Microsoft have said they are not in talks with Sony about putting Blue-ray in the Xbox 360. (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6187714.html)

February 2008 sales figures are in: (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6187799.html)

TOP-SELLING HARDWARE - FEBRUARY 2008

(http://www.gamespot.com/news/6187311.html)

Following its brief campaign to support the doomed HD DVD format, Microsoft has now apparently entered into talks with Sony to bring Blu-ray disc technology to the Xbox 360. That once-unthinkable scenario was outlined today in a report in the British economic daily the Financial Times, two months after Xbox group marketing manager Albert Penello reopened the door to the possibility.

"It should be consumer choice; and if that's the way they vote, that's something we'll have to consider," Penello told the Reuters news service during the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in January. Since then, though, decisions by retail giants Wal-Mart and Best Buy as well as online rental house Netflix made up the public's mind for it, causing Toshiba to finally abandon HD DVD production last month.

Citing an unnamed "senior executive," the Financial Times said that Sony and Microsoft are not simply discussing a successor to the Xbox 360's now discontinued, dirt-cheap external HD DVD drive. The newspaper said that there is also the possibility of an internal Blu-ray drive being incorporated into a new, more expensive "premium" 360 model, as it is already in the PlayStation 3. Thusly, Sony would earn royalties from sales of a rival console--a first for the game industry.

For its part, Microsoft quickly denied any move toward Blu-ray had been officially made. "We have made no such announcement," a rep told GameSpot. "Games are what are driving consumers to purchase game consoles, and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster games available."

For its part, Sony welcomes the possibility of a Blu-ray-equipped Xbox 360. "If Microsoft wants to release Gears of War 3 on a Blu-ray Disc, I think we can make that happen," Sony Computer Entertainment America's vice president of product marketing Scott A. Steinberg told GameSpot prior to today's report.

While Steinberg's comments were merely hypothetical, they were echoed by another SCEA rep today--who declined to confirm nor deny the Times report. "While of course we are excited that the Blu-ray won the format war and knew that our decision to include Blu-ray in PS3 would pay off, the Blu-ray format is an initiative developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association," said the rep, referring to the body governing the BD format. While led by Sony, the BDA is made up of nine companies: Sony, Pioneer, Philips, Thomson, LG, Hitachi, Sharp, Samsung, and Panasonic parent company ****

Does victory for Blue-ray in the format war mean that the PS3 will eventually win the console war? Some experts think so:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6186286.html

January sales figures are in:

Hardware sales weren't the only thing shrinking last month, and Nintendo's longtime lead on its competitors was similarly slimmed. The Wii once again took the system sales crown, but by a much narrower margin than in previous months--and with a new challenger nipping at its heels. In a month that saw significant advances for the PlayStation 3's chosen Blu-ray disc format, Sony's system ran nearly neck-and-neck with the Wii, selling 269,000 systems compared to the Nintendo console's 275,000. The third-place Nintendo DS racked up 251,000 system sales, while the PlayStation Portable and Xbox 360 brought up the rear, selling 230,000 units each.

Hardware Sales (in units sold)
Wii: 274,000
PlayStation 3: 269,000
Nintendo DS: 251,000
PlayStation Portable: 230,000
Xbox 360: 230,000
(http://www.gamespot.com/news/6186077.html)

Ok i know its it not my place to say this but......COME-ON-PEOPLE!!!! This union is gettin really boring. Hardly anyone is commenting in the forums and imagine what kind of first-impression it would leave on new members of this union. So come on start new conversation topics and actually SAY something in them.

Thankks for listening

It looks like Sony's limited holiday offer of a free 40GB PlayStation 3 with every purchase of a new Bravia LCD television in Australia worked wonders for both the TV and gaming sides of the Japanese giant. Sony Computer Entertainment Australia head Michael Ephraim said more than 28,000 PS3s were given away as part of the promotion, which ran from December 21, 2007, to January 28, 2008.

"On the Bravia PS3 offer, we're now up to 28,000-plus--these are audited numbers from Sony. They have taken about a 30 percent market in flat screens for the month of January off the back of that promotion," Ephraim said.

Sony recently released figures showing 155,000 PS3s were sold in Australia last year, but Ephraim says the 28,000 given away as part of the Bravia deal were not included as part of this figure because industry data tracker GfK Australia "doesn't report on a console if it's given away free". This would make the PS3's Australian base more than 180,000 units. By comparison, Microsoft's Xbox 360 has a reported Aussie install base of 306,000 units, while the Nintendo Wii has 300,000 units.

Here Is An Article Posted On GameSpot;

What we heard: There's no question 2007 was a bumpy year for the PlayStation 3. It began with the console in scarce supply post-launch, and progressed with month after month of disappointing sales reports. In an effort to jump-start the platform, Sony began a shakeup in its game division's management, which culminated in Ken "Father of the PlayStation" Kutaragi's retirement in June. The electronics giant also tweaked the PS3's configuration, discontinuing the 20GB and 60GB models in favor of 40GB and 80GB editions.

Last week, reports surfaced that the 80GB PS3 may be next on Sony's chopping block. This week, Opposable Thumbs reported that it had learned what would fill its slot in Sony's two-model PS3 strategy. The blog reported that Sony is phasing out the 80GB version and will replace it with a new configuration with a larger hard drive--either 120GB or 160GB. The new console will come with the new rumble-enabled Dual Shock 3 controller, which Sony said would be available in North America and Europe this spring. (The controller is already available in Japan.)

The official story: "As you know, we don't comment on rumors or speculation."--A weary-sounding Sony rep.

Bogus or not bogus?: Judging by the track record of ArsTechnica's source--who successfully uncovered the $399 40GB PS3 bundle--this looks not bogus.

What Do You Guys Think?

This is great news.I can't wait for GTA 4.

The PS2 is reborn. Here is the article printed in a Australia magazine.

PS2 REBORN:

Sony Europe has confirmed that they will release yet another version of the PS2 in 2008. The redesign makes it even lighter than the PS2 Slimline version and will be available in a variety of colours. Considering there are still thousands of PS2 games out there and the PS3 no longer has backwards compatibility it sounds like a smart move.....

There it is (by the way i didnt post the last comment of the article.) So what does everyone think of this news. Is it a good move or a bad move for Sony?

New Play.com Live details have been revealed on GS:

Play.com reveals Live event details

A spokesperson for Play.com Live has told GameSpot a little bit about what is being planned for what could be the biggest ever UK consumer gaming event.

Due to take place over a weekend in March at Wembley Stadium in London, it will primarily be a chance for gamers to get their hands on up-and-coming games, and see sneak previews of titles due to be released up until the end of the year.

The spokesperson said, "It's a good chance to check out anything you've not seen before."

The show will consist of a series of stands from publishers, who will be showing off their ways, and the focal point will be a stage. On the stage will be bands, competitions, awards, and other interactive stuff.

There will also be a market area where merchandising will be on sale. Four publishers have already been confirmed as signing up for the event--THQ, Ubisoft, Microsoft, and Activision, although many more are said to be on the verge of signing.

Play.com Live is taking place over the weekend of March 15 and 16 at Wembley Stadium. Tickets for one day cost £9, and for both days £14. Approximately 30,000 to 40,000 people are expected to attend the event.

Sony is planning to expand the PSN.

More good news for Sony fans.

Here's a lot of news.