or not, all 'Game Archive' titles are now subject to a new tax-inclusive price, bringing the cost per download up from ¥525 to ¥600 (about a 63-cent hike).

[Via PSP Fanboy]

Less than a month after a downloadable version of Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection was announced for PlayStation 3, Namco Bandai's fighter has belly-flopped onto PlayStation Store in Japan (¥2000; $16.85) and Hong Kong ($125HK; $16.07). And it's a beast, weighing in at 830MB; well exceeding the arbitrary limit proposed last month.

But Sony's done it, introducing the first full-featured digital distribution title to consoles. Sure, certain Xbox Live games could be just as valuable (if not more so) to the on-demand movement, but let's not downplay Sony's achievement. This is exactly the sort of move that will pressure Microsoft to give up on its enforced 50MB Live Arcade size limit.

The hefty HD version of Tekken 5 includes arcade battle, ghost battle, and offline versus modes, in addition to an artwork and video gallery. Final boss Jinpachi Mishima has also been made playable. No word on the inevitable North American release.

thatgamecompany's expansion of flOw onto PlayStation 3 has finally been targeted for release on December 19*. Coinciding with this announcement is word of a three-game deal signed between Sony and the former USC Interactive Media Division students who founded thatgamecompany. Details about the two additional games have not been provided, but Sony has reserved a space for the team at its Santa Monica base.

"This is a watershed moment in the history of the school," recognized USC Dean Elizabeth M. Daley, "It builds on our tradition of expanding relationships with the professional community, and opens the door for our students and graduates to showcase their creative talents in an incredibly dynamic market." Guess the gang is sorta like the Bushes and Leinharts of the Interactive Media Division. Go Trojans!

*flOw will be offered as a premium downloadable title on the PlayStation Store.

Play flOw now.

Comparisons between Blast Factor and Geometry Wars are unavoidable. In truth, Sony's downloadable games service launch title is more akin to PomPom's Mutant Storm Reloaded (Xbox Live Arcade) both in gameplay and price. We will say, of the three (Blast Factor, Geometry Wars, and Mutant Storm), Bizzare's $5 gem still trumps all in aesthetic and pace.

Where Blast Factor lacks style it makes up for with dynamic gameplay elements, including the most effective usage of Sixaxis's motion capabilities to date. While deceptively simple, the act of jerking the controller left or right to slosh around the liquid within each stage (corralling the enemies) typifies a clear advantage PS3 could have over Xbox 360 -- though the lack of rumble certainly damages the game's 'blast' factor. Other noteworthy devices include Blast Factor's auto-adjusting difficulty and enemy variation (players must discover how each class of baddie is defeated).

There are some quibbles that make Blast Factor's $9.99* price tag difficult to swallow. That each level (there are seven) contains an identical stage map, with each stage bordered by the same hexagon, is disappointing; that each level's boss is essentially identical is even more disappointing -- and puzzling, given that Bluepoint designed a decent range of non-boss foes. Still, we would have be willing to look past these faults if Blast Factor sustained that frantic whirlwind of action so elegantly composed in Geometry Wars. But it doesn't.

*Blast Factor is currently on sale for $7.99.

It's on. Sony looks to takeaway Microsoft's edge -- you know, Xbox Live Arcade -- by aggressively pursuing developers who will create downloadable titles that suit PlayStation 3's hardware. Here's Phil Harrison's take on Sony's new strategy:

"[What] we've seen on other systems tend to be retro 2D games, and we're pushing the 3D capabilities of the PlayStation 3. Plus, the fact that every PS3 has a hard disk drive means that we're not restricted by the size of the download, and that has a huge impact on the kind of game design that you can do."

But is this what our $600 console was built for? Is it too far out to imagine Sony (and Microsoft) slipping into a pattern; buttering us up with little e-Distribution titles all year long, and then releasing a couple big-budget franchise sequels during the holidays? Downloadable games are a nice bonus, but the novelty seems to be attracting a disproportionate amount of our game companies' attentions. How far off is the PS3 Jr., a console with no optical drive, tailored solely for the e-Distribution era?

While Sony is poised to break their media silence this Thursday at their "Gamer's Day" event in San Francisco (we'll be on hand, eagerly awaiting something), that didn't stop some of their secrets from sneaking their ways onto the web.

A tipster clued us into a survey to gauge future interest in downloadable games on a certain unnamed gaming console featuring motion sensitive controllers (hrmmm) as well as "HD and surround sound" (well, that narrows it down). They describe Blast Factor (pictured above) as "an up-to-date version of Asteroids or Geometry Wars." We'll gloss over that Geometry Wars not up-to-date jab, and concentrate on what it offers: 1080p, motion control support, online rankings, and a potential $5 price point (one of their surveyed price points, and the equivalent of GW's 400 MS points). A quick look at the screens will reinforce the title's close relationship to Xbox Live Arcade's super-hit, Geometry Wars.

But that wasn't it. In addition to our tipster's images, a PS3 Forums member posted an extensive list of screenshots and images of several upcoming e-Distribution titles including: Blast Factor, flOw, Go Sudoku, Lemmings 2, and Swizzleblocks. Games without images or info include: Gripshift, Crash Carnage Ciaos, and Wheel of Fortune. Our tipster also managed to get an image of one additional game, titled Criminal Crackdown, with a tentative price of $14.99. We'll probably know a whole lot more about these titles come Thursday. That wasn't so hard, was it Sony?

Additional images and text from our tipster after the break. Note, PS3 Forums is getting hammered, so check out a (not quite up-to-date) mirror at NeoGAF.

[Thanks, Cabrill and Meh]

Announced during Phil Harrison's GDC keynote, Sony's E-Distribution initiative promises to be an integral and revolutionary feature of their new console ... just like Xbox Live Arcade has for the Xbox 360. Kutaragi (like Bill Gates) even says it will be the future. Answering what Sony sees in digital distribution, Sony's John Hight outlined for Gamasutra the usual suspects: remote markets, cheaper distribution, inventory risk and, of course, piracy.

Most telling is how Hight sees the service in relation to Microsoft's XBLA: "We're looking for fresh, new ideas that fully exploit the power of PlayStation 3. Our 1st party projects are all unique to PS3. Some of our games, by virtue of their design and hardware demands, simply couldn't work on Xbox 360."

For starters, it's great to hear that Sony is supporting the service with first-party projects; we have yet to see anything on XBLA made internally by Microsoft Games Studios (just give us Marathon already) Microsoft's Carbonated Games has given us Hexic and UNO, but we're still waiting on something a little more AAA, size constraints be damned! Come to think of it, we've yet to see anything on XBLA in quite some time. Now, if you believe that the PS3 and Xbox 360 are fundamentally identical systems with a few minor technical differences (Blu-ray, 1080p, DualShake controller), then the design and hardware demands Hight alludes to suggest unique tilt-sensor gameplay. Yup, we're thinking Marble Blast with the DualShake also.

[Thanks, Angelcurio]

[Update: Added Carbonated Games info. Thanks, Ben!]

It looks like the PS3 press conference is just getting started.

IGN reports Ken Kutaragi's opening statement as follows: "It is my aim to clear things up about the PlayStation 3 today. The PS2, the PS3, the network, and Future Cell Network, this will all be addressed."

More as we get it... Update 16--the wrap-up: The PS3 will launch "in early November 2006 in Japan, North America and Europe simultaneously." Incorporating the final specifications of the Blu-ray format will enable "playback of BD software at a high bit rate," with "a maximum storage capacity of 50 GB (dual layer) and robust security." The PS3 will be compatible with all kinds of TVs and a high-speed broadband connection. Update 19 (via 1UP's updated page): DRM was what delayed the launch, but the system will come with a 60GB HDD preinstalled before 11/11/06.

[Thanks, bv; pics used to create new montage from Watch Impress]