Some good news this morning for PS3 owners across the pond: Though Sony Europe has promised that the demo for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune would appear on the European and Japanese PlayStation Stores November 22, Naughty Dog has dropped the region specificity on the American demo, opening it up for everyone.

According to Christophe Balestra, co-president of Naughty Dog, the whole ordeal originated from a lack of knowledge about the PSN infrastructure. He claims they didn't know that European and Japanese PS3 owners couldn't access the US PlayStation Store and download demos - an oversight that Balestra himself corrected with the quickness. Now if Naughty Dog can just get the game out without boobies in their opening logo (link NSFW), they should be in the clear.

[Via PS3F]

It seems like having thorough, consumer-focused customer support is a huge deal in this iteration of the console war, which is why we were surprised to hear the woes of Ive, a Sony fanboy and owner of a broken PS3. According to Ive's story, he sent in his faulty system to be repaired, only to be told that his warranty had been voided by the massive amounts of dust that had accumulated within the casing.

Here's our favorite part of the story: When asked what part of the warranty says that a dusty system cannot be replaced, his helpful customer service representative told him that dust collection could either be considered customer abuse, or an act of God. We'd like to think that if the Lord did destroy Ive's PS3, he would do so with a plague of locusts, or perhaps a well-placed bolt of lightning. Dust collection just lacks that celestial panache, you know?

Update: The Consumerist has more on this, an apparent confusion within the realms of customer support. Dust obviously doesn't void your warranty, but it seems it was cited as evidence of neglect in this case (and forms of neglect do void the system's warranty).

[Thanks, SickNic]

Got a crazy craving for that sweet ADAM flavor that all the kids are talking about, but only own a PS3? According to 1UP's Quartermann's Nostradamian prediction you might be able to get your BioShock fix soon. In the latest rotation of EGM's rumor mill, the exclusivity of the underseas fiasco has been brought into question, and PS3 owners could find themselves frolicking through Rapture sometime in 2008. However, this report contradicts the statement of BioShock's lead designer Ken Levine that the game is not PS3 bound. 2K Games, would you kindly confirm or deny this rumor?

Quartermann also has great news for the feverish fans of FOXHOUND who were upset by the recent MGS4 delay - a new Metal Gear game for the PSP is on it's way, ready to heal those wounds. Reportedly, Kojima Productions is working on the title right now, which will "take Snake back to the early days of his career." Not his career as a master of espionage, mind you, but his first career as a pastry chef in a small Rhode Island bistro.

Also rumored: Sega isn't letting the lukewarm reception of their two first next-gen Sonic games break their stride, as they're apparently hard at work on a new, "real" Sonic game. We don't know whether "real" means a return to the game's classic platforming roots, or if we can expect more creepy interspecies make-out sessions.

While it seems unlikely to be getting PlayStation rumors from a Nintendo site, Go Nintendo has a rumor roundup from the Japanese gaming magazine Game Lab, which drops the hint that Sony might be working on a pressure and touch sensitive mat to coincide with Afrika's eventual release.

We're not sure what happened to Afrika after it was shown off at last year's Sony presentation at TGS, but it managed to disappear faster than some endangered species. If they are working on a peripheral that facilitates some sort of innovative gameplay it could explain the long delay, but with no details out we have no idea how the game would actually work. Stomp your feet to cause a stampede? Run like a gazelle to escape the lions? Hopefully we'll know more soon, probably right before the game is released in 2012.

PS3 Vault really decided to try and put their console to the test by subjecting it to some pretty brutal treatment, including sticking the thing, while working, into a sauna for 108 hours. They report "to our surprise the only incident we noticed was a slight burning smell that came in around 64 hours." Boy, they really missed a chance to actually try grilling with this thing?

We have a feeling that if you tried that with the Xbox 360, you'd end up with a red ring of death and then some. A towel couldn't possibly save it from these conditions. Hit the link to see all of the abuse they subjected it to, and marvel at how it kept working. Please, don't try this at home unless you'd really like to toss your warranty out the window.

To start with, we'd never recommend doing any of these to your PS3. We wouldn't do it to ours, even if these tests are, in fact, true. With that disclaimer, let's talk about the "108 hour" tests a set of PS3's went through to see how much the system could handle before failing. How much could they handle? Apparently, everything. PS3's were played for 108 hours straight, switching between games and Blu-ray movies. If you want a more detailed list of the test's parameters, they're here. Three scenarios all came with the same result: the PS3 freakin' rocks.

• In a standard living room, the PS3 was perfectly fine except for a strange noise coming from the disc tray after 12 hours. Nothing surprising there!
• The PS3 was put in the back of a freezer van for the second test, where the temperature gradually went from 50 degrees to 0 degrees (Fahrenheit). When the temperature reached zero, the PS3 started to become sluggish and eventually, the screen blacked out. However, this was due to a power cord getting a bit too moist -- the PS3 still worked fine.
• Placing the PS3 in a hot sauna seems like a terrible idea -- where the temperature went from 100 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit over time. After 64 hours, there was a slight burning smell and after 108 hours, the console was extremely hot (no, really?) but the console still worked fine after 108 hours.

Amazing stuff, really. Again, we would never try to play our PS3 for 108 hours straight in our living room, let alone a freezer or hot sauna. Nor would we recommend you doing so! We'll take this test and their results with a grain of salt, but we have to admit -- our PS3's haven't had any trouble despite how long we've played them. So either the PS3 is indestructible, or it has every disease known to man. Anyone on their second PS3?

We say "clownsplosion" because at first, the image of an atomic explosion seemed innocent enough (relatively speaking) and we didn't see the hidden image inside the puffs of PlayStation 3 exclusive smoke. We'd outline it, but we're too lazy. There's a madly laughing clown. A lot of debate has been floating around the PS3 Forums about this picture, but most seem to agree -- Twisted Metal. It's been a long time, what with the last TM game coming around the PS2's launch.

Why do we think it's Twisted Metal? What other game has a clown that would be so delighted to have an atomic explosion bearing a laughing clown hidden therein? Only Sweet Tooth will suffice. Yeah, the face doesn't look as dark and sadistic as Sweet Tooth, but the fact remains: there is an explosion and it is a clown. We welcome Twisted Metal coming on the PS3, even if it's a collection of the old games. Though we'd love a new entry with some badass online modes and "Create Your Own" car of sometimes-humorous death.

It shouldn't be a surprise to any of us that the demo for Heavenly Sword is on its way. Heck, we already said that it was making its debut sometime in July. We've now got confirmation that the demo is, in fact, complete. Part of the Ninja Theory team came out on their official forums and said "it's in the bag ... so now it's a case of Sony deciding when they feel is the best time to release it to PlayStation Network." By that, we couldn't help but squeal like a schoolgirl with a crush. Could they mean this Thursday's update?

Not likely. Seems the demo itself is actually slated for next Thursday. You know, the 26th. We don't mind waiting an extra week, since most of the PS3 Fanboy staff is still in a hot competition to keep the highest score amongst one another in Super Stardust HD. As far as the game itself, Heavenly Sword is complete and going through the bug-fixing stage. If that's true, they should release it early. We're tired of waiting for this fantastic looking "launch title", honestly.

[Thanks, DolphGB!]

[via PS3Attitude]

With the clear advantage going to Blu-ray as the high-definition movie format of choice by the technology-savvy or trend-setting consumer, it's only natural something like this would come along. The only exclusive movie studio for HD DVD, Universal, is getting pressured into supporting Blu-ray. A lot of persuading is going on, apparently, for them to release their films on Blu-ray.

There are reports that, in Europe, standalone HD DVD players outsell standalone Blu-ray players by 70%. Of course they do. The PS3 is a cheaper alternative with more capabilities, so that's a pretty unfair report. To further offset that report, actual movie sales dip the 70% advantage towards those lovely Blu babies. Even so, HD films are still a niche market and moving to support their "competition" isn't high on Universal's list of priorities. Their standard DVDs still sell just fine and since the PS3 can upscale those, we're not too hurt if Universal decides to stick to their guns and support HD DVD to the bitter end. Although we really wanted some Blu-ray Heroes.

[Thanks, Joe!]

Today is a good day for us. First up, the strangely addictive and get-nothing-accomplished gameplay of Disgaea is making its way onto the PS3. Secondly, donuts were buy two, get one free this morning. Thirdly, we've got some White Knight Story screenshots to share with you, courtesy of IGN. They are awesome, because we're finally starting to get a sense of scale for the great White Knight himself. At least, that's who we imagine is featured in one of the screens.

Another screenshot is what appears to be a shop menu, but ... for some reason, we can't help but think it's a character creation screen. If someone could translate the menu, we'd know for sure. Does this mean you create your main hero, or perhaps create your own personal party member? If so, that would be the coolest thing ever. It's like putting yourself in the shoes of not the "silent protagonist", but "that guy who happened to travel with the world's greatest hero." We know, that sounds odd, but from a writing standpoint, it's a nice touch that we hope is what we assume it is.

[UPDATE] Word has reached us the White Knight Story will be playable at the Tokyo Game Show in September. We'll report back to you with our hands-on impressions during the event.

While analysts and pundits (rightfully) debate the honesty and reasoning behind the whole PS3 pricing debacle, it's clear that consumers have just been focused on one thing: the price tag. Sony mentioned during their conference that sales at all their major resalers had doubled already and it looks like they weren't kidding -- Amazon just ran out of their entire stock of PlayStation 3s and aren't getting anything until next week. Normally, stocking issues is more of a Wii phenomenon but it looks like a lot of people were either waiting in baited anticipation for the price cut, or a lot of people are scared Sony is going to jack the price of the PS3 back up to 600 dollars later this year.

Interestingly, sales of the PlayStation 3 have been so strong that its pushed the Amazon special pack-in movie Resident Evil into the top 5 movie sellers across all formats, including DVDs. That's something that even top tier Blu-ray releases can rarely do for even a couple days, and Resident Evil has been holding there all week. Since it's pretty unlikely that an older Blu-ray disc would undergo such a resurrection in sales by itself, that alone indicates that the PS3 sales have been extremely good at Amazon. With great games finally coming out and a decent library starting to form, this is a good time to be a new PS3 owner -- but how long will the sales spike last? Until the only option is a $599 80GB PS3?

*UPDATE*
Looks like they got an early new shipment of PS3s and they're back in stock at Amazon. Go get your buy on!

*UPDATE 2*
Holy crap, they just ran out of stock again. People REALLY want their PS3s, don't they?

[Via N4G]

We're not scared to admit it -- we've got a pretty biased attitude against Electronic Arts. They aren't the best at making quality titles ... they're more of the Kroger brand soda to Sony or Epic or Konami's name-brand colas. However, things may be turning around. First, Burnout Paradise seems to be built from the ground up on Sony's system and it's looking sharp. Then comes skate. This game looks excellent and the level of polish is impressive. We're not fond of "totally xtreem sportz" titles, but this one really makes us want to reconsider. Interesting dual-analog gameplay mechanics and a more skating-sim style make us squirm with anticipation. Check out the video. We like it!

These are all just rumors, but for those of you lucky enough to play the Warhawk beta, this should be good news for you and even better news for those of us who were already excited to get our online battles on. The site posting these rumors is getting a ton of hate, but we're giving them the benefit of the doubt and assuming that there are, in fact, changes happening between the beta and final release. Whether the changes are those mentioned below or not, we can't say for sure.

• Huge graphical update
• Expanded matches -- 32 vs 32 rather than 32 max players
• Plenty of downloadable content upon launch in addition to bare-bones game
• Six new weapons
• Four new vehicles

Hmm, something smells fishy. It's like they took one piece of news that was probably true (graphical update), then spiced it up with other bits of news that would be rather unbelievable. Following the recent IGN interview, it seems that may be the case. In all, though, rumors are rumors, so we'll go ahead and keep them filed next to our lollipop notebook and chocolate hologram disc full of skittles. We love candy.
[Thanks, Joe!]

John Yan recently took the time to tour the booths at E3 and came away with his impressions for a few games, but one bit near the end caught our attention above all else. He saw the PS3 version of Colin McRae's DiRT and claimed it looked more refined than the 360 and PC counterparts. We're not worried about the graphics and all that, though. There was something else that piqued our interest.

There was a rumble option in the game's options screen. John asked the folks showcasing the game if the rumble feature would exist in the final product for the PS3 and they answered yes. DiRT is prepared to take advantage of the new rumble feature coming to the Sixaxis controller in a matter of months. Isn't that exciting? The controller isn't out yet, but game developers are already prepared to offer the feature in their games. It's great news for all of us, especially those who really need to feel some vibrations in their hands. You know who you are!

[Thanks, John!]