From ps3fanboy.com:
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Due to the removal of various components from the PS3's innards, coupled with smaller chip size, Sony has been able to cut the production cost of the PS3 by half since last year. Each console can now be produced at $400 a unit, rather than the $800 it was costing for each PS3 around November 2006. It's not clear whether this is the case for both the 40GB and the 80GB models, but it seems fair to assume that the 40GB is now selling at cost.
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Full Story: ps3fanboy.com
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From mcvuk.com:
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Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has announced a new bundle offer for consumers that will see PlayStation 3 retail for £349.99 with two first-party titles.

Games involved in the offer include Ratchet and Clank: Tools Of Destruction, Formula One, L.A.I.R, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Singstar PS3 (with microphones).
Other titles in the deal include Motorstorm, Resistance: Fall Of Man, Folklore, Warhawk (with headset) and Genji: Days of the Blade.
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Full Story: mcvuk.com
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From gamasutra.com:
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According to consumer news outlet GameSpot, Copper Innovations filed a patent in January of 1996 for a "Hand Held Computer Input Apparatus and Method," a method by which hardware identification numbers are assigned to device transmissions as a means of organizing their inputs and connecting them to a system.

The suit names Nintendo's Wii Remote and Nunchuk and Sony's Sixaxis controller and Blu-ray remote as the products that infringe on the company's patent, and seeks damages, interest, legal fees and a permanent injunction against both Sony and Nintendo to prevent them from manufacturing or profiting from the technology.
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Full Story: gamasutra.com
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From kotaku.com:
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Sure, I'm over them, but I'm in the clear minority; most of you lot can't get enough of achievement points. You crave them. Oh, except for people who own only a PS3. You don't. But you soon will, and not just in Home's promised "trophy shelf" system either. PSN boss Eric Lempel:

"I know that an achievement system is very important to our consumers. With Home, and in addition to Home, we have some very exciting programs planned to recognize our consumers gaming skills and loyalty in new ways that go well beyond a single score."
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Full Story: kotaku.com
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From next-gen.biz:
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Sony Computer Entertainment Japan is set to discontinue its original domestic PlayStation 3 models, the 20GB and 60GB units.

Following a final shipment in January, sales of both models, launched on November 11, 2006, will be limited to stock in the market. The company says it will "vigorously promote the expansion of the PS3 platform" by concentrating on the 40GB model, while increasing its "efforts to improve [the] software development environment and the availability of a more extensive line-up of software titles for PS3".
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Full Story: next-gen.biz
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From kotaku.com:
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Metal Gear Solid 4's nearly done. They promise! On his latest podcast, Kojima Productions' Ryan Payton has told listeners the game's in its "last push". While a few late features or tweaks can be expected, for most of the team work's winding up, and the project is about to enter the bug-testing stage.

PAL users will also be interested to know Payton re-iterates the fact the game will be seeing a simultaneous worldwide release.
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Full Story: kotaku.com
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From computerandvideogames.com:
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Just in case you haven't twigged yet, PlayStation 3 is a constantly evolving console. Sony's Cross Media Bar (XMB) dashboard is fast, easy to use, packed with features and looks cool as cucumber, as our parents might say. Still, it's far from perfect or complete.

Playing catch-up in the online arena is what gets most people talking though and in-game friends lists and messaging are easily the most commonly requested features. But there are numerous other issues Sony could work on for the XMB. Here are our top ten improvements we hope to see made into reality at some point this year.

* In-game friend list access
* Online Game Invites
* Multiple sound outputs
* iPod recognition
* An official video converter
* Auto demo installing
* Animated/interactive themes
* In-game PS1/PS2 memory card creation
* Dashboard clock
* Menu screen explanations
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Full Story: computerandvideogames.com
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From highdefdigest.com:
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As expected, HBO Home Video has fallen in line with parent Warner, confirming that it too will drop HD DVD support in favor of Blu-ray.

HBO Home Video president Henry McGee told the Hollywood Reporter today that the company will be "following the same policy as Warner Home Video" and will no longer release titles on HD DVD.
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Full Story: highdefdigest.com
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From engadget.com:
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Despite SlySoft announcing that BD+ was compromised, and promising an update to its AnyDVD HD software, -- which enables you to rip a Blu-ray discs -- here we are a few months later and the latest is that SlySoft recommends that you buy HD DVD. But with Warner recently going blu, a question at the Blu-ray press conference was "did BD+ have anything to do with their decision?"
It was brought to our attention by a Fox employee that BD+ has not been compromised.
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Full Story: engadget.com
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From engadget.com:
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Despite SlySoft announcing that BD+ was compromised, and promising an update to its AnyDVD HD software, -- which enables you to rip a Blu-ray discs -- here we are a few months later and the latest is that SlySoft recommends that you buy HD DVD. But with Warner recently going blu, a question at the Blu-ray press conference was "did BD+ have anything to do with their decision?"
It was brought to our attention by a Fox employee that BD+ has not been compromised.
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Full Story: engadget.com
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From gizmodo.com:
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Sony's Boomerang controller for the PS3 never made the light of day, but that doesn't stop it from being knocked off by a Chinese OEM. We spotted this in the International Corridor of CES.

From ps3.thegamereviews.com:
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Sony's gaming division might have a small showing at this year's CES, but that isn't keep Paul Purdy from dropping some big PS3 news: in-game Xross Media Bar (XMB) access is confirmed for 2008. When pressed for a specific timeframe, the Sony rep simply relayed that Sony's focus at CES is on hardware.
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Full Story: ps3.thegamereviews.com
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From news.com:
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--Sony has shored up the problems in its electronics, and will concentrate in 2008 on bringing more video content to its devices and improving its software, said CEO Sir Howard Stringer.
One of the first examples of this strategy will be an expansion of the PlayStation Network. The network now is mostly used by gamers. Sony wants to turn it into a platform to deliver video, too. Sony will hold a press conference in two months to discuss changes to the PlayStation 3.

--Stringer wouldn't directly comment on whether the Blu-ray consortium paid money to Warner to put its movies exclusively on Blu-ray. Stringer said Warner saw the value of the format but dodged discussing financial terms. "I think you are going to have to take that announcement at face value," he said.

--Sony is also looking at incorporating its Cell processor, which currently sits inside of the PlayStation3, in other products. Cell is particularly good at manipulating video streams. The company even held a contest among engineers to design new applications. However, Sony didn't put a firm date on when some of these devices might come out or what they might be.

--The PlayStation 2 will become the device that Sony will use to take on the Nintendo Wii. Titles like Guitar Hero have sold well with PlayStation 2 and consumers can expect to see more casual games and non-core gamer games coming out, said Kaz Hirai, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, which oversees video consoles.
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Full Story: news.com
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From blu-ray.com:
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At the Sony booth, they are showcasing two new prototype BD-Live players. The Sapphire 3 and 4 will both be Profile 2.0. Sony also has indicated that the PS3 will get a BD-Live upgrade sometime in the future.
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Full Story: blu-ray.com
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From pcworld.com:
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Sony today demonstrated the next level of disc copying. At the company's booth at CES, Sony demonstrated how you could put a Blu-ray Disc movie into a Playstation 3 and copy the film to a Playstation Portable or a Memory Stick. "This way, you can have a portable copy you can take with you," explains David Bishop, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
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Full Story: pcworld.com
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From reuters.com:
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Sony Corp gaming chief Kaz Hirai hopes to turn a profit on the PlayStation 3 console business in the entertainment conglomerate's next fiscal year, fuelled in part by falling costs for the parts used to make the device.

"We want to get to the positive side of the equation as quickly as possible," Hirai, who is chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, said late on Sunday on the sidelines of a news conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

"The next fiscal year starts in April and if we can try to achieve that in the next fiscal year that would be a great thing. We are going through the budgets right now. That (profitability) is not a definite commitment, but that is what I would like to try to shoot for."

His comments came after Sony announced stellar holiday sales for the PS3. The company said on Sunday it sold 1.2 million PlayStation 3 video game consoles in North America over the period, two-thirds what it sold in the rest of the year.
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Read More: reuters.com
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From engadget.com:
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The Financial Times is reporting that Paramount is preparing to use a get out clause in its HD DVD exclusivity deal, and go back to Blu-ray, about 4 months after ending its dual-format release schedule. The move would be a result of Warner's switch to Blu-ray, using a "get out" clause in Paramount's promotional agreement with the HD DVD camp.
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Full Story: engadget.com | ft.com
Discuss on our forums: forums.ps3scene.com

From Michael Bay (Transformers movie director):
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Well another studio down. Maybe I was right? Blu ray is just better. HD will die a slow death. It's what I predicted a year ago. Now with Warner's down for the count with Blu Ray. That makes it easier for Wal-Mart to push Blu Ray. And whatever Wal-Mart pushes - wins. Hd better start giving out those $120 million dollars checks to stay alive. Maybe they can give me some so I can give it to my Make-A-Wish charity, just to shut me up. Have faith people Transformers will come out in Blu-ray one day!
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