48w ago - Sony Community Manager Mike Robles has confirmed that Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 is now available on PSN beginning today.

To quote: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 is releasing today on PSN, bringing decks and enemies not before seen or played in any Duels of the Planeswalkers games.

Duels 2013 also brings a new multiplayer variant of Magic with its Planechase game mode. Play with your friends as your battle leaps between planes, experiencing excitement and surprise as new Planes and Phenomena cause the game to change unexpectedly.

With nearly 100 Magic cards from the upcoming Magic 2013 card-set release, Duels 2013 is your first chance to play with these new cards.

In addition to new cards, there are new ways to play the game such as a skill challenges and a new format of game play called 'Encounters' where you have to overcome a very specific obstacle with your deck.

If you've never played Magic before, or if you are a battle-tested veteran, Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 is a perfect way to enjoy the game. With a simple to learn introduction to the game, you can learn to play Magic for the first time or all over again.

In addition,...

115w ago - With news of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunamis in Japan, several Sony factories are currently closed as a result of the disaster.

To quote from Engadget (linked above): "Sony and Toyota have both stopped operations in their factories due to damage. Tragically, one Honda worker lost his life after a wall collapsed, while several Panasonic workers are said to have suffered minor injuries.

It remains to be seen exactly what impacts this will have on consumers, but Sony's closed factories were responsible for the production of Blu-ray discs and batteries, while the numerous automotive shutdowns could result in short-term shortages. This bad news sent stocks downward, with German share prices for Sony dropping 2.5 percent and Honda 4.5 percent.

We're still watching with concern to see what other impacts the resultant tsunamis could have, but for now we'll keep hoping for the best."

140w ago - Sony's Social Media Manager Jeff Rubenstein has shared the second video in their Sports Champions series today, this time spotlighting Gladiator Duel on the PlayStation Move PS3 motion controller.

To quote: Sports Champions Week continues here on the Blog with the hack 'n' slash action of Gladiator Duel.

In the Move demonstrations we've given at trade shows and Move meetups, Gladiator Duel has been the event that people have gravitated to immediately.

And it's easy to see why - bashing your friends in a head to head battle with one-to-one tracking is pretty awesome. Producer Jeremy Ray walks us through the features:

More than any other Sports Champions event, Gladiator Duel is the one that's going to get that heart rate up and a bit of a sweat going. Tomorrow we'll continue Sports Champions week with the comparatively mellow Disc Golf (a personal fave of mine).

162w ago - PlayStation Network Product Manager James Thorpe has announced news today of a major PlayTV update that will be available at the end of 2010.

To quote: Just wanted to let you know that the guys at Cambridge studios are working really hard to develop some great new features for PlayTV. The next update for PlayTV is due later this year but testing of some of the new features has already begun.

I don't want to give too much away and spoil the surprise but a little hint to one of the new features is that PlayTV will have links to the worlds most popular social network site, Facebook.

Other great enhancements to PlayTV and brand new features will also be included in the update.

As soon as these exciting new features are ready for you I'll give you all the details here on the blog.

Hope you are enjoying your PlayTV on your PS3. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to add them and I'll be back on here on Monday to answer as many as I can.

I look forward to getting this update to you later in the year.

163w ago - Despite some refunds being granted, today Sony UK has officially apologized for the OtherOS removal in the recently released PS3 Firmware 3.21 update citing PS3 piracy concerns as the underlying factor.

To quote from Sony's official statement to Thinq.co.uk (linked above):

"We are sorry if users of Linux or other operating systems are disappointed by our decision to issue a firmware upgrade which when installed disables this operating system feature.

We have made the decision to protect the integrity of the console and whilst mindful of the impact on Linux or other operating system users we nevertheless felt it would be in the best interests of the majority of users to pursue this course of action.

As you will be aware we have upgraded and enhanced functionality and features of the console by numerous firmware upgrades over time and this is a very rare instance...