3.40

preGAME 20: Singularity

This week on preGAME, we're wielding the power of time travel in our hands as we take a look at Singularity, Raven Software's new historical fiction thriller.

But first, we'll talk about a few new deals going on for Xbox Live starting with the "Gold for $1" promotion that offers current Xbox Live Silver members a month long upgrade to Gold for just $1. After that initial $1 charge, it's the normal $50 for the entire year. Xbox 360 owners also has access to a handful of quality discounted XBLA games this week like … Read more

PS3 update 3.40 brings PlayStation Plus, video editing, and more

Rumors of a fee-based PlayStation Network subscription service swirled before E3 2010, and Sony officially announced the product at its press conference. Starting Tuesday, PS3 owners can sign up for PlayStation Plus by installing firmware update 3.40.

With update 3.40 come some other enhancements, including a new network-based photo-sharing application that allows users to upload, comment on, and share items on Facebook and Picasa, or between their PSN friends. Other minor tweaks include new power settings (auto-off is now two hours by default), and a rating system for items available in the PlayStation Store.

Sony is also giving … Read more

New firmware for Canon 40D and Nikon D3, D700

The top two SLR makers have released relatively minor firmware revisions for three cameras, Nikon's higher-end full-frame D3 and D700 and Canon's prosumer-grade EOS 40D.

The fixes generally address rare and unusual problems. One notable fix for the D3 and D700 is for a problem which, as Nikon describes it, "in extremely rare cases, resulted in noticeable black dots in images captured with Long exp. NR (long exposure noise reduction) in the shooting menu set to On." Canon fixed a black-dot issue of its own with the EOS 5D Mark II earlier this month, but Nikon's issue sounds rarer.

Forthwith, the release notes: … Read more

Sony confirms cheaper 40GB PS3 for Europe; U.S. version to follow?

The rumors were true, almost to the letter. Sony Europe has confirmed the existence of a new entry-level PlayStation 3. Scheduled to hit stores on the Continent on October 10, the new PS3 has been stripped down to hit a lower price point: it's got a smaller 40GB hard drive, no built-in flash media reader, and two (rather than four) USB ports. But the biggest change appears to be the loss of backward compatibility with PS2 games. Sony's release specifies that "[t]he new model is no longer backwards compatible with PlayStation 2 titles, reflecting both the … Read more