New Downloadable Content added to the US PS Store

While checking out the US PS Store today I notice Sony has added a bunch of content. Here are the details:

In game content

Sonic

SONIC: Very Hard Mission – $2.49
SONIC: Very Hard Shadow Mission – $2.49
SONIC: Very Hard Silver Mission – $2.49

Movie Trailers

BEE Movie Trailer #1 – Free (Available in SD 174MB ,HD 79MB & Full HD 1080p 103MB)
Shrek the Third Teaser Trailer – Free (Available in SD 195MB ,HD 89MB & Full HD 1080p 119MB)
Transformers Trailer – Free (Available in SD 92MB ,HD 86MB & Full HD 1080p 117MB)

New 1UP Yours – Podcast – 03/23/2007

Check it out all! There is a new 1upyours podcast available for download at 1UP.

1UP Yours – Podcast – 03/23/2007
What exactly does Devil May Cry 4 coming to the 360 mean in the grand scheme of things? Hell if we know, but that doesn’t stop us from talking about the role of exclusives (again!) in the console war. What’s next to fall? What kind of pressure does this put on the first party studios? And how is Nintendo going to mess everything up? Also, we discuss the future (or lack thereof?) of FASA Studios in a post-Shadowrun world, listeners have begun to tally our off-color comments, and John finally gets his hands on Hannah Montana…if you know what I mean.
Download the Podcast:
Audio (41.3MB) – Length: 1:41:25

Downloading now! This is my favorite gaming podcast

Gran Turismo HD 2.0 Are you ready to rumble?

IGN PS3 had a chance to preview Gran Turismo HD Concept 2.0. The current version out in the USA and Japan is 1.1 but for the UK release of the PS3 they got 2.0. Whats new you may ask? Force Feedback! Check it out:

March 23, 2007 – To coincide with the UK release of the PlayStation 3, Sony and Polyphony Digital have revved their engines and moved Gran Turismo HD to the European PlayStation Store. But while US and Japanese gamers are still running laps in version 1.1, UK gamers have gotten the world’s first taste of Gran Turismo HD Concept 2.0.

Largely identical to version 1.1 (and 1.0 for that matter), GTHD 2.0 includes the same 10 cars, the Eiger Nordwand track and time trial and drift options. However, there’s one major difference: Version 2.0 includes Force Feedback support. Yes indeed, now that Sony and Immersion have kissed and made up, Polyphony has been able to implement the technology into the game. Listing official support for four Logitech wheels, namely the Driving Force Pro, GT Force, Driving Force and Driving Force EX, racers are now able to actually feel the road as they compete for leading laps times on the game’s online leaderboard.

To read the rest of the article visit Gran Turismo HD 2.0 Impressions

Next week on XBL: Arcade Jetpac Refuelled

From Major Nelson’s Blog:

Next weeks arcade action has just been announced. Jetpac Refuelled will be 400 points and out on Wednesday. As a bonus, the original Jetpack is included as well. On my show this Sunday, I’ll have an interview with some of the folks from Rare who worked on Jetpac Refuelled.

Source: Next week on Arcade: Jetpac Refuelled

Xbox 360 Marvel Ultimate Downloadable Content Coming in April

Activision today announced its plans to release Marvel: Ultimate Alliance downloadable content on Xbox Live Marketplace with new heroes and villains. The eight new characters are the Incredible Hulk, Magneto, Hawkeye, Sabretooth, Doctor Doom, Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Venom. Each will include new signature powers, skins, dialog, conversations and achievement points.

The downloadable content, scheduled to hit Marketplace in April, will be distributed in three packs. The Hero Pack and Villain Pack will each be 500 Microsoft points ($6.25) and the Combined Hero and Villain Pack will be 800 Microsoft points ($10). Heroes and Villains gamer pic packs will also be available for 80 Microsoft points each ($1).

“The signature gameplay of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance has made it a favorite among fans, as well as the best-selling Super Hero game on the Xbox 360 to-date,” said Rob Kostich, vice president of global brand management, Activision. “By adding some of the biggest names in the Marvel Universe to the roster we’re enabling Xbox 360 gamers to build a variety of all-new teams and enjoy the epic action in brand new ways.”

Source: Marvel Ultimate Downloadable Content – GameDaily BIZ

UK Stores Reporting Potential PS3 Sell-out

UK, March 23, 2007 – Although the PS3 launch hasn’t been the mad scramble we saw when Wii was released, retailers in central London are reporting steady sales on the first day of the console’s availability in Europe, with some anticipating a sell out over the weekend.

We spoke to high street stores this morning to see how the PlayStation 3 launch was going and most reported a quiet start with sales expected to pick up tomorrow. HMV in Oxford Street told us that 42 consoles had been sold in about five hours, following a 7am opening. However when asked whether stock might sell out by the end of the day, a representative told us, “We’ll just have to see how busy it gets. We’ve had 100 pre-orders but we’ve got more units than that for sale in the store”.

Meanwhile Tina Kara, manager of the Hamley’s branch of GAME, said the store had sold 20 consoles in just over an hour: “This is the biggest launch ever. We’ve been so busy in the run-up and we expect to sell out by Monday.” However, Kara also admitted that more people were still popping into the store, inquiring about Wiis.

“We get a lot of non-gamers asking about the Wii but we just don’t have the stock. The PS3 is much better than the Wii but it appeals more to people that love gadgets and technology,” she suggested.

Things were also going well at Virgin Megastore’s Picadilly Circus branch. While the store didn’t hold a glitzy launch night, plenty of PS3s were still ringing through the tills. In fact, a spokesman told us that so many were being sold the store didn’t expect consoles to still be available by the end of play today.

So, if you still haven’t snapped up a PS3 yet, you probably need to act quickly if you don’t want to miss out.

Source: UK Stores Reporting Potential PS3 Sell-out – IGN PS3

Xbox Live Service Maintenance

From Major Nelson’s Blog:

Xbox Live, Xbox.com and the Xbox forums will be undergoing scheduled maintenance on Tuesday March 27th (next week) from 0000 to 1400 PT. As a result of this maintenance, Xbox Live, Xbox.com and the Xbox forums will be unavailable during this time. I thought I’d give you enough time to plan next weeks gaming schedule. What to do while you can’t hop on Xbox Live? Xbox.com has you covered with this list. This is purely ‘back end’ work that we scheduled months ago. This is not a dashboard update…that will happen later this Spring.

Source: Xbox Live Service Maintenance