136w ago - SCEA General Manager Mark Stanley for Latin America has shared some new videos today spotlighting a new PlayStation in Latin America: Live in a State of Play advertising campaign.

To quote: Hola PlayStation Nation. It's a huge treat to share with you today all the exciting news we have for PlayStation in Latin America.

Today marks a momentous milestone as we launch our first official advertising campaign for the region and have the great privilege of unveiling the first two TV commercials with you, our most loyal fans.

As some of you may know, we formally launched the PlayStation business in Latin America early last year and today we are officially operating in 19 countries across the region. We're thrilled at the opportunity to extend the same access to the full breadth of PlayStation products and services to our consumers in Latin America as we've been doing in the US and Canada for many years.

This means that when North American consumers are able to experience first-hand the array of immersive and revolutionary PlayStation Move games, Latin America consumers are also sharing in that experience on the same day.

We're also spending a lot of time focusing on bringing customized and localized experiences for our Latin American PlayStation Nation....

173w ago - Today Sony's PlayStation Home Director Jack Buser has detailed the state of PS Home for PS3 owners in 2010.

To quote: As many of you know, 2009 was a big year for PlayStation Home. The millions of you that use PlayStation Home saw us transform from a 3D virtual world into a true social gaming platform with more than 50 spaces and over 100 games.

One of the biggest highlights of the year was the launch of the popular Sodium One space, which has redefined what a social game can be by combining massive action, stunning graphics and social experiences in a way never done before.

PlayStation Home has become a leader in the evolution of social games from simple 2D web games to immersive high-definition 3D experiences made possible by the tremendous horsepower of the PlayStation 3.

As we start the new year, we are not slowing down. We are adding new spaces, community events and virtual items each and every week, with many of these updates based directly on your feedback.

Last week marked an important milestone in our evolution with a new iteration of the Mall, which was heavily influenced by our community's request to have a more streamlined shopping experience.

The Mall now features stores from some of our closest partners, including Loot from Sony...

209w ago - Obviously the PSP Go is designed to be a gaming system in its open state, but what about when it's closed?

JoyStiq (linked above) contacted Sony to find out if it was even possible to play games in the handheld's shuttered mode and if the company had any titles in development that would utilize the functionality.

To quote: A representative for Sony told us it hasn't announced any titles in development that strictly use the PSP Go's L/R shoulder buttons, but that "users will be able to play those games with the PSP Go in closed mode."

The Sony rep continued, "Users will be able to access content and applications on the XMB such as videos, music and Skype when the panel is closed - but users will need to launch the application first before closing the panel."

Other accessible features when the panel is closed include "original applications," like the clock and calendar.

233w ago - For years, Sony's PlayStation 2 dominated the hearts, minds, and wallets of consumers everywhere. The competing Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo GameCube consoles struggled to stay visible in the shadow of its popularity.

Apart from that success, though, Sony's prominence as an electronics company had been sliding in recent years. The PlayStation brand became its crown jewel.

But when the PS3 came out to compete with the Xbox 360, its steep price (due to the inclusion of a Blu-ray player, a feature many people didn't yet understand or want) and disasterous PR problems led to a much slower start than was expected. Post-launch, Sony failed to emphasize the console's biggest success -- highly original indie and casual games available on the PlayStation Network service.

Such affordable and widely accessible games played a part in the PS2's success, but Sony instead persisted in a strategy to beat Microsoft at attracting hardcore gamers who like to compete online, despite the PS3's inferior social tools.

While the PS3 is struggling, you don't have to write it off completely. There are a handful of games available...

262w ago - GameSpot has conducted a benchmark test of the differences of various times when a Solid State Drive is used on the PS3.

From the results of their tests, the use of a SSD seems to be of little appeal, while the load times improved, installation times increased largely.

To quote: At a cost of $400, it's hard to justify purchasing a solid state drive, especially when you consider that the money could buy you a whole new console. The argument becomes even more difficult to push when the benefits of said drive aren't universal.

Load times improved, but installation times increased tremendously. More expensive SSDs have faster write speeds, but at almost four times the cost. There certainly are benefits to upgrading to a solid state drive, but we wouldn't recommend doing so until the prices and speed are more in line with performance expectations.

Fortunately, solid state drive prices seem to halve every year, and performance is improving. We shouldn't have to wait much longer for SSDs with larger capacities, better performance, and lower prices.