Sony has formally launched its Life with PlayStation service for the PlayStation 3, enabling PS3 owners to set up a news, lifestyle, and information channel right on their PS3 consoles. Initially, Life with PlayStation will feature a Live Channel with a world map interface, where users can access information based on place and time. Initial content includes news headlines from Google News, live camera images of almost 60 cities around the world, weather information from the Weather Channel, and cloud imagery provided by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Space Science and Engineering Center.
To tap into Life with PlayStation, users just need to clic

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games

The strategy worked successfully in Japan and the US, where Microsoft received a sales bounce after cutting its price on Xbox 360 models – in fact, the weekend after cutting the US price, sales doubled the next weekend. Now, to counter the Wii’s supremacy and just in the time Christmas shoppers, Microsoft is chopping $60 on its UK Xbox 360 prices.

That means the 60GB Xbox 360 will sell for around $340 – the same UK retail price as the Wii. The hard drive-free Arcade will go for $260, and the bell-sand-whistles Eli will cost around $440, according to the BBC.

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games

A new Pew Internet study of teen and video games has come up with some pretty interesting results. Instead of isolating them, the majority of teens actually play with friends rather than alone, making them more social, the BBC reports.

The survey gathered responses from 1,102 teens aged between 12-17. It was no surprise that the vast majority (99% of boys, 94% of girls) had played some form of video game, wqith the most popular title being Guitar Hero, followed by Halo 3.

Report author Amanda Lenhart, senior research specialist at the Pew Internet & American Life Project, wrote:

"Three quarters of teens actual

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games

Blizzard Entertainment has announced that the Wrath of the Lich King expansion pack for its popular World of Warcraft massively online multiplayer role-playing game will land at North American retailers November 13. Folks in other markets won’t have to wait very long to get their hands on the game, though: Europe, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Russia are also scheduled to get the expansion pack the 13th, with Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand getting it November 14th, with Korea, Hong Kon, Macau, and Taiwan getting the game November 18.
"We’re looking forwa

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games

Video game publisher Electronic Arts has formally terminated negotiations to take over controversial Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive…after getting a look at Take-Two’s future project plans and due diligence materials disclosed as part of the companies’ negotiations. The announcement sent the price of Take-Two shares plunging, as potential investors had been looking forward to a payday with an EA acquisition.

“After careful consideration, including a management presentation and review of other due diligence materials provided by Take-Two Interactive Software, EA has decided not to make a proposal to acquire Take-Two

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games

Research firm NPD has released its figures for U.S. video game sales during the month of August, finding that game sales grew by 9 percent compared to August of 2007 to a total of $1.08 billion for the month. That’s the good news: the perhaps not-so-good news is that means August of 2008 marked the smallest monthly increase in U.S. video game sales in over two years.

The top-selling title for the month with EA’s Madden NFL 09, which hit the market August 1 and has so far sold a million units on the Xbox 360, 643,000 units for the PS3, and almost 425,000 units for the PS2. Among consoles, the Nintendo Wii remained the big winner, selling 453,000 units in the United States dur

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games

Now that Guitar Hero has proven its OK to make a single game that needs its very own unique controller to play, it looks as if other companies are taking the niche controller idea a step further. On Friday, newcomer Aptus Games took the lid off its Mini-Motion titles – a whole series of games that come with their own controllers, modeled after in-game equipment.
The skateboarding game, for instance, will come with its own skateboard controller, which looks a lot like a Tech Deck skateboard mounted on a joy

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games

Although Electronic Arts recently let its unsolicited offer to buy up Take-Two Interactive expire, the two companies are reportedly in negotiations about some type of partnerships or acquisition. EA wants a slice of Take-Two franchises like Grand Theft Auto and BioShock and has promised to let the company keep spinning out its “edgy”—and often controversial—game titles.

While the prospect of EA snapping up take two may not worry some gamers, folks who like sport

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games

Nearly a year after Rock Band first launched, the aftermarket for controllers is finally picking up. From full-size replicas to more stylized axes, options have generally been expanding, but one instrument has been quite conspicuously lacking: a true bass guitar. Mad Catz remedied that issue on Monday with the release of its Fender Precision Bass replica, the first of its type for Rock Band.
Unlike the original Rock Band guitar controller, the

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games

The idea was a simple one – give away $40,000 of free gas to motorists in order to promote a new video game. But the result when it happened in a London neighborhood on Friday was chaos and even brought condemnation from the local Member of Parliament.

Given that gas costs well over $8 a gallon in the UK, it’s not surprising that the promotion, created by Electronic Arts to promote the Mercenaries 2: World in Flames game, attracted crowds to the Last Stop garage in Finsbury Park London. For four hours every motorist who made it into the station would receive $80 of gas.

That created massive lines, according to the BBC

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Source: Digital Trends – Video Games