Items tagged with Vita
In case there was ever any doubt about the fact that hallucinogenics are still prevalent in content creation, Hatoful Boyfriend comes to the rescue. Oh, wait - Hatoful Boyfriend isn't the result of a trip to crazy town on qualudes - it's a Japanese game. Of course that doesn't necessarily explain the mind-numbingly cuckoo story line and game objective. What is the objective exactly, you ask? To be frank, we're not quite sure but it sure is out there. It's plainly obvious in fact, that it's way out there. Japan has never had a dearth of romance sims, or what's in effect digital romance novels, but Hatoful Boyfriend takes things to new heights. You see, you'll be able to see to it that your...
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It looks like Sony is finally going to bring its gaming consoles over to China after the county ended its 14-year ban on foreign gaming consoles back in January of this year. The PlayStation Vita is expected to go on sale January 11, 2015 alongside the PlayStation 4. The PlayStation 4 will be arriving about four months after Microsoft’s Xbox One Chinese launch. Microsoft was the first company to take advantage of the third largest gaming market, dominated by PC and mobile gaming, which saw the company sell over 100,000 units within its first week when the console was release September 29. "PS4 is expanding at the fastest rate in PlayStation hardware history, and the global gaming community...
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For many game developers, simply striking it rich on a single platform is a lifelong dream. But for Minecraft, one platform just isn't enough. In a world where fads come and go, and the time that gamers spend can shift from one title to another almost overnight, this particular game has remained atop the most-played list for an atypically long while. So long in fact, that it'll soon be available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita. In a tongue-in-cheek advertisement, Minecraft says that a "slightly improved" version will hit those three platforms "soon." The Xbox One edition will land in the Xbox Live Marketplace in August, boasting huge worlds and a greater draw distance as compared...
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Sony's handheld sales haven't exactly been mind-blowing, but then again, the handheld game in general has been massively disrupted by the advent of iOS and Android gaming. With all of that said, Sony's hoping to toss in a surge to its bottom line by slicing the price (again!) of its PlayStation Vita. The Vita is now available in the U.S. for $199.99, and because it's still the latest, a ton of new titles are expected in the coming months. Plus, Sony has announced Remote Play, which will more closely link PS Vita gameplay with PS4 gameplay. The brand new price applies to all PS Vita systems available at retail, including the limited edition PS Vita Walking Dead bundle that launches this week....
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While the PlayStation Vita hasn’t exactly been a failure, its sales have been dwarfed by those of the Nintendo 3DS as the two devices compete in the handheld gaming market with each other as well as smartphones and tablets. However, after some aggressive price cuts, it looks like the Vita is gaining a bit of steam. Sony slashed the cost of the Vita in Japan in February, and sales shot up about six-fold the next week, according to Eurogamer. The following week Vita sales were equally strong, thanks in part to the launch of a game called Soul Sacrifice (which itself sold 100,000 copies) and the device actually bested 3DS sales. Momentum like this is even harder to sustain than it is to create,...
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For years, Sony's game division has been one of the major revenue earners at the beleaguered company; in 2011 gaming provided more operating income than any other division. That leg was rudely kicked out from under the company this past quarter; Sony's gaming revenue fell 17% while operating income dropped by 86%. Yearly sales for the PS2 and PS3 are now projected at 6.8 million units, down from the 7.4M devices the company moved in 2011. The really ugly story, however, is in handhelds. Sony counted all of its PlayStation Vita sales as part of 2012, but only expects to move seven million PSPs and PlayStation Vita's by the end of the year. In FY 2011, Sony sold 6.8 million PSP's. That means Vita...
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Nintendo's third-quarter sales came in below expectations today, as the company struggled with lower-than-anticipated demand for its 3DS handhelds and a generally weak console market. In April, the company predicted it would sell 10.5 million Wii's by the end of its fiscal year; that's since been slashed to five million. 3DS sales were also lower than expected, with forecasts for the full year now at 17.5M units, down from 18.5M. The chart below, courtesy of VGChartz, shows comparative 3DS sales from April - October, 2011 and the same period in 2012. 2011 is in orange, 2012 in yellow. The summer bump was courtesy of the 3DS XL and the launch titles that accompanied it, but demand has fallen...
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Sony is halfway through an ugly restructuring period as it seeks to cut costs, consolidate markets, and turn its once-mighty television business around. That's a difficult proposition for any company, but the Japanese giant's recent earnings call was gloomy even under these circumstances. Modest upticks in Imaging Products and Services and Pictures were offset by heavy declines in gaming, home entertainment, and music. The company reported a $314M loss for its first quarter of fiscal year 2012 and cut forecasts for a number of markets. Sony pinned part of the blame on continuing economic turbulence in Europe and America, but investors weren't willing to accept this as the sole explanation. As...
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Most of the major news in consoles this week was in handhelds, but there are major implications for both Sony and Nintendo. Nintendo broke a record that's stood for almost 125 years and posted the company's first ever yearly loss this week. The company had issued profit warnings as early as November, but the amount—$533 million—was double what the company projected back last fall. Part of the problem was the massive price cut Nintendo gave the 3DS last summer, when it slashed the price from $250 to $160. The $90 cut drove the unit's price below its cost-of-manufacture, and has left Nintendo reliant on software sales to make up the difference. As a result, the 3DS faces a much slower...
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Sony's new chief executive, Kazuo Hirai, has a monumental task in front of him. He's been charged with reversing Sony's years of losses, even as problems continue to pile up in the wake of ex-CEO Howard Stringer's departure. The road back to profitability got even steeper today, with news that Standard and Poor's has slashed its long-term rating on Sony's credit to BBB+ -- two steps above junk bond status. While this has no impact on the company's existing financials, it means any future loans or financial terms Sony negotiates will likely carry higher interest rates and steeper penalties for missed deadlines. Sony's restructuring plan Like Stringer, Hirai remains resolutely committed to Sony's...
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Wouldn't it be nice if that free data that Verizon includes with Samsung's Chromebooks were something that other carriers would utilize? Maybe it's a trend that's taking off. Sony's PlayStation Vita is nearly ready to launch in America, and as you may have heard, there's a 3G version on tap. There's under 30 days left for it to launch, and now that 3G model just got a lot more appealing. Sony just announced two PS Vita 3G / Wi-Fi bundles. Early adopters will be treated to a limited edition case, a 4GB memory card, and a copy of Little Deviants. Furthermore, Sony's tossing in a 250MB session for AT&T 3G data, as well as a PlayStation Network game, which will be provided upon activation. Looking...
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Sony's PlayStation Vita went on sale today in Japan to strong demand; there are reports that Sony sold-out all 700,000 units it set aside for the Japanese launch. ""I'm so happy to see so many people lining up for PS Vita so early in the morning," Sony Computer Entertainment Japan President Hiroshi Kono wrote in his official blog after touring several Tokyo stores. "I can tell they had anxiously waited for today's launch." The handheld shipped out with an impressive 24 launch titles (the 3DS debuted with just eight), and is backwards compatible with PSP-downloadable games, PlayStation minis, the PlayStation Suite (aka PlayStation Certified titles) and PSOne Classics. It's not compatible with...
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We've been hard at work in the labs again here at HotHardware, putting AMD's latest installment of CPUs for the AM2 platform, through the wringer. This time the focus is on "Energy Efficient" processors, as AMD likes to call them. Here we have a look at the 65W EE Athlon 64 4600 running flat out at 100% CPU utilization and its 1.14 voltage settings by default. We've also gotten our hands on a 35 Watt efficient 3800+ dual core CPU as well. We'll have full details on the performance, heat, power and noise characteristics of these new chips, in the days ahead. Don't touch that dial!...
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