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Sony looking into paid subscriptions for PS3 online area

Sony’s Kaz “Riiidge Racer” Hirai said during a presentation yesterday that Sony expects the PlayStation Network for the PS3 and PSP to generate $500 million in revenues this fiscal year, but, he also added another thing, a far more disturbing picture…

Hirai mentioned that Sony was looking into “premium subscriptions” for the online service, much like Xbox Live Gold on the Xbox 360. The PS3’s bit selling point has always been that it’s free to play online, and that may change soon. Hirai is quoted by CVG saying,

“Especially in the online area, we are studying the possibility of introducing a subscription model, offering premium content and services, in addition to the current free services.”

Great. Just as we thought the PS3 was catching up to the Xbox 360.

BioShock 2 multiplayer trailer

A sweet and short trailer, showcases some nice and fast paced multiplayer action. And some awesome one-liners.

MW2 rockets GameStop Q3 profits

One of the biggest winners from the successful launch of Modern Warfare 2, besides Activision, is GameStop, which saw its Q3 profits hit $52 million, on $1.8 billion in revenue. GameStop said the profits were fueled by Modern Warfare 2, which was the biggest launch in the history of the company, and sold 2.5 million copies in its first 72 hours. The company projects the good times into the upcoming months, with the release of Assassin’s Creed 2 and New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

BioShock 2 special edition revealed

Well, don’t look surprised, of course BioShock, like all other highly anticipated sequels, was getting a special edition set. The BioShock 2 Special Edition package includes the game, a 160-page hardcover art books (we love those) and the soundtrack on CD. But there’s more! For the first time (at least we think), the set includes a orchestral score on vinyl. Yep, vinyl. How retro is that? Pretty retro if you ask us. The special edition will retail for $99 on consoles and $89 on PC and will be released on February 9.

Assassin’s Creed 2 review

Assassin’s Creed was one of the few original and interesting new IPs that was released two years ago, bringing a new setting not often explored by games, alongside some original combat and acrobatics. The sequel — and of course there’s a sequel — looks to build upon the success of the first game, and offer something new. While the gameplay remains mainly unchanged, the new setting, in Renaissance Italy looks just as great as ancient Jerusalem did in AC1.

The story continues where the previous ended; Desmond, in today’s time, escapes from the complex that kidnapped him and captured his mind. This time he teams up with the good guys, and gets back in the seat in the machine that sends him back a few hundred years to Italy, during Leonardo da Vinci’s time, where he’ll play an assassin, in order to train himself the skills. We won’t go into detail of the story, but rest assured that it’s pretty well told and written, although the cut scenes and dialogue aren’t exactly top notch. Read the rest of our Assassin’s Creed 2 review

BioShock 2 cover revealed

2K Games has revealed the cover of the highly anticipated BioShock 2, which is scheduled for a February 2010 release. As you can see above, it’s quite similar to the original BioShock 2, this time though, as the PS3 cover suggests, PS3 owners won’t have to wait a full year to play the game.

Facebook now available on PS3

The latest PS3 firmware update, 3.10, finally adds Facebook support to the console, which includes automatic trophy and purchase updates, which will be posted to your Facebook status (if you want to share that kind of info). Facebook (and Twitter) has been available on the Xbox 360 for a while now, and Sony is looking to add full Twitter support to the PS3 very soon.

Kane & Lynch 2 Dog Days gets 2010 release

Square Enix Europe, formerly Eidos, has announced that Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days will appear in 2010. The IO Interactive developed game continues the story of Kane and Lynch, one killer, one mental patient, who are on the run from the law (and many others). A movie has recently been green lit, starring none other than Bruce Willis as Kane.

Modern Warfare 2 airport scene cut in Russia

The infamous Modern Warfare 2 airport mission “No Russian”, all 5 minutes of it, has apparently been cut in the Russian version of the game, in fear of sparking outrage in the country, but, more importantly for Activision, it could result in a ban. The mission, where the player basically mows down Russian civilians at an airport, has already been altered for the German public, where if you shoot any civilians, it’s game over. Which means that pretty much means the mission is useless in that case.

Modern Warfare 2 sells close to 9.4 million copies in first week

It’s no surprise that Modern Warfare 2’s launch was anything less than a huge success considering the game was pre-ordered over 4.5 million times but VGCHartz has rounded up some preliminary week one data and the results are quite outstanding.

It seems that all together, the game has sold close to 9.4 million copies across the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC raking in an astounding $600 million for Activision. Now let’s just wait until the holiday season comes and goes and we’re sure to be seeing some ridiculous numbers.

I think it’s safe to say we will be seeing Modern Warfare 3, 4, 5 etc because I mean, it is Activision, after all.

Uncharted 2 sells 1 million copies

While Modern Warfare 2 is ravaging the sales charts these days, Sony quietly announced (and what better time to announce it) that Uncharted 2: Among Thieves has sold over 1 million units on the PS3. However, the number isn’t confirmed with NPD, so we’ll see how much truth there is to it. But for a game of Uncharted 2’s quality not to already sell a million copies, being the most anticipated PS3 title this holiday season, would be a bit disappointing.

Facebook support coming to PS3

Mega-social network Facebook is already coming out on the Xbox 360 (alongside Twitter) later this month, and now Sony is getting a piece of that action as well, as Facebook has been confirmed for the PlayStation 3, after leaked shots showed some Facebook action on the console. Details haven’t been released yet, but we assume that it’ll at least support whatever the Xbox 360 supports in terms of functionality.

C&C 4: Tiberian Twilight launching on March 16

Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight, has received an official release date, and will be in stores on March 16 in North America and March 19 in Europe. While those are dates on the release, they’re also dates on when the C&C 4 team will get sacked, as EA plans to let go the entire team behind the game as soon as it wraps up.

Modern Warfare 2 sells 4.7 million on first day

Modern Warfare 2 is officially a “record breaking” game, selling no less than 4.7 million copies on day one, across all systems in North America and UK (rest of the world wasn’t tracked, meaning the number is definitely higher). The previous record was 3.6 million and was held by Grand Theft Auto 4. Stay tuned for our Modern Warfare 2 review later today.

Need For Speed 2010 confirmed

EA has confirmed that developer Criterion has a Need For Speed game ready for 2010, after working on the Burnout series for a long time, indicating that the series will now have yearly installments, much like their EA Sports series. EA also revealed that Need For Speed Shift has shipped over 2.5 million units, while actual sales numbers were not disclosed.