To celebrate the game and all its goodness, Nintendo are offering interactive demo opportunities and special downloadable content.

Find out more after the jump. Slim PS3 is updated frequently every day with all very latest Free Slim PS3 news.

Microsoft has confirmed pricing for the arm-flailing body-sensing Kinect system. Xbox users will pay 130 for the motion-controlled sensor that allows them to play games without a controller.

130 gets you a Kinect Sensor to plug into your current Xbox 360, and one game, Kinect Adventures. You can buy the same kit with a new Xbox 360 Slim for 250. Forthcoming arm-wavey games such as Kinect Sports, Kinect Joy Ride and Kinectimals will cost 40 each.

Microsoft’s long-awaited competitor for the Nintendo Wii was officially named in June, having previously being known as Project Natal.

While we wait for a chance to flap our arms in front of our Xboxes, we can get in a flap over Kinect’s pricing. Predictably, we pay a premium for knowing how to spell “through” properly: the US price is $150, which is about 100.

Will you be counting out your cash for Kinect? Comments in the usual place please.

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Earlier today Nintendo invited us round for a bit of a natter, and a hands-on with its upcoming new console, the Nintendo 3DS. The 3DS is a follow up to the hugely successful DS and DSi handhelds, the major difference being that the 3DS lets gamers enjoy their precious vidyagames in glorious 3D, without the need to wear any stupid-looking specs.

Tell me more about that

Happy to! Nintendo says it works thanks to the layered top screen, which features a parallax barrier over the standard display. That layer is covered in tiny slits so that each eye receives a slightly different image. The result is a stereoscopic display without any glasses.

And how does that feel?

We wont beat around the bush, it feels blimmin marvelous. Wearing specs to get your 3D kicks has disadvantages — not only do the stereoscopic lenses make you look like a bit of a tool, they have a tendency to make the image look washed out, and they rob whatever youre watching of some of its brightness. Thats not the case with the 3DSs display, which is extremely colourful and vivid with a resolution of 800×240 pixels. You effectively see that as 400×240, since those pixels are split between each eye. Its looking nice and sharp too.

The 3D image has astonishing depth, and the games and footage we saw stayed in focus the whole time. Its very impressive stuff, and if the 3D element isnt quite right for you, you can tone the effect down, or turn it off completely using a slider on the consoles right side.

I must know more!

Wed recommend checking out our Nintendo 3DS in-depth preview article for the full report, but before doing so why not hype yourself up by clicking through this photo gallery? We have some very sexy close-ups, honest.

As for availability, Nintendo is keeping schtum regarding pricing, and all we know is that it’ll be available sometime before March next year. Fingers crossed for a holiday release then.

What are your thoughts on the 3DS? Are you convinced by the technology? Is it enough to prise you away from your hard-earned cash? Sound off in the comments, or on our Facebook wall, or write a message on a brick and throw it through our office window.

This site is updated regularly each day with all very latest Slim PS3 news, reviews and features.

Get used to some Dog Days, experience a change of gravity and get your hands on some marvellous downloads this weekend…

A Marvel to behold

Marvel Comics has teamed up once more with PlayStation 3 platform title LittleBigPlanet for another batch of costumes that can make your Sackboy a true hero. Marvel Costume Kit 2 gives you the chance to make Sackboy look like five legendary Marvel characters: Thor, Spider-Man, Elektra, Ghost Rider and Human Torch. Flame on!

Give your Sackboy a heroic new look now – download Marvel Costume Kit 2 from PlayStation Store.

Every dog has its day…

The unlikely couple of Kane and Lynch have made their way back to PlayStation 3 with the gritty sequel Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days – and you can get a shot of the action in the PlayStation Store demo. Featuring documentary style visuals, this third person shooter for over 18s only is sure to get the blood pumping as you explore the dark world of two rather disturbed individuals. 

If you’re a PlayStation Plus member, the Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days demo downloads automatically to your PlayStation 3 via PlayStation Store without you having to lift a finger – and days before everyone else gets the chance to play it. If you want to get ahead of the game (and everyone else) with the biggest game demos, make sure you subscribe to PlayStation Plus for all the latest titles, first.

There’s a certain gravity about this one

Want to take some classic arcade blasting with you wherever you go? Gravity Crash on PSP is sure to give you that stellar experience, all in the palm of your hand. Explore new worlds on a plane, blast through psychedelic looking enemies on the train and get that unbeatable high score on the go – it doesn’t matter where you are, Gravity Crash will take you on a fun journey.

Blast off with Gravity Crash now by downloading it from PlayStation Store.

Fight for your faction

From 22 July 2010, MAG developer Zipper Interactive will be treating fans of the game to a brand new feature. All of the maps from the Sabotage mode will be faction neutral, so if your chosen Private Military Corporation is SVER, you can take on Raven in a map that was previously owned by Valor. Simply log on to the game, select Sabotage mode and prepare for action.

It’s already set up and ready to go – what are you waiting for?

A kung fu compendium

To celebrate the cinematic release of star-studded martial arts movie, The Karate Kid, and the arrival of the classic original films on Blu-ray Disc, PlayStation Store has a stunning offer for you to enjoy. From 21 July 2010 until 4 August 2010, a variety of martial arts related games, packs and films will be discounted.

And don’t forget about PlayStation Home on PS3, where you can collect exclusive free martial arts themed avatars.

Fighting fit? Prove it – head over to PlayStation Store and enjoy some great special offers.

Name that tune

Fans of the eagerly anticipated Gran Turismo 5 now have their chance to get even closer to the heart-racing action. How? Drive your browser to gran-turismo.com and cast your eyes (and ears) over the new GT5 trailer, which features a composition by musician Daiki Kasho. All you need to do is think of a suitable title for the music that will provide the epic backdrop to thousands of action-packed racing hours. Kazunori Yamauchi, the GT series creator, will select the winner and their name will appear in the Special Thanks section of the game’s credits.

Go to gran-turismo.com before 25 July and become part of the game’s history.

The Friday Debate – This is Hardcore

After last week’s debut, The Friday Debate at PlayStation.Blog returns with a new intriguing topic for you to ponder over and discuss. This week delves into gaming labels and asks you to discuss the associations you have with being a hardcore gamer, casual gamer or something completely different. What category do you fit into?

Check out the debate and make yourself heard at blog.eu.playstation.com.

Contests of champions

You can be a winner in a variety of competitions at eu.playstation.com/psn/competitions. There’s still a chance to win a gold PSP in celebration of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in the Gold PSP Limited Edition Competition; you can take a trip through time by winning a copy of Singularity on PS3 in the Singularity Competition; and enjoy some mechanised mayhem in the Transformers Competition where you can win a Transformers figure set and a copy of Transformers: War for Cybertron on PS3.

Keep an eye on PlayStation Blog at blog.eu.playstation.com for the latest PlayStation news as it happens.

Be sure to opt in to receive PlayStation emails when you sign up for a PlayStation Network account. If you already have an account, sign in to your PlayStation Network account settings at eu.playstation.com/registration or via the XMB™ (XrossMediaBar) and opt in. That way, you can keep bang up to date and receive the latest PlayStation news direct to your inbox.

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Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, 3D feature and interview with SCE UK boss

Episode 17 of FirstPlay will be going live on the Store from Wednesday, and this week we lead off with a fantastically sharp HD preview of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. Alongside that we’ve also got a feature on 3D on PS3, including an interview with Sony UK boss Ray Maguire, a reviews round-up including Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and Toy Story 3, and a review of claustrophobic thriller Exam on Blu-ray.

In this week’s Network Highlights we take a look at downloadable games Hamsterball and Fret Nice in our Best Of PSN video, and we preview the multiplayer modes of some upcoming triple-A titles, including Call Of Duty: Black Ops, Medal Of Honor and Gran Turismo 5. We’ve also got a round-up of the best minis, and a new section called Personal in which members of the FirstPlay team and occasional guests will be talking us through some of their most memorable gaming experiences.

Lastly we’ve got our screenshot galleries, which this week include new Konami actioner NeverDead, American invasion shooter HomeFront, blockbusting sequel inFAMOUS 2 and Middle Earth RPG Lord Of The Rings: War In The North.

All of this comes at our regular price of 99p per episode, which falls to less than 75p if you take out a 90-day subscription for £8.99.

We’d also like to remind you that you can stay in touch with all things FirstPlay by following us on Twitter at @firstplay_uk and on our Facebook page. We also have a YouTube channel up and running here

The FirstPlay team would love to hear from the PS3 community so if you’ve got anything to share, from videos and grabs to suggestions for content feel free to get in touch.

Our site is updated frequently each day with the very latest Free Sony Slim PS3 news and reviews.

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Slim PS3 is updated several times each day with the latest Slim PS3 news and games reviews.

The Minis are low-priced games available via the PlayStation Network on either the home console or the handheld.

It is unclear whether the number includes free demos, but if it does, the number is even more insignificant than it already is.

Only 1.7 percent of all PSP owners have downloaded a Minis game, compared to 51 percent of iPhone owners and 54 percent of BlackBerry owners.

Minis were released 9 months ago, and there are over 60 million PSP owners, in all variations.

Of the 86 games available, PocketGamer says the following 10 are the best-selling:

Age of Zombies (Halfbrick)
Monopoly (EA)
Fieldrunners(Subatomic)
Zombie Tycoon (Frima)
Bloons(Hands-on)
Spot The Differences! (Sanuk)
Pinball Fantasies(Cowboy Rodeo )
Mahjongg Artifacts: Chapter 2 (G5)
Yetisports Pengu Throw (Xendex)
Breakquest (Beatshapers)

Our blog is updated regularly every day with the very latest Free Sony Slim PS3 news and hardware reviews.

You see, in addition to writing about, and playing a ton of PlayStation games I also teach game design and development at the University of Utah.
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As you would expect assorted analysts have been giving their opinions on yesterday’s Kinect pricing announcement. Jesse Divnich from EEDAR thinks the price is right but others disagree.

Divinch said:

EEDAR feels that $150 is an appropriate price for the Kinect. Previous peripherals with mass-market appeal, such as band kits, have sold millions of units worldwide even while priced north of $150.

Other analysts were less positive though. Not one to keep his opinions to himself games induystry analyst Micheal Pachter said:

The standalone price for Kinect is too high, and core gamers will be put off by the price. At current pricing, it’s only a $30 advantage [over Sony], given that the all-in cost for a complete Move package is $180 and the all-in cost of a standalone Kinect is $150. I don’t see a meaningful threat to the Wii at these prices. The all-in cost of the arcade bundle is $299, still $100 above the Wii, although some people will find that attractive. At this price, it’s not particularly competitive with the Wii.

However he did think sales would do “modestly well”.

I think that both Kinect and Move are priced too high to spark the whole industry, but think that both will sell modestly well.

Most analysts seem to agree the price was about what they expected but clearly there are different predictions of success. Having played both Kinect and Move (more on that next week) recently Microsoft’s system felt more “expensive”. Which is probably why it is (unless you really need a complete Move package). Both were a step up from the Wii though but this is just the start. PS4 and XBox 720 will almost certainly have built in motion control systems based on Kinect/Move. You may not want to splash the cash on motion control now but in the future you may not have a choice.

Anyway, agree with either of the analysts?

Games

Microsoft

Greg Howson

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In video games, as in politics, nothing much happens in the summer. The publishers have finally managed to usher out all those late releases that should have been launched last Christmas, and by July, they’re already looking ahead wistfully to the autumn. So unless you’ve saved up a little batch of neglected RPGs and epic open-world adventures, you might be forced to go outside and lob a frisbee around for the next six weeks. Shudder.

Luckily, however, downloadable digital content has come to the rescue. This summer will see a veritable picnic of digi-gaming treats on Xbox Live Arcade (which celebrates its own annual summer festival), Wiiware and PlayStation Network. Here are five to look out for…

DeathSpank(Hothead Games, XBLA, PSN)

From the brilliant mind of LucasArts legend Ron Gilbert and widely described as ‘Monkey Island meets Diablo’ this beautiful, funny, challenging hack-n-slash romp was released last week, and is an absolute bloody must – especially if you love the likes of Castle Crashers and The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai. Combat, puzzles, loot and gorgeous comic book art combine as you search the land for a mythical artifact, called ‘The Artifact’. Great entertainment.

Limbo(PlayDead, XBLA)

A cult hit at this year’s E3 (where it was named “Best Downloadable Game” by several news sources), Limbo is a dark monochrome adventure, combining stark expressionistic imagery with some of the most imaginative environmental puzzles you’ve ever experienced. The hero is just a small boy on some nameless, possibly hopeless, quest and his sanguine and genuinely scary journey (especially the malicious gang of feral children), will haunt you for weeks.

Hydro Thunder: Hurricane(Vector Unit, XBLA)

Another title from the Xbox Live Summer of Arcade, this is a sequel to the classic Midway jet boat racing game, which made an overlooked appearance on Dreamcast. I spent many a lunch hour while working on DC-UK Magazine, turbo-boosting through the intricately designed levels, searching out shortcuts. Hurricane features loads of the original boats, but all the circuits are new and there’s an eight-player online mode. Woooooosh!

TerRover(Creat Studios, PSN)

From the creator of last year’s addictive Breakout clone, Magic Orbz, this is a stylised 2D puzzler, in which you pilot a wheeled droid over a series of hostile alien landscapes, picking up items and avoiding traps and obstacles. Lots of physics challenges and a nice cartoon aesthetic.

Heavy Fire: Special Operations(Teyon, Wiiware)

Okay, I admit it, I don’t know a huge amount about this one, but it’s certainly intriguing. From Polish developer Teyon, Heavy Fire is an onrails shooter set in the Middle East, with players taking down insurgents while blasting the environments for extra points. There’s lots of blood and destruction and, really, who could possibly not want to witness the combination of Time Crisis and Modern Warfare – on the Wii?! It’s out on July 26.

Games

Xbox

PlayStation

Keith Stuart

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