Gaming

The rumors were true, almost to the letter. Sony Europe has confirmed the existence of a new entry-level PlayStation 3. Scheduled to hit stores on the Continent on October 10, the new PS3 has been stripped down to hit a lower price point: it's got a smaller 40GB hard drive, no built-in flash media reader, and two (rather than four) USB ports. But the biggest change appears to be the loss of backward compatibility with PS2 games. Sony's release specifies that "[t]he new model is no longer backwards compatible with PlayStation 2 titles, reflecting both the … Read more

AppleInsider has reported that more than a few owners of the new shiny iMacs are experiencing freezing problems.

When the problem occurs, the system will look and behave as if it's running but is totally unresponsive to any touching of the controls, according to the report. Some suspect foul play by the new ATI Radeon HD graphics card, as most instances occur when playing games or running any video-intensive tasks.

So far Apple is aware of the problem but has yet to release a permanent fix for it. Desperate users have tried to re-install older Mac drivers with mixed … Read more

Nintendo has revealed the Wii Remote Jacket, a silicone grip intended to make the Wiimote more comfortable in the hand and give it some semblance of protection. Silicone sleeves for the Wiimote have been available since the Wii first came out, but this new product carries an important distinction: it's free.

Every new Nintendo Wii, Wiimote, and copy of Wii Play that ships from today on will include the Wii Remote Jacket. Nintendo hasn't announced any price changes for these products, so new Wii and Wiimote buyers will be getting the jackets gratis. If you've already bought … Read more

When it comes to the virtual world Second Life, we're definitely in the middle of one of the predictable hype backlash cycles that often surround hot new technologies.

Since the fall of 2006, when Second Life hit 1 million registered users, it has since grown to nearly 10 million. Of course, that number doesn't reflect how many actual users there are.

But regardless of the numbers of users, the hype part of the cycle really picked up steam when the media noticed that a lot of big-name companies were opening up shop in Second Life. And now, the … Read more

There's no end to scams on the Internet, and it can be hard for anyone to tell the difference between a legitimate and fake Web address. (Can you pick the bogus URL between "www.express.ebay.com" and "www.ebaysale.nl"?)

That's why computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University developed a cutesy online game to teach people how to spot a so-called phishing scam before giving up personal information like bank account passwords to a rogue operator. The 15-minute game, called Anti-Phishing Phil, features a little fish named Phil that must discern between good … Read more

Richard Garriott, a game developer known for creating the multiplayer online game Ultima, will be the sixth private citizen to take a ride on a Russian Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station in October 2008. And in a way, he will follow in his father's footsteps, but without the NASA credentials. Garriott's dad is former NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, who flew to the first U.S. space station Skylab in the '70s.

Garriott will fly with Vienna, Va.-based Space Adventures, a space tourism company that offers flights to ISS for between $25 million and $30 million. … Read more

NEW YORK--It seems people like any excuse to play any video game.

While Halo III and Guitar Hero may be drawing a crowd at DigitalLife 2007, so were classics like Ms. Pac-man.

Namco had a large space at DigitalLife to remind gamers that video games of the '80s are now available for their phone.

Namco offers games like Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Mr. Do, Popeye, Snoopy and the Flying Ace, Galaga and even board games like Scene It?.

The games are available, regardless of your carrier, for the Palm OS, Windows Mobile phones, the iPod and the Sidekick, as … Read more

Halo 3, the much-anticipated Xbox 360 game that launched Tuesday, set the all-time record for most revenue earned in a single day by any entertainment property, Microsoft said Wednesday.

The company said that Halo 3, the third and final episode in the hugely popular franchise, netted $170 million in sales in the U.S. in its first day. If true, that would top previous records set by the motion pictures Spider Man 3 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

There's little doubt Microsoft has been pinning a great deal of hope on Halo 3 and was expecting it … Read more

A new service out of Italy called Koinup is aiming to be the social network of choice for denizens of virtual worlds and online games like Second Live, World of Warcraft, IMVU and others.

The idea is to give these users a single place to post and share screenshots, video--known as machinima--or personal stories from the virtual worlds.

In addition, given that it is branding itself a social-networking service, it also allows users to create lists of friends from all these different environments, and to see all the content they've posted.

It won't, however, let you automatically move … Read more