Admits to being "busted" by eagle-eyed Internet users

Sony Computer Entertainment America has admitted that a blog purporting to be the work of real life PSP fans was in fact part of a marketing campaign designed to promote the handheld in the run-up to Christmas.

The site, alliwantforxmasisapsp.com, appeared to be have been designed by two friends and featured downloadable PSP greetings cards and t-shirt transfers. It also hosted a video showing "Cousin Pete" rapping about the handheld, which has since been removed from both the site and from YouTube.

"Consider us your own personal psp hype machine, here to help you wage a holiday assault on ur parents, girl, granny, boss - whoever - so they know what you really want," a message on the site read.

However, visitors to the site became suspicious and discovered that it had been registered by marketing company Zipatoni which, according to its own website, offers "integrated multimedia marketing initiatives".

Zipatoni's site lists SCE as a client, and featured a picture (also now removed) of an employee who bears a striking resemblance to a man posing in a home-made PSP t-shirt on alliwantforxmasisapsp.com.

As a result the blog was flooded with complaints from critics exposing its true origins. They have since been removed, along with the video, and the welcome message has been replaced with the following message, credited to Sony Computer Entertainment America: "Busted. Nailed. Snagged. As many of you have figured out (maybe our speech was a little too funky fresh???), Peter isn't a real hip-hop maven and this site was actually developed by Sony.

"Guess we were trying to be just a little too clever. From this point forward, we will just stick to making cool products, and use this site to give you nothing but the facts on the PSP."

It seems likely that Sony will need to take more care with its guerrilla marketing campaigns in the future - and not just to avoid a backlash from consumers.

According to the Washington Post, the Federal Trade Commission has warned companies "engaging in word-of-mouth marketing" that they must disclose details of who is endorsing the product. A failure to do so, the FTC said, could be seen as deceptive.

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More than 32,000 units sold in four days

First it was announced that the Nintendo Wii had become the fastest-selling home console in the UK, then Europe - and now it's breaking records in Australia, too.

GfK Australia has published new figures showing that 32,901 Wii units were sold in the four days following the console's launch on December 7. During launch week, the Wii made up 43 per cent of all videogame hardware sales in the territory.

That means it sold faster than any other home or handheld console, edging past the Xbox 360 - which shifted 30,241 units during its opening weekend - and the PSP, next in line with a figure of 27,055 units.

The software attach rate for Wii stood at 1.5 units per console - so towards the lower end of the scale, GfK conceded. But, the company observed, Nintendo's machine does come bundled with the Wii Sports game, which wasn't accounted for when calculating the attach rate.

Earlier this week, Microsoft published Xbox 360 sales figures for the same period, with regional director David McLean stating that the launch of the Wii had not had a negative impact.

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Fackue has up dated his great booting program again

download locally here

Source: DCHelp ...

With most shops clearing out there Gamecube stocks, it seems to be getting harder to find games, especially new games, and not pre-owned.

Retowarez still have many new Gamecube games left, and are selling at clearance prices, like Simpsons Hit And Run: for £9.99. I have used them personaly, and found them to be very good, and helpfull. ...

Lost planet is not even out yet, but based on feedback from the multiplayer demo, a patch will be avadiable the day it comes out in the US and Europe:


for more info, look here

Preorder "Lost Planet: Limited Edition Steel Case" for [s]£49.99[/s] £39.99 (Xbox 360)
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Source: CVG

Really can we believe Sony, first they say spring 2006, then world wide launch in Dec with over a million consoles ready, then they said 100,000 for Japan and 400,000 for the US, which, at this stage it seems they only had 80,000 for Japan and just over 200,000 for the US ready for launch.

It seems to me Sony think they can keep dangling the carrot in front of us, making and breaking promises like this. I hope for Playstation fans in Europe they for fill this promise. ...

Wii Play and Legend of Zelda most popular titles

Nintendo has announced that the Wii console has sold out in Europe, with 325,000 units snapped up in the two days following last Friday's launch.

That means the Wii now holds the title of fastest-selling home console in history across Europe - and not just in the UK.

First-party launch title The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was a big hit with consumers, shifting 240,000 copies over the launch weekend - meaning 74 per cent of those buying a console also bought the game.

Mini-game collection Wii Play, which comes bundled with a remote controller, was bought by more than 50 per cent of Wii purchasers

"Wii has become an overnight success in Europe with people of all ages rushing out to get their hands on the console," said Nintendo Europe marketing director Laurent Fischer.

"Even at this early stage it is clear that Wii is delivering on its promise to expand the gaming market, with a uniquely diverse audience all keen to experience the sensation for themselves."

Due to high demand for the console shop shelves remain empty at present, but Fischer pledged, "For those who were unable to buy Wii during the launch weekend, rest assured more stock is already on its way.

"We are doing everything possible to ensure that a steady supply of Wii units is shipped to stores across Europe throughout December and into 2007."

The arrival of the Wii was heralded with a launch event at HMV's flagship branch last week.

"The demand for Wii has been truly amazing, and the official launch at our Oxford Street store was one of the biggest events we've ever staged there," said Tim Ellis, head of games for HMV.

"HMV has received á huge amount of customer pre-orders - beyond anything we've ever seen before, including from family shoppers as well as dedicated Nintendo gamers.

"This suggests that while Wii is obviously one of the must-have items this Christmas, it also has the potential to appeal to a huge mainstream audience over the longer-term." (For more from Ellis, read our exclusive interview.)

The Wii launched in North America on November 19, where 600,000 consoles were sold in the first eight days following launch. It's also proved to be a hit in Japan, with the territory's allocation of 400,000 units flying off the shelves on day one.

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Microsoft has announced that last week was a record breaker for Xbox 360 sales in Australia - despite the fact that the Nintendo Wii launched there on Thursday.

In the week ending December 10, AU$ 5.8 million (3.4 million Euro) worth of Xbox products were sold, according to GfK data. That figure includes consoles to the value of AU$ 2.6 million (1.5 million Euro) along with games and accessories.

The Wii launched on December 7 but according to David McLean, regional director for Xbox Australia and New Zealand, the arrival of Nintendo's new console had little impact on 360 sales.

"In terms of retail revenue, Xbox 360 has generated around AU $145 million [86 million Euro] in ANZ this year. We�re pleased to report that despite new competition in the market, sales are showing no signs of slowing down," he commented.

"I put this down to a combination of three things - demonstrable value for money backed by powerful hardware, plus a huge range of next-generation games and accessories."

McLean went on to observe that Xbox 360 is the fastest-selling home console in Australia, with more than 100,000 units and 400,000 games sold since its March launch.

"The attach rate on Xbox 360 has reached a staggering 4.8 - around twice the attach rate of any console in history at this stage of the life cycle," McLean added.

Nintendo has yet to announce figures for Wii sales in Australia.

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