You ask Sony about PlayStation 3

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dickytim

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#251558 29-Aug-2009 14:46

Buttonmash: Going on Stuff's conversion that $299 US = $445 NZD

Microsoft's pricing is pretty much bang on $445 x 1.125 = $500.63

Sony would rather charge us an extra $115 before calculating GST ($445 + $115) x 1.125 = $630

What about the fact that the exchange rates can fluctuate, and when this pricng was set the USD may have been below 60c to the NZ dollar?

freitasm

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#256921 18-Sep-2009 19:25

Folks, here are the answers from Sony. Thanks for coming up with these questions!

We all know about the patent registered for full software emulation of the Playstation 2 EE and GS chips, but when will you release this to all PS3 owners? And is it proposed to be part of a firmware update or a software application/purchase from the Playstation Store?

We do not have any plans to introduce backward compatibility with PlayStation 2 games. Three years have past since the PS3 launch and currently there are extensive library of disc based games as well as content available on PlayStation Network for the PS3 platform. PS3 offers cutting-edge features and functions such as the ability to enjoy high-definition Blu-ray games and movies, as well as the network content and services through PlayStation Network, and users can enjoy this unmatched line-up of content only available on PS3.

Why the removal of the Other OS functionality? It was indeed a great selling point for Sony - and now you have removed it?

The new PS3 system will focus on delivering games and other entertainment content, and therefore this feature was removed from the new PS3 system. Having shipped more than 23.7 million units of current PS3 model, we believe we have met the needs of those users who would use this feature.

When will the new PSP Go be released in New Zealand?

The PSP™go will be on sale in New Zealand on Thursday the 1st of October with a rrp of $499.95. GT on the PSP has been timed to launch on the same day; which a lot of people are looking forward to.

We have a launch offer available. Buy PSP™go and use it to download a special Gran Turismo® theme from the PlayStation®Store by 10 October 2009 to get smash hit racing game Gran Turismo® (for PSP™) free

And will the current PSP-3000's price be dropped when the Go is released?

No, there are no plans to drop the price of the PSP-3000.

However, there will be a significant amount of content available for the both the PSP-3000 and the PSP™go with Motorstorm, Jak&Daxter, Gran Turismo, Little Big Planet and of course the launch of “minis” - a new category on the PlayStation Store offering a range of all-new, bite-sized downloadable games for PSP™ from independent studios across the globe.

The X360 has a more open network, meaning third-party operations such as last.fm and Raptr can identify when you're playing music or a game. Will Sony ever open its network up like this?

We have no announcement to make on this at the moment.

Will it have an IR receiver for use with universal remotes, or is it still strictly bluetooth only? If not, why not?!

The specifications for the remote are exactly that same as they were for the previous model. There’s not an IR receiver. The PlayStation 3 utilises both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for communication with other devices and peripherals. Every function of the PS3 can be controlled via the PS3 control or the PS3 Bu-ray remote.

However If you are looking for a universal remote that does work the PS3 Logitech have a Bluetooth adaptor for their range of Harmony remotes.

When is Play TV (Digital TV Receiver) coming to NZ ?

Great question! We have been working on very hard but the process of getting Play TV to work optimally with the NZ digital TV specifications has taken some time. For example, Play TV in the UK records and plays back in SD but in NZ we want to take advantage of the ever increasing volume of HD content that’s available on Freeview and to be able to record and playback in HD. This means we haven’t just been able to roll out the same unit that was launched in Europe.

We are not in a position to make an announcement regarding the launch date at this time.

Please confirm that VidZone be available in NZ in the fourth quarter of this year i.e. before 2010?

It has been announced that Vidzone is launching in NZ – an exact date has not yet been determined. As a streaming service it will allow users to watch 1000’s of music videos and create custom playlists.

When will the recently announced (today for Europe) Video Store be available in NZ?

It certainly looks like an exciting service but there has been no announcement of when we can expect this to launch in NZ.

Will it come with a HDMI cable?

The response to the new PS3 the retailers has been amazing and a number have bundled HDMI cables with the console if you look around. However, the PS3 doesn’t come with an HDMI cable as standard.

I hope Sony still has every interest in updating Gen1 and improving things?

We are always looking to make improvements, but have no announcement to make at the current time.

Can you pass on to those dedicated engineers regarding power consumption of Gen1 - if can't reduce max consumption, how about drastic reduction when idle (it sucks 110W idle 130W at its peak according to my tests)?

We have already reduced the power consumption of PS3 dramatically in comparison to the launch model. This is an ongoing process and we will continue to strive to make improvements in this area.

Will Sony enable bitstream output of TrueHD/DTSHD in future updates (currently only output as LPCM only)?

We have no announcement to make on this at the moment.

Does it support 1TB disks and higher for external connection thru the SATA connection using third party connects and ESATA - i know the original only worked to 500GB (may have been mixed) ... 120GB is good but still not much.

I had to defer to London for that one... PS3 has the ability to change the internal HHD, as long as it is in the 2.5" form factor. Additional to that, external HHD can be used via USB. We will continue to look at ways to increase the HHD capacity, but do not encourage people using unauthorised solutions.

freitasm

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#256966 19-Sep-2009 09:29

Ooops. Sorry folks - I've posted the answers but forgot to unlock the discussion. It's open again for your comments on the answers and any follow up questions you may have.

Nightwyrm

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#256973 19-Sep-2009 10:00

"We have no announcement to make on this at the moment."

What does this mean? They've got somethin on the go and it's too early too announce, or it's something they're not interested in introducing?

I had a supplementary question which is probably too late. I wonder if they'll ever give us the option for live-syncing of our trophies. In this day and age, it seems odd to have a manual sync process.

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Buttonmash

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#256987 19-Sep-2009 11:02

"We are not in a position to make an announcement regarding the launch date at this time."

Thanks Freitasm. That's pretty much confirmed it for me that this is never going to happen.

sbiddle

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#256991 19-Sep-2009 11:21

Buttonmash: "We are not in a position to make an announcement regarding the launch date at this time."

Thanks Freitasm. That's pretty much confirmed it for me that this is never going to happen.

I was told approximately 18 months ago by a good souce that Sony would only launch Play TV in NZ with a 2nd generation Play TV unit. This would support DVB-T2 and would be available after the launch of DVB-T2 broadcasts in the UK. Development of that required H.264 and full MHEG5 support which are missing with the original Play TV. There were no plans at that stage to support H.264 with the existing Play TV unit.

I'd go as far as suggesting that people within Sony have been promising a product for the last 18 months that doesn't even exist...

Again all speculation (as it didn't come from Sony) but I'd tend to believe it.

bazzer

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#257230 20-Sep-2009 18:43

sbiddle:
Buttonmash: "We are not in a position to make an announcement regarding the launch date at this time."

Thanks Freitasm. That's pretty much confirmed it for me that this is never going to happen.

I was told approximately 18 months ago by a good souce that Sony would only launch Play TV in NZ with a 2nd generation Play TV unit. This would support DVB-T2 and would be available after the launch of DVB-T2 broadcasts in the UK. Development of that required H.264 and full MHEG5 support which are missing with the original Play TV. There were no plans at that stage to support H.264 with the existing Play TV unit.

I'd go as far as suggesting that people within Sony have been promising a product for the last 18 months that doesn't even exist...

Again all speculation (as it didn't come from Sony) but I'd tend to believe it.

It's been confirmed by Mark Bunting, PlayTV Producer, that the hardware for Australia and NZ will be the same as currently released in Europe. In fact, PlayTV works here with a few issues. The issues that we have a supposed to be addressed in a firmware update, that also covers France's TNT (whcih I believe uses a similar system to Freeview|HD here, including audio codec). So I think it looks pretty good, I don't see why they'd need to wait for a second hardware release?

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Jaxson

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#257518 22-Sep-2009 10:28

For PlayTV, there will be no different hardware required for NZ use. I have it already and it works on all channels, SD or HD picture wise. What it can't do yet is decode the NZ AAC audio so there is currently only audio on TV3. The hardware is dumb, so any reference to this not being HD capable etc is simply wrong. All changes required are software based. Currently the software does not allow for recording of MPEG4 content (ie all NZ broadcasts) but time shifting on TV3 does work.

Putting it simply, the major hold up on this is undoubtedly the EPG, specifically the friggen decision by freeview to not fully populate the EIT version of this on its DVB-T/UHF service.

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