The success of PlayStation 3 in Europe has rescued the console from "the perception wars" that hit sales in Japan, says Sony's boss, Sir Howard Stringer.

"I think [in] the first two days in the UK, £100m ($199m) revenue changed hands and that's probably the largest consumer electronics sale in history," he told the FT. Stringer said that PS3 had entered the Euro market with "more games and, perhaps we lived up to the expectations in Europe in a way that perhaps we didn't in Japan".

Analysts expect Sony to start making some money back on the console next March, "In the March quarter of 2008, Sony will start making money on the console," said Yuji Fujimori, analyst at Goldman Sachs. "In the longer term, I see the PS3's market share at 50 per cent within three years. In the shorter term, I see it at below 30 per cent."

We reported yesterday that Japanese analysts wanted to see a PS3 price cut sooner rather than later.

It's also strange to see such claims when there are reports doing the rounds that your European office is about to lay off 160 people.

via cvg ...

The European arm of Sony Computer Entertainment is preparing to lay off around 160 members of staff.

"The business targets that we face make this regrettably unavoidable," said president and CEO David Reeves in an internal email that Next-Gen reports has been leaked.

Apparently every SCEE employee will receive a letter on Wednesday informing him or her if they've been "provisionally selected at being at risk".

via cvg ...

Susan Nourai, the senior director of the PlayStation Network, has been speaking about the future of the PSN and how the company plans to improve the experience over time.

"We look at PSN as an emergent entertainment network. Our goal is to take a consumer-centric approach in both user experience, and just as important, to provide the type of content that consumers expect from PlayStation. This is evident in the types of games we offer on the PlayStation Store, like Flow, and the upcoming Calling All Cars and Little Big Planet," she told GamePro.

"Currently, we post new content every Thursday. Our content offering is growing and we look forward to the fantastic slate of games and entertainment content coming down the pipe."

When asked about future changes or improvements, Nourai replied, "We've only scratched the surface and are working closely with the engineering team in Japan to improve the overall consumer experience. We stay in close touch with our consumers via communication outreach and research and have really appreciated the positive and constructive feedback. We plan to keep enhancing the things we're doing right, and will continue to evolve the service into something our PlayStation fans want. We've accomplished a lot in our four months with over 600,000 registered accounts and 3.7M downloads. It's a great start to a journey and a long-term relationship with our consumers and business partners.

via cvg ...

Welltall has updated CWCheat for PSP to support FW 3.30 OE-A,

Heres whats new:


Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...

press release:

Former Electronic Arts Canada, industry veterans announced today the formation of Jet Black Games, a video game development company that will focus on developing original and licensed intellectual properties for the Nintendo DS and Wii. With careers that have spanned two generations of consoles, the founders have been credited with numerous blockbusters and platinum selling titles.

ìWith the launch of our new studio weíve brought together all the key elements to develop top games: proven experience and talent, the desire to push the creative envelope, commitment to making games we ourselves want to play, and all the resources and support systems needed to perform,î states Roger Freddi, Co-founder and CEO of Jet Black.

Jet Black has strategically aligned itself with Flashman Studios Inc., a business management firm specializing in interactive entertainment endeavours. This alliance presents immediate opportunities for Jet Black to leverage Flashmanís roster of well-known intellectual properties, and situates the studio at the forefront of Nintendoís revolution in gaming.

"Both the Nintendo DS and Wiiís WiFi capabilities provide an advanced medium for Jet Black to bring already popular franchises to an even broader worldwide audience."

Freddi adds, "These recognised licensed properties serve to ensure that Jet Black is a name to affiliate with Nintendo games, and nicely complement the original IP on which weíre working."

"We are confident in the capabilities of Jet Blackís exceptional team, and know our strong global alliances and years of game experience will help grow their business", Brad Young, CEO of
Flashman said. "Our proven success in cultivating the right match of intellectual property, publisher, and developer will allow Jet Black to do what they do best - build great games, create inspirational ideas, and develop great technology." ...

press release:

Former Electronic Arts Canada, industry veterans announced today the formation of Jet Black Games, a video game development company that will focus on developing original and licensed intellectual properties for the Nintendo DS and Wii. With careers that have spanned two generations of consoles, the founders have been credited with numerous blockbusters and platinum selling titles.

ìWith the launch of our new studio weíve brought together all the key elements to develop top games: proven experience and talent, the desire to push the creative envelope, commitment to making games we ourselves want to play, and all the resources and support systems needed to perform,î states Roger Freddi, Co-founder and CEO of Jet Black.

Jet Black has strategically aligned itself with Flashman Studios Inc., a business management firm specializing in interactive entertainment endeavours. This alliance presents immediate opportunities for Jet Black to leverage Flashmanís roster of well-known intellectual properties, and situates the studio at the forefront of Nintendoís revolution in gaming.

"Both the Nintendo DS and Wiiís WiFi capabilities provide an advanced medium for Jet Black to bring already popular franchises to an even broader worldwide audience."

Freddi adds, "These recognised licensed properties serve to ensure that Jet Black is a name to affiliate with Nintendo games, and nicely complement the original IP on which weíre working."

"We are confident in the capabilities of Jet Blackís exceptional team, and know our strong global alliances and years of game experience will help grow their business", Brad Young, CEO of
Flashman said. "Our proven success in cultivating the right match of intellectual property, publisher, and developer will allow Jet Black to do what they do best - build great games, create inspirational ideas, and develop great technology." ...

press release:

Former Electronic Arts Canada, industry veterans announced today the formation of Jet Black Games, a video game development company that will focus on developing original and licensed intellectual properties for the Nintendo DS and Wii. With careers that have spanned two generations of consoles, the founders have been credited with numerous blockbusters and platinum selling titles.

ìWith the launch of our new studio weíve brought together all the key elements to develop top games: proven experience and talent, the desire to push the creative envelope, commitment to making games we ourselves want to play, and all the resources and support systems needed to perform,î states Roger Freddi, Co-founder and CEO of Jet Black.

Jet Black has strategically aligned itself with Flashman Studios Inc., a business management firm specializing in interactive entertainment endeavours. This alliance presents immediate opportunities for Jet Black to leverage Flashmanís roster of well-known intellectual properties, and situates the studio at the forefront of Nintendoís revolution in gaming.

"Both the Nintendo DS and Wiiís WiFi capabilities provide an advanced medium for Jet Black to bring already popular franchises to an even broader worldwide audience."

Freddi adds, "These recognised licensed properties serve to ensure that Jet Black is a name to affiliate with Nintendo games, and nicely complement the original IP on which weíre working."

"We are confident in the capabilities of Jet Blackís exceptional team, and know our strong global alliances and years of game experience will help grow their business", Brad Young, CEO of
Flashman said. "Our proven success in cultivating the right match of intellectual property, publisher, and developer will allow Jet Black to do what they do best - build great games, create inspirational ideas, and develop great technology." ...

Heres the top games:

1 TMNT: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
2 POKEMON RANGER
3 TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 07
4 COMMAND & CONQUER 3: TIBERIUM WARS
5 BRIAN LARA INTERNATIONAL CRICKET 2007
6 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2006-2007
7 GUITAR HERO II
8 VIRTUA TENNIS 3
9 MEDAL OF HONOR: VANGUARD
10 THE SIMS 2: PETS
11 NEED FOR SPEED: CARBON
12 - MOTORSTORM
13 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS.
14 CRACKDOWN
15 RESISTANCE: FALL OF MAN
16 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 6
17 - LEGO STAR WARS II: THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY
18 - FIFA 07
19 GEARS OF WAR
20 CALL OF DUTY 3 ...

press release:

Today Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, announced that Jam Sessions™ – a groundbreaking music title exclusively for the Nintendo DS™ system in which players actually strum a guitar via the Touch Screen to make music – will launch in EMEA territories this summer.

“Jam Sessions is an amazing title with limitless potential to entertain and engage a wide audience of people who love music, guitar and singing,” said John Parks, EMEA Marketing Director. “Basically, it’s a guitar in your pocket but that’s just the beginning. It’s a chance for people who have never thought of themselves as ‘musically inclined’ to jump right in and play through entire songs, compose their own music and sing along with friends.”

Players will rock out, or smoothly strum, on the lower screen of the Nintendo DS system, producing an authentic sound digitally remastered from an actual acoustic guitar. The simple interface will guide players into the various easy-to-play modes which include: Performance Mode, allowing users to sing and play along both yesterday and today’s hottest artists; Free-Play Mode, where people can play anything they chose; and Tutorial Mode where novice musicians will learn to play guitar without paying for lessons.

One of the most compelling features is the ability to record what you play and play it back, therefore making Jam Sessions virtual notepad for players to write, play and save their original music anytime, anywhere. The portability of the DS system makes Jam Sessions a complete concert-on-the-go entertainment system, perfect for parties and other social gatherings – simply hook up some external speakers via the headphone jack and you’re a rock star!

For more information about Ubisoft, please visit www.ubi.com. ...