DCEmu.com

While there have been occasional reports of previous PS3 firmware upgrades causing system crashes and so forth, Sony's new firmware upgrade for the system, 3.41, is apparently stopping PS3 owners from upgrading their hard disks. This problem has been encountered by many users on Sony's forums and occurs when you try to put a new hard disk into a PS3 that already has the firmware upgrade installed. The general course of action for upgrading a PS3's drive is that you download the latest PS3 firmware onto a memory stick and, after swapping the hard drive in the PS3, plug the stick in, allowing the PS3 to properly prepare the disk for use. But as of upgrade 3.41, the PS3 fails to recognize the firmware on the stick, complaining that it can't proceed until you insert the correct firmware. Repeating the process and re-downloading the firmware does not fix the problem, as I can confirm, having encountered the problem myself. Users can put the old hard disk back in, provided they've not reformatted it for some other purpose, so all is not lost. Sony have apparently told gaming website CVG that 'The information available to our Consumer Services Department does not suggest that this is a problem PlayStation owners are likely to experience when upgrading the HDD with 3.41 update.' This seems to fly in the face of the currently available information — although whether or not this statement was issued by Kevin Butler is unclear. Either way, PS3 owners encountering this problem will likely have to wait a few days for a fix and use their old HDDs for now.

http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/07/30/2345205/New-PS3-Firmware-Causing-HDD-Upgrade-Problems

The internal Bethesda Softworks development team has no plans to develop for Nintendo systems because it feels its games are graphically and thematically better suited to other formats.

That's according to executive producer Todd Howard, who told IndustryGamers, "The stuff we're doing is a better fit on the other platforms. You can never say never, but I think for the kind of games that we like to play and make, it fits the other platforms."

Howard acknowledged that this was more down to a mismatch of audiences than any kind of prejudice.

"Even if there's going to be some bigger, more mature games on it, the system, for better or worse, has been moved to this demographic [of casual gaming]," he said.

"If we had an idea that we thought would really take advantage of that platform, we would do something for it. Usually, we're thinking more in terms of graphically doing things that the other systems do. That's what we get excited about."

Nor is Bethesda considering iPhone or social game development for the time being, although in each case for different reasons.

"Once the id thing came about [Bethesda owner ZeniMax acquired id Software in 2009], they were doing enough mobile stuff that I kind of felt, 'OK, they're doing some really good stuff right now; let's see how that market goes before I start putting my own time or other people's time into something that, at the end of the day, might be a distraction from the bigger game that we need to be making.'" Howard explained when asked about iPhone.

"At the end of the day, [it] might be a distraction from the bigger game that we need to be making. For now, it's definitely on the back burner."

As for social platforms like Facebook and the success of games like Farmville... "I've got to be honest, I don't get it," said Howard. "I look at it and try to understand but for now I've just decided to ignore it."

Bethesda Softworks is currently working on an unannounced project that we assume everyone hopes is a new Elder Scrolls game...

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/bethesda-no-plans-for-wii-iphone-social

LucasArts has insisted upcoming Star Wars sequel The Force Unleashed II remains on target for an October release despite the executive producer's decision to quit.

Executive producer and writer of the Force Unleashed videogame series, Haden Blackman, resigned from LucasArts yesterday after 13 years with the studio, IGN reports.

"I've had a fantastic time working with the team at Lucasfilm and am really grateful for their ongoing support," Blackman said in a statement.

"While the decision to leave LucasArts did not happen overnight or come easily, I really feel that now is the best time for me to move on and explore new creative challenges and I look forward to the next phase of my career."

LucasArts said Blackman's departure will not affect the game's development.

"From launching Behind the Magic to delivering Star Wars: The Force Unleashed I and II, Haden has been an invaluable member of the team during his tenure with the company," LucasArts told GamePro.

"We are extremely grateful for his many contributions, fully support him in his new endeavours and wish him all the best in the future."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/force-unleashed-iis-main-man-quits

Activision may be offering similar bundle deals for Call of Duty: Black Ops to those it offered for last year's Modern Warfare 2.

That's if retailer listings for Hardened and Prestige versions of the first-person shooter uncovered by IGN are to be trusted.

The listings on Buy.com, since pulled, offered no information on contents but had $79.99 and $149.99 price points respectively.

Activision told the site, "We haven't made any announcements to date."

The Hardened edition of Modern Warfare 2 came in a steelbook case and included a hardback art book and a redeemable code for the Call of Duty Classic downloadable PSN and XBLA game.

The Prestige version, meanwhile, included a pair of working night-vision goggles, which yours truly bought a friend for Christmas. Apparently they spend a lot of time in the dark under his bed.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/black-ops-to-have-hardened-prestige-vers