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Looks like it’s not just Sony that wants to belittle Activision for its infamous comments about a PS3 price cut. BioWare founder Greg Zeschuk has joined in to criticize Bobby Kotick’s remarks, casting aside his threat to pull Playtation support as a silly thing.

"I don’t think it’s really fair to poke fun at Sony," he explains. "Certainly the Wii’s been a massive success and Sony’s probably not going as fast as they thought it would be but I think that they’re starting to make the right moves and the software’s coming along.

"I think it’s silly to be saying you’re not going to support Sony. The brand itself is still huge and there are millions of [users] out there."

As I said in an article this weekend, It is more than likely that Kotick’s threats were rather empty. Evil publisher Activision likes money, and there is still money to be had from the PlayStation brand. However, I think mocking the world’s biggest third party publisher is equally silly, at least as far as Sony goes. 

This PS3 price cut drama is set to continue for quite a while, methinks. Some people are sick of it, certainly, but I do so love to see some corporate mudslinging. Long may it continue.

I have earned myself a reputation as a "Sony basher" and a "PS3 hater" by people who clearly do not know the difference between the two. Contrary to popular belief, I do not hate the PlayStation 3. In fact, I love it, and at the time of writing, it is my favorite current-generation console. This could change in the future, as my favorite system is decided by what games are appealing to me at any given moment, not by which one my Mommy and Daddy just happened to get me for Christmas. Right now, the PS3 is top of my chart.

However, it is true that I bash Sony, frequently and without mercy. This is because I do love the PS3, and all I see is a company squandering a great piece of technology and mindlessly posturing instead of taking the time to examine its own faults. Sony is acting like it’s king of the hill, like it’s the industry leader, when it’s currently holding third place. 

I’m a Sony basher, but it’s only because I don’t hate the PS3, not because I do. The simple fact of the matter is this: Sony needs to STFU, because the constantly flapping mouths of the platform holder’s PR department is the single biggest problem the PlayStation 3 has.

For the past three years, Sony has conducted itself with an arrogance and smugness that it simply doesn’t deserve. We should have been clued in to just how bad Sony’s mouth was going to fuck the PlayStation 3 when it dragged forth its notoriously awful 2006 E3 press conference. The one where Kaz Hirai shouted "RIIIIIDGE RACER," to a silent audience, and announced the PS3 price point of "599 US Dollars" as if he were doing the world a favor. Before the PlayStation 3 was even given life, Sony had managed to make it memorable for a series of running jokes more than anything else.

Since that time, Sony has systematically set about using words to reduce the PS3 to a laughing stock. If they’re not explicitly saying something stupid, Sony executives are instead choosing to flap their gums instead of doing something practical to help the PlayStation brand regain its place as the dominant leader. Sony has bred contempt from consumers and encouraged a lack of confidence in publishers, with its recent stream of bullshit truly indicating just how out of touch with reality those in charge have become.

As you may already know, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick recently threatened to pull support from Sony if it didn’t cut the price of the PS3. Now, whether or not Sony does what Activision wants is not what matters to me. I bought my PlayStation 3 last year, and I’m relatively happy with what I got for my money. It’s not going to affect my life, one way or another, if the PS3 has a price drop. However, when Activision says something, you really need to listen. What you don’t do, is what Howard Stringer chose to do, and basically laugh at the most powerful third party publisher in the world. 

"He certainly likes to make a lot of noise," was Stringer’s blasé response. "I lose money on every PlayStation I make."

Let’s get one thing clear right now — Sony needs Activision more than Activision needs Sony. Activision makes a metric fuck-ton of money on the Wii, PC, Xbox 360 and DS. It could halt production of all PS3 games today and still be rolling in money tomorrow. That’s not to say that Activision is prepared right now to pull support from Sony — Activision loves money, and it still makes money from the PlayStation brand. However, why Sony feels it should further antagonize Activision, I do not know, but it makes Sony’s PR department look like clueless dipshits … as usual. 

Regardless of whether or not Activision’s threat is empty, it’s still the world’s largest third party publisher and you don’t respond to a company that influential by essentially laughing at it and making light of its concerns. I don’t like Activision as a company in the slightest, but when it talks, you need to fucking listen. Sony, however, would rather chat shit than listen to anything but the sound of its own voice. This is not going to help.

Then there’s the much-lauded "ten year cycle." 

This is basically Sony’s get-out clause, the same crutch it’s been leaning on for the past three years. As I’ve stated in the past, it’s very much the same excuse that certain religious folk use when they say "God moves in mysterious ways." It’s a vague and purpose-built justification for any illogical fallacy and unexplained stupidity that Sony might commit. Also, because it’s based upon things that are yet to be proven real, there’s no way one can argue against it. It basically allows Sony to sit back and say, "All part of the plan," while providing no legitimate reasoning or accountability. 

And it’s bullshit. If what Sony says is true, that means we have another seven years of PlayStation 3 to look forward to. Seven years is a long time for anybody, but in the fast-paced videogame industry, it may as well be centuries. I simply don’t believe for one moment that Sony will continue to be putting all its support behind the PlayStation 3 in seven years’ time. By all means, if I am wrong, you are welcome to link back to this article seven years from now and say so. There’s simply no way a PS3 successor won’t be out before then, and when that’s out, Sony will stop supporting the PS3 to its fullest. Mark my words. 

Let’s play Devil’s Advocate for a moment, however, and say it is true. What is Sony going to do when the next Microsoft and Nintendo systems are released? Is it going to once again drag its heels and release what it pretentiously calls "future technology" in the PS4 at yet another hilariously high price? Will we just get E3 2006 all over again? If Sony continues to employ the same morons that it currently has, then quite possibly so. 

Then there are just the generally inane and pathetic things that Sony executives have said over the years. How about the time Kaz Hirai said that Sony was still the "official" industry leader? Sure, it sounds delusional, but he certainly backed up his claim … by pretending that Nintendo didn’t exist and ignoring Microsoft completely:

"This is not meant in terms of numbers, or who’s got the biggest install base, or who’s selling most in any particular week or month, but I’d like to think that we continue official leadership in this industry.

It’s difficult to talk about Nintendo, because we don’t look at their console as being a competitor. They’re a different world, and we operate in our world - that’s the kind of way I look at things."

How about the fact that the PS3’s marketing was so fucking confusing that Sony had to repeatedly issue a clarification on what the system even was? It was marketed as a Blu-ray player, a multimedia device, a computer, and finally they realized that they should have just stuck with games console. 

I could also bring up the "rumble is a last-gen feature" quote, but that’s just too easy. 

It’s not like executives in other companies haven’t said stupid things, but when it comes to grandstanding in the face of humiliation, nobody does it quite like Sony. As I said earlier this week, the firm is currently acting like an aged rock star that has long since outlived his glory years, yet still snorts coke and fucks teenagers while convincing himself he’s remained cool and relevant. Sony’s arrogant attitude and total denial is reaching a point of farce. 

Meanwhile, mainstream press outlets label the PS3 a failure and those in charge bury their heads deeper and deeper in the dirt. What’s worse is the fact that so-called fans of the PlayStation 3 continue to justify Sony’s imbecility by putting their heads right down in that very same dirt. Unable to accept criticism of the company since it’s a perceived slight on their favorite videogame console, they can’t see just what they’re doing in the long run. They see anybody with ill words for Sony as an enemy or a threat to their precious machine, unable to see that there’s only one thing that will truly threaten the PS3’s existence — its own creator.

I consider myself a fan of the PlayStation 3. That’s why I gladly take the opportunity to criticize Sony when it fucks things up. Anybody who loves the PS3 should be doing the same.

Sony needs to shut the fuck up and leave the PS3 alone. Cancer comes from within, not without, and right now, Sony’s the biggest  tumor the PlayStation brand has ever seen.

Microsoft already makes tons of cash on Xbox Live Gold subscriptions. It also makes plenty of money from advertising on Xbox Live. Why not make some more? Despite being ad-driven itself, 1 vs. 100 could have its very own pay-to-play model, and Microsoft definitely won’t rule out the thought.

We first had a clue that Microsoft may be demanding extra cash for 1 vs. 100 when news of a mysterious "season pass" surfaced. All we currently know is that the first "season" of the game will be free, but that Microsoft can’t tell us anything more about its future.

"Our beta season is to see the interest in the game and the success of the game," says marketing manager Tania Chee. "In the beta season one it will be free for our Gold subscribers; moving forwards we have nothing to announce at this time. We ultimately hope it will be a resounding success so we can move forward into future seasons."

The basic jist of this seems to be that if 1 vs. 100 is popular, they’ll hike up the price. You know, kind of like what they did with XBLA when they realized Braid and Castle Crashers could be used as leverage in MS Point extortion. I know I’m definitely excited about the prospect of paying to play something on an ad-supported service that I already pay for.

Oh wait, that would be a ludicrous thing to do.

The PlayStation 3 price cut saga has become long and grueling, with various industry figures demanding one and Sony consistently refuting such demands time and time again. Now it’s Jack Tretton’s turn to defend Sony’s bullish decision, declaring that the idea of a price cut is "short-term thinking." Yep, once again we’re back to that old routine.

"People are having short-term thinking — the platform is not even three years old. It was USD 599; it’s now USD 399," boasts Tretton. "The focus on pricing is something we appreciate, but you have to have the conviction and the confidence that you are on the right path for the long term and ultimately you’ll get all the consumers you want.

"You won’t get them all day one, but we’re looking to get them over a ten-year period. It’s going to take different things to get different consumers … We could’ve come out with a PlayStation 2.5 for $299 or less, and in the first two or three years it would sell extremely well. But there would be a point where people would be going, ‘I am not really seeing the incremental leap.’"

You know how some religious people use the "God moves in mysterious ways" excuse to justify anything and everything? I’m beginning to think that "the ten-year cycle" is being used in very much the same was by Sony. It’s basically their way of getting out of every logistical loophole and BS marketing move, and you can’t really argue against it because they’ll simply stroke their beards and say, "Aaah, but we have a plan. Don’t you see? Aaaah."

I am officially sick and tired of the "ten year" excuse. It’s not ten years from now. It’s the year 2009. Shut up and drop the price, raise the price, do anything, so long as it’s not spouting more ridiculous horsesh*t.

Last month, evil publisher Activision caused quite a stir when nefarious CEO Bobby Kotick hinted he might have to stop supporting the PS3 if a price drop didn’t come soon. This was essentially a threat, and a very large one coming from such a powerful and influential publisher. Sony, however, is Sony, which means they’re not taking the threat seriously — at least publicly.

"He certainly likes to make a lot of noise," says Sony’s Howard Stringer of Kotick. "I lose money on every PlayStation I make."

Stringer also attempts to downplay the nature of the threat: "He’s putting pressure on me and I’m putting pressure on him. That’s the nature of the business."

Sony’s being nothing but pigheaded about the PS3 price, arrogantly acting like it’s still in charge of the game industry and calling all the shots, which simply isn’t the case anymore. It’s like watching a former rock n’ roll legend still screwing 18-year-olds and doing coke, blissfully unaware that he’s become less and less relevant and needs to buck his ideas up before his withered body gives out and dies. 

While a lot of this is surely public bravado, I can’t help but feel that Sony is talking itself over a cliff. Perhaps it should just stop all its executives and PR people from talking, at least for the rest of the generation.

It seems that the backlash against the PlayStation 3’s high price is continuing to resonate across the industry, as CEO of the newly formed Tecmo Koei has joined Activision in voicing his desire for a PS3 price cut. Kenji Matsubara claims that he has constantly asked Sony to lower the system’s price, but to no avail. 

"Whenever I discuss this with Sony reps I always ask them: ‘Please cut the price’, but I don’t have a clear view on Sony’s situation," confesses the Tecmo Koei boss. "Yes, from a publisher’s point of view we would welcome a price cut for PS3, and we are waiting, definitely.

"It’s definitely a way of boosting the PS3 market, but it’s Sony’s strategy and I don’t know their cost structure. Sony introduced cutting-edge technology in the PS3, that’s why people in the industry accept that the PS3 cost is so high, but we’d welcome a price cut."

Slowly but surely, Sony must be feeling the pressure mounting. The platform holder doesn’t seem to care what customers think, but now that publishers are starting to mutter rebellious things, it’s almost do-or-die time. There’s no question that a PS3 price drop is now an imminent necessity — but can Sony afford to cave on this issue before it’s comfortable?

[Editor's Note: Forgive me, but I simply couldn't not use that picture again.]

Don’t you just love those massive bundles on Steam that bring you an entire developer or publisher’s catalog of games for a super discounted price? Of course you do, because saving money is always fun.

This time, we have got an appropriately-titled collection from 2K Games called the "Huge Game Pack." Sounds like one of those sketchy fifty-in-one "game systems" you’d find at a flea market, doesn’t it? The bundle includes stuff like Sid Meier’s Pirates!, BioShock, Freedom Force, X-COM, and a million versions of Civilization IV.

In total, there’s 20 different games, and while the normal running price for this grouping is $60, the price has been brought down to $54 from now until July 7. If it weren’t for Shacknews, I probably would have missed spotting this deal, so thank them for catching it!

We’ve all seen plenty of decked-out versions of games — you know, those super-duper editions that are given monikers like “special,” “collector’s,” and “limited.” A lot of them end up being wastes of money: the content inside the big box turns out not to be worth the price premium over the game itself. (And of course, not every game deserves a special edition.)

2K Sports apparently knows that, and it looks like they’ve ensured that the Anniversary Edition of NBA 2K10 will be worth your while (and your money). This is the tenth year of NBA 2K basketball, and that’s certainly an occasion to commemorate, don’t you think? We haven’t received anything official from 2K Sports announcing the set, but yesterday, TeamXbox “obtained details” of the special edition, which is apparently only going to be available with the PS3 and 360 versions of the game. We’ve found a promotional poster that corroborates the information; you can find it in the gallery below. TeamXbox also noted that a “source close to the product” told them that the set will be priced at $99.99.

So what, exactly, will you be getting for an extra forty smackers? Some pretty damn cool stuff: a numbered locker (with combination lock) that can hold twenty games; a 6" Kobe Bryant figurine from McFarlane Toys; a 16" × 36" Kobe Bryant poster designed by Shepard Fairey’s Studio N^o.1; a video “exploring the history” of the NBA 2K franchise; and access to the Gold Room, which is a “VIP online lobby” for the game. For NBA 2K fans, this sounds like a pretty damn cool package, doesn’t it?

In a weird turn of events, platform puzzler Trine will costs twice as much on PC as it will on PSN, costing $40 instead of $20. Bizarrely, developer Frozenbyte had no clue about the price difference, yet is still defending the decision to price one version considerably more than the other.

"Trine is far from a game created by a solo hero developer (we have over 20 employees and Trine has contributions from a double amount of people)," explains one dev on the company’s forums. "We are very confident that we can deliver a full retail experience with Trine (hence PC version is sold in retail also for approx 35 to 40 eur/usd!).

"As for the PSN price, our publisher and Sony sets it. Heck, even I don’t know it … I just don’t find it fair to compare us to games which have started at similar or higher pricepoints. It’s very obvious Trine will eventually cost less, so I guess I just wanted to say that if the price hurts more than waiting, then that’s the option."

As well as the $40 retail version, Trine is currently available for pre-order on Steam for $30. The boxed copy is due to ship some time this Summer, while the downloadable version should be available between July 3 and July 10. Somehow I can’t see this move proving popular with PC gamers.

[Update: Southpeak sent us an email to say that the official price point for the PC version of Trine is $29.99. The publisher hasn't said much about the game since it was named as a publisher, but that is their official stance on the story.]