Despite getting a heaping dose of Kyptonite from publisher Brash Entertainment, developer Factor 5's "large scale multi-platform project" still refuses to die. Is it *gasp* indestructible?

Media Create's latest figures for the week ending October 14 sees the Nintendo DS handheld holding the top post, despite sales dropping down to 78,746 as compared to 87,535 last week. The PSP retains second place at 59,584.

The Wii follows in at third with 20,575 sales - very similar to its sales from last week. Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 experienced noticeably higher numbers, with the PS3 picking up 12,365 sales and the 360 6,161 sales.

This week's software sales figures has DS Nishimura Kyotarou Suspense Detective Series: Deadly Intent by Tecmo as the top seller. Gundam Battle Chronicles by Namco-Bandai for the PSP still holds as the second-highest selling handheld game for this group, although now only at 27,721 sales (it was 86,208 the week before).

On a more surprising note, Lair by Factor 5 for the PS3 ousted Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 by Namco Bandai for the Wii as the charts' only game entry for next-gen consoles.

Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) and Factor 5's Lair is unique in its innovative use of the PSP in playing the game. The way it works is by outputting the in-game image to the PSP. When you're pressing buttons, these commands are sent to the PS3 with a low enough latency (the time between inputting a command and its execution) to avoid any visible lag.

 

A Sony technical insider told Pocket Gamer that "It's a nice start. Over time, I'm sure we'll have more advanced features." This is pretty exciting considering that it is technically possible to implement what the developers of the game have done to pretty much any game released, or slated to be released for the console.

We say technically because the developers already have all the tools they need in the Sony PS3 software development kit. Whether or not it is a good idea to do is another story. Jon Jordan, who wrote the article on Pocket Gamer, pointed out that the average home network latency is fine for a 30 FPS game. However, it will undoubtedly struggle when it has to handle games with faster frame rates, such as fighting games.

Expect the PS3 to PSP connectivity in games to be explored further in future games. Judging from the initial attempt at implementing it, this technology would appear to be perfect for turn-based RPGs and puzzle games.

*Originally posted on Sep 02, 2007 at 01:07PM

Lair on the PSP? Pictures of it were posted in the official PlayStation forums earlier, and yes, we know what you're thinking: it sounds fake. And honestly, some of us even thought that it looked Photoshopped at first. But y'know what? It's not!

Dozens of people have now also confirmed (and re-confirmed) that Lair works via Remote Play on the PSP! Now before you go all frothing at the mouth, we clarify: the PSP doesn't run the actual game; it's on Remote Play. It's being run on the PS3, but the game is being controlled on the PSP. There's a difference.

Of course, the control framework isn't the same, and the game won't handle as it would on the PS3. For example, dragons are controllable with the PSP's nub, but due to the lack of R2 or L2, you won't be able to land.

Though you definitely won't be able to finish the game on the PSP, if anything, this is still cool. Something you can show your friends to geekgasm over. The way some see it, it could actually simply be an Easter Egg that Factor 5 has put into the game for the fans. Despite this, a lot of other people are already spouting out all of these implications of future titles.

Props to the first person who can get a video of this up on YouTube!

(On a related note, other people have tried Warhawk and GRAW 2 on Remote Play too, but sadly, it doesn't work.)

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*UPDATE* Props to AngelsPlague for posting a video on YouTube!

In the shaky cam video, he showcases... what else? Lair on the PSP via Remote Play. Check out the video after the jump and believe.

Sony Computer Entertainment Australia, perhaps not wanting to stay behind Japan's PlayStation Premiere, commenced their second PlayStation Australia Update & Software Event (PAUSE), along with a good share of the goodies Sony touted during the E3 Media & Business Summit.

After a revelation of over 2,000,000 PS2 units, 300,000 PSP units and close to 60,000 PlayStation 3s sold, Sony Australia's marketing director Michael Ephraim also revealed the new PSP-2000 (PSP Slim to others, PSP Diet to jokers) and a September release for the revised PlayStation Portable in the region.

With the Ice Silver version tossed out the window, Australia will get to choose from the Ceramic White and the Piano Black versions instead. The availability of the Star Wars Battlefront II package - the one that sports the Ceramic White PSP-2000 - hasn't been confirmed, though.

With hands on demos with Incognito's Warhawk, Insomniac Games' Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, SCEJ's Eye of Judgement, Naughty Dog'sUncharted: Drake's Fortune, and Factor 5's Lair along with free music video clips from Sony BMG, attendees and 30,000 other PlayStation 3 users were reportedly satisfied with Sony Australia's second PAUSE, despite the lack of an 80 GB PlayStation 3 or a decent price cut for the console in the region.

 

Julian Eggebrecht, Factor 5 president and lead director, has been announced as the opening keynote speaker for the GC Developers Conference (GCDC) 2007 in Leipzig (also known as the Leipzig Games Convention). Details of his speech have yet to be revealed, but we can expect it to be interesting at the very least. Factor 5 is currently working on the PS3-exclusive game Lair.

Peter Molyneux, Lionhead Studios' president, will also be giving a keynote focusing on the company's classic games. The GCDC 2007 will be held from August 20 to 22 in Leipzig, Germany. Other GCDC 2007 international speakers will include:

• Jason Manley (Massive Black)
• Christopher Schmitz, (10Tacle Studios)
• Jennifer MacLean (Comcast Interactive Media)
• Dr. Michael Wimmer (The University of Vienna)
• Alexander Fernández (Streamline Studios)
• Cindy Armstrong (Webzen)
• Amir Taaki (Crystalspace)
• Jeff Strain (ArenaNet)
• Vlad Ihora (Telia Sonora)
• Barbara Lippe (Avaloop IT Solutions)
• Pamela Kato (The GamerX)
• Uwe Nikl (Level 3)
• Matt Firor (Ultra Mega Games)
• Konstantin Ewald (Osborne Clarke)

As reported by PSPFanboy, it seems that in the latest episode of the 1UP podcast, the editor of the show reveals that he has been playing a "really awesome" PSP game lately which supposedly hails from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Unfortunately, that's all he said about it and everyone else is left to speculate as to which developer could possibly have an ongoing project which would count as "really awesome".

At the moment, people have been pointing out that the companies Factor 5, Ubisoft, Digital Eclipse, and SCEA can be found in the general area, which editor Shane has mentioned. However, some are also wondering if the "really awesome" game could also possibly belong to the Ready At Dawn dev team, who are known to be working on a title right now.

Let the the theory-making begin! (Well, until the next podcast, anyway...)