From playthree.net:
[QUOTE]
On the 2nd January 2008 Sony are releasing Resident Evil: Extinction is the first Blu-ray movie to use profile 1.1. It is promising to be the most technologically advanced blu-ray movie ever as it will feature true picture in picture and 'Blu-Wizard 2' which will allow your player to 'remember' your viewing preferences for the movie, even after you have ejected it.

Sony are going to want to be sure that the biggest market of Blu-ray consumers, PlayStation 3 owners, will be able to take advantage of these features. So expect a firmware update by the end of 2007.
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Full Story: playthree.net
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From gamedaily.com:
[QUOTE]
Sony's little baby turns one. The PS3 has been crawling along, but can it walk or maybe even run? Sony is still aiming for 11 million units sold this fiscal year with 160 new games.

According to Sony, the PS3 has now sold 5.6 million units worldwide, 2 million of which have been purchased in North America. The company's worldwide sales goal for next March remains 11 million units. Sony also noted that year to date sales of PS3 in Japan and EMEA outsold Xbox 360 by three-to-one.

In terms of software, 28 million PS3 software units have been sold across the globe, seven million of which were sold in North America. A total of 160 new PS3 titles are expected to be released this fiscal year, including 19 exclusives from first and third party. A total of 23 third parties are creating content for the PS3.

Regarding the PS3's PlayStation Network, Sony said there are three million members currently and over 60 million pieces of content have been downloaded. The "average" PS Network user has downloaded 12.3 pieces of content.

Finally, with respect to Blu-ray, Sony made the following points:
# PS3 Blu-ray currently outsells Xbox 360 HD-DVD 9 to 1.
# A recent Blu-ray Disc adoption survey shows that 87% of PS3 users watch Blu-ray movies, 80% of PS3 users have purchased Blu-ray movies and 82% intend to purchase or rent Blu-ray movies.
# Blu-ray titles continue to outsell HD DVD titles by nearly 2 to1 (Home Media Research, a division of Home Media Magazine).
# There will be more than 450 Blu-ray movies available to PS3 owners this holiday season.
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Full Story: gamedaily.com
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From engadget.com:
[QUOTE]
Usually we're accustomed to turning over -- not receiving -- birthday cakes for others' super-special day, but Sony's PR team shipped out an unknown number of butter-cream frosting PS3 birthday cakes to press today.

From blog.us.playstation.com:
[QUOTE]
Hey everyone. We know you like to hear about updates a few days in advance, so here's a quick heads up that we have a new System Software update in the works.

Firmware v2.01 is a minor update that will improve the stability of PLAYSTATION 3.

We'll provide more specifics as the update is about to go live, but we thought we'd give loyal blog readers advance notice!
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Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From gamasutra.com:
[QUOTE]
In fact, video game hardware numbers were up a spectacular 127% to $469.7 million, and Nintendo's Wii and DS again topped the hardware charts, followed by the Xbox 360, the PSP, PlayStation 2, and then PlayStation 3. The full charts are as follows:
* Wii - 519,000
* Nintendo DS - 458,000
* Xbox 360 - 366,000
* PSP - 286,000
* PlayStation 2 - 184,000
* PlayStation 3- 121,000

In addition, a year-to-date update on overall top-selling games over all platforms was released by the NPD, as follows:
* Halo 3 - 3.7 million
* Madden NFL 08 - 3.2 million
* Guitar Hero 2 - 2.8 million
* Wii Play W/ Remote - 2.5 million
* Pokemon Diamond Version - 2.1 million
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Here is Sony's reaction to the October numbers. From wired.com:
[QUOTE]
October 2007 was a strong month for the PlayStation brand, according to NPD data. Overall the PlayStation brand showed a 39% increase in total retail dollars generated year-over-year in the US with total sales of $353.4 million for the month. Overall, SCEA's console business remains strong with combined sales of PS3 and PS2 for the month of October at $258.5 million in revenue.

The PLAYSTATION 3 sold 121K units at retail for the month of October. SCEA expects a great deal of momentum moving forward this holiday and beyond with the availability of new PS3 hardware and pricing. Based on internal data, the company is already seeing a great spike in sales with a 192% lift for the PS3 over the past two weeks. In fact, as reported by Howard Stringer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sony Corporation of America, 100,000 units of the PLAYSTATION 3 were sold at retail just last week.
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Full Story: gamasutra.com | wired.com
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From next-gen.biz:
[QUOTE]
Users report, via the official PlayStation forums, running into numerous hardware problems since updating the PS3's firmware to the recently released version 2.0. The complaints include a slowdown in console functionality, the loss of content, and even consoles being unable to read discs or ceasing to function at all.

Next-Gen has contacted Sony for comment.
[/QUOTE]

Full Story: next-gen.biz
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From gamesindustry.biz:
[QUOTE]
Sony said that it has sold more than 100,000 PS3 consoles in the week ending November 11, an increase of 250 to 300 per cent from the average weekly sales before the price drop.

"It's the breakthrough we've been anticipating," Sony chairman and CEO Howard Stringer told The Associated Press. "We've been holding our breath."
"Obviously, we've taken so much heat over the year on PS3. Finally, the turning point has been passed," he said.
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Full Story: gamesindustry.biz
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

Amazon.com began a new promotions offering a buy one, get one free deal for select Sony and Disney Blu-ray titles. The promotions are separate. If you buy one title from Sony's selection, the free film must come from Sony as well.

Buy Now: Sony titles | Disney titles
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From gearlog.com:
[QUOTE]
If price is the battleground where the war between Blu-ray and HD DVD will be fought, then Philips and Lite-On Digital Solutions fired a new salvo on Tuesday, with the announcement of a $199 drive.

Unfortunately, the internal PLDS DH-4O1S drive is not the official answer to the $99 Toshiba HD DVD player that went on sale at Wal-mart last week. The DH-401S is an internal drive for the PC that simply plays back Blu-ray, DVD, and CD discs, although the manufacturers noted that a PC equipped with the drive could be connected via an HDMI cable to a TV.
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Full Story: gearlog.com
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From psu.com:
[QUOTE]
Christophe Balestra, Co-President of Naughty Dog:

"The main thing about the PlayStation 3 is the Cell processor and more specifically the SPU's. We are only using 30 percent of the power of the SPU's in Uncharted. We've been architecting a lot of our systems around this and we were able to take full advantage of that power. A big part of our systems is running on SPU's: scene bucketing, particles, physics, collision, animation, water simulation, mesh processing, path finding, etc. For our engine, the cool thing about having the SPU's is the fact we can minimize what we send to the RSX (the graphic chip), it allows us to reject unnecessary information and get the RSX to be very efficient."
[/QUOTE]

Full Story: psu.com (via n4g.com)
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From punchjump.com:
[QUOTE]
Select K-Mart stores this week began to honor a 20 percent off coupon for Sony Corp.'s Playstation 3 hardware at brick and mortar locations.

Members of deal website Fatwallet.com this week confirmed that the coupon could apply to the latest Playstation hardware to provide a substantial discount to either the 40GB or 80GB SKU.

The coupon is a valid for one week between Nov. 11 and Nov. 17 on one item in the store.
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Full Story: punchjump.com
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From vnunet.com:
[QUOTE]
Price cuts and new games may have helped Sony's beleaguered PlayStation 3 console to turn the corner, say analysts in Japan.

Sony Japan released a cheaper PS3 last week with a slightly restricted feature set, including a 40GB hard disk drive.

"Although Sony's game business has not been performing strongly, the first indications of the new lower-priced model's sales look likely to alleviate overly negative impressions of the business," said Nomura Securities analyst Eiichi Katayama.
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Full Story: vnunet.com
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From the press release:
[QUOTE]
DivX, Inc. today announced that DivX video technology will be integrated into PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3™) from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE). The popular computer entertainment system will be added to the ecosystem of devices that currently support DivX video playback. To date, over 100 million DivX Certified products have been shipped into the market, and it is anticipated PS3 will significantly expand that number.

"We are excited to work with Sony Computer Entertainment to bring DivX to PS3," said Kevin Hell, CEO of DivX, Inc. "Our technology will expand the multimedia functionality of PS3 by enabling users to enjoy access to the broad library of content in the DivX digital media format."

Products that bear the DivX Certified logo have undergone a rigorous testing program to ensure a high-quality DivX media experience that includes reliable video playback and excellent visual quality. DivX is currently working to certify PS3 and deliver a superior digital media technology to consumers in the near future. Current PS3 end users will be able to add DivX functionality to their systems via a separate system software update at a forthcoming date. PS3 game title developers will be able to utilize DivX's decoder technology by updating the system software of PS3's Software Development Kit to version 2.00, which was released by SCE on November 2nd.
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Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From texyt.com:
[QUOTE]
Sales of Sony's PS3 video games console surged 300 per cent after the company released a cheaper model in Japan last week, according to leaked survey data.

Sony Japan introduced the new PS3 model with a 40GB hard disk drive on November 11. One day later, local PS3 weekly sales figures had soared from an average of 16,000 to almost 66,000.
The figures are contained in preliminary data from the latest edition of a regular survey by Japan-based video games publisher and market survey firm, Enterbrain
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Full Story: texyt.com
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From news.filefront.com:
[QUOTE]
While it seems like a natural conclusion to jump to, Sony has never really made any comments one way or another if the new DualShock 3 would rumble while playing PlayStation 2 games. Website PSPSPS is reporting that their brand new DualShock controllers are indeed vibrating with PS2 games; at least on a Japanese PS3. The games were Rez, OutRun 2006, and Katamari Damacy.

That was on a PS3 running the latest firmware, and if OutRun 2006 is vibrating, I'm willing to take a leap and assume the rest of the PS2's library (or at least the majority) will support the DualShock 3's rumble.
[/QUOTE]

Full Story: news.filefront.com
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From gamasutra.com:
[QUOTE]
Ahead of the release of NPD's October hardware and software sales results, Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter and simExchange's Jesse Divnich have predicted the Wii will once again emerge on top of the hardware charts, and Activision will dominate software with Guitar Hero and Call of Duty.

Though the September release of Halo 3 saw Xbox 360 sales push just past those of the Wii, the analysts have said that despite hardware shortages, Nintendo's console will regain its top slot. Pachter has predicted 450,000 Wiis sold to simExchange's 467,000, ahead of their Xbox 360 predictions of 325,000 and 412,000.
Both see PS3 in last place with 125,000 and 136,000 units sold respectively, despite the 80GB model's recent price drop to $499.
[/QUOTE]

Full Story: gamasutra.com
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From seekingalpha.com:
[QUOTE]
If you look at the central processor in Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox 360 you will see something that can trace its ancestry right back to the Intel 8086 of 1978. Over its evolution this has forced endless fudges and compromises. An analogy might be trying to build a working supertanker on the plans of a model rowing boat. And the 360 itself owes its architecture to the IBM PC of 1981 and so carries with it the accommodations that this architecture imposes. These factors, ultimately, must impinge on the working of the console.

Compare that to Sony (SNE), who were able to design the processor and the console it is in with a clean sheet of paper. The Cell processor, designed jointly with IBM and Toshiba at a cost of $400 million is the state of the art in processor dessign. It is scalable, highly flexible and excellent at distributed processing.
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Full Story: seekingalpha.com
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From punchjump.com:
[QUOTE]
Best Buy stores this year will offer a hot deal for Sony Corp.'s 40GB Playstation 3 hardware on Black Friday, the annual shopping day after Thanksgiving.

According to advanced circulars, the retailer will offer the 40GB PS3 SKU with a copy of NBA '08 and Open Season on Blu-ray disc for $399 on Nov. 23 and Nov. 24.
In addition to the PS3 hardware, the retailer will offer EA's Madden NFL 07 for $9.99 on Fri. and Sat.
[/QUOTE]

Full Story: punchjump.com
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From gamer.tm:
[QUOTE]
Both launched in Japan yesterday, but as the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper is reporting, demand for both products has been rather subdued so far. No queues were seen forming outside of retailers, and both console and pad are still widely available.

According to Gamefront.de, unconfirmed retailer reports suggest that around 36,000 PS3s were sold (of which 31,000 were the new 40GB model) on the first day, with around 70,000-100,000 Dual Shock 3 pads. Exact figures are expected by the end of the week.
[/QUOTE]

Full Story: gamer.tm
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From engadgethd.com:
[QUOTE]
According to this weeks Nielsen VideoScan numbers Blu-ray took the lion's share of the HD movie sales again this week with a 71% to 29% split (2.45:1). It appears that the Transformers' effect wasn't enough to hold off Spidey 3, despite the disappointing sales. What's really interesting is that there is only one HD DVD title in the top ten this week, and to add insult to injury, four of the top ten titles are also available on HD DVD, but didn't sell well enough to make the list.

1. Spider-Man 3 BD 100.00
2. Spider-Man: The High Definition Trilogy BD 71.95
3. Transformers HD 31.42
4. Meet the Robinsons BD 8.82
5. 300 BD 6.56
6. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer BD 5.03
7. License to Wed BD 4.24
8. The Shining BD 4.11
9. Mr. Brooks BD 4.03
10. 2001: A Space Odyssey BD 3.88
[/QUOTE]

Full Story: engadgethd.com
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From gamesindustry.biz:
[QUOTE]
Epic Games' Mark Rein says that he hopes Unreal Tournament 3 will be released on PlayStation 3 this year but he doesn't think it will make it to Europe until 2008.

"We think there's a very solid shot we'll get out this year - I don't know about Europe. Europe's a problem because the certification process in Europe takes longer.
[/QUOTE]

Full Story: gamesindustry.biz
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From consumerist.com:
[QUOTE]
A Sony CSR admitted to reader Ive that dust should not void a Playstation 3's warranty.

"Ive: I'm calling just to pretty much clarify the PS3's warranty, if there's any clause in the warranty that makes it so that if the PS3 is too dusty that the warranty is void.
CSR: No.
Ive: No?
CSR: No. The only way that it, um, voided is if it was neglected, um, abused, dropped or anything like, modificated like if you opened it up, modification, if you didn't have your receipt, um, any power failures like mother nature or anything like that then that actually does void the warranty. Other than that any defective PS3s or anything like that is still, um, still under the warranty."
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Full Story: consumerist.com
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com