Ubisoft CEO Demands 'Significant' Price Cut on PS3

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot (right) and EA publishing head Gerhard Florin have weighed in on the console battle. Guillemot called for a price cut on the PS3 while Florin stressed the importance of Europe in the outcome of the race. More within...

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot and Electronic Arts' international publishing head Gerhard Florin both shared their opinions with Reuters this week on how the video game market is shaping up with the new round of consoles.

Guillemot, whose company has been one of the staunchest supporters of Nintendo's Wii from the get go, sees Sony's grip on the video game landscape loosening considerably, as the PlayStation 3 has failed to really take off while the Wii can barely be kept in stock at most retail locations.

The top Ubisoft exec echoed the sentiments of many in the industry; Sony must cut the price on the $600 PS3 and they must do it soon if they want to hold onto market share.

"For sure Sony will have a different market share ... lower than before," Guillemot said at the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit in New York. "They have to decrease the price quite significantly."

Despite Guillemot's feelings about PS3's place in the market, he did note that Ubisoft is currently planning an exclusive for the platform in Europe. No other details were provided.

Meanwhile at the Reuters Summit in Paris, Florin stated that the most important battleground in this new console war is not North America or Japan, but Europe. Europe often gets the short end of the stick and is often overlooked compared to the U.S. or Japan, but Florin believes Europe will play a deciding role in the outcome of the race. From a population perspective it certainly makes sense. There are almost three-quarters of a billion people living in Europe compared to just over 300 million in the U.S.

"I believe the biggest fight will be in Europe," said Florin. "Whoever wins the hardware war in Europe, most likely will be the overall winner."

Florin also said that the industry needs to focus more on the experience of games and the ways in which games can leverage storytelling, rather than getting caught in a battle of one-upmanship over technology. "Everybody gets carried away with the technology. When the technology gets more usable ... then the story tellers get more to the forefront," he said. "My hope is, but I can't tell you when it will be, that we reach the peak in perfection so that the consumer doesn't see the difference in technology anymore - then it is a pure race for entertainment."

Halo 3: Stuff That Needs Fixin’

The Halo 3 multiplayer beta is here, and like true Halo fans, we’ve spent the last week screaming at our TVs, blaming Bungie for our incompetence as players. Sure, we admit it: maybe it’s our own fault we got Spartan Laser’d in that Warthog on Valhalla, giving XxXxLeetSniperxXxX an Overkill. Maybe the majority of our entire team shouldn’t travel in



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Halo 2 and Halo 3 comparison video

Check out the video and see for yourself what the differences are between Halo 2 and Halo 3.



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First video of SEGA Rally Revo, better than DIRT?

"Announced last year, the first gameplay footage of SEGA Rally Revo has surfaced. We have to say that the footage has left us a little underwhelmed, especially considering how nice the previously released screens looked. It's certainly not bad, but with heavy hitters like Forza 2 and DIRT coming around the bend, SEGA Rally will have a tough time standing out. The gameplay looks faithful to previous iterations of the series, which is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on your point of view. The audio in the video awkwardly cuts out towards the end, too, which is a little strange. Still, it's enough to give you an idea of what to expect."

HD DVD vs Blu-ray: Little interest in either?

While Blu-ray and/or HD DVD might be the biggest news here an Engadget HD, the same can't be said for the world of home automation and high-end home theater installers. CE Pro has an interesting article about the reasons why this is the case, but were not sure if we buy it. We have talked with a few high end home theater installers in our area and there seems to be two reasons why those who are willing spend 100k on a home theater are not interested. The main reason is because these high end shops, don't always carry the same brands as the big box stores -- for business reasons -- and these brands like Denon, Marantz, and Onkyo don't make players (yet) for either format. Lets face it, many of these people have more money than sense and they buy what the shop is selling. Why would a shop sell a brand they normally don't carry? The other reason is that many of these high-end customers want movie jukebox systems like those from Kaleidescape and as we all know, neither format has yet to deliver on the manage copy promise. Either way, it seems like a pretty big waste to watch upconverted DVDs on a 100k home theater, when you could be enjoying true 1080p with master quality audio.

Graphics war: Halo 2 vs Halo 3

If there's one complaint people have about the Halo 3 beta it would have to be that the graphics aren't what some had hoped to see. Nobody is saying that the graphics are horrible, people are just saying that they aren't Gears of War quality or a gigantic leap over what Halo 2 has to offer. But if you really think about it, how much have Halo 3's graphics improved over its older bro? Gamespot dusted off their copy of Halo 2 on a mission to find out. They took a few screenshots from both Halo 2 and the Halo 3 beta and showcased them in complete image rollover fun. And, from what we see, the differences are quite noticeable. The textures and reflective surfaces in Halo 3 are far superior to Halo 2, even the geometry is beefed up. But that's expected on a next gen game. It all comes down to what your expectations are and if you feel the visuals took a big enough leap. What do you think about the comparison?

Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 still trouncing PS3

"The Nintendo Wii is still by far the best selling new games console on the market. It's now selling more than four times as many units as the PlayStation 3 which continues to languish at the bottom of the pile.

Nintendo sold 360,000 Wii consoles worldwide last month, helped along by its unique controller and a relatively cheap retail price. In contrast, Sony managed to shift only 82,000 PS3 consoles in the same time period.

The PlayStation 3 continues to be an unattractive option for some, due to its high price and a perceived dearth of quality games.

The Xbox 360 continues to sit comfortably between the Wii and the PS3 in terms of month-on-month sales, shifting 174,000 consoles in April. That's twice as many as the PS3 and half as many as the Wii. The Xbox 360 has been spurred on by the launch of the new Xbox 360 Elite in the US. The console sports an HDMI connection, larger hard drive and a new black paint job."

Trailer of Devil May Cry 4

"Capcom today released a new gameplay trailer of Devil May Cry 4, showing Dante doing his moves in different environments. It looks alot better than the winter themed pictures and videos, but maybe the low resolution fools us?"

Penny Arcade's take on the Halo 3 Beta

No spoilers here... enjoy!



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