133w ago - Sony's Q2 2010 sales data financial results for the quarter ending September 2010 have arrived with PlayStation 3 up and PSP slowing down.

Despite a fifty percent drop in PlayStation Portable hardware sales, the company's finances are looking good with Sony raising its full-year profit forecast citing demand for video games and computers according to Bloomberg.com.

To quote from Examiner.com (linked above): "Sony's PS3 has also closed the gap in worldwide sales against Microsoft's Xbox 360.

WorldWide Sales:

• Xbox 360: 44.5 million
• Sony PS3: 41.6 million

While both figures are impressive, Sony has had a stronger 2010 than Microsoft with over 8.1 million PS3s sold compared to Microsoft's 5.8 million Xbox 360s. Microsoft currently has a strong grasp on sales in North America, but Sony is selling well in Japan, while PAL regions the race is still close.

With Microsoft's release of Kinect in just a couple weeks, Microsoft should keep the lead if sales remain strong in North America; however, Sony has the release of Gran Turismo 5 to draw gamers in...

222w ago - Neobara of the GT Forums (linked above) has shared the following allegedly leaked PS3 Firmware 2.7 details today:

Anyway, A friend of mine works in an R&D department at Sony and recently let me in on the firmware details for 2.7. If you were disappointed with 2.6, you'll probably like what you're about to hear, but it's still missing some very crucial (and heavily requested) features. Here's a list of the things he told me will be changed:

Friends List:
• Voice Messaging is now available as an alternative to text after selecting a user on the friends list. Voice message recordings are capped at 30 seconds.
• Home Integration: Saved Playstation Home avatar photos can be selected as photo ID for Gamer Card/Friends List.
• Trophy number and Gamer Level are listed under Friend names for quick reference.

Gamer Card & Trophies:
• Gamer Card layout has been changed to more closely resemble the Playstation Store aesthetic.
• Past Trophy information can be viewed in detail by selecting "Recent Trophy History" option.
• Newly aquired trophies auto-sync in the background
• Server infrastructure for Trophies has been optimized. Resulting in faster retrieval time for Gamer Card and Trophy information.

In-Game...

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.

280w ago - Funai have announced a low price Blu-ray player for the North American market. It is expected to hit retail stores during the second quarter for under $300.

It has BD-VIDEO Profile 1.1 that supports Picture-in-Picture, HDMI 1.3a,up-conversion from DVD to 1080p and a SD card slot. Sub $300 ($299.98 probably) isn't exactly cheap but its a step in the right direction. To quote:

Press Release
Funai Corporation, Inc., the North American sales and marketing subsidiary of Funai Electric Co., Ltd., today announced the introduction of its first Blu-ray Disc player (NB500 series) for the North American market.

The Company will begin production in the first quarter of 2008, and plans to begin selling the player at retail stores in North America during the second quarter. The retail price is projected to be under $300.

Demand for players that supports High Definition contents is increasing swiftly in the U.S. market thanks to the rapid spread of Full HD flat-panel televisions in addition to FCC mandate to switch from analog to digital formats. In the consumer products market in particular, Movie and music contents are becoming more common in the Blu-ray Disc format, and shipments of specialized disc players and game machines compatible with Blu-ray Disc products are increasing. Within...