Sony Refreshes PS3 In Japan With New White Color And 320GB HDD Option

Sony Computer Entertainment has released information on several new versions of the Playstation 3 (PS3) slim console exclusively in Japan due at the end of July. The new bundles are a generous boost in storage capacity and one model will even be available in white with matching accessories. No other hardware aspects of the console have been upgraded in this mid-life product refresh, and no official details for these models have been announced outside of Japan. We noticed that the new boxes for these consoles have a 3D label informing the consumer it’s 3D-capable, which is great. Sony also notified consumers that retailers in Japan were free to set whatever price they choose for the existing 120GB PS3 slim model, which indicates that 160GB is the new default and some interesting discounts should be available soon for the first slim version of the console.

However, it seems odd that the make.believe logo is not on the upper left of the front of the new boxes. All models will also include one DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller, AC power cord, AV cable and USB cable. No HDMI love, Sony? Boo. Little things like that make a difference.

Let’s take a look at what’s new:

Meet new PS3 slim in classic white with 160GB hard drive (CECH-2500A, Y29,980). We must admit the PS3 slim, clad in white, is much more aesthetically pleasing than the existing black version. Unfortunately the white version will not have a 320GB option. Here is a shot of the top of the console:

There are also several accessories available for the new color, including a classic white DUALSHOCK 3 controller (CECH-ZC2JLW, Y5,500):

..and also a classic white Vertical Stand (CECH-ZS1JLW):

Here is a new default PS3 slim with a 160GB hard drive (charcoal black, CECH-2500A, Y29,980):

Then the behemoth of them all – the largest capacity console ever released by a major manufacturer – a PS3 slim with 320GB of storage built-in (charcoal black, CECH-2500B, Y34,980). This is 70GB more than the closest competitor, which is the redesigned XBOX360 with 250GB of storage.

There is also the Playstation 3 Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting Recorder Pack (CECH-10011, Y36,980), which includes a PS3 slim with 160GB hard drive and torne adapter to recorder over the air broadcasts in Japan.

DC Comics Arrive on the PSP

DC Comics goes digital and the Digital Comics Service for PlayStation is one of it’s destinations.

Marvel, Image, and Darkhorse to name a few all offer digital comics in some form and for the longest time, it didn’t seem like DC had any plans to move in that to space.

But suddenly all that changed.

DC announced that, not only were they getting into digital comics, but they would launch across multiple platforms including the PSP. And they did so in grand fashion with wide range of comics being made available on day one.  With previews of the new story arc written by J. Michael Straczynski in Superman #700 and Wonder Woman’s new look  and origin in #600 potentials readers get a good look at what’s new in the DC world.

This is good move for both DC and Sony as it expands comics to a larger audience, and really opens the door for digital comics to grow and expand now that the major publishers will be in competition to deliver the best autoflow style experience.

Being the geek I am, I can’t help but make one recommendation. If your going to read a DC comic series to start off with, check out Batman: Hush. With a story by Jeph Loeb and art by Jim Lee you can’t go wrong. And the first (from what I can remember) in continuity fight between Superman and Batman in #612 is quite the story.

With over 1600 comics available for PSP, it turns out to be yet another value add for the platform. If you haven’t yet, head over to the Digital Comics site where you can view the entire catalog of what’s available.

Releases are not quite day and date yet, but give it time.

Andrew Garfield Will Be Peter Parker In The Next Spider-Man Movie

Andrew Garfield (born in 1983) is an actor who has appeared in radio, theater, film, and television, including the 2007 movies Lions for Lambs and Boy A, and 2009′s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Sony Pictures official twitter has just updated with the breaking news that Andrew Garfield will be Peter Parker in the next Spider Man movie. Sony is definitely gambling a lot on this fresh new face in Hollywood. Spider-Man is one Sony’s biggest movie franchises of all time, but it did need a reboot. Can Garfield do it? He has a very strong British accent (hence the US/UK dual citizenship), so we may have to prepare ourselves for a fancy Englishman shooting webs all over NYC. Or maybe the next Spider-Man will be in the UK? Oh boy.

Garfield will probably be more of a catch with the ladies than Tobey Maguire was – he made a modeling debut and appeared in a Vogue December 2009 issue alongside Lily Cole as Hansel in the photographed retelling of Hansel and Gretel. Garfield also appears in the forthcoming British sci-fi thriller Never Let Me Go and is filming The Social Network, alongside actors Justin Timberlake and Jesse Eisenberg.

Spider-Man swings back onto the screen in 3D on July 3, 2012. The new film will begin production in early December directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt. Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad will produce the film from Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios.

On selecting Garfield, director Marc Webb said, “Though his name may be new to many, those who know this young actor’s work understand his extraordinary talents. He has a rare combination of intelligence, wit, and humanity. Mark my words, you will love Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker.”

Commenting on the announcement, Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Matt Tolmach, President of Columbia Pictures said, “Spider-Man is a classic superhero — a young man who balances his responsibility to serve humanity and crush evil with the shyness and normalcy of someone struggling to find himself. The role demands an extraordinary actor. You need someone who can magically transform himself from Peter Parker into Spider-Man. An actor who will depict the vulnerability of youth and the strength and confidence of a legendary figure at the same moment. We have found that actor in Andrew Garfield. From the first time we saw him in the upcoming film The Social Network, to his glorious screen test, which floored all of us, we knew that we had found our new Peter Parker.”

Sony Releases 3D Sweep Panorama Firmware Update For NEX Cameras

Sony has updated the firmware for their lightweight interchangeable lens NEX cameras and added several features, such as enabling the 3D Sweep Panorama function. 3D Panoramic pictures are still very new to consumer digital imaging, and the NEX series is one of the only cameras in the world that can even take such pictures right out of the box without additional hassle. However, to view the amazing panoramic photos in 3D, you will need a 3DTV or a 3D-capable laptop that Sony is sure to launch sometime in the next six months. It can ultimately become a very expensive proposition to view 3D photos if you consider all the things necessary for that configuration, but I have seen these 3D photos on a 3DTV and they are quite amazing.

Sony has also included an improvement to the ‘normal’ 2D Sweep Panorama shooting function, decreased power drain when the camera is switched off, and enabled quicker start-up in low-light conditions.

• NEX-3 owners grab your Version .02 firmware update here.
• NEX-5 owners grab your Version .02 firmware update here.

Lebanon Could Be The Greatest Tank Movie Ever Made

Lebanon is an Israeli war film directed by Samuel Maoz. It won the Leone d’Oro at the 66th Venice International Film Festival, becoming the first Israeli-produced film to have won that honor. The film has not yet had a wide release, but shall debut in American theaters courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics on August 6th.

The First Lebanon War – June, 1982. A lone tank is dispatched to search a hostile town that has already been bombarded by the Israeli Air Force. What seems to be a simple mission gradually spins out of control. Shmuel the gunner, Assi the commander, Herzl the loader and Yigal the driver are the tank’s crew, four 20-something boys who have never fought in a war and are now operating a killing machine. Though trying to remain brave, the boys are pushed to their mental limits as they struggle to survive in a situation they cannot contain, and try not to lose their humanity in the chaos of war.

Writer-director Samuel Maoz’s raw and visceral film is based on his own experiences as a twenty year old novice soldier serving in the Israeli army during the 1982 Lebanon war. Using his own vivid recollections to bring us inside an Israeli tank during the first 24 hours of the invasion, Maoz restricts the film’s action entirely to the tank’s interior and shows us the outside world only—as the four young soldiers themselves see it—through the lens of a periscopic gun sight. The cathartic process of writing and directing Lebanon allowed Maoz to finally free himself of the events that he had experienced twenty-five years earlier.

The New York Times described Lebanon as “an astonishing piece of cinema.”