Tech Blog

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The gamescom convention in Cologne, Germany is a recent(ish) addition to the gaming calendar, one that's largely concerned with the European audience. However, Sony has always had quite a following in Europe so they often reveal a few things at the show. They had their press conference today, so what's up with Sony?

- First, and perhaps least interestingly, the PS3 is recieving yet another Hard Drive upgrade with the basic "Core" system jumping from 120 GB to 160 GB, and on September 19th when Move launches, the system that will be bundled will be 320 GB (instead of 250 GB) and will include a Move Controller, PlayStation Eye, and a copy of Sports Champions. The core system remains at $299.99 while the Move bundle jumps to $399.99.

I've said it before (er, I think) but the Move just seems absurdly pricey at $50 per controller with another $30 for its Nunchuck analogue, and the bundle hardly offers that big a saving. But of course, its big competition, Kinect is pretty pricey itself.

- Insomniac Games announced some eagerly-awaited(?) sequels: Resistance 3, via a live action trailer:

and Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One, via this trailer:

My knowledge is a little weak when it comes to these games; I've never really seen anything of value in the Ratchet and Clank series (after a few goes of different games in the series, it just seems like a generic platformer with some weak shooty bits) and haven't actually ever played the Resistance series once. Is it worth checking out?

- Sega has announced that Virtua Tennis 4 is coming to PS3, with full Move and 3DTV compatibility, promising that PlayStation Move will make Virtua Tennis 4 about "more than just hitting the ball; it's about the angle of the racquet, the spin and speed of the ball and the power of the shot." and that the controller will "precisely track both the fast and subtle movements ... allowing for pinpoint accurate shots as players improve their racquet skills."

I haven't actually played a Virtua Tennis game since Virtua Tennis 2 on the Dreamcast! (Hmm, I should stop revealing what games I haven't played.)

- Finally, here's a lovely trailer for LittleBigPlanet 2:

I am hugely excited for LittleBigPlanet 2; the original is one of the best games for PS3 (even if you don't include all of the creative aspects) and this makes its sequel just look fantastic. Can't wait.