"Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) was granted a patent on Friday for a "hand-held [sic] device with touchscreen and digital tactile pixels." It'd be a stretch to say any of this is explicitly indicative of a PSP 2.0 or PSP phone, but it is interesting to note that "game device" is listed as one of the potential applications, alongside a plethora of other sony handhelds: phone, portable media player, email device, web browser device or navigation device.

As for defining "digital ta..."

"And it's about time too. Sony has revealed today, during a Strategy Meeting in Tokyo, that the PSP will finally be getting direct access to the PSN Store. That means no more having to deal with cables, memory cards or PCs. Good news for Mac lovers. It also means that you'll be able to download content from any WiFi hotspot. Pretty tasty."

"Sony held a group business briefing in Tokyo today to share its plans for 2008 to 2010. Taking up a good chunk of that time was Sony Computer Entertainment president Kaz Hirai, who introduced new non-game initiatives for the PlayStation brand.

The company's long awaited video on demand service will target PlayStation 3 and PSP, adding movies and television programs to the PlayStation Network on top of the current game content. Videos will be sold through a video store on the network and wi..."

"According to Marketing Week, Sony is said to be considering launching a PlayStation-branded phone that would incorporate elements of PSP functionality, possibly as soon as Christmas 2009.


The site claims that Sony would likely develop the new phone itself rather than in collaboration with Swedish mobile company Ericsson, which currently manufactures a number of phone handsets that incorporate Sony’s Walkman and Cyber-Shot brands.


One industry source told MW that the relationship b..."

"However, speaking at the firm’s developer DevStation conference in London last week, Reeves said that the trend was actually helping drive sales of PSP hardware.

“There is a piracy problem on PSP. We know about it, we know how it’s done. It sometimes fuels the growth of hardware sales, but on balance we are not happy about it,” said Reeves, telling attendant developers that Sony will unveil new ways to combat piracy soon."

"Ubisoft has told GamesIndustry.biz that it still considers the PlayStation Portable as an important platform in the current videogames market.

"By way of further clarifying some recent statements made in the press, Ubisoft wants to reaffirm that it strongly supports the PSP, which holds a unique place in the market, addressing dedicated gamers and offering unprecedented power in a portable console," a spokesperson explained."

"The games industry is always on the look-out for new, talented engineers and programmers who understand how the hardware works under the hood. However, it isn’t possible to buy a PlayStation development kit at your local computer store and development for the PlayStation has remained a mystery, even to very interested individuals. It gives me great pleasure to unveil the mystery and announce the PlayStation-edu program! We expect this program to be a great tool to teach students about the Pla..."

"Here's the pertinent portion of his email for you to look at:

Stumbled over this gadget which makes external harddrives for PSP pretty much obsolete. Taiwanese based company Photofast offers an adapter that can hold up to 4 SDHC memory cards, totalling in 32 GB storage for your PSP! Combine 2x 8GB SDHC in 1 of their Dual Slot adapters and double that!


They also announced that it could soon go up to 64 GB max. storage!! But that's not official news, one of the sales guys leaked that th..."

"Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president David Reeves has admitted PSP needs more games to be released for it here in the west.

Despite this, he did predict a boom in Japanese developed titles from studios keen to follow the success of Capcom's Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, which has shipped over 2 million units in under two months in the region.

"We've seen in the last six months that because of the success of the PSP in Japan many Japanese developers have got some absolutely phen..."

"The charger bracelet has a cable with an interchangeable tip that allows it to work with both handhelds and a number of other portable electronics. I suppose being multifunctional might make the 4,980 yen ($48) price tag more acceptable.

However, to get any use out of the charge bracelet you have to remember to charge it in a USB port, carry around the correct tip and wear it."

"Gamers who happen to find themselves at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey will not only get a treat from their favorite music artists, but will also be able sample some of the video game morsels Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) will be giving out during The Bamboozle Festival 2008 this May 3 and May 4.

Headlining the showcase will be the PlayStation Patrol Truck which will feature the newly designed "Player Lounge" for attendees to try out the latest P..."

"April 25, 2008 - The PSP continues to dominate hardware over in Japan. For the week covering April 14 to April 20, Media Create's sales charts put Sony's portable at 85,421 units, besting the DS Lite's 44,551 units and the Wii's 44,241 units.

It wasn't all good news for Sony, though. The PS3 fell yet again, down to 7,438 units for the week. The PS2 dropped down to 6,545 units, with the Xbox 360 completing Team Low Sales with 1,076 units.

The PSP's success is, of course, attributed to Mo..."

"Hey, everyone. It’s time again for the PLAYSTATION Store weekly update.
PS one Classics for PS3 / PSP

R-Types ($5.99)
Uniting two of the most difficult challenges of all time, R-TYPES presents the games R-TYPE and R-TYPE II in one complete package. In R-TYPE, your job is to play through 8 stages destroying monsters to save the world from doom. In R-TYPE II, journey to ancient ruins, dark caverns, into the crimson sky, and onto a Bydo star. It’s up to you to save a galaxy riddled by fear ..."

"The phenomenon of the BYOC (bring-your-own-computer) LAN party continues to grow and grow, and this fact is reinforced by the news that one of Europe’s largest regular LAN parties, the i-Series, has sold out its latest event in record time.

What started out as a small group of enthusiasts meeting in a village hall has grown to the point where 2000 seats have been sold in 1 month for the 34th i-Series. This is a relief for the organizers, Multiplay.co.uk, who have taken a big gamble for thi..."

"Soon to be top 10 NFL draft pick and former Boston College QB Matt Ryan has been selected for the PS3 cover of NCAA Football 09. He joins Darren McFadden (360) and Sparty (Wii) as representing the cover of the console specific versions of the game. The PS2 and PSP covers are still to be announced in the future.

quote

Former college football standout Matt Ryan will join former Arkansas All-American Darren McFadden as a spokesman and cover athlete for NCAA Football 09. Ryan will be featured o...

"

"echochrome’s Associate Producer Kumi Yuasa revealed on the Official Playstation Blog that demos of the game will be available for download starting tomorrow on the PS Network for both PS3 and PSP. The demos will take you through a brief tutorial and give you the basic idea of how to progress through the puzzles.

Yuasa also said that each of the PS3 and PSP final versions of echochrome (preview + video) will feature 56 exclusive levels and that players will be able to create their own puzzl..."

"PlayTV a well anticipated playstation 3 feature for the UK was priced and the release date was put up on Amazon,com. After seeing such a thing, Sony told Amazon to take it down. Now you only see a blank image and the release date changed to October. The original Release date was July 31, and it was also priced at £59.99."

"Will the third time be the charm for Sony Corp.?

The entertainment and electronics giant is preparing to launch an online video service through its game console PlayStation 3 as early as this summer, studio executives familiar with the plan say.

The company has been in licensing talks with studios in recent weeks, according to these executives, who asked to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of continuing negotiations.

The initial version of the service would include movies..."

"

Xbox 360

North America:

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)
2. Rock Band Special Edition (MTV Games)
3. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (Ubisoft)
4. Halo 3 (Microsoft)
5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision).

Japan:

1. Turok (Touchstone)
2. The Idolm@ster: Live for You! (Namco)
3. Armored Core: For Answer (From Software)
4. Skate (EA Games)
5. Dark Sector (D3 Publisher).

Europe:

1. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (Ubisoft)
2. Halo 3 (Microsoft)
3. Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft)
4. Devil May Cry 4 (Capcom)
5. Viking: Bat...

"

Hopefully you've read the news about the recent PSP Games on the PSN being hacked so that they can be played on any system, and if you haven't here's a quick summary - Players have managed to decrypt the security on the PSP games downloaded from the Playstation store so that they can be played on any Playstation Portable, and you can effectively give a copy of the game to your friend, so that they can play it as well.

Well, in response, Sony have brought out a questionnaire asking gamers, ...

"PlayStation Network head Eric Lempel has revealed that a new PSP firmware is coming and will be available shortly. Firmware 3.95 will introduce two new features, the first of which is the ability to customize control settings in PSP PSOne settings. The second is a more PlayStation 3 centric feature, allowing PSP owners to turn off their PS3 console or leave it on when exiting from a Remote Play session."

"THQ executive Jack Sorenson has branded the hardware battle between Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo as "totally irrelevant", arguing that the rewards offered by each represent a "win" for games publishers.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz last week at THQ's product showcase in San Francisco, the US publisher's head of worldwide studios said there was "too much of an emphasis on the sports aspect of who's winning and losing", and that his company was focusing on opportunities rather than installe..."

"Seems some clever coders (or hackers, whatever you want to call ‘em) have figured out a way to decrypt PSP games bought from the PlayStation Network Store. The code can only be applied to PSP games that work on said PSP (like, if you buy a PSP game then you can decrypt it using your PSP), but once the game has been decrypted, it can be played on any PSP running a custom firmware.

I must say, once you hack the PSP and have access to its large library of [largely] so-so games, the system be..."

"Hardware Chart
Sony’s PSP has topped the Japanese hardware chart for the week ending the 30th of March. It was predicted that the PSP hardware sales would increase due to the release of the hugely popular Monster Hunter Portable 2G on the 27th of March, which topped the software chart with 880 000 units sold in its opening week. However, the latest Media Create figures show that the PSP sold an impressive 129 986 units, roughly 70 000 units more than last week’s 59 833 units."

"Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit on June 6 with Legendary set for Q3 2008.

Atari UK has issued an updated release schedule confirming release dates for DBZ: Burst Limit amongst others.

Burst Limit, the first DBZ title for Xbox 360 and PS3, is set for release across Europe on June 6, followed later that month by Alone in the Dark (Xbox 360, PC, Wii, PS2).

Atari's next big release will arrive in Q3 2008 in the shape of Legendary on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, with the PS3 version of Alone in the ..."

"Kyle Springs, a seven year old cancer patient on his way to a chemotherapy appointment in Dallas gets his PSP stolen. Not only that, but his school homework, medicine, and medical records were also taken. Worst of all, it happened the day before his birthday. Tragic."

"There we all are debating whose console is better, and engaging in “mine is bigger than yours” type arguments, but it seems it could all soon be a pointless argument. Some in the gaming industry are looking in to their crystal balls and predicting the end of home consoles after this current generation.

Sandy Duncan, the man who set up and ran the European Xbox business for Microsoft, and now CEO of his own games company, YoYo, recently gave an interview to That Video Game Blog, and was ask..."

"We have found out that there has been a possibility of unauthorized access to personal information on the PLAYSTATION®Store through PCs, a content download service of the PLAYSTATION®Network. Although unlikely, it is possible that the passwords of a small percentage of PLAYSTATION Network users may have been changed through unauthorized access, making it possible to view users' personal information and/or use the Wallet for the PLAYSTATION Store. PLAYSTATION Network accounts do not display en..."

""Well, whatever they are called, when people play these things, they can interact. They can shoot people; they can kill people. As the honourable Gentleman said, they can rape women.""

"Farmington Hills firefighters were called to the school at about 8:30 a.m. The student, who is in the seventh grade, was treated at the school for burns to his leg and then transported to a hospital for further treatment.


Diane Bauman, spokeswoman for the school district, said the boy was in band when the device overheated. Students are permitted to bring portable game systems to school, she said, but are not permitted to play them during school hours.


Bauman declined to release th..."

"SN Systems director Andy Beveridge: “SN Systems development tools for PSP are well-established and mature, having been on sale since the end of 2004. Since then, the tools have grown extensively as a result of direct feedback from PSP game title developers.

“Significantly reducing the cost of the tools will help to ensure that PSP game title developers have everything they need to continue creating great titles. This price reduction, coupled with the recent addition of Tuner (performance o..."

"That will, according to the estimates, be particularly true in Europe, where EA expects the PlayStation 3 to sell between 5 and 6 million units across the year, compared to just 1.5-2.5 million for the Xbox 360.

That means that while the company thinks the two will tie in North America on 4.5 to 5.5 million unit sales, the two sets of numbers combined give Sony's flagship console a compelling 3.5 million lead.

The report predicts the Nintendo Wii will win the year, with a combined total..."

"Actually finding Sony's booth within the monstrosity that is CES 2008 is a task in and of itself, but after some desperate twists, turns and semi-politely asking a few friendly fellow attendees, 1UP tracked down Sony's expansive presence at the technological expo. There wasn't much of a gaming display at their booth (though Metal Gear Solid 4 garnered its fair share of attention), but PSP senior product manager John Koller was on-hand to answer some of our questions about the future of their ..."

"January 8, 2008 - Sony is adding yet another color to the PSP family over in Japan. The company announced today a new entry in its "Blume Series" of colors, this time adding Mint Green to the mix.

The Mint Green PSP-2000 will hit Japan on February 28 carrying the standard PSP-2000 price of 19,800 yen."

"Sony announced at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show that future Blu-ray titles will contain a portable copy of the movie / show embedded on the disc encoded specifically for the PlayStation Portable.

Consumers will able to boot up their PlayStation 3, pop in a Blu-ray disc, then simply transfer the portable copy onto their PS3. From there, PSP owners can beam the portable copy over to their handheld device."

"Sony Computer Entertainment America Announces PlayStation(R) Hardware Sales
Exceeding 3.9 Million During Holiday Sales Window

1.2 Million Consumers Join PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)) Family since Black Friday

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Computer Entertainment
America (SCEA) today announced PlayStation(R) hardware retail sales reached
more than 3.9 million units in North America during the critical holiday sales
window (Friday, November 23, 2007 to December 31, 2007)...."

""

"A new retailer poll from across the Pacific has Nintendo hardware and software scoring big for the year end holiday sales rush. Famitsu got the opinions of 93 shops regarding what game product will be big for the end of the year.

Topping the list of product that retailers expect to be in short supply towards the end of the year was Wii Fit. Nintendo's heavily-marketed fitness product, which hit shops on 12/1, got 37 votes, beating out Dragon Quest IV's 26 votes."

"As long as we're talking about sales, the DS has topped 40 million units worldwide. Sony has, respectably, reached 25 million. Both numbers look big, but remember, Nintendo already has a nearly 2:1 lead. And that's plenty of breathing room when you...

Nintendo has the one-two brand punch of Wii, which is the leading home console in the world. Since its launch, the Nintendo Wii has not been outsold for a month worldwide ever by the Xbox 360 or PS3. There's simply no stronger brand right now..."

"This week a representative for Sony addressed rumors that a PSP phone was in the works by stating no such device was in the works. "We do have talks with other arms of the Sony family about various topics but I can confirm we are not currently working together on the creation of a PlayStation Phone." Will it stop the rumors? Probably not.

Given the huge success of the iPhone, it seems natural to many that Sony would integrate a phone into its portable gaming console. Sony’s given the rumo..."

"Today in Japan, Sony Computer Entertainment confirmed rumors by officially unveiling a new version the PlayStation 2. The latest iteration of the hardware--which has sold over 120 million units internationally in its seven-plus years on the market--will be available in three colors (black, white, and silver) and have a built-in AC adaptor. Officially announced for Japan, the PS2, model #SCPH-90000, has also been confirmed for release in the EU by Sony Europe. In Japan, it will retail for ¥16,..."

"Sony will release a redesigned PlayStation 2 in Japan later this month featuring an integrated power supply and cosmetic changes. A Deep Red PSP will also launch in December.

Released on November 22, SCEJ says the new model, while the same size as the current PS2, will be lighter due to a design overhaul, and will feature an in-built AC adaptator.

It will be available in Charcoal Black, Ceramic White and Satin Silver for 16,000 yen, the same price as the existing model, meaning a PS2 pr..."

"Although PSP firmware version 3.50 introduced a new clock control function, Beyond3D discovered that the portable's full clock speed is only available with Wi-Fi disabled, meaning that during network play the CPU clock is limited to 222MHz."

"In basic terms what is happening here is the volt amp is sending voltage fed by the speaker to the pic, when it hits a certain pitch the pic turns on the motor.

I know this will all fit inside a psp because I installed 3 similar sized chips in a psp last week, so it shouldn't be an issue.

"

"Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony - Titans of the videogame industry and sworn enemies on the console battlefield. But which of gaming's Big Three is winning the war in 2007 so far? Well, using the monthly US hardware sales figures released by market researchers NPD Group, we've tallied up the past six months worth of numbers (Jan-June) to find out how consoles and handhelds have fared in the States during the first half of 2007. Here are the results:

Total US hardware sales January-June 2007
..."

"As hinted at last week firmware version 1.90 has been released in Japan, with reports that it will arrive in English speaking regions within the next day or so. But what does it do? We're glad you asked. The following is a list of confirmed features that are worming their way around the internet. We'll let you know when the full patch notes become available.

Ability to rearrange games on the XMB
Option menu now includes "eject disc"
Press triangle on the XMB to eject the disc
XMB bac..."

"Sony is announcing a brand new Playstation Portable (PSP) gaming device sporting a more streamlined form factor and a video out port.

In addition, two new Entertainment Packs will also be released. The PSP Ice Silver model, which will be included in the Limited Edition Daxter pack, available in September, and a collectors edition PSP, Ceramic White model, which will also include a Darth Vader silk-screen on the PSP and an exclusive game, Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron, will be av..."

"We're sure by now you know the basics, like faster load times and that slimmer shell, but hackers will be hackers, and a certain 0okm has unearthed a few more tidbits of info from the new PSP's user manual that's conveniently hosted by the FCC.

The new PSP features is based on a TA-085 PCB, which doesn't mean a lot to us, but gets those homebrew folks looking in the right direction.

RAM has been doubled from 32MB to 64MB.

You can charge the PSP over USB.

There's a 1200mAh battery, r...

"

"It's been rumored and spotted and dated and now that it's out in Japan, it seems it's a little less than impressive. We're speaking, of course, of the PSP camera attachment, which import-focused site GameBrink declares is "worse than most camera phones on the market today."

Indeed, the 5000 yen ($42), 1.3-mega-pixel phone seems a little behind the times when standard camera phones that come free with many wireless plans sport at least two mega-pixels. The attachment will only look more obs..."

"In an interview with Gamasutra, senior VP of marketing for PlayStation Peter Dille told Gamasutra that a direct download movie service for PSP and PS3 will be coming very soon, and that the company is actively working on the service. The comment was framed within a discussion of the PSP's new form factor.

"I think what might convince (people who haven’t picked up a PSP) would be the advent of a service that allows them to put content onto the PSP in an easier fashion," said Dille. "There’s..."

""Despite its penetration pace being slower than that of the PS2 (3,267,000 units sold as of its 30th week mark) or the GBA (3,306,000 units sold as of its 30th week mark) the Wii's total software sales have been far in excess of these other systems' in terms of volume –thanks to its outstanding software-hardware tie ratio, which ranks it the highest among all the gaming devices released since 1996," said [Famitsu's) report."

"A Sony Computer Entertainment representative has confirmed to Shacknews that developers can now take full advantage of the PSP's CPU following the late May release of the system's version 3.50 firmware. Rumors of the unlocking were initially reported by fansite PSP Updates via an unnamed source.

Previously, developers were only able to run the CPU at 266MHz rather than its full potential clock speed of 333MHz, though most games ran at only 222MHz. High Impact Games' Ratchet & Clank: Size M..."

"Browsing from your PS3 or PSP can be a convienient alternative to laptops and PCs depending on your media setup. One thing that isn't the best is the manner in which you input text on both of these devices (assuming you are not using a keyboard on your PS3 of course).


SPG recommends that you try OpenDNS to help speed up the task of inputing web addresses through the use of shortcuts. Not only will OpenDNS save you time on your PS3 or PSP, if set up correctly you can use the same short cu..."

"The UK telecoms group said on Wednesday its four-year deal with Sony will see all new PSPs shipped later this year come pre-loaded with its software, transforming them into communications devices when within the range of a WiFi hotspot.

Users of PSPs will be able to make video and voice calls with each other anywhere globally, and BT said additional features will be included later to enable calls and messages between PSPs and computers, fixed-line phones and mobiles."

"Sony has confirmed that it will launch an online PSP store that makes use of the handheld's wi-fi capabilities.

Details are still scarce, but speaking at yesterday's Gamers Day SCEA's president, Jack Tretton, said, "I think the advent of a long awaited and quite frankly long overdue ability to deliver a downloadable service for the PSP will help us out a great deal. Hopefully we'll have it out there by the fall."

Tretton is no doubt praying that the service will “help [them] out a great..."

"Aussie gamers hoping the recently announced PlayStation Portable price drop for Europe would apply down under needn't hold their breath, with a Sony Computer Entertainment Australia (SCEA) spokesperson today confirming there are currently no plans to lower the price of the handheld unit.

The SCEA spokesperson told GameSpot AU that whilst a PSP drop wasn't imminent for Australia, the company was "evaluating local market conditions" for a possible future price reduction. "We will make an an..."

"Sony has announced it's dropping the UK RRP of the PlayStation Portable from £149.99 to £129.99 and is also cutting the price of budget platinum range titles by a fiver, to £14.99.

The price changes come into effect from May 4, when five new Platinum titles - LocoRoco, Tekken: Dark Resurrection, Killzone: Liberation and MotoGP - will also be added to the range.

Sony UK boss Ray Maguire said the price drop was timed perfectly for users to benefit from the connectivity features between Pl..."