MicroTechXP

The US PlayStation Blog has just confirmed that WipEout HD will be headed to the North American PSN store on September 25, priced at the previously announced USD 19.99.
With only 10 days to go until the US launch, we’re still yet to hear anything official for other territories, although hopefully those announcements will follow in the next few days.
In the meantime, have a nice list of confirmed features to look forward to:
- Full HD (1080p) Visuals
- 5 Game Modes - Single Race, Tournament, Time Trial, Speed Lap and Zone Mode
- Online play that supports up to 8 racers competing on a track at a time
- 2-player split screen (horizontally and vertically) offline
- 8 reversible tracks and 12 teams
- Optional use of SIXAXIS motion controls to steer your ship
- Dolby 5.1 soundtrack, custom playlists
- Trophy support [PSU]

Sony Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida has criticised third-party publishers for failing to devote output to the PlayStation Portable.
“It’s really, really disappointing and it’s a lost opportunity for the third parties,” he told IGN. “They should look at what the PSP can do for their titles and the potential for the business that their IP has.”
Yoshida cited Monster Hunter as evidence of that potential. “What’s happening in Japan is interesting,” he said. “Because of the massive success of Monster Hunter, Japanese publishers realise, ‘here’s a resource’. Lots of people are playing PSP in groups of fours and when you go to Japan it’s hard to find a train or a bar where you don’t see some people playing a PSP. So other publishers in Japan are seeing these consumers, and thinking, ‘Wow, we can make games for those consumers’.” [PSU]

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Activision and Treyarch have confirmed that the highly anticipated FPS Call of Duty: World at War will be released across North America on November 11, 2008.
Call of Duty: World at War returns to the familiar World War II setting depicted in the first three titles of the critically acclaimed FPS series, with the game set predominantly in the Pacific theatre and Eastern front of the conflict.
From what we’ve seen the game appears to be shaping up rather nicely, though it remains to be seen whether or not it has the stones to top Infinity Ward’s decidedly brilliant Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. [PSU]

Eden Studios has released a detailed list of the improvements and changes being made to the  PS3 version of Alone in the Dark. Everything from camera work to an exclusive sequence has been added, hopefully making Alone in the Dark a smoother, more enjoyable experience. [PSU]

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Dutch website PSonly.nl published the first photo’s of a controller/remote/keyboard combi, manufactured by Nitho. The device seems to be a normal remote, with buttons like Play and Pause, but it has a slide-out keyboard hidden within. Not only a complete QWERTY keyboard is within it, also two analog sticks and all of the buttons of a normal PS3 controller.
it is unknown when this device will be released, and what the price will be. [PSOnly Via N4G.COM]

Speaking to Pocket-lint, electronics giant Samsung has claimed that the Sony-sponsored Blu-ray format will be dead in five years.
“I think it [Blu-ray] has five years left,” commented Andy Griffiths, director of consumer electronics at Samsung UK. “I certainly wouldn’t give it 10.” The reason? In five years time Samsung thinks downloadable distribution will reign supreme.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom though. Griffith said that 2008 would be Blu-ray’s golden year, citing cheaper Blu-ray players and the victory over Toshiba’s rival HD-DVD format as justification.
“It’s going to be huge,” he told Pocket-lint. “We are heavily back-ordered at the moment.”
The entertainment industry’s transition to downloadable distribution is widely considered inevitable, but just how will this affect Sony’s projected ten year PlayStation 3 life cycle? Will slowing Blu-ray sales have a knock-on effect on PS3 unit sales, as the console’s built-in Blu-ray player becomes less of a commercial asset? Or will PS3’s built-in storage space offset the growing obsolescence of its Blu-ray component? [PSU]

Sony has confirmed that Insomniac’s highly anticipated PlayStation 3 sequel Resistance 2 will hit North American shores on November 4, followed by a Japanese release on November 13.
In addition to the game’s long awaited release date, the platform holder also confirmed availability of a U.S Collector’s Edition release of the upcoming FPS, as well as announcing that the game’s worldwide multiplayer and co-op beta is scheduled to begin in early October. [PSU]

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Sony Japan has announced a few significant new PlayStation Portable networking features, as reported by IGN.
Top of the list is direct PSP access to the PlayStation Store via the handheld’s web browser. At long, long last, you’ll be able to download demos, full games and other media without having to plug your PSP into a PC or PS3. To celebrate this much-demanded feature, Sony will make Mainichi Issyo Portable freely available on the Store at launch (you’ll have to pay for additional modes and items, mind).
Even more impressively, Sony Japan plans to let PSP owners play Ad Hoc multiplayer online via a PSP-to-PS3 connection. The manufacturer has confirmed that the hugely popular Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G will be among the first games to support this new service. During online Ad Hoc play, you’ll also be able to use your PSP for text and chat messaging.
The updates are scheduled for release this fall in Japan, and will be compatible with all existing PSP models. North American and European dates are hopefully to follow. [PSU]

Blorge.com has caught wind of another three game projects, at least one of which is confirmed for PlayStation 3.
The confirmed PS3 title is Sky Gods, a cooperative shooter that sees you paradropping from speeding aircraft to clean up Johnny Evildoer. Originally conceived as a military simulator, the game gives you full control of your character during freefall and charges you with steering him to a landing zone unharmed.
Sky Gods utilises the Unreal Engine 3, which may explain why it will be coming to PSN and PC but not to Xbox Live. The presence of Epic Games’ ubiquitous tech practically guarantees the game will exceed Microsoft’s 300 MB file limit - Sony, of course, imposes no such restrictions on PSN downloads. Release dates have yet to be announced.
Elsewhere, Seed Studios is hard at work on two new IPs. The first of these is Blue Shift, a post-apocalyptic shooter revolving around team tactics and impractically-clad goth chicks, set in what the developer’s site is calling “a world of extremes, fire and ice, mega wealth and grinding poverty, predators and prey.” Genetically engineered guard dogs and robot drones are tipped to feature. Again, there’s no mention of release dates just yet.
Seed Studios’ second title is Epoch Wars, a “casual RTS” with an alleged 10 minute learning curve. Eschewing resource-gathering and construction in favour of no-nonsense firefights and contextual commands, the game is likely to join fellow strategy release Savage Moon on PSN. There’s plenty of multiplayer goodness to be had here, with cooperative modes, ranked and unranked matches, tournaments and voice chat support all in the works. Epoch Wars is slated for release in Q2 2009. [PSU]

The official boxart for Need for Speed Undercover has been revealed by Blackbox and Electronic Arts. The title goes back to NFS roots with high-speed cop chases, dangerous encounters and stunning cars. We’re hoping the game turns out to be a marked improvement on last year’s not-so-great ProStreet, and with Burnout Paradise still going strong, Blackbox will really need to produce something great. [PSU]