PlayStation 3

Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 Get Facebook, Social Media Integration

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 18, 2009 - 12:47pm.
Foster City, Calif. - A day after Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) introduced Xbox 360 integration with social media services including Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm, Sony (NYSE: SNE) Computer Entertainment America announced its own integration of Facebook on the PlayStation 3 platform.

Netflix to Enable Movie, TV Streaming to PlayStation 3

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 26, 2009 - 10:54am.
Los Gatos, Calif. - Online DVD rental service Netflix (NASD: NFLX) announced on Monday that it will extend its on-demand movie and TV episode streaming service to Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3 game console platform, expanding beyond a previously exclusive deal with Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Report: U.S. Game Sales Up 1%; Sony PS3 Leads for First Time

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 20, 2009 - 7:43am.
Port Washington, N.Y. - Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3 for the first time ever led U.S. video game sales in September, which on the whole rose 1% from a year ago after several months of  decline, according to sales figures compiled by market research firm NPD Group. Overall sales were $1.28 billion in September; despite Sony's success, game hardware sales fell 6% from a year ago, to $472 million.

Sony Selling PS3, PSP Game Access Codes on Amazon

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2009 - 12:29pm.
Foster City, Calif. - Sony Computer Entertainment America said on Wednesday that it has partnered with Amazon.com to place digital access codes for more than 200 PlayStation Network games and game-related content for the PlayStation 3 and PSP available for purchase and download from the Amazon.com Video Game Store. The digital access codes then unlock the game downloads via a PS3 or PSP.

Sony Faces Class Action Suit Over PS3 Firmware Upgrades

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2009 - 12:01pm.
San Francisco - A class action suit has been filed against Sony Computer Entertainment America, over firmware updates for the PlayStation 3 that allegedly "bricked" some owners' consoles, refusing to play Blu-ray discs after installation, Ars Technica reports.

Sony: Sales of New, Cheaper PS3 Hit 1 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 24, 2009 - 9:35am.
Tokyo - Sony (NYSE: SNE) has announced that sales of its new, cheaper $299 PlayStation 3 model have hit 1 million in the three weeks since the device was launched. The company also said that a new motion-sensitive controller for the PlayStation 3 is set to be released in the spring of 2010.

tags: Games | Sony | PlayStation 3 |

Report: U.S. Video Games Sales Sink for 6th Straight Month

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 11, 2009 - 7:03am.
Port Washington, N.Y. - U.S. video game sales slid for the six month in a row in August, down 16% from a year ago to $909 million, and are now down 14% year-to-date, according to sales data compiled by market research firm NPD Group. Hardware sales fell 25%, to $298 million, although NPD noted that all consoles except Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PS2 realized sales increases over July levels.

Sony to Debut 3D LCD TV in 2010, Add 3D Support to Devices

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2009 - 11:58am.
Berlin - Sony (NYSE: SNE) announced on Wednesday that it intends to introduce a 3D-compatible Bravia LCD television in 2010. Additionally, the company plans to develop 3D compatibility into more of its devices, including Blu-ray products, VAIO laptops and PlayStation 3 game consoles.

tags: TV | Sony | Blu-ray | 3D | PlayStation 3 |

Report: Xbox 360 Console Most Likely to Fail; Wii is Most Reliable

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2009 - 10:33am.
San Francisco - Microsoft's (NASD: MSFT) Xbox 360 consoles fail at a rate of 23.7% during their first two years of use, compared with a failure rate of 10% for Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3 and just 2.7% for Nintendo's Wii, according to a survey of 16,000 failed consoles conducted by warranty provider Square Trade.

Sony Introduces PlayStation 3 "Slim" With $299 Price Tag

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 18, 2009 - 10:24am.
Foster City, Calif. - Sony Computer Entertainment (NYSE: SNE) has announced plans to introduce a cheaper, slimmer version of its PlayStation 3, which will sell for $299 when it goes on sale Sept. 1. At $299, the PS3 "Slim" is still more expensive than Microsoft's Xbox 360 or Nintendo's Wii.

Report: Sony to Introduce New PS3 Slim Model This Month

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 4, 2009 - 10:47am.
Los Angeles - Sony (NYSE: SNE) is preparing to introduce a new PlayStation 3 model, the PS3 Slim, at a press event before the Gamescom expo in Cologne, Germany later this month, Engadget reported, citing the Belgian blog RTLinfo.

Sony Posts $391M Q1 Loss; Games, TV Sales Fall

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 30, 2009 - 9:48am.
Tokyo - Sony (NYSE: SNE) reported a loss of $391 million for its fiscal first quarter, hampered by a weak economy and a strong yen that both cuts into overseas revenue and increases production costs in Japan, The New York Times reported. Sales were down 19.2% from the same period a year ago, to $16.8 billion.

Sony: PlayStation Network Hits 500 Million Downloads

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 17, 2009 - 10:10am.
Los Angeles - Sony (NYSE: SNE) has distributed more than 500 million pieces of content to PlayStation 3 and PSP owners via its PlayStation Network over the past year, Variety reports. The service, which now counts over 25 million registered users, offers a selection of 2,000 movies and 10,200 TV episodes from 38 content partners, including all the major movie studios. About 35% of movies are available in HD on the PlayStation Network.

Report: U.S. Game Sales Plunge 31% to $1.17B in June

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 17, 2009 - 7:18am.
Port Washington, N.Y. - U.S. video game sales plunged 31% in June, to $1.17 billion, the most precipitous drop since the industry saw a 41% year-over-year decline in September 2000, according to figures from market research firm NPD Group. "This is one of the first months where I think the impact of the economy is clearly reflected in the sales numbers," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

Sony Debuts $250 PSP Go, Plans Motion-Sensing Controller

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 2, 2009 - 12:07pm.
Los Angeles - Sony (NYSE: SNE) Computer Entertainment America plans to join rivals Nintendo and Microsoft in introducing its own motion-sensing controller for the PlayStation 3 in 2010, the company announced at the E3 video game conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Sony also confirmed speculation about the release of a new, 50% smaller version of its PSP handheld, the PSP Go, which will go on sale for $250 in North America and Europe on Oct. 1.

Report: U.S. Video Game Sales Down 17% Again in April

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 15, 2009 - 5:23am.
Port Washington, N.Y. - U.S. video game sales were down 17% in April to $1.03 billion, the second decline in as many months for an industry that had previously shown resilience in the current economy, according to sales data compiled by market research firm NPD Group. While game software sales plunged 23% year-over-year, to $510.7 million, NPD noted that April 2008's numbers up were nearly 50% on 2007, fueled by the release of blockbusters "Mario Kart" and "Grand Theft Auto 4."

Sony PlayStation 3 Outsold Nintendo Wii in Japan Last Month

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 6, 2009 - 9:34am.
Tokyo - The Sony (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3 outsold the Nintendo Wii in Japan for the first time in 16 months in March, Reuters reported, citing sales data calculated by Japanese magazine Enterbrain.

Report: U.S. Game Sales Up 10% in February to $1.47 Billion

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 20, 2009 - 7:59am.
Port Washington, N.Y. - The U.S. video game industry continued to buck the economic downturn in February, with sales up 10% from a year ago to $1.47 billion, led, once again, by strong sales of Nintendo's Wii and DS systems, according to a report from market research firm NPD Group. "The U.S. video games industry continues to post strong year-over-year comps despite the tough economy. Unit sales increased even more than dollar sales did, reflecting a slightly lower average retail price for all categories as compared to last year," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

Sony Adds NBC Universal Films, TV Shows to PlayStation Network

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 11, 2009 - 1:25pm.
Foster City, Calif. - Sony (NYSE: SNE) Computer Entertainment America has announced a deal with NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) that will see movies and TV shows made available for purchase and download to PlayStation 2 and PSP systems via the PlayStation Network. Download to own films will include "Milk" and "Hellboy II"; films will also be available for rental, many in both standard definition and HD. The TV lineup will include episodes of shows including "The Office," "30 Rock" and "Battlestar Galactica."

Toshiba HD Set-top to Feature PlayStation 3 "Cell" Processor

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 8, 2009 - 2:11pm.

Las Vegas - Consumer electronics firm Toshiba plans to introduce a TV set-top box that will be able to record up to six HD channels at the same time, as well as raise their apparent resolution, the Associated Press reported. The set-top, which will be powered by the same Cell processor used in Sony's PlayStation 3, will be sold along with a flat-panel LCD TV later this year in Japan for between $5,000 and $10,000, Scott Ramirez, VP of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products, told AP.

tags: Games | TV | HD | Toshiba | PlayStation 3 | Cell |