Eagle Claw develop new FPS for PS3 - 23 March 2004

Developer Eagle Claw is currently working on an all-new title called 'Clown Combat' for PS3. According to the developer's website, the game is a humor themed first-person shooter in development for the PC, with ports to the Xbox 2 and PlayStation 3. Clown Combat will feature 15 single and 15 multiplayer levels; as well as 10 male and female clowns to play as. Additionally, the game will feature full network and LAN multiplayer modes. Visit the developers site Here

EA Hints at Future Direction of Gaming - 21 March 2004

IGN were present at the annual DICE summit in Las Vegas, held by Bing Gordon the Electronic Arts founder and CEO, regarding ‘next generation’ games. He expects 100 times the physics, the ability to model Pixar Animation quality characters, hydrodynamics, surfaces, mass, high-resolution organics, and more. He indicated that characters in next-gen games will have realistic eyes, hair, skin, and muscles. He also said that these games will be feature “living worlds” which he claims would be like "Grand Theft Auto on steroids"! He suggested that NPC characters would also be far more advanced, taking inspiration from The Sims. More awareness, memory, complex motives, learning, individualized agents with goals and more. These features will truly bring PS3 games closer to realism than ever before. Read more

Sony & Toshiba to develop 45 nm Technology - 20 March 2004

Sony and Toshiba have announced that they will be collaborating in the development of highly advanced 45nm chips and design technologies for next-generation systems. The project will have a budget of 20-billion yen ($190 million) which is set for completion by late 2005, with the ultimate goal of being first to market the 45nm technology. Continued advances in digitization are fuelling demand for the new chip that combines increased miniaturization with enhanced functionality, faster operating speeds and lower power consumption. It is possible that Sony may utilise the 45 nm chip rather than the currently planned 65nm for the PS3, but this would require Sony's production process to speed up significantly in order to meet the estimated 2006 release. Read more

Sony are planning to spend $1.14Bn on Cell Production - 20 March 2004

Sony have announced that they will be spending $1.14 billion in 2005 to build the next generation of microchips, using narrower 65 nanometer circuitry on 300mm silicon wafers. The majority of this money will go towards the production process of the "Cell", Sony’s PS3 chip, which will be manufactured in conjunction with Toshiba and IBM. Sony said it will be spending 53 billion yen to upgrade its plant in Nagasaki, Japan and 36 billion yen on the IBM run East Fishkill plant in New York, and 31 billion yen on Toshiba's factory in Oita, Japan. The three production plants are expected to have a combined monthly capacity of 15,000 wafer units, with test production starting in early 2005.