In just 4 weeks the PS3 managed to catch up the Xbox 360 already in Japan.
In the week of November 27th to December 3rd the PS3 sold 31436 units in Japan putting the total for the 4 week since launch to 187836 units, which beats the ~178k Xbox360s sold since launch over a year ago.
Will be interesting to see if the Xbox 360 manages to come back a bit next week with the launch of Blue Dragon.

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This 'Final Fantasy Versus XIII' (an action oriented version of 'Final Fantasy XIII') CG trailer was shown at the Square-Enix E3 press conference, and has now finally been released to the public for you to enjoy :-)

From gamepro.com:
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Asustek Computer Inc.'s consolidated sales in November soared 81 percent month-on-month to US $2.59 billion. The figure was also 114 percent higher than November of last year, it reported Friday.

The company would not comment officially on why its revenue in November rose, but one executive confirmed that it is manufacturing the PS3 on behalf of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
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From next-gen.biz:
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As previously reported, research firm NPD Group found that Sony sold 197,000 PS3s in the month of November, well below the projected 400,000 unit target that the company had previously announced for the November 17 launch.

In a statement sent to Next-Gen from SCEA, communications boss David Karraker said that Sony is sticking to its previously announced North American launch targets. "While initial day-one launch shipment goals weren't achievable due to early manufacturing issues, those problems have been resolved and we do remain focused on having one million PS3s in the pipeline by December 31, 2006," Karraker said.

Karraker also commented, "We will continue to utilize airfreight delivery for PlayStation 3 to assure a steady stream of systems for North American consumers through the end of the year."
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Read More: next-gen.biz
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Here's a video of Snes9x (a SNES emulator) running on PS3 via Yellow Dog Linux:
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Snes9x running near full speed on PS3 yellow dog linux.
Featuring Chrono Trigger. Sound is choppy, and the controller doesn't work.

From guardian.co.uk:
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This week I spoke to Richard Hackett a head of technology at Blitz Games about his experiences with both machines. He feels that CELL has an ace up its sleeve and it's not something you might have predicted...

* So how do you see PS3 titles developing, visually, as we see the second and third generation of games? What specific new visual elements will we see?
* As a result of the kind of processing power we have available we're going to see a lot more procedurally generated effects and dynamic visuals than we've seen before. This means not all game visuals will be created by an artist in the traditional way, an increasing amount will be created in real-time from algorithms and parameters.

* Is there anything you're able to do, visually, on PS3 that you can't on Xbox 360?
* Certain procedural effects are easier to create on the PS3 because of the power of the SPEs. Effects like water simulations, especially when you move beyond simple surface effects to fluid dynamics require the kind of algorithms that are really suited to the CELL architecture. Having said that the slightly more flexible GPU and unified memory model on X360 allows some neat tricks that level the playing field somewhat. It will be interesting to see what emerges with video processing and EyeToy as well - CELL is designed for streaming and image processing applications in mind. I think we'll see both new visuals and game play out of that.
As an aside the audio technology running on CELL created by the guys in the SCEE Technology Group in London is pretty amazing, opening out loads more possibilities for real-time audio effects to enhance the visuals, something that is often overlooked but is an important part of increasing gamer immersion.
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Read More: guardian.co.uk
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From next-gen.biz:
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Research firm NPD Group has reported overall November US videogame sales were up 34 percent year-over-year, with software sales up 15 percent; NPD's Anita Frazier optimistic about full year.

The Wii sold 476,000 units for the month, while the shorter-in-supply PlayStation 3 sold 197,000 units.
The little DS juggernaut sold 918,000 units in November, bringing life-to-date US sales to 8.1 million units. The PS2 followed as the second-best selling piece of hardware for the month with 664,000 units sold. Third place was held by the never-say-die GameBoy Advance with 641,000 units.
Xbox 360 was next, with 511,000 units sold, bringing life-to-date US sales to 3.8 million units. The PSP followed with 412,000 sold during the month.
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Read More: next-gen.biz
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Sony finally released the changelog for their v1.30 PS3 OS. I wonder why they always have to wait 1 day after the release before telling us what changed ... anyways ... here it is:

* Settings
-You can now register the BD remote control in [Register Bluetooth Device] under [Accessory Settings].
-[BD/DVD Video Output Format (HDMI)] has been added as an option under [BD/DVD Settings].
-[Backup Utility] has been added as a feature under [System Settings].
-You can now select the hard disk format method in [Format Utility] and [Restore PS3 System] under [System Settings].
-The method of selecting output resolution has been changed in [Video Output Settings] under [Display Settings].
* Other
-The compatibility of USB devices with PlayStation 2 format software titles has changed. For details on USB devices that can be used with system software version 1.30, select here.

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From joystiq.com:
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What has been fixed: the system has given a higher priority to 1080i signals so, if available, the console will default to 1080i over 720p. This means that if your HDTV supports 720p, and a game's native resolution (like Resistance: Fall of Man) is 720p, it should display fine in that resolution. If the native resolution is 1080p (NBA07, the XMB interface, Blu-ray movies) and your set supports 1080i and 720p, the console will automatically default to 1080i due to the higher preference, regardless of what your preference is. If you disable the 1080i output so everything will play in your preferred 720p, your Blu-ray movies will drop down to 480p. We're not really sure what problem this update was intended to fix or why the resolution hierarchy isn't user selectable.


Also included in the update:
* RGB and Y Pb/Cb Pr/Cr output selection over HDMI
* A backup utility to get your removable media data -- that's SD, Compact Flash, and Memory Stick -- to the HDD
* HDD formatting option
* Support for a Bluetooth remote control
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Read More: joystiq.com
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From next-gen.biz:
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Japan's Mainichi Daily News reports that 180 PlayStation 3s were stolen from a Japanese warehouse in a crime amounting to around 9.5 million yen ($82,600) in swiped goods.

On December 5, an employee of the transport company "Meitetsu Golden Kouku Ibaraki Jigyousho" found that the items were missing from a warehouse located at Nakashi in the Ibaraki prefecture.
Ninety boxes were noticed missing.
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Read More: next-gen.biz
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From ps3.ign.com:
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Sony has its hands in all sorts of pies, from consumer electronics to music to movies to retail stores. But in an effort to refocus on its core consumer electronics business, Sony has announced it is reducing its stake in StyleLife Holdings, the holding company for its retail business.

Previously holding a 49 percent stake of outstanding shares in StyleLife Holdings, Sony will sell off 26 percent of those shares. The company expects to make a nine billion-yen profit from the sale.
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From kotaku.com:
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So I turned on my PLAYSTATION 3 for a quick game of Resistance multi-player, only to be greeted with a notice that a system update was required. And *snap* the console's firmware has been updated to 1.30. That was quick! The update apparently irons out old TVs with 1080i--more info as it becomes known. Word is that we should expect lots of these updates. Perhaps, monthly even. Think of it as after-service for your PLAYSTATION 3.
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News-Source: kotaku.com
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From joystiq.com:
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According to SCEE VP of Technology Paul Holman, Sony will deliver a major firmware update with PS3's release in Europe, still planned for March. While Holman did not dwell on specifics, he alluded to the PS3 becoming "as much a media center for the home as it is a gaming machine," enhanced by forthcoming third party operating systems.
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From smarthouse.com.au:
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A PS4 will be launched by Sony but not until at least 2010 claims the Vice President of Technology for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Paul Holman.

What will happen between then and now is that Sony will introduce a series of firmware upgrades that will give the PS3 more media centre capability while allowing for the introduction of third party applications and hardware "Such as interactive controllers" similar to the Nintendo Wii he said.

"To say that there will be no PS4 because of a management change is a bit far fetched: he said.

Speaking to SmartHouse in Sydney, Holman said that right now Sony game developers are realizing that the PS3 with the Cell processor has "A heap more processing headroom than they initially anticipated and that this was resulting in the development of new gaming capabilities".

"The PS3 has an awful lot of processing power and we will harness this power with firmware upgrades and new features. He also admitted that the PS3 will become as much a media centre for the home as it is a gaming machine and the introduction of new capabilities such as the ability to download third party operating systems to the PS3 will see several new capabilities added to the system. We have already seen one European Linux application running on the PS3 and over the next few months we know of several others that plan to launch a product for the PS3"
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Read More: smarthouse.com.au
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From gamasutra.com:
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Online reports have confirmed that the first selection of downloadable PlayStation One titles have now hit Sony's PlayStation Store, giving PSP players a chance to play portable versions of classic PS1 franchise hits like Crash Bandicoot and Syphon Filter.

The full list of PlayStation titles currently available is Crash Bandicoot, Cool Boarders, Hot Shots Golf 2, Syphon Filter, and Tekken 2. All of the games are being sold at a price of $5.99, and range in size from 157 to 535 megabytes.

As earlier reported, the downloadable PlayStation titles also require the latest version of PSP firmware, 3.01, to play, and PSP owners currently must own a PS3 in order to download and transmit the titles, though Sony promises to have a dedicated PSP version of the PlayStation Store online in the coming months for direct download of the PS1 titles to a memory stick.
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Read More: gamasutra.com
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