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Sony quitting the console race?

Right since the humongous price of the PS3, we have seen Sony face insult after insult and make several more blunders while at it. To put it simply, Sony as a console maker has its reputation sliding down faster than a drunk hobo on a snowboard on a frozen river of Mountain Dew. 😕

Sony’s stock has dropped and news indicate that their spending on the next-generation chip (which will power the potential Playstation 4). Also, they are planning on “selling manufacturing lines that make the Cell processor” to Toshiba! Does this mean that Sony is no longer interested in the heated consoles market? Does this mean that the Playstation brand has come to an end? Is Sony planning something radically new (like Wii)?

We can only make wild guesses at this point, but there is no denying that Sony’s PS3 went rather badly compared to the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii.

[Via HDGamesNews.com]

Force Unleashed for Wii in 2008!

We brought you news last week that the famed lightsaber-swinging Star Wars Wii game will not be the next installation of Lego Star Wars. This left us wondering as to what LucasArts has up its sleeves. Well, it turns out that one of my predictions went right – LucasArts is porting Force Unleashed to the Wii, and the package will be released in Spring 2008!

I can immediately see the game get massive sales for the Wii, because you WILL get to control the lightsaber with your Wiimote and use force powers with the nunchuck. How friggin’ cool is that? Plus, the game will include a Wii-exclusive duel mode, which allows you and your equally geeky buddy to fight with lightsabers ‘fer rel’! This is certainly something Star Wars fans have anticipated for a long, long time.

“Wii is a great platform for The Force Unleashed, because the console’s motion-oriented controllers really bring the game to life,” said Jim Ward, the president of LucasArts. “We’ve worked hard to make the Wii version of the game unique in order to truly let you unleash the Force.”

Holy hell yeah!

Intel buys Havok – randomest acquisition of the week

Gamers will know Havok, the Irish company for their stellar physics engine, while movie buffs might know it for providing special effects from movies like The Matrix, Poseidon and so on. Well, word is that Intel has bought Havok. Why, you ask? I have no idea. Maybe they just thought it’s a nice company to buy.

But Havok’s CEO says “The acquisition will help Havok grow into new market segments,” which sounds good! Havok will continue to keep business on as usual, though. In layman’s terms, Havok’s the same – except that it might just get a little, and then a little bigger.

Havok was founded in 1998 and has created the famous Havok Physics Engine, which has been seen in dozens of games since, examples including BioShock, Half-Life 2, Deus Ex: Invisible War, Age of Empires III and many, many more.

[Via PC World]

Wii Price Cut

Wii

When will Nintendo lower the price on the Wii? If you think it’ll be this holiday season, you’re probably wrong. I’d say Spring ’08/Summer ’08. Here’s why:

Nintendo has yet to steadily replenish its Wii unit supply. Why would Nintendo want to lower the price of a system that’s still sold out? There wouldn’t be any advantage to doing it.

This holiday season Nintendo needs to focus in on the games. It needs to tell gamers that while the Xbox 360 may have Halo 3 and the PS3 has Heavenly Sword – The Wii has Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros Brawl. Mario has always been a million unit seller series and last generation’s Smash Bros title gave the Gamecube its most wide appealing game. Nintendo cannot afford to draw attention from these two AAA title releases.

Thirdly it’s highly likely that Sony will lower the price of the PS3 either by this holiday season or early next year. In the race of console supremacy, the PS3 is in dead last. Sony needs to throw as many cards as it has to grab gamer’s attentions before the gap between the Wii and Xbox 360 sales gets seriously out of control.

In order to continue to appeal to a wider consumer audience, Nintendo will have to lower the price of the Wii console. Keeping the above factors in mind, Nintendo will most likely wait till next year to take the plunge. Most likely the price drop will only be a $50 price reduction. Hopefully Nintendo will continue to bundle Wii Sports even after the price drop. Wii Sports has been the reason why many casual gamers have been so interested in the Wii with its unique gaming style. To eliminate this free bundled title might actually hurt Nintendo in the short run.

Colin McRae dead in helicopter crash?

For a lot of us gamers, the name “Colin McRae” is nearly synonymous with a line of great rally games. But it appears that bad news has struck. Colin McRae is feared dead in a helicopter crash in Scotland.

The chopper was owned by McRae, and originally four bodies were found in the crash. McRae’s agent confirmed, however, that Colin was piloting the craft. No survivors have been found, and the identities of the other passengers have not been confirmed yet.

Colin McRae was a popular rally driver known in the gaming industry for the series of racing games that share his name. Goodbye, Colin. We’ll always remember you.

[Via Telegraph]