Round Up: PSP Price, Uru Live, Archlord Contest

Today's round-up includes news of no PSP price cuts expected for the holidays, Uru Live looking prosperous for GameTap, and an ArchLord contest from Codemasters, as well as the latest Game Career Guide updates, Serious Games Source posts, GameSetWatch posts and Gamasutra job postings. - Sony does not plan to lower the cost of the PSP in North America for the remainder of 2006, and expects the portable's library of available titles to nearly double to 230 by the close of 2006 according to a Reuters report. While the stand alone system retails for $199, $70 more than the asking price of the Nintendo DS, the company recently announced a $249 'Entertainment Pack' holiday bundle, which includes a black model PSP, Sony's ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails game -- recently entered into its Greatest Hits line -- and Sony Pictures' "Lords of Dogtown" UMD movie, as well as a 1GB memory stick. "We don't necessarily see the need to cut the price," John Koller, a product manager at Sony Computer Entertainment, told Reuters. "We need to offer broader value and introduce new consumers to what the PSP can do." - According to a report from CNET, participation in Cyan's Uru Live, which will be formally resurrected as part of the Turner-owned 'all you can eat' PC game service GameTap this holiday season, has already seen 500 players participate in its beta program. The MMO-style take on Cyan's seminal Myst series originally debuted through Ubisoft in 2003, but was something of a flop for the developer, and has since that time had a rocky on again/off again relationship with players. According to the report, the game, in its new form, features a new physics engine, and is on track to meet its anticipated holiday launch over the online service. "There are a number of factors now that I think will help it be successful," said Ron Meiners, a contract community manager for GameTap who also worked as a community manager at Ubisoft for Uru Live. "In many ways, it was ahead of its time. There's more broadband penetration now, and a lot more mainstream understanding of what an MMO is, due to World of Warcraft, Second Life and other virtual experiences." - To celebrate the release of PC MMOG Archlord, Codemasters division Codemasters Online Gaming announced a new contest that includes a race for players to become the game's first crowned “ArchLord”. All players entering into the game are part of the competition, and Codemasters has confirmed that the winner will walk away with a full suit of armor worth more than $10,000, as well as a free trip to a castle in the UK and an official coronation ceremony. By becoming the in-game ArchLord, the player becomes the game’s single supreme ruler. Full details concerning this promotion are expected to be released soon. - The latest updates on Gamasutra sister alt.gaming weblog GameSetWatch include a look at World War II board game Memoir ’44, a quick look at the ongoing London Games Festival, and a discussion regarding super hero-themed MMOGs. - The latest updates on Gamasutra's sister site Serious Games Source include the first of several features from the recent Games for Health conference, this one focusing on a keynote address by HopeLab's Steve W. Cole, and a new e-learning platform from simulation learning firm 3Dsolve. - News on Gamasutra's game education sister site Game Career Guide includes a feature on working as an entry level artist in the video game industry. - Also updated today: the latest Gamasutra job postings, including openings from Bally Technologies, Blue Fang Games, Gas Powered Games, NaturalMotion, and Vivendi Games.