If you've been waiting for the best time to buy a PS3 this holiday season, stop. Sony Computer Entertainment America spokesman Patrick Seybold has told Edge magazine that the company won't be making any pricing changes this holiday season, secure in the belief that the current PS3 cost, combined with the company's fall and winter lineup, will be more than enough to lure in consumers.

Honestly, after spending some time with LittleBigPlanet, we find it pretty hard to argue the point. For those of you who haven't taken the plunge: Is price still the issue?

Or, as SCEA producer Taku Imasaki puts it on the PlayStation Blog, "NEW CARS!!" He's very excited. Wouldn't you be too, if a free update to Polyphony Digital's Real But Not Real Enough To Crumple Up Your Ferrari Driving Simulator enabled three new rides and a host of gameplay tweaks?

When you next load up Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, you'll be able to download the "GT by Citroen" concept car (pictured), the Ferrari California and the Lotus Evora. Gameplay enhancements introduced by the update include alterations to the penalty system, race difficulty levels, wireless controller responsiveness, sound volume balance and Drift Trial races, which will now feature a rolling start.

A word of caution, however: "Rankings, arcade time trial times, drift trial records, as well as vehicle-specific quick tune settings and custom key layouts will all be reset with the new update. Replay data created before the second update will no longer be viewable after this update." That's the price of Prologue progress, we suppose.

With third-party PSP support dwindling and becoming increasingly coveted -- even by Sony's own Shuhei Yoshida -- it seems that a new plan of action is in order for the high-tech, twice-revised handheld. Speaking to Edge Online, SCEA's director of hardware marketing, John Koller, provided just such a strategy: "You cannot have ports."

Sony hopes to guide publishers and developers down a better path, enabling them to produce PSP games that take a cue from their console versions, but leave the identical content and gameplay behind. "The recipe for success on the PSP resides simply in providing franchise games that are strong brand names like on consoles, but have unique gameplay on the system," said Koller, listing Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, God of War: Chains of Olympus and the forthcoming Midnight Club as titles that stand on their own, despite their recognized branding.

Koller went on to predict that 2009 would see "significant growth" for the PSP, with "a number of very strong franchise games" on the way and revitalized hardware sales bringing publishers back from the brink. And who knows? Maybe those persistent petitioners will finally get their Assassin's Creed PSP game.

A few hours ago, a press release was issued by an outside PR agency in the UK on behalf of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, stating that LittleBigPlanet's European release date is October 24. Naturally, we were a little confused, as we'd previously been told by SCEE directly that the release date was October 29. When we followed up with this agency, we were informed that the Oct. 24 date was definitely for Europe, and that the game would be released October 21 in North America.

Although Oct. 21 is the date that's been batted around in North America for a while, we still haven't received any official confirmation and, after contacting SCEA, were informed by a rep: "We have not yet announced an official North American release date." This is official: LittleBigPlanet's release date is giving us a VeryLargeHeadache.

Annoying, isn't it? E-noying.

Okay, despite that particularly loathsome, mid-title capitalization, it's fair to say that we love just about everything in Sony's hover-racing remix, WipEout HD. The 1080p, 60 frames-per-second visuals, the 5.1 soundtrack, the custom tunes support, the five game modes, the eight reversible tracks, the eight-player multiplayer and -- here's a new one -- the fact that it becomes available on the North American and European PSN next week on September 25th. Defying gravity and evading epilepsy will cost you $19.99.

Gun-toting xenophobes, rejoice! Sony has confirmed that Resistance 2, much like all games ever, will have its North American release in the alarmingly crowded month of November -- the 4th, to be exact. Insomniac's ambitious first-person shooter will also arrive in the company of a fancy, $79.99 collector's edition, complete with the usual making-of videos, art books and snarling statuettes.

If you're the impatient type who simply can't wait to take some shots with at a digital Chimera, you'll be pleased to note that Sony has a multiplayer and co-operative public beta planned for early October. To gain "guaranteed access," you'll either have to pre-order Resistance 2 at Gamestop, purchase an annual subscription to the PSN's interactive magazine Qore, or simply purchase Qore Episode 3. There's a free option too -- register here -- but it does not guarantee entry to the beta.

We don't know for sure if Sony downsized the PlayStation 3's RSX graphics chip to 65nm, matching the already 65nm Cell processor, but we might have some anecdotal evidence from an external source. A forum poster at slickdeals used a Kill-a-watt device to check the power consumption of the 40GB and 80GB models during idle phase, while spinning a DVD and with Metal Gear Solid 4 in the drive, and found a 12-20 watt difference favoring the new 80GB.

It's not enough to say Sony has finally upgraded its RSX graphics chip, but it is interesting to ponder. Now, can someone end this speculation by voiding their 80GB's warranty and snapping a photo of the guts?

[Via Engadget]

For a game featuring futuristic and unfeasibly fast vehicles, Wipeout HD is taking an awful lot of time to make it across the "finished" line. The last release window we received was a somewhat vague "coming soon," which is why we're pleased that SCEA producer Daimion Pinnock has hurled a brick through it, along with an attached note promising a slightly more specific Fall release date.

Despite becoming victim to technical foibles and rumored audio-visual assaults, Wipeout HD still looks to be a fully featured return to form for the beloved hoverfest. The PSN-exclusive game will not only boast the usual 1080p/60fps visuals, but a two-player splitscreen mode, Trophy support, 8-player online play, optional (the best kind!) SIXAXIS support, Dolby 5.1 surround sound and in-game custom soundtrack support.

Never one to be outdone by its European counterpart, Sony Computer Entertainment America just announced its very own 160GB PlayStation 3 bundle. Offering more than just €70 worth of downloadable game content, SCEA's bundle includes the recently unveiled 160GB PlayStation 3, Naughty Dog's excellent Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, a PSN voucher for PAIN (expires March 30, 2009), and a DualShock 3 controller, for the price of $499.99.

Picking our way through the system's specs, it looks like the 160GB PS3 offers only 2 USB ports and no flash card readers, leading us to believe its functionally identical to the 40GB (now 80GB) low-end model. To put it another way: it appears the 160GB model will not have backwards compatibility for PS2 games. As for availability, the press release vaguely states "November." We'll try to get something definitive on the backwards compatibility situation.

It's about time someone stepped in and took an active role in fixing this nonsense. SCEA Director of Publisher Relations Michael Shorrock has announced on PlayStation.Blog that Sony has reached an agreement with Activision, Neversoft, Harmonix and Konami to ensure that all the instrument peripherals for Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Revolution will work across all games for PlayStation 3.

In case you're too stunned to comprehend what should've been no-brainer functionality from the start, your PS3 Rock Band 2 drum set should now be guaranteed to work with GH:WT and RR, and likewise for every game's guitar and drum peripherals. Said Shorrock, "We're still working hard to ensure compatibility between the Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles currently on the market, and we hope to have an announcement on that shortly."

We're excited, but at the same time, we're a bit dismayed it took this long to sort out. To be clear, instrument compatibility has not been confirmed for Xbox 360 (although we do know GH:WT instruments work with RB2) or Wii versions of the music games. Microsoft, Nintendo, we're looking to you to make this universal compatibility, erm, more universal.

The first PS3 title from Sly Cooper creator Sucker Punch was shown behind closed doors at E3, which is a shame. inFAMOUS looks great, leveraging its developer's talents in art design, animation, and platforming to create an electrifying open-world action experience.

We've already reported on what we saw of this promising 2009 title; now it's your chance to get a five-minute guided tour of the game. There are no edits in this HD vid (courtesy of G4), so you get a feel for what it's like to have a developer walking you through its creation. Of course, this also means there's plenty of running around not doing much, since all the cool bits haven't been condensed into a trailer.

The parts of this video that stand out most are the platforming (strong Assassin's Creed vibe there), a moment in combat when the player "restrains" a foe to the ground with electricity, and a very unique use of his powers – acting as a human defibrillator to jump-start the heart of a dying pedestrian. Click here to watch the full clip at G4.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Can Sony Bend do no wrong? Resistance: Retribution was easily the best PSP game I saw in Sony's E3 2008 room, and arguably better than any PS3 game there as well (I didn't play all of them). Retribution is essentially "Syphon Filter PSP, Part 3," and players of that handheld franchise will instantly recognize visual and structural similarities. There are, of course, numerous designs that link this new game to Insomniac's Resistance games, despite the obvious perspective change (Retribution is third-person!).

PSP has a difficult time handling the demands of modern action titles. The lack of a second analog nub cripples most games that dare follow the trajectory of similar console-based efforts. Luckily, Bend has had two previous "trials" to get it right, and this time the gang nailed it. While the developer guiding my tour described the demo as a "before pre-alpha" build, I was amazed by the game's playability. At the core of Retribution's gameplay is what Bend's calling the "aim assist box."

We always appreciate the sort of video game trailer that can take time out of its self-absorbed, snappily edited posturing to teach us something valuable. Take this brief God of War III announcement trailer, for instance, which handily sums up the entirety of history in just a few seconds, bookending thousands of years with sheer, unrelenting chaos. Thanks for the lesson, Kratos.

The guilty pleasure that was is PAIN for PS3 is finally getting some substantial new content. By "substantial" we mean a new level – which will join the game's only level – called "Uncle Jimmy's Fun Spot Amusement Park." Sony and developer Idol Minds reckon it's more of an abusement park (their pun, not ours) and it's bringing more than just fresh scenery to the game.

Slated to arrive "this summer," the PAIN Amusement Park add-on will introduce new player-requested features, including online multiplayer and PlayStation Trophies. These are in addition to the abundance of added moving set pieces you can see in the above video. Looks like in the case of PAIN and new content, it does hurt to ask.

Slant Six recently released a gameplay trailer for SOCOM: Confrontation, the series' maiden voyage onto Sony's current-gen home console. It looks faithful to the series' frantic, tactical roots on the PlayStation 2, though this trailer doesn't do a great job of showing off the game's new features and gameplay improvements. The graphics, though significantly gussied-up since its public unveiling last year, still could use a bit of polish -- though we'd be willing to sacrifice a bit of gussy for a steady framerate during the many 32-man multiplayer matches we'll be participating in. You can find out if it really does pay to be a winner when Confrontation drops on October 14.