New Uncharted/Ratchet PS3 Starter Pack Coming Tomorrow?
What does it mean for rumble?
A new PS3 starter pack may well be on its way tomorrow in Europe. Not only that, but the pack's release may have significance for rumble in Europe.
The picture you see to the right has turned up, showing off a bundled in copy of Uncharted: Drakes Fortune and Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, along with two controllers. Spanish website Meristation.com reports that the pack will hit shops tomorrow for €499.99 (£371.40).
The site also carries a quote that it attributes to James Armstrong, Vice-president and Delegated Advisor of Sony Computer Entertainment for Spain and Portugal, reading (in translation): "This Starter Pack arrives at the appropriate moment, just after a successful campaign of Christmas that has demonstrated to us that the Spanish public is receptive our proposals and the innovating technology that PS3 offers. This new supply will let grow the number of users of Playstation 3 who will enjoy their ample supply of entertainment".
When SPOnG contacted Sony in the UK for confirmation at 9:45 this morning we were told that someone would get back to us. Were the bundle bound for UK shelves tomorrow, the representative we spoke to would have either had the information on hand or at least given us a swift 'we don't comment on rumour and speculation'.
The pack is, of course, not all that different to the pick'n'mix pack currently being sold in the UK at £349.99. Unlike pick'n'mix, which is basically just a pricing suggestion for a PS3, first-party games and a controller, the new pack is officially bundled.
A fixed bundle is something Sony can market. The pick and mix bundle (which was released without much fanfare), by comparison, is effectively aimed at retailers, enabling them to put together their own bundles as they see fit at a price fixed by SCEE.
Then there's that second Sixaxis, which brings SPOnG nicely to our next point...
One thing that leapt out to SPOnG is the fact that the two controllers included in the pack are Sixaxes. Assuming that the pack is bona fide, releasing a new pack now without Dual Shock 3 controllers suggests one of two things:
It could be that we won't be seeing rumble for the PS3 in Europe any time soon, so Sony feels comfortable releasing an official, new, marketable pack aimed directly at consumers without it, or...
Sony wants to clear out some inventory so it can start selling the PS3 with rumble in the not-too-distant future. Clearing out inventory to make room for the 40GB PS3 was, after all, the motivation behind the value pack launched alongside the 40GB PS3 back in October...
Source: Meristation.com
The picture you see to the right has turned up, showing off a bundled in copy of Uncharted: Drakes Fortune and Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, along with two controllers. Spanish website Meristation.com reports that the pack will hit shops tomorrow for €499.99 (£371.40).
The site also carries a quote that it attributes to James Armstrong, Vice-president and Delegated Advisor of Sony Computer Entertainment for Spain and Portugal, reading (in translation): "This Starter Pack arrives at the appropriate moment, just after a successful campaign of Christmas that has demonstrated to us that the Spanish public is receptive our proposals and the innovating technology that PS3 offers. This new supply will let grow the number of users of Playstation 3 who will enjoy their ample supply of entertainment".
When SPOnG contacted Sony in the UK for confirmation at 9:45 this morning we were told that someone would get back to us. Were the bundle bound for UK shelves tomorrow, the representative we spoke to would have either had the information on hand or at least given us a swift 'we don't comment on rumour and speculation'.
The pack is, of course, not all that different to the pick'n'mix pack currently being sold in the UK at £349.99. Unlike pick'n'mix, which is basically just a pricing suggestion for a PS3, first-party games and a controller, the new pack is officially bundled.
A fixed bundle is something Sony can market. The pick and mix bundle (which was released without much fanfare), by comparison, is effectively aimed at retailers, enabling them to put together their own bundles as they see fit at a price fixed by SCEE.
Then there's that second Sixaxis, which brings SPOnG nicely to our next point...
One thing that leapt out to SPOnG is the fact that the two controllers included in the pack are Sixaxes. Assuming that the pack is bona fide, releasing a new pack now without Dual Shock 3 controllers suggests one of two things:
It could be that we won't be seeing rumble for the PS3 in Europe any time soon, so Sony feels comfortable releasing an official, new, marketable pack aimed directly at consumers without it, or...
Sony wants to clear out some inventory so it can start selling the PS3 with rumble in the not-too-distant future. Clearing out inventory to make room for the 40GB PS3 was, after all, the motivation behind the value pack launched alongside the 40GB PS3 back in October...
Source: Meristation.com
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Comments
Absinthe-Review.net 30 Jan 2008 14:13
1/6
Honestly, I don't give a damn about the bundle or this story. I'm just amazed that those damn Ratchet games are still being made. It's a colour-by-numbers series that has NEVER been good, but they always sell...why?...WHY?!
Sean Gaffney 30 Jan 2008 14:38
2/6
I have to disagree. I'm plating Tools of Destruction on the PS3 at the moment and thoroughly enjoying it. The game cleverly utilises the six axis, it's fun, has variety and isn't over in just a few hours.
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Andy Proctor 30 Jan 2008 16:41
3/6
I disagree with the 1st comment too. R&C was actually the 1st true 1080p game released on the PS3. Until then, and even now, many gaming companies are releasing games at 720p. I admit, it is more of a "friendly" game than COD4, UT3, or even Resistance (which was created by the same studio), but it is fun, entertaining, and packed with creative level designs.
Regarding the original article, Sony seems to be making a good choice in adding last years top sellers to a "starter pack". This may boost sales by providing a "fresh" look to the PS3 packaging. Motorstorm, though a good 1st gen PS3 game, should be replaced with something that pushes the graphic capabilities of the system. R&C and Uncharted are both true 1080p.
Regarding the original article, Sony seems to be making a good choice in adding last years top sellers to a "starter pack". This may boost sales by providing a "fresh" look to the PS3 packaging. Motorstorm, though a good 1st gen PS3 game, should be replaced with something that pushes the graphic capabilities of the system. R&C and Uncharted are both true 1080p.
Matt 30 Jan 2008 18:19
4/6
It's photoshoped. If you look closely at the box, the edges are odd and the proportions are off. I'll believe it when I see it.
Bentley 31 Jan 2008 11:41
5/6
The Absinthe Review Network wrote:
Honestly, I don't give a damn about the bundle or this story. I'm just amazed that those damn Ratchet games are still being made. It's a colour-by-numbers series that has NEVER been good, but they always sell...why?...WHY?!
Sir, you are a knob. Ratchet & Clank is one of the most charming, funny, playable and gorgeous series ever to hit any games system. The problem is blatantly at your end, with your brain. They are lovingly developed, have great graphics and controls (provided you switch from the default "3rd person" to the FPS-style "Lock-strafe" mode), reward repeated play (with bigger, brighter, brasher, inventive weaponry). and are as funny as a toy Story movie, if not more so.
I've played every PS2 R&C game, and the PS3 game, from start to finish and I loved every second of every title. It's not like I am a kid either; I am a 34-year-old male human. They satisfy my lust for destruction, and make me laugh, while constantly rocketing along at a constantly smooth frame rate. Plus the PS2 games kindly added online multiplayer, when they really did not need bother. They think of everything at Insomniac.
No, the problem is not with the game series, it is definitely with you. You blatantly have no soul. That, or you have never played a Ratchet game. Maybe you only played the first one, where the controls hampered the fun a tiny, tiny amount (at first). But there is absolutely no way in hell that you have any clue what you are talking about.
Great games, I hope for many, many more in the series. One ill-informed misguided whiner is not going to stop that.
SuperSaiyan4 31 Jan 2008 12:56
6/6
Bentley wrote:
The Absinthe Review Network wrote:
Honestly, I don't give a damn about the bundle or this story. I'm just amazed that those damn Ratchet games are still being made. It's a colour-by-numbers series that has NEVER been good, but they always sell...why?...WHY?!
Sir, you are a knob. Ratchet & Clank is one of the most charming, funny, playable and gorgeous series ever to hit any games system. The problem is blatantly at your end, with your brain. They are lovingly developed, have great graphics and controls (provided you switch from the default "3rd person" to the FPS-style "Lock-strafe" mode), reward repeated play (with bigger, brighter, brasher, inventive weaponry). and are as funny as a toy Story movie, if not more so.
I've played every PS2 R&C game, and the PS3 game, from start to finish and I loved every second of every title. It's not like I am a kid either; I am a 34-year-old male human. They satisfy my lust for destruction, and make me laugh, while constantly rocketing along at a constantly smooth frame rate. Plus the PS2 games kindly added online multiplayer, when they really did not need bother. They think of everything at Insomniac.
No, the problem is not with the game series, it is definitely with you. You blatantly have no soul. That, or you have never played a Ratchet game. Maybe you only played the first one, where the controls hampered the fun a tiny, tiny amount (at first). But there is absolutely no way in hell that you have any clue what you are talking about.
Great games, I hope for many, many more in the series. One ill-informed misguided whiner is not going to stop that.
R&C isnt for everyone, I played the demo and didnt think much of it and I guess the applies to those that dont like say HALO.