New PSP-3000 screen already under fire

Anyone planning on buying the just-released PSP-3000 from Sony might want to reconsider just how much of an improvement the new screen is, after it emerged complaints are already flooding in.

The upgraded display was supposed to improve a slight problem Sony acknowledged in the past where moving characters exhibited a ghosting effect and appeared blurred.

Horizontal jaggies

Instead, according to numerous online forums, the ghosting has been replaced by jagged horizontal lines stretching out to either side of some game characters.

Sony told one PSP fan site, “On some occasions, scan lines may appear on scenes where brightness changes drastically … Since this is due to hardware specification, there are no plans for a system software update concerning this issue.”

In other words, “Our new, improved screen might not look all that good, but we’re happy with it, so you can like it or lump it.” Or, perhaps, go buy a PSP-2000?

Next Blu-ray stop: 100GB disks, 12x burning

Sanyo’s powerful blue laser makes quad layers possible

100GB Blu-ray disks that make the current generation look decidedly anaemic will be on the market within about two years if a breakthrough from Sanyo gains acceptance.

The Japanese firm has come up with a more powerful blue laser diode that can burn through BDs far enough to accurately write four 25GB layers per disk.

Current Blu-ray disks top out at two layers and a maximum of 50GB for storing video and data.

Fast too

Best of all, the new 450mW laser is fast too – it can burn disks at 12x, which means it would take just 10 minutes to fill an entire 100GB BD. That’s twice the burning speed of the best BD drives today.

As for the timescale, Toshiba says it can start mass production whenever hardware makers are ready to use it in their Blu-ray decks, which could be as soon as two years from now.

Analyst calls for Xmas PS3 price cut

Potential buyers are plumping for cheaper Xbox 360

Sony is feeling the pinch in the US following Microsoft’s recent spate of Xbox 360 price slashing and needs to reduce the cost of PlayStation 3 before Xmas 2008, according to latest analyst reports.

EDAAR analyst Jesse Divnich claims that the PS3 is “too steep” in price for a mainstream market, urging “Sony to consider a possible hardware price cut this holiday season.”

“We should note that if Microsoft’s first-party titles perform significantly better in quality and popularity than Sony’s this holiday season, we could begin to see a considerable amount of potential PS3 owners, who may be waiting for a PS3 price cut, to choose the Xbox 360 over the PS3.”

Xmas of war

Divnich goes on to predict that Epic’s Gears of War 2 (exclusively developed for Microsoft’s Xbox 360) will be the biggest selling game in the US this coming Christmas holiday season.

While the Microsoft Xbox 360 Arcade system now costs under $200 in the US, the PlayStation 3 cost of $399 over in the States “is simply too steep to entice the casual and mainstream markets, regardless of how great Resistance 2 and LittleBigPlanet may be,” adds the analyst.

Casual surge

Divnich estimates that there were 320,000 Xbox 360s sold in September in the US compared with 215,000 PlayStation 3, but also notes that “if September hardware sales fall below our estimate (under 200,000 units), it could be an indication that the Xbox 360 price cut played a bigger role on hindering PS3 sales than what we originally expected.”

“The surge in Xbox 360 sales likely came from the mainstream and casual markets who were enticed by a sub-USD 200 Xbox 360 SKU,” he added.

TechRadar has contacted Sony for further comment on the matter.