January 20, 2009 -
2009 is pretty much guaranteed to be a great year for PlayStation gamers everywhere. The amount of great games on the horizon is staggering, and we're not even out of January yet. The PSP's lineup also looks strong, despite the relatively short list of announced titles.
With so many great games and possibilities in store for us this year, which games should you spend your precious time following and what news should you be looking forward to? That's where we come in. We're going to highlight the biggest of the big games coming out this year, focusing on the titles that publishers have sworn are going to hit before the end of the year. This list doesn't include guesses of any sort, only stuff that the publishers have 100% confirmed are coming out this year. So don't count Gran Turismo 5 out just yet, but also don't hold your breath.
But first we're going to get things started with our predictions of PlayStation ongoings for 2009. This stuff isn't official, but we've been around the bend enough times to wager decent bets on each of these.
PlayStation 3 Price Drops to $299
This one may be equal parts soothsaying and raw, blind hope, but one thing is for certain: the PlayStation 3 needs to come down in price. Now. In an economy that's floundering as badly as ours -- and a worldwide economy that's doing just as badly (if not far worse in many places) -- a $400-$500 game system just isn't going to cut it. Factors like Blu-ray playback don't hold nearly as much weight when stand-alone players with the same functionality are available for half the price, and then, of course, there's the issue of all the competing systems being as much as half the price.
We can argue the semantics of what you get for that price, but it's honestly moot when it's still well beyond the introductory prices of the last few generations. Something clearly needs to change. Were we in charge, though, it'd drop not $50, but a full Benjamin to $300. We'd also make it a single SKU, but that's perhaps asking a bit much. One thing is certain, though: this one needs to come to pass.
PSN Music Store Launches
The video store coincide perfectly with the likes of Sony Pictures and the company's other movie studios. But there's a giant hole on the audio end of things that could (and should) be fixed with a PSN Music Store. Think of it as the console version of iTunes and you'll have an idea of what it could be. With the system now supporting custom soundtracks, you could download a track to your system for use in games, and also copy it to an authorized portable music player. The PSP just so happens to play music. We're just sayin'...
More on IGN.
Source:
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/946/946485p1.html
