Sony rebuts BBC PlayStation claim

Sony has rebutted claims made by the BBC programme Watchdog that its PlayStation 3 (PS3) consoles suffer from a manufacturing fault.

The programme spoke to PS3 owners who experienced the "yellow light of death" - after which the video game consoles did not work.

Sony argued that the small Watchdog study did not support firm conclusions about a potential manufacturing fault.

It also criticised the programme's approach as a "stunt".

"We think it is highly unfair to suggest that from an installed base of 2.5 million that the numbers you mention somehow are evidence of a 'manufacturing defect'," wrote Ray Maguire, senior vice-president and managing director of Sony UK, in a letter to the programme ahead of the broadcast.

"The phrase 'yellow light of death' has been adopted by certain members of the online community to describe the situation in which PS3 systems have shut down following the illumination of the yellow light on the PS3's front panel," the letter stated.

"The yellow indicator is simply a non-specific fault indicator that can be triggered in a range of different circumstances."

Into the voids

The Watchdog producers approached three commercial repair technicians, who examined the faulty units and said they displayed a high number of "voids" - faults in the solder that connect the electronic components.

In the letter, Mr Maguire said the fact that those voids were not exhibited by all of the faulty units presented to the programme was an indication that they were not the source of a definitive manufacturing problem.

The Watchdog team set up its PlayStation Repair Action Team, or Prat - a clinic for faulty PS3s outside Sony's London offices, advertising that they were offering a service that Sony charges for.

Mr Maguire's letter called the segment a "stunt" that "treats with inappropriate levity an issue which may do serious damage to...the Sony and PS3 brands".

A BBC spokesperson defended the programme, saying that "Watchdog investigated this item having been contacted by 155 viewers who had experienced problems with their PS3".

"We presented a fair and accurate account of their stories, using expert advice and we broadcast Sony's response."

Since the programme was broadcast on Thursday night, the BBC has been contacted by a further 265 PS3 owners experiencing the yellow-light fault.

Sony told the Watchdog programme that "less than half a percent" of the 2.5 million consoles it has sold exhibited the "yellow light" phenomenon when they failed.

The programme quoted the figure as 12,500 consoles - half a percent of that 2.5 million figure - but a spokesperson for Sony said the number is less than that.

However, Sony declined to give BBC News a more exact figure, citing a risk to its competitive advantage.



Oh dear Not all is goldern in the PS3 world


Thanks to the BBC and watch dog for this little gem!

Oh Dear!!!!!!

Head over to www.game.co.uk and pick this up.

You’ll have to be quick to get your hands on this ULTRA RARE collectors’ edition.

There are so few available in the UK that those who get hold of it will be part of an elite squad of owners who will get to enjoy this prized edition in their home.

This is THE Modern Warfare 2 collectable, combining the Modern Warfare 2: Limited Hardened Edition and the awesome Captain Soap MacTavish statue, which stands 12-inches tall.

Captain Soap MacTavish strikes a formidable pose in this ARTFX statue by Kotobukiya, Japan's top collector toy company.

Kotobukiya has a reputation for quality and craftsmanship and you can see this in every detail of MacTavish’s features, weapons and clothes.

The statue comes with three sets of interchangeable weapon arms, including:
Dual ice-climbing pickaxes (pictured)
Dual .45 calibre pistols
M14 Enhanced Battle Rifle (can also be attached to MacTavish’s back)
When not in use, these weapon arms can be stored in the environmental ice base on which MacTavish stands.

and the price £119.99!!!!!!!!!

Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer hands-on

NEW MAPS:
A quick description of some of the new maps we've played...
Afghan: A rocky desert area with the ruin of a jumbo jet in the middle.
We'd avoid hanging around here for too long as it's surrounded by some high cliffs and bunkers that snipers will love.
We suspect most of the action will come at the top and bottom of the map where caves and ledges make everything a bit more intense.

Favela: A claustrophobic shanty town broadly divided into high-up rooftops and narrow ground level passageways.

Highrise: A more unusual urban setting, Highrise comprises of a half-finished highrise building with interior and exterior areas and a series of metal beams high above that can be used a sniper points. If you're clever it's possible to work your way from one side of the map to the other without being detected to launch a surprise attack from behind.

PERKS
Perks are now upgradeable - each perk has its own 'challenge'.
When you've completed it you unlock a pro-version of the perk.
There are obviously a whole load of new perks but so far we've seen:
Bling: This gives you the ability to use two attachments on a single weapon, ie. you can tote the red dot sight and the grenade launcher at the same time.
Scavenger: Using this you grab ammo from enemy corpses automatically, ensuring you never run out of grenades.
Commando: Rubbing in the humiliation of a melee kill even further, the Commando perk gives you longer range on your stabbing attacks.

KILL STREAKS
Fist-pumping when you unleash one, potentially devastating when someone unleashes one on you, kill-streaks are back, upgraded and renewed. As well as the unlockable AC130, already teased by Infinity Ward via a much-analysed YouTube video, these are your basic kill streaks:
Get 3 kills: UAV - So how's this different to the last UAV from CoD 4 you might well ask? Ah, well you see, you can shoot this little bugger down.
Get 4 kills: Counter UAVGet 4 kills: Care Package - By calling in an airdrop with a smoke grenade, a random reward is jettisoned to you. We've seen it give out a simple ammo refill and an instant advanced kill streak. Which was nice. Of course, these are open to rest of the players on the map too, and show up on their radars. The tactical side of this is they can be used as cannon-fodder magnets.
Get 5 kills: Sentry GunGet 5 kills: The Predator Missile - This fly by wire missile not only lays the smackdown on its targets but also gives you a brief aerial view of the battleground.
Get 6 kills: Precision airstrike
Get 7 kills: Attack helicopterGet
11 kills: AC130

DEATH STREAKS
These are aimed at assisting less able players (read n00bs) and are the opposite of the Kill Streaks.
If a player dies four times in a row without scoring a kill they are awarded a bonus (which has to be unlocked first).
Here's the two we saw. (We died three times on PURPOSE, of course):
Copycat: This is the first you unlock and gives the player the chance to steal his killer's class for one round. Now they can see what it's like to have a good weapon.
Painkiller: Gives players an extra ten seconds of health after they respawn

SECONDARY WEAPONS
You are no longer limited to a pistol as your secondary weapon.
Available to you are a selection of machine pistols, shotguns and rocket launchers. We can see this pleasing (spit) career snipers the most, as now they have a more powerful option if they get caught in close-quarters.
Those rocket launchers come in useful for blowing UAVs AC130s and choppers out of the sky too.

ATTACHMENTS
These no longer refer to just red dot sights and scopes (which are still there), in MW2 attachments refer to 'skills' as well.
The already revealed 'Akimbo' attachment for example allows a player to dual-wield weapons, and 'Rapid Fire' which is kind of self-explanatory.
Suppression has also been made available on sniper rifles

NEW SWAG
To up the ante in the war zone Infinity Ward has added a number of new weapons that you'll be able to use in your special grenade slot.
We can see advanced players becoming experts with these very quickly so our advice is get in there early:
Semtex Sticky grenades (Anyone remember how good the sticky bombs were in TimeSplitters 2? No? Oh.)
A throwing knife (Getting killed by this is going to suck.)
A blast shield (Offers greater protection from explosions)
Tactical insertion (Sounds like it should be painful, but actually grants you the ability to chose your own respawn point. Useful for nobbling the person who just killed you from behind).

RIOT SHIELDS
By swapping out your primary weapon for a riot shield you can completely change your strategy. You're limited to using the riot shield as a defensive wall (it takes a fair few bullets) to distract and hold up an enemy but the advantage is you can can cave their heads in with it as well.
If you swap to your secondary weapon the riot shield is hoisted onto your back to act as an ass protector.
Incidentally, using the riot shield in objective based matches like capture the flag still gets your team points, even if you are just using it as a distraction method rather than to kill enemies


CALLSIGNS
Callsigns are a new way of rewarding players. Acting as a kind of big customizable plaque, they pop up when you get a kill or perform a specific action. Callsigns include a title, an insignia (not tied to your level), a background (there are loads of these to unlock) your gamertag and rank. More on these when we've explored them a bit.

HOST MIGRATION
This should stop those baby players quitting out and ruining the game for everyone else. Now games won't terminated if the host switches of their machine. A small, but fairly significant improvement.

Thanks C&VG for the heads up

Modern Warfare 2-themed Xbox 360: 250GB HDD, wireless controllers, game

Microsoft and Infinity Ward just announced the availability of a Modern Warfare 2-themed Xbox 360 console at a press event in Los Angeles. Incl

uded in this "limited edition" $399 package is: a 250GB Xbox 360 console, with the requisite Modern Warfare 2 markings (the so-called "Super Elite"); two wireless controllers, presumably also apparently not Modern Warfare 2-themed (though, notably, not Mad Catz's officially licensed wired controllers); and, lastly, a "standard edition" copy of Modern Warfare 2.

No matter how you do the math, that's a good deal. As most of us know, the only thing that moves more consoles than "a good deal" is "a good deal" that includes the words "modern,"

"warfare," and "two" somewhere in the title.

Major Nelson says it's the "standard edition" of the game

yes yes yes

Vivid Entertainment, the largest adult video production company in the world, is drafting a proposal to Sony to distribute porn on PS3's PlayStation Network.

Boss Steve Hirsch told Kotaku that he would consider Xbox 360 as a smut-peddling platform if Sony can be persuaded to come around.

He pointed out that Sony, after initial resistance, has allowed adult video Blu-ray discs to be released, and has recently permitted on-demand HD porn to appear on the Japanese PSN via local producer DDM.TV.

Modern Warfare 2 Video Game, GT Pop-Block: Flag-Runner Multiplayer Trailer | Game Trailers & Videos | GameTrailers.com

Modern Warfare 2 Video Game, GT Pop-Block: Flag-Runner Multiplayer Trailer | Game Trailers & Videos | GameTrailers.com

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