Is Sony determined to alienate all potential buyers with no price reduction for its next generation console?

The PlayStation 3 is already the most expensive video game machine on the market and with the news that the gaming division suffered a significant lost in a recent quarterly financial result (due to poor sales with the PSP and PS3), you would expect a price cut to boost sales but that’s not the case.

According to a chief financial officer, Nobuyuki Oneda, the possibility of the PlayStation 3 on sale at a lower price won’t happen for at least “two to three years.”

Bad news for European gamers who will be paying the most when it goes on sale for around £425 this March…

The latest firmware update has become available for Sony’s PlayStation Portable. Firmware version 3.10 includes a “conserve memory” option for the handheld system’s Internet browser and an automatic volume adjuster in the sound settings to compensate for differing audio levels in movies, games and music.

In addition to the firmware, Sony released a 25.4MB demo for the PSP third-person shooter Killzone: Liberation, with more free playable demos coming in the next few weeks.

To download the demo, visit the European PSP website here

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has chosen twelve individuals and organisations to help promote the next-generation console PlayStation 3 in the UK with a unique marketing strategy.

The strategy, not unlike the ‘All I Want for Xmas is a PSP’ fiasco, is to encourage club promoters, artists and designers to distribute content “inspired by key characteristics of the PlayStation 3.”

These can be distributed across a wide range of outlets including social networks such as MySpace, websites, blogs, e-mail and their own contacts.

According to SCE UK marketing man Alan Duncan, ‘traditional’ avenues of advertising and PR aren’t enough to communicate the PlayStation 3’s appeal: “The idea is to use physical space, blogs and other forms of digital networking to inform, entertain and encourage interaction and debate about all the different things the PlayStation 3 can do.”

Of course Sony recently used the same strategy to market the PlayStation Portable, which didn’t exactly manage to send Sony’s handheld flying off the shelves.

Rana Reeves, director of Shine Communications, which developed the digital strategy with Sony commented: “Traditionally, brand communication with consumers has been channelled via an ad agency. The explosion of social networks and blogging, however, has created a seismic shift. Brands wanting to enter this world have to be prepared to trust consumers to talk about them whether the comment is good or bad.”

Essentially this is a far cheaper method of promoting the product by user-generated content, which is distributed across the Internet, skipping the traditional media like radio and television. These participants will fulfil the agreement by cross-promoting their own products and brands alongside Sony. And in this case, design and fashion magazine KCTV hosts a PlayStation 3-inspired fashion show at the Sony-owned ‘3 Rooms’ venue in London’s East End.

Afterward, guest attendees each blog about or distribute content related to the event. In addition, KCTV posts a video highlight across its digital network, which includes MySpace and YouTube. The result means Sony extends its ‘PlayStation’ brand to further reaches of the net.

The latest series of CSI: NY returns to Five this weekend. Set in New York City, the spin-off of the popular crime drama franchise follows the taciturn Detective Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise) and his partner, Detective Stella Bonasera (Melina Kanakaredes). Together, they lead a crime-solving team and like the counterparts in Las Vegas and Miami, Detective Taylor knows that people may lie, but the evidence rarely does.

In the first episode of season 3, two bungee-jumpers report a death on the Brooklyn Bridge, Mac and Stella are called in to investigate – along with Mac’s new love interest, medical examiner Peyton Driscoll (Claire Forlani). In Manhattan, Danny Messer (Carmine Giovinazzo) and Doctor Sheldon Hawkes (Hill Harper) investigate the violent death of a young heiress.

CSI: NY – February 3rd, 9.05 pm on Five.

Apple’s smallest iPod music player is now available in five different colours. The $79 or £55 iPod Shuffle comes in a shade of pink, green, blue, orange and the original silver. It still features one gigabyte of memory, with a battery life around 12 hours.

More information on the iPod Shuffle can be seen here

These beautiful and stylish images are from photographer Steve Harries’ new book Reading Lines.

The book is a collection of photos of London skateboarders and the public spaces they explore, exploit and interact with.

“The subjects portrayed in these works are both the skateboarders and also some of London’s most iconic buildings,” explains Harries. “They are from the length and breadth of the community – young, old, amateur and professional, of varying backgrounds and professions. What unites them is an interest in public space and a desire to interact with the planes, surfaces and textures of London’s built environment.”

Each image are accompanied by text, not only by well-regarded members of the skateboarding community such as Paul Sunman, founder of Slam City Skates, but also by a selection of high profile young architects.

For more information on photographer Steven Harries, including a portfolio of his work, please visit the site here

Fifty years into the future, the Sun begins to die and with it, the planet Earth. A team of astronauts have been sent to re-ignite the first failing spot, but communication with them has been dead for some time. Seven years later, a second team are sent to complete the mission, as they are Earth’s last hope.

This new science fiction thriller is from the director of 28 Days Later and Trainspotting – Danny Boyle. The movie will star Rose Byrne, Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh, Hiroyuki Sanada, Chris Evans, Cliff Curtis, Troy Garity, and Benedict Wong.

Sunshine will be out in cinema this coming April. See the teaser trailer here

Looking for some adrenalin-fix when performing tricks on a bike? Love the outdoor freedom in the Grand Theft Auto world? Then why not combined these two and experience the thrills of performing a super-cool stunt.

In this video clip (shown below), some hard-core gamers have exploited the GTA: San Andreas environment (and the laws of gravity) with some stunning and over-the-top tricks.

Feel inspired to give it a go? Get on your bike and try to pull off some extreme skills. Though don’t try it for real or you end up in hospital…

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Microsoft’s new operating system for PC users is finally available, after years of delays. Windows Vista promises next-generation computer power with improved interface and security tools.

The new system, which is promoted with the tagline “The wow starts now” is intended to bring huge advances to computer users worldwide, offering detailed 3D graphics, better performance and improved protection from viruses and other online threats.

But to run the new version of Windows, Microsoft recommends PC users to have at least 512 Megabyte of RAM, 800Mhz processor and 15 Gigabyte of hard disk space.

As for Microsoft’s decision to use DRM (Digital Rights Management) in Vista, it is to prevent High Definition movies from being copied to other machines.

The DRM in the new operating system will “downgrade” the quality of all videos and audio, if you to try to output the media file without permission.

In order to playback High Definition movies, the copyright holders (of HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs) can insist that all videos must be viewed and outputted via a connection that supports the HDCP protection system on a PC, television or monitor.

That could prove a problem for many users whose graphics cards have a DVI or component video connection, which do not support HDCP.

Nevertheless, questions are being asked whether to switch from the current Windows XP to Vista as the advantages in the new operating system is more to do with eye-candy (like flipping through different windows in 3D) than useful features.

What kind of glitch could it be on the Nintendo Wii? Buy Mario Kart 64 from the Virtual Console, add 3 players, pick Moo Moo Farm and brace yourself for a burst of speed! I wonder if there are any other glitches on the Virtual Console like it to date…

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