PlayStation maker accidentally charged $60 for $50 Marvel game on PSN; affected users will be given $10 refund.

Gamers who purchased Deadpool for $60 through the PlayStation Network this week will be given a refund due to a pricing mistake, Sony has confirmed.

"We are aware of the Deadpool pricing discrepancy on PSN. If you purchased the game at $59.99 you will receive a $10 credit," Sony said. "Expect an XMB message with more info later this week."

Deadpool launched this week to a mixed critical reception. The game was developed by Transformers outfit High Moon Studios and is based on the Marvel antihero.

Activision cut 40 full-time positions at High Moon Studios following the completion of Deadpool in April to "better align our development talent against our slate."

For more on Deadpool, check out GameSpot's review.

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Shuhei Yoshida says due to "large investment of resources" for online play, keeping service free would have been "absurd."

Sony has explained why a PlayStation Plus subscription will be required to play PlayStation 4 titles online. In the latest issue of Famitsu (translated by Kotaku), Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida said that it would have been "absurd" to keep the service free, considering the "large investment of resources" Sony has made for online infrastructure.

"The main pillar for the PS4 will be online play. We're developing many new ways to play and connect which requires a large investment of resources," Yoshida said.

"Considering the cost, to try to keep such a service free and consequently lower the quality would be absurd. We decided that if that's the case, then it would be better to receive proper payment and continue to offer a good service."

Currently, Sony does not charge a penny for online play for the PlayStation 3. PlayStation Plus subscriptions are offered for $50 per year, and current memberships will carry over to the PS4.

The move puts Sony in line with Microsoft, which currently mandates that Xbox 360 users have an Xbox Live Gold membership ($60/year) to play games online and access features like Netflix.

Elsewhere in the Famitsu issue, Sony Japan president Hiroshi Kawano said just because the PS4 is the main show moving forward, support for the PS3 is not ending anytime soon.

"It's been seven years since the release of the PS3, and the console continues to sell at a constant pace, plus we have many upcoming titles," Kawano said. "We have no intention of immediately shifting from the PS3 to the PS4."

"With the 2014 launch of our cloud service in the US allowing users to play PS3 games on the PS4, some people may switch consoles from the PS3 to the PS4," he added. "But that'll be a gradual process, and to say 'we're releasing a new console, so trade in your old ones for it' would be a maker's ego talking, plain and simple."

The PS4 launches this holiday for $399/€399/£349.

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PC manufacturer says Microsoft and Sony have adopted innovations from the PC space for their next-generation consoles.

Game consoles and PCs are more alike than ever before, according to Alienware general manager Frank Azor. Speaking with PCGamesN, Azor said the distinctions between Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC architecture are slipping away.

"A lot of the innovations and things that are proven on the PC are making their ways onto consoles," Azor said. "The consoles are looking more and more like PCs every day."

The Xbox One and PS4 are both built on a PC-focused x86 architecture. And from a service standpoint, Azor pointed out, the platforms are also adopting features PC gamers have had for years.

"You're installing games now instead of running them off the disc, because that's the right thing to do; you're downloading games digitally, which we've been doing on PC for years; they're integrating certain TV aspects and stuff--well, ten years ago we started experimenting with media center," Azor said.

The Xbox One ($500) and PS4 ($400) launch later this year.

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Microsoft's Xbox 360 set to become the best-selling console of this generation in the region.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 is poised to overtake Nintendo's Wii as the best-selling console of this generation in the UK, games industry number-cruncher GfK Chart-Track has told MCV.

The latest figures show that the Xbox 360, which launched in December 2005, has shifted over 8.4 million units.

Microsoft has closed the sales gap between Nintendo's Wii, which once dominated the hardware charts. The Xbox 360 will overtake the Wii's hardware sales in a matter of days, says Chart-Track.

1.5 million sales now separate the Xbox 360 from the PlayStation 2, the UK's best-selling console of all time. Sony's legendary machine, which launched in 2000, has shifted 10 million units.

Microsoft is still supporting the Xbox 360, and announced a redesigned version of the console at E3 2013. Many high-profile titles, including Grand Theft Auto V, will also grace the platform before Christmas.

"This is an historic milestone and our sincere thanks goes to each and every person that has bought and enjoyed Xbox 360 over the past eight years," said UK Xbox executive Harvey Eagle to MCV.

"As you saw at E3 earlier this month, we announced a new Xbox 360 form factor and we are committed to ensuring Xbox 360 remains the best place to play games, connect with friends and enjoy your entertainment."

"You'll see great exclusive content coming not only to Xbox 360, but also to Xbox One later this year."

The Xbox One will launch in November.

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Title updates for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade games are now free.

A change of policy at Microsoft means the platform-holder is no longer charging developers for Xbox 360 title updates, a new report has said.

Eurogamer reports that Microsoft quietly ushered in the change earlier in 2013 and that developers are no longer charged a fee to re-certify their games through Microsoft's submission process. Microsoft still charges a fee to developers when they initially submit Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade games to be published, with the games then tested and sent for approval through Microsoft's certification process.

There are reported to be a few caveats, with Microsoft able to charge developers if it suspects an excessive number of submissions.

Additionally, a source told GameSpot that Microsoft no longer charges developers to have Xbox Live Arcade games re-certified if they fail their initial submission. The move is believed to have been implemented to help smaller developers who lack the resources of bigger publishers, and avoid situations such as when Fez developer Polytron opted to rerelease a patch with a potential save-corrupting bug in 2012.

Microsoft's previous system gave developers one title update for free, before levying fees upon subsequent updates. Double Fine boss Tim Schafer attached a $40,000 figure to the fee in an interview with Hookshot in 2012.

Microsoft's choice to charge for additional title updates was so that developers would focus more on the quality of their software before initial release, GameSpot has been told.

Abolishing some of the fees attached to the Xbox 360 submission process brings Microsoft's publishing model one step closer to PC platform Steam.

Fez developer Phil Fish previously said that the situation with Fez would never have happened with Steam. "Had Fez been released on Steam instead of XBLA," said the developer a year before porting the game on Steam, "[Fez] would have been fixed two weeks after release, at no cost to us."

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Former company CEO stepped down previously due to company's "extraordinary" loss.

Former Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada is now the company's chairman of the board, according to the company's official site.

Yoichi Wada is now the chairman of the board of Square Enix.

Previously, Wada stepped down in March as a result of the company's "extraordinary" loss of around $106 million. This was due to "sluggish" sales performance of its major games in Western territories. His replacement was longtime chief financial officer Yosuke Matsuda.

Wada said in April that he wished to "support the firm in [his] own way," and said that he won't be the president, director, or staff member of Square Enix Holdings. For more information on Square Enix's latest titles, check out GameSpot's coverage on Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III.

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Index Holdings to undergo "civil rehabilitation proceedings."

Index Holdings, the parent company of Japanese game developer Atlus (Shin Megami Tensei series), looks like it's in financial trouble.

What will Atlus' fate be after the restructuring?

According to a CNET Japan report (via Neogaf), the company will be undergoing "civil rehabilitation proceedings" via the Tokyo District Court. After the proceedings, the company will then undergo a corporate restructuring. The total liability of the company is about 24.5 billion yen ($249 million) as of May 31.

Civil rehabilitation is the Japanese equivalent of bankruptcy proceedings, and is usually the step taken before a more serious corporate failure.

Previously, the company was under investigation for questionable business practices, such as fabricating business transactions to maximize the corporate balance sheet. Atlus' previous works include Catherine, the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona titles, and the Etrian Odyssey series. For more information on Atlus' latest title, check out GameSpot's coverage on Shin Megami Tensei IV.

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Existing headsets will be able to operate with the Xbox One, confirms Microsoft, but it's currently unclear if the adapter will be sold separately.

Wired Xbox 360 headsets will be compatible with the Xbox One via an adapter, Microsoft has confirmed.

"We are working to develop an adapter for current wired headsets to connect," said Microsoft's Xbox Support account on Twitter. "More details as we approach launch."

Earlier this week Microsoft confirmed that the Xbox One wouldn't ship with a headset in the box, with the company saying that the bundled Kinect hardware features its own microphone.

"Each Xbox One includes the new Kinect sensor," said Microsoft, "with a highly sensitive multi-array microphones designed to enable voice inputs and chat as a system-level capability, both in-game and with Skype and other experiences."

Microsoft's Xbox One comes with a proprietary headset jack, whereas Sony's PlayStation 4 will use a standard microphone jack. The Xbox 360 features a 2.5mm headphone jack, similar to many cell phones.

Microsoft has not said whether the Xbox 360 headset adapter will be included with the Xbox One console or whether it will be made available for sale separately.

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PS3 firmware version 4.46 replaces last week's faulty 4.45 update.

Sony has wheeled out firmware version 4.46 for the PlayStation 3, which allows users to hide trophy notifications. The new PS3 firmware replaces version 4.45, which was released with the same feature last week but made some consoles inoperable.

Users who weren't locked out of the PlayStation 3's XrossMediaBar will be able to download PS3 firmware 4.46 through the System Update menu.

Sony has also issued step-by-step instructions for those affected by the faulty 4.45 firmware, detailing the process to download the firmware file manually from a computer and then installing it on the PS3 in safe mode via a USB stick.

Sony's full instructions for manually applying the 4.46 firmware are reproduced below:

Step 1: Manually Download System Software

• You will need a USB Mass Storage device such as a USB flash drive with at least 168 MB of free space. If your PS3 is either CECHA00/CECHB00 series model, you can also use Memory Stick™, SD Memory Card, and CompactFlash®.
• Create a folder named ™PS3™ on the storage media or USB device.
• Within the PS3 folder, create a folder named "UPDATE".
• Using your computer, click the following hyperlink to begin downloading system software 4.46
• Download the update data from the webpage and save it in the "UPDATE" folder.
• Location: Save in the ™PS3™ folder > ™UPDATE™ folder
• File name: Save as file name ™PS3UPDAT.PUP™
• Note: If the data is not saved in the correct way, the PS3 will not recognize the update data. The folder name must be in all uppercase letters.

Step 2: Activate Safe Mode

• With the PS3 off (power light should be red), touch and hold the Power button, you will hear the 1st beep indicating that the PS3 is powering on.
• Continue to hold the power button, and after approximately 5 seconds you will hear a 2nd beep.
• Continue to hold the power button and after 5 more seconds you'll hear a 3rd beep, and system will power off (Power light goes red).
• Release power button.
• Touch and hold the Power button, you will hear the 1st beep, again for PS3 power on.
• Continue to hold and after approximately 5 seconds you will hear the 2nd beep for video reset.
• Continue to hold and after 5 seconds you will hear a quick double beep. At that point release power button.
• If you succeeded in activating Safe Mode, you will see a message on screen saying, "Connect the controller using a USB cable and then press the PS button".
• Connect a controller to the PS3 with a USB cable.
• If you were not able to get into Safe Mode, your system may need service. Please contact [Sony] for further assistance.

Step 3: Manually Update PS3 Software

• Connect the storage media to PS3 system.
• Select [6 - System Update] and Press X.
• Please note: Data and settings may be deleted if you choose any of the first (5) options. Please make sure to only choose option [6 - System Update].
• Press Start and Select at the same time.
• The PS3 system will restart and recognizes the update file in the storage media.
• Press right on the d-pad to scroll through the update description and user agreement.
• Press X to confirm the update.
• The system will now install the new system software and restart automatically upon completion.

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Microsoft is taking applications for Kinect for Windows developer program; $399 payment required.

The Xbox One Kinect for Windows is now available for preorder by developers, Microsoft has announced.

Revealed on the Microsoft website, the Xbox maker is taking applications from those who wish to take part in the Kinect for Windows developer kit program.

Accepted participants will receive a prerelease sensor and tools to assist with building applications when the program kicks off in November this year.

The program costs $399 (or "local equivalent") and includes:

é Access to the Kinect for Windows engineering team private forum and webcasts
é Early SDK access (alpha, beta, and any updates along the way to release)
é Access to all API and sample documentation
é Pre-release/alpha sensor
é Final sensor at launch

Applications close on July 31, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. PST, with successful participants to be notified in August.

The Kinect 2.0 will be included with the Xbox One, Microsoft's next-generation console. For more on the latest Xbox One news, be sure to check out GameSpot's Xbox One hub.

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