Playstation 3 Firmware v1.70 Released!

Sony has updated the Playstation 3 firmware to v1.70. Here is whats new:

* You can now download PlayStation® format software from PLAYSTATION®Store, and play it on the PS3™ system.
* You can now use saved data for PlayStation® format software on the PSP™ system.
* You can now use the vibration function of accessories that are for use with PlayStation® and PlayStation®2 format software.

To update just turn on your PS3 and connect to the network or download it direct.

Direct US Download – 1.70

Sweet! I love updates!

Rainbow 6 Players Pack Red Edition Now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace

Rainbow 6 Players Pack Red Edition (DLC)

Name: Player’s Pack: Red Edition
Price: 800 Points
Availability: Xbox Live Members in all regions
Dash Details: The development team behind the Award-Winning Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas brings you brand new Multiplayer content available for download, including two new game modes and brand new maps. The renowned Assassination Mode returns, challenging players to safely escort a VIP to a designated extraction point. In addition teams will be confronted with new obstacles in Total Conquest Mode, where teams simultaneously battle to maintain control of three locations on a given map. Not to be outdone, the development team has created new, fully enhanced maps including Doscala Restaurant, Marshalling Yard, Roof and more! All of the celebrated multiplayer game modes, as well as Assassination and Total Conquest, will be playable on all maps including these most recent additions.

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3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures & GYRUSS now on the Xbox Live Marketplace

Arcade:3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures

Name: 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures
Price: 800 Points
Availability: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Buy 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures – own the most imaginative collection of wacky miniature golf courses. Get ready to tee off for a quick and fun match! Putt your way through 36 crazy holes of minigolf mania! Or create your own custom hole design and challenge a friend. Buy the full game now to practice your power swing!

Arcade: GYRUSS

Name: GYRUSS
Price: 400 Points
Availability: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Single Player, Xbox Live Multiplayer 1-2, HD (High Definition). Relive this classic arcade shooter and save the Earth from an alien armada. Fight through 23 levels of enemies as you fly through the solar system from Neptune, past Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars till you finally reach your destination, Earth. Full version features all levels, leaderboards, new multiplayer modes over Xbox Live®, and 12 achievements. Do you have what it takes to save Earth?

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Command and Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars Trailers, Themes and Pictures on XBL

There is some new C&C 3 content up on the XBL Marketplace:

Name: Vision Camera Trailer
Price: Free
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Trash talking gets personal. With Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars, use the Xbox Live Vision camera to watch your opponents’ faces as you crush their forces. Dust off your craziest victory dance and blast your friends from the victory podium. Download this trailer to check it out!

Name:Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars Demo Trailer
Price: Free
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Download this trailer

Name: GDI Unit Picture Pack
Price: 160 Points
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Download this set of 9 gamerpics featuring the awesome military might of the Global Defense Initiative. Includes the Mammoth Tank, Zone Trooper, Orca, Firehawk, Juggernaut, Watchtower, Sniper Team, and Engineer.

Name: Nod Unit Picture Pack
Price: 160 Points
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Download this set of 8 gamerpics featuring the shadowy Nod arsenal. Includes the Avatar, Black Hand, Commando, Saboteur, Flame Tank, Stealth Tank, and Vertigo Bomber.

Name: GDI Unit Theme
Price: 150 Points
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: The Global Defense Initiative is the last bulwark standing between the remnants of our civilized world and the brutal anarchy of Nod. Download this theme of awesome artwork featuring the potent military might of GDI.

Name: Nod Unit Theme
Price: 150 Points
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Nod has been quietly gathering its strength for the last few years, and now Kane’s forces are primed to strike back! Download this theme of stunning artwork featuring the stealthy, vicious Nod arsenal.

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Insomniac Games to help out a family on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

This is awesome news! About time a good story about video games is in the news. Check it out:

On Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’s April 22 episode, the Burbank, California-based developer will unveil a digital version of 9-year-old James Westbrook for use in Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction.

Westbrook, the victim of a car accident that left him paralyzed in July 2006, never lost his passion for playing videogames or the desire to design one of his own. James’ father, SFC Gene Westbrook, was paralyzed himself when he was hit by a mortar at an American mess hall in Baghdad, Iraq two years earlier.

Among the obvious personal struggles the family found themselves dealing with, moving two wheelchairs around a house that wasn’t built for them was yet another problem. Enter Extreme Makeover and Insomniac Games:

“We were immediately moved to do something special for the Westbrook family when we learned about their tragic situation and James’ passion for videogames design,” said Ted Price, Insomniac Games’ founder and CEO. “For all of us at Insomniac, this opportunity to help such an amazing family with our game-making experience was a real honor. We’ve never inserted a member of the public into our videogames, and we think it’s incredibly appropriate that James will be the first gamer to enjoy that unique experience.”

In one week’s time, Insomniac’s entire 160-person studio came together to produce the playable version of James, complete with his own flying saucer, in what typically takes an entire month.

“We’re still finalizing the details of James’ in-game character,” said Ryan Schneider, Marketing Director, Insomniac Games. “We have the basic gameplay mechanic down, but how we incorporate that into Ratchet and Clank Future is still being determined.”

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