One of the benefits of working in the industry is that you get to meet tons of PR people and industry insiders and I can tell you now that virtually every single one of them are great guys and girls. You do get the odd exception but in general it’s a nice industry to work in.

However the flip side to that is when you meet a hugely excited PR person who is actively trying to convince you that the crap they are peddling is the best thing since sliced bread, you like the person, you know they are just doing their job but sometimes you just want to grab them and shake some sense into them.

For instance… Sony’s John Koller has recently come out and stated that Sony is excited about the entrance of the iPad and do not see it as a threat to their portable gaming experience.

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We’ve seen all 3 console manufacturers sales figures, but let’s take a closer look at their year-on-year revenues, based on console and software sales figures. slightly alarming is that despite good sales on each platform, all 3 console makers saw a significant drop in revenue in 2009.

Both Microsoft and Nintendo seem to have suffered a loss in revenue – to the tune of about $200M -based on a lower console selling price, because they each sold more units than the year previous. Most alarming though was Sony’s $1.3 Billion drop in revenue over the previous year.

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Ten-year-old Kade Goodman’s Christmas – and quite possibly his life – was ruined by the unfortunate sight of exposed male genitalia, when it was discovered that the used PSP he’d received for festivus contained an explicit picture of a penis.

The offending image was discovered by the lad’s 13 year old brother, who found it in the background images. Kade’s father Shon was rather upset by the ordeal.

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Hideo Kojima strangely turned his back on the PS3 a few months back to develop the true Metal Gear Sequel on the PSP instead.

Apparently the reason for this was to target the youth of Japan but now after seeing how truly awesome Modern Warfare 2 is he has decided to reverse his decision and head back to the PS3.

But don’t get overly excited he is still planning on releasing Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker on the PSP in May before returning to the PS3 and more than likely heading the team that is currently developing Metal Gear Solid: Rising on the PS3.

Source: ConnectedConsoles

Hey, comic book fans! You remember how firmware 6.20 added a completely useless comic book reader to you PSP? Well, today it become un-useless, as the comic book service has gone live.

The US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and  – ohmigosh – South Africa now has access to a slew of digital comics from your favourite major and independant publishers to be read on your PSP, whether it be a Phat, Slim or PSP Go. Setting it all up is a breeze: Make sure your PSP is updated with the latest firmware (6.20) and click the Digital Comics icon under the “Extras” column on PSP’s XMB menu to install the application. From there you can browse the digital storefront from the comfort of your PSP.

If you’re a cheap bastard, there’s a range of free comics to get you started. You can browse the entire catalogue online, here.

Yesterday I posted that the 3.15 firmware update for the Playstation 3 was apparently on it’s way, and soon.

At the time I didn’t realise exactly how soon, as the update is now up and available for download. If you didn’t see the post yesterday, the basic update includes the ability to copy data across PS3’s using a network cable as well as the ability to play PSP Mini’s on your big-ass TV.

Sweet deal. Remember, it’s optional.

According to CVG, their internet ninja spies have uncovered information that Logitech is crafting an external peripheral that’ll allow existing PSP users use their extensive UMD collections on Sony’s new drive-less PSPGo!

The only problem, according to the source, is that the peripheral would make the sleek and sexy Go! a little bulky, nullifying its point, and making the regular PSP a smarter buy. While all 27 PSP Go! owners worldwide have been clamouring for a solution allowing them the use of their UMDs, I think the chance of this seeing release is slim. An external UMD drive would blow the doors off an already alarming PSP piracy problem – something Sony’s probably not exactly keen to let happen.

Source : CVG

A press release hit my inbox late yesterday that informed me of a rather peculiar announcement.

Why is it peculiar? Well, it’s because a new Prince of Persia has been announced, but isn’t the sequel to last years re-imagining. The new title goes by the name Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands.

It looks like Ubisoft will be blending in some of the control system from the previous game. What also surprised me is that it’s coming sooner than you might think.

Full details below.

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As you might be aware the PSP’s last firmware update included a Digital Comic reader which was a very exciting time for all PSP owning graphic novel fans.

Unfortunately the day was a bit of an anti-climactic experience as Sony forgot to release any actual comics at the same time which meant the functionality was entirely useless.

However that is about to be rectified with Sony giving away a free Star Trek comic and Destructoid being kind enough to create a video demonstrating the reader functionality.

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by Daniel de Bruyne

GTA Chinatown Wars was originally released on the Nintendo DS earlier this year and now the boys from Rockstar have ported it over to the PSP.

While the game was met with critical acclaim all around, the sales were not great which makes you wonder if the PSP audience are more likely to pick it up and enjoy it when compared to the DS market. One of the greatest features of the DS version was the use of the stylus and how well Rockstar understood what a mobile game should be.

Was the port to PSP successful or have Rockstar wasted their time? Find out by reading our full review below.

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Local gaming site xboxgaming has managed to get some figures for the sales of consoles in SA and the results are interesting to say the very least.

We obviously have three different categories to look at, which come in the form of last-gen, current-gen and then handhelds. Can you guess who is kicking some major ass? Well, you probably could if you thought about it hard enough.

Check out the list of sales figures for all consoles after the jump.

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Metal Gear Solid : Peace Walker, the next “true” game in the franchise is coming exclusively to the PSP. This has been met with ire from many fans of the series who don’t own Sony’s handheld gaming system.

Seems Kojima has some mystical feature in his magic hat that’ll convince people to buy PSPs. What might that be?

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Kojima’s latest title in the Metal Gear series is be available to download for your PSP right now.

As many of you have heard, this ain’t no “lite” Metal Gear but a full blown MGS experience packed into the little PSP. The demo is only going to be a 160MB download and is available on the Peace Walker website .

The demo is the same one what was available at TGS last week. You still here? Go and get it already.

Thanks Kotaku for the heads up.

If you’ve tried logging on to the PSN – whether from your PS3, PSP or even Playstation.com, you’re likely aware that you bloody well can’t. If you try, you’ll be  greeted with this message :

Site Maintenance Notice
The server is currently down for maintenance.
We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later.

Yes, but what does it mean? I’ve pored through ancient scrolls and apocryphal texts and translated it for you. Roughly, it means that PSN is currently down for maintenance. Sony apologises for the inconvenience, and requests that you try again later.

It’s a sight that will have the Sony engineers scrambling for an answer before the executives see it. Piracy has been probably the biggest reason for the PSP’s meagre software sales and is something that Sony has put a lot of effort into resolving.

As anyone who has ever met me will be able to attest to, I passionately despise piracy and have no time for it’s supporters or bizarre apologists so this is not something that fills me with joy.

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