216w ago - Sony must be pretty pleased with its performance on its home market and thinking about how it could replicate it all over the world.

The PlayStation 3 has become the best selling gaming platform in Japan, probably because of the release of the Blu-ray version of the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children movie, which is packed with a demo version of the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII.

The PlayStation 3 has seen an increase of 42,000 units in sales, to reach 62,527, a number normally reserved for the Nintendo DS or for the PlayStation Portable. The Advent Children Blu-ray movie sold more than 270,000 units in its first week on shelves, which is extremely impressive compared with the best sold videogame of the week, which only moved 142,000 units.

The Nintendo DS is in second place, selling 44,725 units as the phasing out of the DS Lite, which is being replaced by the DSi, continues. The PlayStation Portable saw a dip in sales of less than 1,000 units, reaching just over 40,000 to stay in third place.

Worryingly for Nintendo, the Wii is also continuing its descending trend, with the home console only selling around 13,000 units, which is about 2,000 down from last week. It's now in fourth place, just ahead of the Xbox 360, which sold 8,652 units in one week. There are over 8 million Wiis...

219w ago - A recent study of over 1,100 British men found that most of them preferred video games over sex.

Wait, what? Thankfully this study was of PS3 owners, that means Xbox 360, Wii and PC gamers still have some of their dignity intact.

To quote: 1 in 3 British men would prefer to play video games than sleep with their partner, with 72% claiming they'd shun their missus for the night to play a new release.

From a study of 1,130 British men, of those in relationships, 32% that said they would prefer to play video games gave reasons ranging from their "partner being hard to please" to the prospect being "not as much fun" as gaming.

220w ago - Each of LittleBigPlanet's 725,000 user-generated levels is unique, according to Sony Community Team Leader MusterBuster.

Many are inspired by films, TV shows and games titles, including levels "LittleBigPlanet Takeshi's Castle", "LBP Jurassic Park" and "LBP-MotorStorm", while others use in-game tools to show-off impressive engineering such as the "LittleBigCalculator", circus-themed "Uncle Fritz's Funhouse Frenzy" or LittleBigPlanet community favorite "Huge Pinball Machine".

Press Release: Half-a-million homemade levels offer a taste of creative gaming

LittleBigPlanet flourishes with a community of nearly two million users

London, 01st April 2009: The critically-acclaimed LittleBigPlanet™ for PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) has marked the coming of age of gaming as it moves into a new realm defined by creativity and community. This best-selling title from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) allows players to build their own levels and share them via PlayStation®Network.

Nearly two million players worldwide have joined the LittleBigPlanet community since its launch in November 2008, where they, rather than developers, drive the experience by creating game content to share with others.

The LittleBigPlanet community...

220w ago - Small and independent developers can now access advanced GameSpy technology, with the first title from the program being Buccaneer by Blitz Games.

Press Release: SAN FRANCISCO - MARCH 27, 2009 - GameSpy Technology, the video game industry's leading provider of online gaming services, today announced the availability of a new pilot program, GameSpy Indie, designed to support independent game developers and advance innovation in online-enabled gaming across the industry.

In conjunction with the launch, Blitz Games Studios announced that the first game from the new program - Buccaneer: The Pursuit of Infamy, developed by Stickman Studios - will be released next week.

Through this new program, GameSpy Technology is now being made available to smaller developers that can benefit from high value online services but may have been prohibited in the past due to resource or implementation barriers. The program expands the reach of GameSpy's industry-leading suite of technologies and services, which are available for every existing gaming platform.

"At GameSpy, we are committed to advancing innovation in online and connected play within the gaming industry," said Jamie Berger, SVP Consumer Products and Technology, GameSpy Technology. "This means that we not only work to...

222w ago - Today Public Relations Specialist Brian Keltner has announced news that GGL Global Gaming has launched a Road to Retribution PSP Tournament. To quote:

Resistance: Retribution has only been available for mere hours, but we hope you've been practicing! Starting today, there's more than James Grayson's life on the line - try $25,000 in Sony prizes.

Global Gaming and SCEA have teamed up to offer fans the Road to Retribution Tournament, where Resistance Retribution players go head-to-head on the new PSP-exclusive third person shooter.

Registration for the 2v2 and 4v4 ladders kicks off today, and runs through May 10, 2009. The top players from the ladders will move up to compete in the bracket playoffs from May 13, 2009 to May 31, 2009 and battle it out for SonyStyle gear from PlayStation, PSP system prize packs, and Resistance: Retribution inspired leather bomber jackets.

To join the open ladder, participants can head over the the Road to Retribution GGL site to complete the online registration form. All players must be legal residents of the U.S. or Canada and at least 13...