3.4.07 | PlayStation 3 hardware sales plummet 82 per cent
Sales down dramatically on second week of release
Sales of the PlayStation 3 have dropped dramatically on the second week of release in the UK, with official Chart Track figures revealing a fall of 82 per cent.
Chart Track data is gathered from 7000 UK retail outlets representing 90 per cent of the software market, including GAME, Gamestation, Play.com, Asda and HMV.
Last week, Chart Track revealed that the PlayStation 3 had sold 165,000 units in the first two days following the launch, making it the fastest-selling home console in the UK.
"We publish the first week figures because there's such a clamour for them that we can't keep it a secret,"said the spokesperson.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe declined to comment.
Labels: Ha ha ha. Sony.
| EMI To Ditch DRM?
That’s the rumour folks. We all know that Apple and EMI have been closeted away in recent weeks working on some major digital music announcement. Beatles fans have been lovingly stroking their framed photos of the Fab 4 while sticking needles in Yoko Ono dolls in the hope that they could be downloading Beatles music via iTunes. However, something more important is in the ether.
Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, has arrived in London and will be joining EMI for a 'special' announcement today which is expected/alleged/rumoured to revolve around EMI offering some of its music without DRM protection. Jobs has already called for DRM to be ditched, much to the consternation of the music publishers and the delight of consumers.
It might not be a lot of music freed up today but as one of the big four music publishers [EMI, Warner, Sony BMG and Universal], this is a very big deal – especially since the others want no part of a DRM-free world.
Could EMI’s move force the others to re-evaluate the use of DRM? I certainly hope so.| Huge Asteroid Missed Earth
Another One in 2029 May Not !
More than 1 mile (2 km) wide
The space rock, dubbed 2006 VV2, came within 2.1million miles of hitting us — which is a near miss in space terms, even though that's about nine times farther away than the moon.
The asteroid was flying past Earth on Friday night, at 11 p.m. (PDT), and on Saturday 7 a.m. GMT for Europe.
There was no danger of collision. And that's a really good thing. This space rock, named 2006 VV2, is more than a mile wide (about 2 kilometers), according to the Web site.
If one that big did hit Earth, it would blow a crater the size of London - and wipe out a whole country.
It would derail global commerce and create a climate change unlike anything seen in modern history.
Jay Tate, who runs Spaceguard UK, said:
Asteroids are a very real danger. We need to find and track them. “Dinosaurs are extinct because they couldn’t do anything about the asteroid hazard. We face precisely the same risk.
The best viewing locations were in the Americas, as the rock passed directly over Southern California, and though it has been far too dim to see with the naked eye, amateur backyard astronomers were able to spot it with good-sized telescopes and CCD cameras.
But one asteroid called Apophis will pass very close to Earth in the year 2029 and has a minor chance of hitting the planet in 2036, though it will most likely come close to the earth.
In fact, this asteroid will be the first in human history to be clearly visible to the naked eye.
The asteroid is said to have the power of 65,000 Hiroshima bombs. Also, it has the power to wipe out a small country, and churn up a tidal wave that could become 800 ft (244 m) high. These are things that could happen if Apophis would hit the earth.
As for now, with the little risk that the asteroid has to hit the Earth, NASA has decided to hold off on devising any plans until they can get a more accurate idea of what is in store for Apophis the asteroid.
| Forza 2 demo this month
We already know that Forza Motorsport 2 is due out next month, but now we're told to expect a demo version within the next few weeks.
That's according to the Official Xbox Magazine in the US, which says, "We're putting the Forza 2 demo up for download on Xbox Live Marketplace in April. And like all fully playable demos we give you, it's free." The ad doesn't point out whether it will be made available simultaneously to Silver and Gold Xbox Live subscribers or just Goldies.
It does, however, mention the game's "Auction House" feature, where you can upgrade, customise and "pimp out" your car and then auction it to other players who bid with in-game credits, and says that a pre-order campaign will offer up an exclusive car (a "Nissan 350 cover car").