PS3: Over 5 Million Consoles Sold in UK

Over 5 million PlayStation 3 consoles have been sold in the UK, Sony has announced.

According to MCV, the company reached the milestone thanks to the 500GB PS3 Super Slim going on sale on September 28, which caused a 138 per-cent jump in sales that week. A 12 GB model is due for release tomorrow.

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With the new chassis, and the way the market is panning out this year, PlayStation definitely has the momentum.

Sony UK MD Fergal Gara said, "“It is fantastic that we passed the 5m mark. But most importantly to me is not the milestone itself, but the fact that there is momentum behind it. And with the new chassis, and the way the market is panning out this year, PlayStation definitely has the momentum."

He went on to talk about the future for Sony following a string of new appointments, explaining that he believes the current team of execs are poised to capitalise on the console's recent sale's boom.

“I am pleased with the talent we’ve got on board,” he continued. “You can actually feel the energy going through the business.

"These guys know that they have a lot to do to make sure the Christmas plans are sharp and focused, and they have come to them relatively late. So they are working at a hell of a pace. I can already feel a positive buzz that wasn’t there only a few weeks ago."

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

PS3: Over 5 Million Consoles Sold in UK

Over 5 million PlayStation 3 consoles have been sold in the UK, Sony has announced.

According to MCV, the company reached the milestone thanks to the 500GB PS3 Super Slim going on sale on September 28, which caused a 138 per-cent jump in sales that week. A 12 GB model is due for release tomorrow.

“

With the new chassis, and the way the market is panning out this year, PlayStation definitely has the momentum.

Sony UK MD Fergal Gara said, "“It is fantastic that we passed the 5m mark. But most importantly to me is not the milestone itself, but the fact that there is momentum behind it. And with the new chassis, and the way the market is panning out this year, PlayStation definitely has the momentum."

He went on to talk about the future for Sony following a string of new appointments, explaining that he believes the current team of execs are poised to capitalise on the console's recent sale's boom.

“I am pleased with the talent we’ve got on board,” he continued. “You can actually feel the energy going through the business.

"These guys know that they have a lot to do to make sure the Christmas plans are sharp and focused, and they have come to them relatively late. So they are working at a hell of a pace. I can already feel a positive buzz that wasn’t there only a few weeks ago."

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Here's a Closer Look at The Avengers' Thanos

We may have already gotten a glimpse of Thanos at the very end of Marvel's The Avengers, but thanks to the Blu-ray and DVD's Avengers Initiative: Marvel Second Screen Experience app, fans have been able to capture a few gems, including new closeups of the Mad Titan in all his menacing glory.

Check out the images below for a better look at The Avengers' big bad, as well as some never before seen set photos from the production (via ComicBookMovie):

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter and IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Valve Facing Legal Trouble over Steam Agreement

Valve Software could be facing legal trouble in Europe thanks to Steam’s End User License Agreement. The Federation of German Consumer Organization (known as the Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V. in German, or VZBV) has given Valve until October 10th to respond to a claim that its recently-modified user agreement is unfair to consumers. If Valve doesn’t respond, the group will seek to “resolve the dispute in the court.”

The VZBV believes Valve’s agreement coerces users into accepting, as hitting "cancel" when the agreement pops up prevents users from logging into their accounts. The group believes this leads to "disadvantaged" Steam users and that Valve should uphold a recent ruling by the EU Court of Justice that users should be able to resell digital software.

Recently, Valve has been in the news for its Big Picture Mode beta, sweeping changes to Steam’s community and launch of Steam Greenlight. Last week, reports of Valve’s hardware plans continued circulating, including the fact that its first hardware beta could come as soon as next year.

We’ve reached out to Valve for comment about the Federation of German Consumer Organization’s claims and will update with any statement we receive.

Source: CinemaBlend

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Jazz: Trump’s Journey Coming to PlayStation Vita

Early in 2012, a quirky game called Jazz: Trump’s Journey came to iOS. We thought it was a pretty good game. And now, thanks to the European PlayStation Blog, we know that Jazz: Trump’s Journey is making its way on to PlayStation Vita.

Aurelie Gerault of developer Egg Ball Games describes the title as one “presenting a daring parallel with the real story of jazz legend Louis Armstrong,” in which “you’ll relive Trump’s life, through his quest to form a jazz group, through his love affair and through his battle against injustice in New Orleans in the early 20th century.”

Jazz: Trump’s Journey is a side-scrolling platformer at heart, and according to Gerault, “no platformer has dealt with this sort of theme before. Egg Ball’s aim was to talk about the creation of jazz and the people responsible.”

For the time being, all we know is that Jazz: Trump’s Journey will be coming to Vita by the end of 2012 in Europe. But its release in other territories remains to be seen. Hopefully we get word on a Stateside release window soon.

Colin Moriarty is an IGN PlayStation editor. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN and learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.

Source : ign[dot]com

Report: Details of New Modern Warfare Leak

A possible new Modern Warfare title in the Call of Duty series has been revealed thanks to a leak from Neversoft.

The report, which appeared on Se7enSins, doesn't make it clear whether the game would serve as Modern Warfare 4, or instead slot elsewhere in the series as a prequel.

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It’s another MW game. There’s something called, ‘Drone Survaillance’ [sic]. They’re working on ‘HALO’ jumps (High Altitude; Low X.) There is a level under ice. There is cloaking tech. Something called a ‘Dominator UAV’.

It's also important to note that the report is completely unverified and should be taken with a huge pinch of salt.

Despite this, the Neversoft source has made notes on what they saw, explaining, "It’s another MW game. There’s something called, ‘Drone Survaillance’ [sic]. They’re working on ‘HALO’ jumps (High Altitude; Low X.) There is a level under ice. There is cloaking tech. Something called a ‘Dominator UAV’."

Though it's not a lot to go on, if we don our speculation hat for a minute there's a fair amount to be gleaned. Drone Surveillance seems to tie in with the technology on show in Modern Warfares 2 and 3, especially in the storyline of the latter. HALO jumps are fairly common set-pieces in games these days, but could point to a mission where we're tasked with going behind enemy lines. The fact there's a level under ice really doesn't tell us much... other than one mission could take place anywhere from Russia to Canada.

An alternative to this is it's set during nuclear winter and the game isn't a Modern Warfare title at all, instead moving even further into the future after Black Ops II. The last reported item, a cloaking device, lends credibility to this idea as we've certainly never seen invisibility in the Modern Warfare series so far.

Remember, all of this is just speculation based around an unverified report at this stage, though it's interesting to think what it could mean for the series if true. We've reached out to Activision for comment, and will be sure to update the story once we hear anything.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Peter Molyneux's Plans Thwarted by NASA

The first game created by Peter Molyneux since his departure from Lionhead is apparently undergoing a name-change thanks to NASA.

The project, called Curiosity, is being developed by Molyneux's new studio 22 Cans and was recently delayed until next month.

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Due to NASA and the Martians we are wondering what we should officially name our first experiment Curiosity...

But it appears Curiosity will never be released, at least not titled as it is, due to the Washington-based NASA being uncomfortable with the game sharing a name with its Mars Rover.

Taking to his Twitter account, Molyneux asked fans for help, writing "Humm there is a problem the the name curiosity, we can't use it because of NASA. I wonder what one word would sum up curiosity:the cube."

The news appeared to be verified when the 22 Cans account posted a similar question, sharing "Due to NASA and the Martians we are wondering what we should officially name our first experiment Curiosity..."

There's already a wealth of suggestions out there, including Cuberosity, but there's still time to share your ideas.

Due out next month, Curiosity will launch on PC, iOS and Android platforms. The game is planned as a social experiment which revolves around breaking apart a giant black cube with the help of thousands of gamers worldwide.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant and would quite like Molyneux to knuckle down on Black & White 3. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Witcher Dev: DLC Should be a Free Service

CD Projekt RED’s Konrad Tomaszkiewicz believes that DLC should be given to gamers for free as thanks for legitimately purchasing a title.

In an interview with VG247, the Witcher developer shared his view that downloadable content should be viewed as a post sale service for consumers.

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Back when retail games were dominant, we had expansion packs. These were really large chunks of content, which were worth their price.

"We’ve always believed in free DLCs. The thing is that we consider DLCs as a normal post sale service, which shouldn’t be priced," he said.

"Back when retail games were dominant, we had expansion packs. These were really large chunks of content, which were worth their price.

"If today’s DLCs offered the same amount of content, they would be worth paying for, but in most cases players think they are overcharged for what they receive. That’s why we offer expansions to our game for free. This is also a way of saying “thank you” to the people who decided to buy our game instead of copying it from an unauthorised source."

It's the latest in a series of comments from within the industry that suggests big companies are starting to reassess the role of downloadable content in games. In May, Capcom revealed it was re-evaluating its attitudesto on-disc DLC following fan backlash. Team Ninja boss Yosuke Hayashi also recently labelled DLC characters in fighting games as "unfair", and announced none would be present in Dead or Alive 5.

There's still no concrete word on whether CD Projekt RED is planning to make a third instalment in the Witcher franchise, though a recent batch of job postings suggests it could be on the cards.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant and has never bought DLC in his life. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Grand Theft Auto III’s Release Date on PlayStation Network

Back in January, we reported the good news that both Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City were PlayStation Network-bound. And now we know, thanks to the Official PlayStation Blogcast, that Grand Theft Auto III will be coming to the PSN in North America this Tuesday, July 31st.

Grand Theft Auto III will be released in its PS2 Classic form, indicating that it will cost $9.99 and exist as a straight port without any upgrades or Trophies. While its release date of Tuesday, July 31st is confirmed for North America, its release date in other territories is still unknown.

Grand Theft Auto III was first released on PlayStation 2 in 2001 and is considered a seminal release of immense importance in the gaming industry. It’s the fifth best-selling PS2 game of all-time, and was re-released on a variety of platforms, most recently on iOS.

Colin Moriarty is an IGN PlayStation editor. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN and learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.

Source : ign[dot]com

Trials Evolution: Our Favourite User-Generated Tracks

Trials Evolution wowed us in the IGN UK office upon release - we gave it a 9.0 back in April - thanks to its exhilarating roller coaster tracks, ridiculously tricky courses, and crazily addictive multiplayer offering. We still return to it most lunchtimes, filling the office kitchen with sweary outbursts, smack talking and general LOLs, and this is largely down to the inclusion of a level editor by creators RedLynx.

Curated by RedLynx, Track Central has become a haven for the creative, sadistic, and the downright crazy, and we've been road-testing a whole load of them ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Here are five of our favourite user-generated tracks so far, created by the Trials Evolution community, that you can download and play right now at home. If you have other suggestions for tracks we should try, let us know in the comments below!

And of course, we had to include this track, custom-made for the IGN UK team by Lukeyy19...

Source : ign[dot]com