Oh, boy. The slippery slope of getting back into PC hardware has resulted in more PC related posts.

Today’s interesting tidbit comes in the form of a Radeon HD 6000 launch rumor. According to an HIS senior marketing manager, we should expect the next video card series from AMD/ATI to be anounced around the fourth quarter of this year. Excited? Well, not really.

We can expect bumps in performance, but forget about landscape altering new technologies. This is more about getting more performance while lowering power consumption — “efficiency” is the word I’m looking for. I’m all for more performance at a lower power (and hopefully monetary) costs, but I doubt I’ll be upgrading any time soon.

The God of War: Collection was an amazing compilation of two classic PlayStation 2 games. However, they didn’t need the remastering treatment like some other games. If you’d ask me: “Which game would you like to see in HD and a steady 60 FPS?” I would have answered with Shadow of the Colossus.

I had forgotten how poorly that game ran. 15 – 20 FPS? Horrendous.

With rumors of a Team Ico Collection gaining momentum, Digital Foundry decided to run Shadow of Colossus at 720p and 30 FPS via PS2 emulation to see how it may turn out. The results were amazing to say the least.

I’ve never played the Ico and I would love to replay Shadow of Colossus. So make this compilation a reality, Sony.

The “Valhalla” motherboard leak is actually a few days old, but it’s still worth talking about for those who are looking forward to a potential Xbox 360. Aside from the obvious physical motherboard size reduction, the most significant change seems to be the one package GPU and CPU chip. These reductions will obviously help Microsoft’s bottom line, but it could also mean price cuts for consumers as well.

Following the “360 slim” rumor comes a presentation slide indicating Microsoft’s plans to include USB storage support in their upcoming Spring 2010 Dashboard system update. According to the slide, we’ll be able to use our own reasonably priced USB storage devices and store up to 16GB of Xbox 360 related data.

To both rumors, all I have to say is: Finally!

As soon as Electronic Arts acquired BioWare, many folks — including myself — believed Mass Effect and its sequel Mass Effect 2 will eventually end up on the PlayStation 3.

That didn’t happen. Or at least not yet.

Hidden away in the PC version of Mass Effect 2 were references to an unavailable PS3 version of BioWare’s critically acclaimed sci-fi epic.

[SFXGame.BioSFHandler_CharacterR?ecord2]m_nMaxRenegade=1900
m_nMaxParagon=1957
m_srXPFormat=340881
m_srSpendTalentPointsMessageXBox?=348754
m_srParagonRenegadeMessageXBox=3?48755
m_srSpendTalentPointsMessagePC=3?48753
m_srParagonRenegadeMessagePC=348?755
m_srSpendTalentPointsMessagePS3=?348755
m_srParagonRenegadeMessagePS3=15?3007

Some people pointed out that these references could be default Unreal Engine 3.0 code found in games such as the PC version of BioShock. However, those people would be wrong. The Unreal Engine doesn’t use “ParagonRenegade” messages.

I don’t think it’s a matter of “if“ anymore; it’s a matter of “when”. When will Mass Effect 2 come to the PlayStation 3? Will the original Mass Effect make it over as well? Many questions and, of course, EA is mum about it.

I wanted to repurchase Mass Effect for the Xbox 360, but I think I’ll hold off on that until we hear something about the PlayStation 3 versions. Why wait? Well, there could be a remote chance that the PlayStation 3 version will be re-worked and improved over the technically sketchy Xbox 360 build.

Who knows? By that time, I could probably pick up the Xbox 360 version for $10 again. Or maybe even have a new PC which can handle Mass Effect with 1080p resolution and at 60 frames per second.

I also wonder how much EA will charge for a three year old port of Mass Effect.

Announcements

• Google Apps drops beta moniker (via Cnet)
  • Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar and Google Talk out of beta phase
  • Gmail has been in beta for five years
• Eidos becomes Square Enix Europe (via Edge)
  • Eidos name will live on as a developer, but not as a developer
• Fight Night Round 4 patch to re-add button punches (via GiantBomb)
  • Button based punching will return as an option
  • Patch slated for an early September release
  • A content patch with new gym, accessories, and gameplay sliders will be released in August
  • Xbox 360 version of the August patch will sport an alternate version of Sugar Ray Leonard

Rumors

• PSP2 to feature quad core GPU? (via Digital Foundry)
  • PSP2 to feature quad core iteration of Imagination Technologies PowerVR “Hydra” (SGX543MP) GPU
  • It will be an enhanced version of the same GPU found in the iPhone 3GS
  • As a result, the approximated power of the device will rival the original Xbox
  • The “Hydra” is also a GP-GPU meaning it can function as a CPU and GPU
• Two “Mechwarrior” teasers surface
  • Being developed by Piranha Games
  • Evidence of it being a Mechwarrior game can be found here. (Davion emblem)

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The all knowing ArsTechnica mole (PSP go, RE5 360 bundle etc.) revealed some price cut plans for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Here’s the breakdown:

PlayStation 3

• 80 GB model will encounter hardware constraints as Sony has given approximately 60 days worth of inventory
• 160 GB models will not be constrained yet
• PS3 Slim and price cut lined up for this fall

Xbox 360

• Pro (60 GB) will be replaced by Elite (120 GB) model after an early September price drop of some sort
• Pro models will begin disappearing in July/August; will be heavily promoted with bundles
• Holiday bundle coming in October

And that’s it. Sounds logical and this person hasn’t let us down yet. Expect price cuts, people!

E3 2009 officially starts on June 2nd and as per normal, there were leaks

This year’s E3 2009 may be decidedly less surprising thanks to numerous leaks. Many of the leaks centralized around Sony and Microsoft. I’m going to take some time brief you all on some of noteworthy ones.

Sony

PSP go Confirmed

After 1UP’s story, confirmation from Ars Technica’s mole, the June 2009 edition of Sony’s very own Qore “online magazine” confirmed the PSP go. It was not on purpose and the dude responsible for PlayStation Network Store releases will surely be reprimanded for this accidental release.

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