Company moves quickly to dismiss claims, FIFA 08 multi-console online play now live and Omega Five Xbox 360 screens
In what has to be one of the quickest times we've ever seen a big videogames company react to news, Sony has come out fighting amid claims that the new 40GB PS3 is suffering a 40 per cent failure rate. A Dutch website claimed nearly half of all PS3 were being returned by disgruntled gamers. This news was apparently sourced from a Belgian retail chain, which claimed that users were experiencing problems with the Blu-Ray disc drive that rendered discs unreadable. However, it turns out to be entirely false - with the offending site now posting a groveling apology in place of the original accusatory story. Sony meanwhile has stepped up the offensive by issuing the following tersely worded statement: "Sony can categorically deny that there is a 40 per cent failure rate on the newly release 40GB PS3 as has been reported on a Dutch website. Having launched in October, the 40GB PS3 has encountered the same industry leading, very low failure rates, comparable to the low level failure rates of the 60GB PS3." "We are very proud of the quality and reliability of PLAYSTATION 3 and are disappointed that such extremely sloppy journalism has resulted in this totally inaccurate story," said David Reeves, President, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. "Since launching the 40GB PS3, we have experienced a fantastic jump in sales and the failure rates have remained at the very low level that we not only strive for, but have been achieving since the launch of PS3." Meanwhile, EA threw the switch today on a free downloaded feature called Online Team Play that will enable 10 people on 10 different consoles anywhere in the world to connect online to play a single match of FIFA 08. The new feature is automatically available for the Xbox 360 and PS3 when connected online. Be A Pro: Online Team Play in FIFA 08 enables up to five friends on five different consoles to select and take control of their own individual players on the same team, supported by AI teammates, to play against up to five rivals playing on five different consoles of another team. You can choose to play as a single, fixed player the entire game, with free roaming players, or teams can have a combination of both. Think of it like the ultimate playground battle of which console is better - except it's played out on a football pitch - with sliding tackles! Finally, we round the week off with a selection of brand new screens from the forthcoming Xbox 360 title Omega Five. No it's nothing to do with healthy oils and skin care, it's a retro-style space shooter that is set to debut on Xbox Live by the end of the month.
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