238w ago - Total sales figures for both PS3 and XBox show that Microsoft's price cut was not enough to win the quarter.

Sony's recently revealed Q2 earnings report reveals that the PS3 has sold 2.43 million units worldwide during the three month period ending September 30th.

That's an improvement of over a million on its Q2 2007 sales figures and brings the number of PS3s around the world to a total of 16.84 million. Software sales for the console have also more than double from the same period last year to 21.1 million.

Microsoft recently reported that the 360 sold 2.2 million consoles worldwide during the Q2 FY period, just shy of PS3 sales despite a price cut which came into effect in early-mid September.

Q3 is going to be an interesting battleground, what with Sony being adamant about not cutting price. We're intrigued to see whether LittleBigPlanet and the PS3's other big exclusives (we'd love to see some real marketing for Valkyria Chronicles -- that game deserves to sell well) will push boxes this quarter despite the 360's price cut momentum. Only time will tell.

239w ago - September marked the Xbox 360's best month of 2008, in terms of sales in the U.S -- its performance in Japan hasn't been too bad either.

Following a price cut that made the 360 the least expensive current generation console on the market, the company moved 347,200 units to American consumers. While it wasn't enough to supplant the Wii as the best selling console in the country, it was enough to beat the competition from Sony.

Kotaku spoke to Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360, just after NPD sales numbers hit to get his take. Unsurprisingly, he seemed rather pleased with the company's recent hardware successes.

"We expect to continue our price advantage over the PlayStation 3 for a long time," Greenberg told us, pointing to the $199 price tag of the company's entry level Arcade console, assuming that Sony would issue no pre-holiday price drops. "And we feel confident that we'll outsell the PS3 this holiday season in North America and in Europe. We'll do it on a global scale."

As for what those consumers are picking up, Greenberg said "We've seen lifts across all consoles, but the Arcade is doing exceptionally well."

Microsoft touted a 42% increase, month to month, on NPD hardware sales data. Greenberg made sure to point out that the August...

239w ago - Update 2: SCEA has acknowledged the recall on its PlayStation Blog, apologizing to those offended and for the delay. According to the post, SCEA "will begin shipping LittleBigPlanet to retail in North America the week of October 27th."

Update: Impatient gamers may still be able to get their hands on the version of Little Big Planet that contains the Qur'an references. Gaming importer National Console Support said that it has begun shipping US versions of the game to customers who preordered. What's more, the site says that it will ship the game to US customers for Saturday delivery if they order by 4 p.m. Eastern time today.

This is not the first time a game developer has run afoul of the Qur'an. In November of 2002, Microsoft released the Xbox fighter Kakuto Chojin with a piece of background music that sampled passages of the holy book.

An internal Microsoft "geopolitical strategy team" identified the potential problem with the music as soon as the game had gone into duplication. Microsoft had a chance to recall the game before it hit shelves, but decided to release it anyway in the hopes that the music would go unnoticed. Although Kakuto...

240w ago - It all begins here, folks. You're about to be inundated with quality titles from now until Christmas. Dead Space is one we've been eagerly anticipating, so it's great to see its release in the US and Asia this week.

Even better that it'll be waiting for us when we return from TGS. Other notable releases include SOCOM, Rock Revolution and Saints Row 2. When we say "notable," we don't necessarily mean that in a good way. Here's the full release list:

US Games
• Dead Space
• Blitz II: The League
• FIFA Soccer 2009
• SOCOM: Confrontation (with headset)
• SOCOM: Confrontation (without headset)
• Rock Revolution
• Saints Row 2
• Saints Row 2 Collector's Edition
• Golden Axe: Beast Rider

EU Games
• PES 2009
• Saints Row 2
• Golden Axe: Beast Rider
• Rapala Fishing Frenzy

Asian Games
• Dead Space
• NBA 2K9
• FIFA Soccer 09
• Facebreaker

Release dates are constantly subject to change, almost completely by random. If you're worried, clarify with your local retailer. PS3 games are region free, so go ahead and import any game in the list above.

Be aware, however, that DLC is region locked, so those...

241w ago - Did anyone else think that the Fracture demo wasn't as abysmal as you were expecting? Sure, it was the epitome of mediocre third-person action with a gimmick attached, but at times it was almost fun.

Well the full game is out this week in both the US and Europe and, unless you're a European lego fan with vigilante tendencies, that's pretty much it. Oh, except for basketball. Lots of basketball. Here's the full release list:

US Games
Fracture
NBA 2K9
NBA Live 2009
NBA 09: The Inside

EU Games
Lego Batman
Fracture
NBA 2K9
NBA Live 09

Asian Games
NBA 09: The Inside
NBA Live 09
Guitar Hero III
Guitar Hero Aerosmith

Release dates are constantly subject to change, so be sure to check with your local retailer before making any sudden moves. Your PS3 will play games from any region, so go ahead and import anything you see above.

Do be aware that DLC is locked to specific regions, though, so European games will require DLC from the Euro PSN Store. You may also be interested to know that NBA 09: The Inside is the only NBA game to support trophies.