Gran Turismo gets its own PSP Bundle on October 20

PlayStation Portable Entertainment Packs are like the weather in Kentucky: if you don't like what's going on right now, wait fifteen minutes and you'll get something different. Sony has announced one more Entertainment Pack that's coming on October 20 for $199.99. What will you get with that package?

• Gran Turismo—Developed exclusively for the PSP system by the internal team of designers and engineers at Polyphony Digital, Gran Turismo features more than 800 vehicle models from the world’s top manufacturers (over 4,500 total paint variations) and 35 tracks (60+ total layouts)—including famous world circuits, city courses and other environments. Seasoned Gran Turismo fans will recognize the depth of content and unparalleled visuals the series is known for, including graphics running at a stunning 60 frames per second. Additionally, a first in the Gran Turismo series is the ability to trade and share unlocked vehicles with others online via ad hoc mode, a feature that is not available in any other racing game on the PSP system. Rated “E” for everyone.
• Exclusive car download—Includes an exclusive PlayStation Network voucher to download a white version of the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 for Gran Turismo, the same car featured on the cover of the game.
• PlayStation Network movie voucher—Consumers can easily download a movie from the PlayStation Network to their PSP system. Title to be announced.
• 2GB Memory Stick PRO Duo—Leverages the PSP system’s multimedia functionality by storing photos, music, videos, and game saves.
• Music voucher—Consumers can download 10 free songs onto their PC or Mac using Sony Music Pass. Available to U.S. residents only.

Not a bad deal for $199.99, especially if you're not interested in the PSP Go. Lord knows we'll get a few more Entertainment Packs in the coming months, so we look forward to making more regional humor in the near future.
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PlayStation Store Update: Can't get no satisfaction edition

Another Thursday has passed, and that means another weekly update to the PlayStation Store. This week features a brand new episode of Qore, which takes a look at Uncharted 2, Gran Turismo PSP, Brutal Legend, and the PSP Go.

On the gaming front, 2K Sports has released NBA 2K10: Draft Combine ($4.99), which allows users to create their own player and guide them through the process of an NBA draft. The downloadable game also connects to the retail version of NBA 2K10, so users can then see how their hopeful fares in the big leagues. Also hitting the store is Battle Tanks ($9.99), a multiplayer action game where you...battle tanks. Cool Boarders 3 is also available as a PSOne Classic for $5.99

Capcom is offering a pair of bundles this week for those who missed out on some of their terrific downloadable games. The Capcom Super Pack ($49.99) includes the following: Super Street Fighter II HD Remix, Flock!, Age of Booty, 1942, Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando, Super Puzzle Fighter II HD Remix, and Rocket Man: Axis of Evil with the It Came From Uranus add-on pack. Meanwhile the Capcom Combo Pack ($29.99) features: 1942, Wolf of the Battlefield, SPF2HDR, R:AoE and add-on pack.

We also have a pair of demos available for both Fight Night Round 4 and the previously mentioned NBA 2K10: Draft Combine. In terms of add-on content, F.E.A.R. 2 is getting a new map pack for $9.99, while Pain gets a host of new characters for $0.99 each, or $1.99 for the bundle.

DLC returns to Guitar Hero with the release of GH5, and it includes the following Rolling Stones songs:

* "I'm Free (Live)"
* "Prodigal Son (Live)
* "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Live)"
* "Under My Thumb (Live)"
* "You Gotta Move (Live)"
* The Rolling Stones Live Track Pack ($8.99)

Meanwhile Rock Band gamers get the following singles:

* “And She Was”— Talking Heads
* “Crosseyed and Painless”— Talking Heads
* “Girlfriend Is Better”— Talking Heads
* “Once in a Lifetime”— Talking Heads
* “Take Me to the River”— Talking Heads
* Talking Heads Pack 01 ($8.49)
* “Bat Country”— Avenged Sevenfold
* “Supersonic (Live)”— Oasis
* “Guerrilla Radio”— Rage Against the Machine
* “Going Underground”— The Jam
* “Town Called Malice”— The Jam

Rock Band: Unplugged, meanwhile, gets both "Lucid Dreams" by Franz Ferdinand and "Riad N' the Bedouins" by Guns N' Roses. As per usual all music tracks are $1.99 each.

As for the PSP, it gets a pair of new downloadable games, including the original Patapon ($15.99) and the fighting game Fate/Unlimited Codes ($29.99). Both the PSP and PS3 also get a number of different premium themes this week, as well as the usual assortment of trailers and other video content. And that's this week's PlayStation Store update.


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Sony casting for reality star: a game tester?

Auditioning for reality shows is a pain: waiting in line lasts for hours, forcing you to stand around with a slew of other hopeful cast members who act as obnoxious as possible in order to attract attention from camera crews. For many of us, spending ten to twenty hours waiting around in line is time that would be far better spent sitting on a comfortable couch and playing the latest games with our friends. Now, though, gamers are getting a chance at their own reality show, thanks to Sony.

Dubbed "The Tester," open casting for the show is set to start soon, according to the Playstation Blog. An undisclosed number of hopeful gamers will "face-off in a series of elimination challenges designed to test their mental toughness, endurance, and video game knowledge as they compete for a job working as a PlayStation game tester." The show's winner will get a job working in the Quality Assurance department at Sony's San Diego offices.

In the meantime, anyone interested in being a part of this show can try out for a cast position on the official audition site. According to Eurogamer, the show is being created by 51 Minds Entertainment, the group behind many of VH1's hit "celebreality" TV series. The series will supposedly be hitting the Playstation Store this winter, and viewers can purchase individual episodes or buy a series pass.


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Sony Adds a Little Chrome to the VAIO

If you buy a new Sony VAIO computer, you're going to get a new browser. No, Internet Explorer isn't going anywhere. But Financial Times is reporting that Sony has signed a deal to preinstall Google's Chrome on its PCs. Chrome-equipped machines are making their way to customers even as we speak.

I'm not sure whether Chrome is now the defaultbrowser on new Sony computers-the FT doesn't explicitly say so, although Download Squad does-but it's an interesting development. For years, Microsoft has benefited hugely from the fact that IE is the default browser shipped on most of the world's personal computers. Some folks discover IE this way and continue to use it because they like it; many others keep on running it out of sheer inertia.

Sony is only one manufacturer, but the FT reports that Google says it's working on similar arrangements with other companies. What if it were able to strike deals with, say, HP, Dell, and Acer? Maybe by cutting them in on the advertising revenue it gets from searches performed with Chrome's toolbar and default homepage?

For a browser that's nearly a year old and which is backed by the most powerful company on the Web, Chrome has failed to catch show explosive growth-Ars Technica says that around two or three percent of Internet users run it. (The Technologizer community is apparently a lot fonder of Chrome than the Internet at large-about eight percent of you visit the site via Chrome.) It's still not entirely clear to me whether Google sees Chrome as a side project, a prank, or a core component of its mission. And it can't pummel IE into submission until it's caught up with Firefox (which, according to a new report, is used by more than 23% of all Internet users). But if any browser company is in a position to nudge IE out of its position as the world's default browser, it's Chrome.

Meanwhile, I kind of like the system Microsoft came up with to pacify Europe's concerns over IE: aballot screen that lets Windows 7 users pick whatever browser they prefer. Wouldn't it be cool if Chrome, Firefox, Flock, IE, Opera, Rockmelt, Safari, and any other worthwhile browser that came along all got an equal shot at being the world's most popular browser-based on quality alone?

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