Console News For Wednesday, October 27th

Sony To Introduce Its Own Console Phone?

As reported by Engadget, it looks like Sony is looking to steal some of Microsoft’s thunder in the phone market with their own Playstation phone.  While still considered a rumour, I can’t but wonder if this is the reason why Sony has so drastically marked down the price of the PSP Go.

Microsoft has been working very dilligently to bring the XBox Live experience to the mobile platform with the introduction of Windows Mobile 7, and further extend the Live experience with their upcoming revamp of Games For Windows Live to unify gamers across all devices.  An entry by Sony with a Playstation phone could very well take a bite out of Microsoft’s efforts in re-entering the mobile market.

Of course, if Sony is to do this, then the real winner would be Apple Inc.  As a split of users determined not to buy an iPhone between Microsoft and Sony would only bolster their position as the number one mobile phone maker in the market.

Source: Engadget

NATS and Xbox Live

@majornelson‘s (Xbox Live’s Major Nelson) Twitter feed this morning links us to a Microsoft Xbox Engineering blog talking about NATs (Network Address Translation) and how strict and moderate NAT’ing can affect your Xbox gaming experience.  It’s full of plenty of extremely useful information of how Xbox devices under networks of certain NAT configurations will react to Xbox devices under other NAT configurations.

Of course it was written by an Engineer, so if you find the details to be a bit cumbersome, they included a very easy to follow diagram for the regular non-geek.

Source: Twitter, XBox Live Engineering Blog

 Game Pack 11 For Game Room Released

Microsoft has released Game Pack 11, the add-on for Xbox’s own classic video game emulator just a couple of weeks after the closing of Krome Studios.  The Microsoft dev team responsible for Game Room and the “regularly scheduled releases”.

I haven’t downloaded the pack to see what games are on it as of yet, but one fellow blogger seems to be quite taken with a Konami game that found its way into the release.

Source: Xbox Live, The Examiner

Sims 3 On Xbox 360 And Playstation?

EA has announced that the popular Sims franchise is now available for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.  So now you can date, get a job, be a criminal and set your virtual you on fire from the comfort of your couch!

Interestingly enough, there’s been a lot of news about problems with Microsoft’s Xbox Live guidelines and MMOs in the press lately.  With that said, you have to wonder if any of the guidelines were bent or broken to allow the Sims 3 to come to the Xbox?  Or is it a case of the subscription requirements in the other MMO games that are the real sticking point?

Only time will tell.

Source: Electronic Arts; MCVUK