In an effort to dispel the swirling rumors of a price cut for Sony’s Play Station, Howard Stringer, Sony’s CEO, spoke out on rumor topics during his appearance at the Allen & Co conference in Idaho. Nor does Sony plan on selling hordes of shares to win through the slowdown. The rumors and urges for a PlayStation cost cut came from Activision Blizzard, Inc., a formidable video game publisher. Robert Kotick, Activiion’s CEO has threatened to cease production of PlayStation games if the console’s prices don’t drop.

The two companies, Sony and Activision, as businesses do, make moves that help stimulate and expand their business. “He likes to make a lot of noise,” was Stringer’s assessment of Kotick’s comments. “He’s putting pressure on me and I’m putting pressure on him.”

But for all the pressure, Stringer does not plan on lowering prices anytime soon. If he did Sony would “lose money on every PlayStation I make,” he said. And that is not something Stringer wants to do.

With a struggling U.S. market and only the faintest of glimmers on the horizon, Stringer is not in a mood for major risk-taking. He hopes that the appeal of a new trim design for the PlayStation 3 may be the fuel for higher sales—not lower prices.

Some of the more promising glimmers seem to be in Asia, with China specifically making promise of a quick rebound. “I see green shoots, but it’s a very light shade of green,” he explained, commenting on his upcoming recession panel participation.

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It’s good news for penny-pinching game lovers. Both Sony and Microsoft, developers of the Play Station and Xbox, respectively, are likely planning price cuts that will heighten competition and liven up the sagging gaming market. Ars Technica’s “inside source” claims that, in addition to the systems being available at a lower price, they will also be more powerful.

Don’t expect to go to Best Buy today and find a cheap Xbox. The price drops are not expected until this fall at the earliest. The cost-cut comes just in time for the holidays and just in time for some serious hardware upgrades for both Sony’s and Microsoft’s systems.

From the Microsoft corner, the Xbox 360 is going to receive the much-awaited standard upgrade to the ‘Elite’ model—a 120GB gaming machine that offers a few more perks than the less-powerful Xbox 360 Pro. Presently, the Xbox 360 Pro offers a 60 GB hard drive and retails for $299. The beefier Xbox 350 Elite comes with a $399 price tag, plus the roomier storage capability. If the rumors are correct, gamers can expect to purchase the sweeter Xbox at the lower price. The Pro may be phased out, giving way to the Elite as the standard Xbox.

Sony’s trick is, perhaps, a bit more exciting. Gamers have been salivating for months over the rumors of a PS3 Slim. The price cut plus the holiday season, plus a shrinking stock of PS3s (80GB version) may equal a drop in price of the 160GB PS3 and the release of PS3 Slim.

Although it’s all mere speculation at the time, the story goes something like this. If Sony keeps selling the 60GB PS3s at the rate they are currently, they will run out of them by early September. To replace them, the 160GB versions will be much more readily available. Thus, like the Xbox 360 maneuver, 160GB versions of the PS3 may become the garden variety PS3 by this fall—with a welcome price cut (maybe). To replace the phased-out 60GB model and up the ante for holiday-hungry consumers, the PS3 Slim just may make its debut (maybe).

Ars Technica’s conclusion is pretty confirmatory: “These moves all make sense: the systems are becoming less expensive to build, and hard drive space doesn’t cost much to add… although it does make a good story when you have more storage to offer consumers. With Microsoft selling entire games through Xbox Live, the Elite has become far more important.” Yet rumors are rumors, so you’ll have to keep tracking this one as real details are released.

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Remember Wolfenstein? Doom? Quake? The brains behind those award-winning, ground-breaking games, id Software, is now part of ZeniMax Media, Inc., and more specifically belongs to ZeniMax’s gaming-focused division, Bethesda Softworks. The acquisition was announced today, with the hope that the marriage “brings together two of world’s best game studios.”

The Texas-based id Software has carved out an impressive niche in the gaming market for pioneering efforts the first-person shooter field. For nearly twenty years, id has been building an empire of classic game series like Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein, and the not-yet-released Rage. The success and longevity of id Software is highly respected among gaming companies.

Few companies in the gaming industry remain independent, especially for as long as id Software has. And for financial backing, continued security, and long-term success, id Software is now part of the much-larger ZeniMax Media. In spite of the acquisition, id Software will function as it has all along—developing high-quality games. In fact, id is in the process of developing Rage, a futuristic car-racing game. Although Electronic Arts will still publish Rage, ZeniMax Media is entitled to all future publications.

In addition to being an all-systems go for game development, id hopes to grow, according to one of the founding fathers of id Software, John Carmack. “Now, id can expand,” he told reporters. “It is going to mean a lot for us.” What was the problem before? Carmack explains, “the sense of competing with your publishers…that definitely has an impact on a lot of the areas of our business.” The scene had become too complicated. Working with, or rather “competing with,” their own publishers became cumbersome and unprofitable. In the new arrangement, id Software will do what it’s truly good at—make awesome games.

The mind muscle behind those awesome games remains, since senior software developers are still working for id. Long-term contracts, signed by the principals, means that management, creative ideas, and a passion for high-quality gaming remain id’s core activity.

id is in good hands. After all, Bethesda Game Studios, the division of ZeniMax under which id falls, is a premier game developer in its own right. Just last year, they rallied dozens and dozens of Game of the Year Awards for games such as Fallout and The Elder Scrolls. With the merger finally complete, we can probably expect id studios, now under new ownership, to feed the appetites of hungry gamers who are more interested in cool games than they are in who owns who.

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Star Trek is probably the longest running sci-fi franchise in existence, and merchandising around the popular series has been fanatical for many years. In the world of gaming, Star Trek game designers have developed a suite of amazing games. The latest is in development by a company called Cryptic Studios and will be called Star Trek Online; you can read the latest news and views at http://www.startrekonline.com

The new Star Trek universe will place lovers of MMO games into a very immersive universe. There is no need to worry about being a trekkie or even knowing anything about Star Trek to be able to enjoy the game when it is released, according to Cryptic Studios. No announcement on a live date has been decided yet and no applications for beta testers are being advertised either. It is clear from the web site that production is storming ahead in-house.

Take a peek at the new gameplay QuickTime video that shows some staggering sequences from the current game production at https://www.startrekonline.com/videos. You can also see Leonard Nimoy introduce the game at a Star Trek convention before the chief creative officer of Cryptic Studios, Jack Emmert, appears to talk about the game facets and answer all those trekkie questions.

Cryptic Studios are well known for their popular online games such as City Of Heroes and City Of Villains. The marketing approach for Star Trek Online has been a little drawn out with the company bringing awareness to MMO gamers and Star Trek fans via the site months before any sign of a live date. The company promises trek fans that this is a wait worth bearing as the game will place you in the star trek universe.

It kicks off in the year 2409 (about 30 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis) with you selecting a character from a number of races to be the commander of your own starship. The realism of the Star Trek experience will be firmly in place. As captain of your own starship, you will then create AI controlled crew members for your starship and then head off into deep space. Your character will be able to beam down to planets and engage in away missions.

The game has a tool that customizes your race if you so wish using a clever little graphic design program with ‘point and click’ ease of use. Your imagination will be the limit here as you can construct an entirely new Star Trek universe alien being. This is a fantastic difference as you can apply whatever characteristics come to your vivid mind.

The Star Trek online site hosts a community where you can discuss the game with other enthusiasts. It’s worth taking a look at the impressive screenshots from the game as these give you a clearer view of the diverse detail incorporated into the graphics engine. The designers are taking great pains to ensure that the MMO universe includes the star trek elements such as the Borg, Cardassians, and Klingons. Apparently, the game will have some differences that will excite trekkies further such as new races and new interplanetary relationships with Starfleet.

The feel of the MMO genre is not lost as a community building world is still the focus of the game. There will be a strong social networking feel as has come to be expected in these games. You will be able to engage in the missions or go off on your own journey. Either way, collaboration with players worldwide is possible while posted at far away locations in Space. If you love the explorer in you, missions that entail making contact with new civilizations will be nothing short of a thrill ride.

It will be exciting to see how the game progresses towards its first alpha release. With the level of details seen already, Star Trek online is set to occupy a place in the world of Space MMO gaming. Hostile races, fast gameplay…..we can’t wait. C’mon Cryptic Studios, an alpha release please.

Engage!

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