All you movie addicts who own the PlayStation 3 no longer have to envy Xbox 360 users. Sony and Netflix are teaming up to bring movie streaming to the Ps3. The bonus for those on the PlayStation Network is, since your PSN accounts are free, all you need is a Netflix account to watch movies whereas Xbox 360 users need a $50-per-year Xbox Live Gold membership. The service will launch in November and if you decide to use your PS3 to access your Netflix account (why wouldn’t you?), Netflix will send a Blu-Ray disc that will allow you to access its library. It might seem like a hassle to pop in the disc every time you want to watch movies, but Netflix says it’s working on a software update for the PS3 that will do away with the need for a disc. It looks like you gamers and movie buffs are about to see double the couch time.

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Straight from the Toykyo Game show comes the announcement that Sony will launch the new PS3 motion controller in Spring 2010. First announced at E3 back in June, the motion controller will utilize the PlayStation Eye Camera along with a controller equipped with a three axes gyroscope and three axes accelerometer to accurately detect the player’s motion. A handful of titles with motion control support — including The Shoot, Tower, Hustle Kings and High Velocity Bowling — will launch alongside the controller this coming spring. Press release after the jump.

TOKYO, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) today announced that it will release a new Motion Controller (unofficial name) for PlayStation(R)3 (PS3(R)) computer entertainment system in Spring 2010. The new controller, equipped with high-precision, highly accurate motion sensors, can deliver a whole new entertainment experience on PS3 when combined together with the PlayStation(R)Eye camera(*1). Capable of recognizing and tracking a user’s face and voice as well as body motion, PlayStation Eye can also output the player’s image onto the TV screen. SCE will vigorously promote the expansion of this new experience only possible on the PS3 platform.

The newly announced Motion Controller is equipped with two motion sensors, three axes gyroscope and three axes accelerometer that can detect the controller’s angle and movement held in the user’s hand. Together with the PlayStation Eye camera for PS3 which can accurately track the absolute position of the controller, the controller can detect the natural and intuitive movement of the hand and reflect the precise movement on to the game. The sphere placed on the top of the controller is not only used to track the absolute position but can also give visual feedback to users by changing the colors or the illuminating patterns of the sphere. Furthermore, the new controller is also equipped with a rumble feature, familiar to the PlayStation(R) DUALSHOCK(R) series controller, delivering an immersive gaming experience to users.

Further expanding the new experience on PS3, SCE Worldwide Studios will deliver many exciting software titles for the Motion Controller in 2010(*2). SCE, with strong support from software developers and publishers, will deploy various measures to enhance the software title line-up for the new Motion Controller and vigorously promote the PS3 platform.

*Motion Controller is a tentative name.
*1 Users will need to use the PlayStation Eye camera to enjoy Motion Controller on PS3.
*2 Please see below for software titles to be released in 2010.

Product Outline:

• Product name: Motion Controller (tentative)
• Release date: Spring 2010
• Recommended Retail Price: To be decided.

Key Features:

• Three axes gyroscope, three axes accelerometer
• Bluetooth(R) 2.0
• Lithium-Ion rechargeable internal battery

Software Titles for Motion Controller from SCE Worldwide Studios(*1)

(2010 release, includes both Motion Controller dedicated and compatible titles)

• Ape Escape (Working Title)
• Echochrome 2 (Working Title)
• Eccentric Slider  (Working Title)
• Sing and Draw  (Working Title)
• Champions of Time  (Working Title)
• Motion Party  (Working Title)
• The Shoot  (Working Title)
• Tower  (Working Title)
• PAIN(*2)
• Flower(*2)
• Hustle Kings(*2)
• High Velocity Bowling(*2)
• EyePet(*2)

*1 Titles to be released will depend by countries or regions.
*2 Motion control function will be added by network update, etc.

2009 has not been a good year for video games here in the US. While console sales were up significantly compared to July, August marked the sixth consecutive month in which industry sales have declined year-over-year. According to numbers recently released by NPD Group, overall gaming sales were down 16 percent YoY despite positive sequential growth for each major console other than the Sony PlayStation 2. Accessory sales were up 2 percent but game sales were down 15 percent and console sales dropped a massive 25 percent. Of note, PS3 sales in August were up over 72 percent compared to July’s numbers (121,800) thanks to a recent price drop. Here’s how August hardware sales break down:

• Nintendo DS: 552,900
• Nintendo Wii: 277,400
• Microsoft Xbox: 215,400
• Sony PlayStation 3: 210,000
• Sony PSP: 140,300
• Sony PlayStation 2: 105,900

As far as game titles, EA’s Madden NFL 2010 for Xbox 360 was the highest-selling game in August with 928,000 copies sold, followed by Wii Sports Resort for the Wii (754,000) and then EA’s Madden NFL 2010 for PS3 (665,000). Square Enix’s Batman: Arkham Asylum took both the four and five spots, having sold 303,000 copies for the Xbox 360 and 290,000 copies for PS3.

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We know, we know — if you really wanted one and stay up on your blawgz you’d have purchased one by now, but for everyone else, it seems as if the PS3 Slim is currently available at a bunch of Best Buy locations. One of our tipsters hit us with the above photo and other sites have reported on this as well. Anyone purchase one yet?

Sony just took the wraps off its new PS3 Slim at Gamescom in Cologne and apart from the fact that it looks more like a Seagate external hard drive than a cutting edge gaming console, we have to say that we’re really digging the looks of the PS3 Slim. Other than a 120GB drive and new frame which takes up 32% less space, the other advantage the PS3 Slim has is that it sucks down 34% less power. Of course, the price is pretty much all anyone who is eyeing a PlayStation cares about and it’s going to run you $299.99. Come the first week of September, it will be possible for most Americans to buy the latest PlayStation without taking out a second (or third or fourth) mortgage.

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Remember all of those rumors about a PlayStation 3 price drop and a new, slimmer model? Well they might not be rumors for much longer as just hours before Sony is slated to begin its press conference at Gamescom in Cologne, several leaks have sprung from a few notable retailers. FYE was first up when an employee snapped a pic of a new banner that has the 80GB model going for a “new low price” of $299.99 and the 160GB Uncharted bundle for $399.99. As for the slim model, Kmart.com is currently displaying a banner that announces not only a price drop for the PS3 as we know it but proclaimed the arrival of “a new exciting PlayStation 3″. Oh yeah, and did we mention that the PS3 Slim pre-order page is live?

UPDATE: The Kmart.com pre-order page was taken down shortly after 10am Eastern. Don’t worry, it’ll be back soon enough.

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Many would say the worst is behind us where the recession is concerned but gaming giants Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft would probably disagree. An industry that stumped analysts and remained strong throughout the recent turbulent economic climate is finally beginning to feel the impact of the wave of reduced spending that has attacked most industries in recent history. Video game sales began declining slowly in March but NPD Group has just released June numbers that show a slightly more alarming drop than we’ve been seeing over the past few months. US sales in June dipped a substantial 29 percent YoY — a record drop — and consoles sales were down a whopping 38 percent. Long story short, an industry that held strong on the back of Nintendo’s Wii and DS/DSi is looking like it may finally be approaching relative saturation. The odds of another Wii-like breakthrough reaching market any time soon are slim to none but something better happen in the near future to woo gamers back into opening those wallets. Drops in console pricing are rumored but still not confirmed, though we have little faith that minor price adjustments would have the kind of impact the industry needs to rebound significantly.

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We’ve long since given up on Blockbuster and the debacle that is Total Access. As the company continues to struggle with the evolving home entertainment industry, Blockbuster repeatedly reminds us all that it just doesn’t get it. That won’t stop it from trying though. According to the Wall Street Journal, Blockbuster will finally begin piloting the addition of video games to its through-the-mail movie rental service sometime in June — the goal will still be to launch the service nationally in 2H of this year. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard rumblings of video games being added to the pot but apparently it took a bit longer than expected to get the pilot rolling. Still no word on how video game packages will be priced or whether the half-price in-store game rentals will indeed be part of the offer, but to be honest we don’t really care. The Blockbuster ship has already sailed as far as we’re concerned.

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As expected

In an attempt to further lower its operating costs, Sony will continue with its previously announced work force reduction of 16,000 employees and will also close 3 plants in Japan, lowering its total number of plants to 49 from a high of 57 last year. Despite its cost cutting measures the outlook remains similarly bleak for the fiscal year ending in March 2010, with losses projected to be in the ballpark of ¥120 billion.

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Tired of your bush league Wii-owning friends making fun of the lame Sixaxis motion-sensing technology in your PS3 controller? Hang in there as you may not have to endure their ridicule for much longer. The Cut Scene is reporting that Sony is planning to unveil a new and improved motion-sensing controller that will supposedly wipe the floor with the Wii remote. According to several sources, the new controller, as described in Sony patent applications, will utilize LEDs and a small camera to track the user’s movements. The remote will be able to read different color lights and detect the shape and angle of each light — making it much more accurate than the Wii remote. The new PS3 remote will also be able to track movement along the Z-axis (forward and backward) and measure velocity. A new remote is useless without supporting game titles of course, and Sony is reportedly reaching out to developers to enable motion control in future games. If this rumor pans out, the new PS3 remote system will make its debut as early as E3 2009 which runs from June 2-4.

[Via Kotaku]

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While video games may have been able to sail through the recession in the past, it seems that March proved to be a rather tough nut to crack for an industry that provides a great way to escape ones woes. The NPD Group reports that sales of video games in the US fell 17 percent in March to $792.8 million while hardware sales fell 18 percent, bringing in only $455.6 million. A drop of this magnitude did come as something of a surprise, though many analysts attribute the decline to two major differences between March 2008 and March 2009: First, Easter was in March in 2008. Also Super Smash Bros. Brawl was released, a game that went on to be the fourth best selling title in all of 2008. Just in case you’re the type who loves keeping score, the Wii reigned supreme in March with 601,000 units sold followed by the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 at 330,000 and 218,000 units respectively.

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It’s not exactly the major coup Sony needs to become a gaming leader once again, but surpassing Nintendo Wii console sales in a market like Japan — even for one month — is a pretty big deal. Fueled by new game titles such as Resident Evil 5 and the PS3 exclusive Yakuza 3, Sony managed to outsell the dominant Wii box by nearly 50 percent in March. No, seriously! According to Enterbrain, a Japanese game magazine publisher, Sony sold 146,948 PS3 consoles in March while Nintendo managed to hawk a mere 99,335 Wii units. For comparison sake, Microsoft shuffled out 43,172 Xbox 360 consoles. No, the Earth isn’t exactly reversing on its axis just yet. While we applaud Sony for a solid month and for topping Wii sales in Japan for the first time in nearly a year and a half, big exclusives aren’t going to be coming around every month to help push units out the door. In order to right this ship, at least where gaming is concerned, the company still needs to find a way to bolster sustained sales growth — surges aren’t going to help in the long run.

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It looks like Xboxers might not be the only gaming console owners who will be able enjoy Netflix streaming in the future, provided customers show interest that is. A new survey currently being conducted by Netflix asks users a variety of questions surrounding the idea of streaming Netflix content directly to their Wii consoles. The survey also questions what the requirement to purchase a $10 “Netflix Instant Streaming Disc” would do to Wii streaming desirability, leading us to believe Nintendo has absolutely no interest in making the service available any time soonvia a firmware update. $10 to stream to the Wii and avoid purchasing and setting up yet another hardware device? Count us in. Reports also suggest a similar survey covering PlayStation 3 is currently being circulated. What do you guys think — would you pay $10 to add Netflix streaming to your Wii or PS3?

Thanks, Jon Jon!

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We suppose the continuing upward trend in the video game industry shouldn’t be a surprise to us anymore but we can’t help it… Will someone tell these guys about the recession? They’re clearly still in the dark here because console and game sales are still through the roof — climbing 10% over January to $733.5 million — while nearly every other industry is on the brink of collapsing. But forget all that for the time being; February was yet another month that saw gaming sales soar further into the black. Nintendo lead the console pack of course, pushing out 753,000 units according to the NPD Group’s numbers — 73,000 more than it sold in January. Sheesh. There is a bit of a twist in this month’s numbers however: The top selling game of the month actually wasn’t a Wii title! You guessed it, Street Fighter IV topped game title sales with 849,000 copies combined (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) and Wii Fit slipped into the number two slot with 644,000 copies sold. Bottom line: if you’re getting ready to graduate high school in the next few months and head off to college, we hope you picked a school with good CS/digital entertainment/etc programs.

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In this day and age it is extremely rare to see a tech company thrive, let alone an entire industry. People still manage to dig up enough cash between the couch cushions for video games however, and Reuters is reporting a hell of a January for the big three of the console world. Nintendo continued to show that reaching beyond hardcore gamers and into the houses of the masses is the way to go, dropping 680,000 Wii consoles and 510,000 Nintendo DS units according to the NPD Group. Microsoft maintained the second spot, as usual, selling 309,000 Xbox 360s and Sony managed to push 203,000 PS3 consoles into new homes. Nintendo also held the top three game sales slots with Wii Fit, Wii Play and Mario Kart Wii, while EA’s Left 4 Dead and Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty: World at War rounded out the top five. All in all, total industry sales rang up at $1.33 billion – up a substantial 13 percent year over year. Wow. Double-digit growth in what is historically a slow month across most industries is pretty mind-boggling, but the gaming industry continues to defy logic thanks to the Nintendo Wii and DS – aka Nintendo’s licenses to print money.

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Every time new images or video comes along featuring highlights from the upcoming and long overdue Street Fighter IV franchise-reviver, our mouth starts watering incessantly. We can’t help it. We’re comforted slightly in knowing we should only be about one short month away from the US release, scheduled to hit both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on February 17. It can’t come soon enough however, so hopefully this new gameplay video will tide you over for a while. The two fighters in this particular capture are Gen, an elderly gentleman who clearly hasn’t missed a dose of Celebrex lately and Fei Long, pictured above, who appears to be compensating for something by spending a bit too much time in the gym. Each character puts up a good fight and you even get to see a pretty involved “Ultra Combo Finish” in the second round. Hit the jump for the video and enjoy – we know we did.

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Yesterday we relayed the news that Sony’s Playstation 3 sales for the holiday period were lower than expected, yet Sony was remaining optimistic. Apparently, some good news on the production front sheds some light on how the company can manage to keep its chin up amidst some pretty terrible sales performance. iSuppli has broken down the production cost of Sony’s latest PlayStation 3 and Sony has reportedly shaved 35% off the cost of the original PS3 unit. Through changes to various components and integration, Sony has cut the price of manufacturing the PS3 console from $690.23 to $448.73. By integrating components into the core silicon of the PS3, Sony has also reduced the number of parts used from 4,048 in the previous-generation 60GB model to a modest 2,820 in the current model. With further changes and improvements, iSuppli estimates that Sony could soon be breaking even – perhaps just in time for that much anticipated price cut we’ve all been waiting for.

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According to the Wall Street Journal, US sales of the PlayStation 3 in November declined 19 percent from the previous month. This decline comes at a time when Nintendo Wii sales have doubled and Xbox 360 sales have risen 8%. In Black Friday sales alone, the Xbox 360 reportedly outsold the PS3 three to one and we all know the Wii continued to dominate. No holiday rebound is projected for Sony as analysts expect December PS3 sales to continue to remain flat while sales of its competitors are expected to remain strong. Sony is also expected to miss its goal of selling 10 million consoles in the current fiscal year ending in March 2009. Despite the somber projections by analysts Sony remains optimistic, focusing on the console’s year to date sales which have risen 60% and stating that “it is working hard to close the quarter strong”. With sales sagging and competition heating up, will 2009 be the year Sony finally cuts the price on the PS3?

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Because the advent of Second Life just isn’t frightening enough, Sony made it known quite some time ago that it would be jumping into the virtual world game with its PlayStation Home product. PS Home has been in the wild in closed beta phase for a while now but it clearly can’t do enough damage among the socially awkward masses that way. As such, PlayStation owners can look forward to an open beta phase beginning some time this month. What’s more, it is now looking like potential users won’t have to leave the house or even interact with anyone in order to obtain PS Home as rumor has it delivery may end up being via a firmware update or a simple PlayStation Store download. Fan-tastic. Those of you who do get sucked in, please at least try to open a window every now and again…

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Konami sure knows how to cause a stir. An update to the official Konami’s Kojima Productions website seems to suggest that Metal Gear Solid may finally make its way to the Xbox 360. We will admit that this might be a bit of stretch but the black and green coloring of the symbol-filled website is reminiscent of the colors used to advertise the Xbox 360. The Universal symbol for Power, which is prominently displayed on the front of the Xbox 360, is now front and center on Konami’s website. Rumors that the Playstation exclusive title will jump ship to the Xbox platform have been floating around for a while now, so such an announcement is not completely unexpected. Wild speculation continues to run rampant though, with Kotaku interpreting the “i” to mean iPhone, DSi, or Wii. The upside down “i” is used in PSP-based Metal Gear Acid so the new announcement may be related to that game and not the console version, Metal Gear Solid. Kotaku also points out that the URL contains the phrase “mgst” which could mean Metal Gear Solid Touch? Konami has been silent on the matter saying that it does not comment on speculation and apologized for providing only the “standard line” as a response. All we can deduce with some degree of certainty is that Konami has something new on the horizon for the Metal Gear franchise and it wants everyone to start talking about it. We will happily oblige them. Any gamers out there? Feel free to chat this up in the comments – additional rampant speculation is not only welcome, it is expected.

[Via Kotaku and Planet Xbox 360]

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Ever since we first caught wind of the upcoming Street Fighter IV revival late last year, it hasn’t been easy to just sit back and wait. While it hasn’t gotten any easier, we finally do have a time frame in terms of when we can expect this inevitable gem to hit consoles here in the US. Drumroll please… This winter! In a recent conversation with GameSpot, Capcom stated that the highly anticipated sequel 10 years in the making would “definitely” be hitting shelves this winter. What’s more, all of our European friends need not worry as Capcom also made it clear that SFIV will be available throughout Europe “at roughly the same time as the US.” The updated graphics and game play look intense, the new characters look intense and word that the non-playable boss characters will make it from the arcade version to the console game is icing. So sit tight people – assuming our economy doesn’t completely collapse in the mean time, SFIV will be hitting Amazon et al before you know it.

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For those of you that have been waiting to pick up a spanking new Playstation 3, this Sunday might be your day of reckoning. Thanks to a leaked Blockbuster pricing sheet, we’ve discovered that the recently discontinued Playstation 3 40GB version has dropped by $40, bringing the total to $359.99. It’s not a massive drop, but it might be enough to push anyone that was teetering on the verge of purchase over the edge. Keep in mind that this is a discontinued model, so supplies are likely to be limited. As such, you might want to check with your local store to make sure they still have ‘em in stock. Oh, and if the PS3 40GB bundle with an included HDMI cable, copy of Spiderman: The Movie, and Transformers: The Game, sounds like bit more appealing, you’ll be happy to learn that this too will be the recipient of a $40 drop. Excited yet?

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Activision made the official announcement today and Guitar Hero fans will not be disappointed. The fourth entry into the Guitar Hero franchise is slated for a Fall 2008 release and it’s packed full of virtual goodness that is sure to appease even the most discriminating couch rocker. New features, check. Let’s start out with an available full drum kit including pedals and cymbals. Punching buttons on a plastic guitar is one thing but seeing how people fair with the new full drum set is going to be fantastic. There’s also a new microphone and Music Studio mode that allows players to “compose, record, edit and share their own rock and roll anthems.” Good lord. Eight-player “Battle of the Bands” mode sounds pretty intense as well; up to eight players can gather online and compete for the the virtual title. High school audience sold separately. The soon-to-be smash will be issued on Xbox 360, Playstation 2 and 3 as well as Wii. Ready ready people, it’s going to be getting pretty nutty.

[Via Electric Pig]

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Hot off the recent release of Grand Theft Auto 4, Sony is prepping for another landmark release. The company is getting ready to celebrate the MGS4 release in style, with 2 limited edition console bundles soon to be available to eager consumers. The first bundle is the Metal Gear solid limited edition bundle in Gun Metal Grey with a 40GB hard drive, coming complete with the new Dualshock 2 rumble controller, CD soundtrack, bonus Blu-ray disc, and a fresh copy of the game. All of this goodness should run you about $600, and is available exclusively from Konami’s website.. That’s quite a hefty premium over the standard console, even taking all of the perks into consideration. The second version of the MDS4 PS3 is identical to the one described above, but it’s available from all retail channels, and will cost you a mere $500. Bizarre, right? Which one will you be getting?

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Hoping to get your virtual PS3 world experience on by the Summer? Not so fast. The promised open beta for Sony’s Playstation Home service has been delayed yet again. Sony had been promising to deliver the Second Life-esque experience by the beginning of the summer, but is now saying that they need to extend the private beta testing phase until Fall 2008 in the interest of working out all of the kinks. So sad. To its credit, the company seems committed to releasing a fully fleshed out product, as opposed to rushing a half baked experience out the door, but that’s little consolation for anyone that has been patiently waiting to go Avatar crazy on their Playstation 3.

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Not to be outdone by the Wii (unless we’re talking sales numbers), the PS3 is the proud recipient of this stylish LCD screen. The 7" screen attaches seamlessly to the top of your console unit, and comes complete with a matching pair of stereo speakers. How stylish! It’s manufactured by a company called Clearvision, who has sadly yet to reveal pricing or availability info. While the PS3 is certainly less portable than a Wii, we’re guessing the small subset of the population that actually travels with their gaming console might be able to overlook the weight factor, and the joy of playing your personal PS3 in the back of an Escalade? Priceless.

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The Nintendo Wii continues to plow ahead of the competition, posting record sales month after month. According to a recent set of stats released by the NPD group, Nintendo moved 720,000 consoles during the month of April. Whoa! As if that number wasn’t impressive enough, things start to look even crazier when you consider that Microsoft sold just 262,000 XBox 360s, slightly ahead of Sony’s 257,000 PS3s. Nintendo, it seems, is doing something right. The Wii, slotting in at a significantly lower price point than either of its two rivals, has remained in steady demand since its introduction. While Sony’s 257,000 may seem unimpressive, it represents a 98% increase in sales over the same period of time last year. With the upcoming launch of GTA IV on both the PS3 and the XBox 360, Microsoft and Sony should make up some lost ground, but if things continue along these lines, the Wii will most certainly continue to dominate the console wars.

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Think Rockstar Games has a lot riding on the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto IV? You would be correct. According to Variety, is looks like the Take-Two, Rockstar’s parent company, is expecting to rake in over $400 million during the first week of sales. Whoa! That would equate to roughly 6 million units sold over 7 days, which is a pretty insane number, especially given the state of the economy, but if anyone can pull this off it’s the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Given the new dual-platform release approach, coupled with the incredible hype surrounding the impending April 29th drop, epic sales are no brainer, but $400 million? We’ll just have to wait and see.

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Rock Band is a favorite around BGR World Headquarters, so we were quite pleased to see the following bit of news. The Rock Band online store has finally gone live, albeit only for our Playstation 3-toting brethren. The store features a large amount of downloadable content, sporting tracks from artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Oasis, The Police, and more. Tracks are $1.99 each, with a number of special "Track Packs" available for $5.49. The downloading process is a bit cumbersome, and requires a PS3 running OS 1.03, but it’s certainly worth checking out.

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