I posit that Sony's rumored plan to introduce a backwards-compatibility device for the PlayStation 3 has an underlying motive of bulking up an already sizeable console. But that won't stop you from getting one, right?
News Blips:
Sony allegedly files a patent for a backwards-compatible attachment for the PS3. Sharp-eyed forum users over at Gigazine spotted the filing earlier today, which enables any model of the PS3 to play PS2 games — a feature currently absent from most models. According to the patent, the device would contain its own CPU, DVD decoder/emulator, plus sound and graphics processors. Finally, I can play God Hand without shamefully dusting off my battered PS2. What? I have standards, man!
Resident Evil: Afterlife takes the number-one position in the U.S. box office charts after a strong opening weekend. The fourth flick based off of the popular Resident Evil games managed to rake in about $28 million after its Friday debut. While this year's earlier game adaptation film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time earned a higher haul during its opening (an estimated $37.8 million), Afterlife pulled in the lead for its smaller budget — $200 million versus $60 million, respectively. Sadly, it looks like actress Milla Jovovich will be remembered as a cold-blooded, zombie-slaying Amazon instead of a spritely orange-haired goddess from space. [1UP]
A University of Rochester study reveals that playing action games leads to faster decision making without a reduction in accuracy. The study tested groups of 18-to-25 year old non-gamers who played action titles such as Call of Duty 2 and Unreal Tournament against a separate group that played slower-paced games such as The Sims 2. The results are predictable enough: Those who had played the action games exhibited a 25 percent increase in their decision-making speed without a loss in quality (in other words, they answered the same amount of questions correctly as their Sims 2-playing cohorts). My real-life application of these findings? Acing a quiz after a session of Quake Live on my laptop. Brain power! (Kids, don't play games in school.) [PhysOrg]
Comic-book guru Stan Lee throws his support behind video games in a letter addressed to the Video Game Voters Network. The creator behind Spider-Man, Iron Man, and The Hulk deplored gaming's continual scrutiny under the eyes of the government, writing that "if you restrict sales of video games, you're chipping away at our First Amendment rights to free speech and opening the door to restrictions on books and movies." He went on to endorse the Voters Network and its stance of displaying games as "powerful contributors to our nation's entertainment, economy, education, and society." After delivering his message, Lee simultaneously shot a pulse blast and spider webs from his hands while crashing through a wall, because comic books — like video games — are grounded in reality…right?
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