Sony’s decision to remove this feature may have been borne out of the desire to save a few more dollars on production costs but I always felt that the company actually lost more because backwards compatibility is a major come-on for established PS2 gamers with an extensive games library to jump on the PS3 bandwagon. But based on a recent patent that Sony Computer Entertainment filed in the US patent Office, Sony may have a way to put backwards compatibility on PS3s once again.

Sony has apparently found a way to translate the instructions from the Emotion Engine into data that can be referenced by the PS3. The figures above are schematics on how the technology will actually work.

So the question is, will we see this new technology in play as a firmware upgrade in the near future?

First off, the graphics have vastly improved. Everything is now more detailed – from the character models (you actually get to read Manny Pacquiao’s arm tattoos) to the environments. I’m still on the fence with regards to the generally brighter visuals because the darker lighting of Round 3 kind of suited the whole feel of the sport.

I’m still getting used to the controls at this point. My initial impression is that the controls are a bit floaty. It’s so much easier to throw punches and, boy, do they throw them very quickly. This is the reason why I initially think that the whole game feels arcade-y. The controls of Round 3 are not perfect but you feel the heft of the boxers when you try to throw punches. I appreciate the addition of the ability to back away with your guard up, which I think was a criminally left out of the previous game. Weaving is also a good addition, although it is a bit hard to execute. And talking about hard to execute, the new mini-game when your boxer gets KO’ed is really confusing. I still don’t know up to now if I’m doing the correct thing.

I don’t know if it’s an inside joke on the part of the EA team to use Ricky Hatton as the boxer you control in the tutorial with Pacquiao as the dummy, especially since after Hatton made a virtual punching bag of Pacquiao, the latter knocks out Hatton with one punch.

The demo has left with many questions unanswered and kind of tempered my over-all excitement for the game. But I’m still going to get this on launch day.

Though I do not mean that question to be taken literally, I am pretty sure that many of you (this includes me!) have actually used their netbooks or mobile phones in the bathroom. Anyhow, I ordered some nice soaps – yes the kind that you use to wash your hands – from Etsy a couple of months ago.

As you can surmise, I am on an Etsy roll…so what about these soaps? The Etsy shop that sells this soap is Digital Soap, run by Chrystal. She makes natural soaps, without using animal products, detergents, and the like. All her products are also NOT tested on animals, so if you’re sensitive that way, Chrystal’s products are safe for you.

The best thing about her soaps are their shapes! The set that I ordered included a couple of PS3 controller soaps and a mobile phone soap. I actually got them as a joke for my husband who, for some reason, does not think that washing his hands more than once a day is necessary. I was thinking that if the soap were shaped as a controller, he might actually be enticed to use it.

Seriously though, Chrystal’s soaps are so cool. They smell great and they serve as awesome conversation pieces when you have guests.

Microsoft has insisted that the DLCs will only be available for its console but timed exclusivity was never mentioned or even discussed. And this gray area may have been the reason for the recent reports that the GTAIV DLCs will come to the PS3 this coming August. According to various European sites, Microsoft only has a six month exclusivity deal for the DLC, and this will expire in August — which means PS3 gamers will get their hands on the DLC soon after the exclusivity agreement lapses.

Although Sony and Take-Two Interactive (publisher of the game) declined to comment Microsoft, uncharacteristically enough for the company, issued a statement that the GTAIV DLCs “are exclusive to Xbox 360.” It may sound like a firm statement but there are still people who interpret this statement as Microsoft skirting the actual issue of exclusivity, which in fairness, the company did not address conclusively.

I guess we’ll see in August if there really is an exclusivity agreement that will lapse.

There’s no secret around the fact that the PS3 is destined to have a firmware update coming fairly soon. What is perhaps more of a mystery is exactly what this update will bring, the benefits, and sometimes of course, the disadvantages. Over at Game Trailers, a forum user has given details from his ‘friend who works in R&D at Sony‘ that includes a range of features that the forthcoming 2.7 firmware update will bring. Here’s the list:

Friends List:
- Voice Messaging is now available as an alternative to text after selecting a user on the friends list. Voice message recordings are capped at 30 seconds.
- Home Integration: Saved PlayStation Home avatar photos can be selected as photo ID for Gamer Card/Friends List.
- Trophy number and Gamer Level are listed under Friend names for quick reference.

Gamer Card & Trophies:
- Gamer Card layout has been changed to more closely resemble the PlayStation Store aesthetic.
- Past Trophy information can be viewed in detail by selecting “Recent Trophy History” option.
- Newly acquired trophies auto-sync in the background
- Server infrastructure for Trophies has been optimized. Resulting in faster retrieval time for Gamer Card and Trophy information.

In-Game XMB:
- Loading time for In-Game XMB has been drastically reduced, resulting in a more seamless in-game experience.
- “Theme settings” options while in-game is now available, allowing custom themes to be applied to the In-Game XMB.
- Internet Browser can now be accessed while in-game.
- Voice messaging and voice chat options can be used while in-game.
- Options that cannot be used in the XMB during game sessions are grayed out (but still selectable) to eliminate user accessibility confusion.

The biggest benefits? I think people will naturally flock to the voice messaging (something the Xbox 360 has had for a long time now), the “Recent Trophy History” sounds quite interesting and the “Theme settings” could be good. The improved game integration will be a boon to all. Overall, I think if this leak is true, then PS3 owners are in for a treat of new options when the firmware update, 2.7, arrives.

Apparently, DLC’s are region-specific, so if you have a region 4 disc, like I do, then tough luck. You’ll have to find a way of buying content from the Australian Playstation store. I think this is one of the things that Sony has to work on soon. True compatibility is so dismal that something as simple as downloading content should not be a problem anymore. I don’t know the logic of Sony for making content region-specific, it just makes it harder to buy stuff and it’s also a big letdown for certain countries that won’t be able to buy content from other regional stores. I really think Sony dropped the ball on this one.

Joining is quite easy. Interested gamers only need to download a Playstation Home theme that Sony will release. The download is automatically considered as an application to join the beta. Present Home beta users are already automatically included in the expanded beta.