Sony has released a new version of the Digital Comics Reader for PSP, adding a host new features and improvements to the app.

It looks better, has more options in menus to manage and use your content, and supports a wider range of audio formats, among other additions.

A full list of changes is below, along with instructions on how to upgrade:

Collection browsing

* If you're running out of free space, you can now delete comics from your collection. Simply browse to the item details and press the [square] button. You can also delete single items or a series from the carousel (don't worry - you can freely re-download items that you delete as many times as you want!)
* You can now choose to browse any titles in your collection by publisher
* Your comics are now automatically categorised in multiple genres. All titles in your collection, old or new, will benefit from this change. Sadly, we don't yet have a "Zombie" genre.
* The database system has been overhauled and is now much faster to update and access.

Reading

* Support has been added for media formatted to be read right-to-left (Manga, for example). AutoFlow controls are reversed when reading in this mode.
* Can't wait to find out what happens next? If you have multiple issues of a series, the Reader will offer to move on to the next issue when you reach the end of your current issue.

Music & Sound

* The MP3 Player has been renamed as the Music Player, and now supports music in MP4 and AAC format. MP3 support has also been improved.
* Any comics with a soundtrack or audio commentary (found in the Extras tab in the comic summary screen) now indicate the progress of lengthy audio clips. Audio clips are no longer interrupted by turning the page or by AutoFlowing backwards.
* The PSP Remote Control is now supported. With a music track active, you can use the Remote Control to pause/unpause, and to trigger the previous or next track in the current playlist.

Cosmetic updates have been made, to keep the Digital Reader slick and smooth.

How do I upgrade to the new version?

1. If you don't have the Digital Comics Reader application on your PSP yet, follow these instructions.

2. If you are already using the Reader, check which version of you are currently using. To do this, navigate to the Digital Comics icon on your XMB (under "Extras") and hit the Triangle button. Select "version information" from the available options. If you see 1.01, you need to upgrade!

3. Hit "Yes" to launch the browser (you'll need to have wi-fi connection) and follow the on-screen instructions to download version 2.01 of the Reader.

If you don't have Wi-Fi, hit the source link below for more info.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS

http://uk.playstationcomics.com/main...version-2.html ...

Squad up for the Onslaught today -- if you're playing on a PS3. Battlefield: Bad Company 2's cooperative Onslaught mode has been "delayed" for Xbox Live, an EA representative has confirmed to Joystiq. The DLC will be available for $10 on PSN as soon as the weekly update occurs later today. We'll make sure to update if we receive any intel on a new date for the Xbox version -- or any date for the PC version, for that matter.

President Hamilton would like you to check out our hands-on before exchanging him for this new mode.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/22/ba...xbl-still-dep/ ...

If you're less concerned with form and function as you are with frugality, you'll be pleased to know that the release of the slimmer, blacker 360 model has led to the fairly substantial discounting of older, chubbier versions of the console. Both Amazon and Best Buy have marked the Arcade model down from $200 to $150, while the Elite model is down from $300 to $250.

MCV reports that UK retailers are beginning to drop the price on their Arcades and Elites in anticipation of the arrival of the Xbox 360 S. If you're looking for a cheap opportunity to grab a 360 -- or if you're just a purveyor of ancient technological artifacts -- you may want to grab these while they're hot.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/22/ol...rices-slashed/ ...

Just as we expected, Rockstar's promised DLC for Red Dead Redemption has saddled up and rode off into the digital distribution sunset. It's currently available for download via Xbox Live for free, and should arrive on PSN later today.

"Outlaws to the End" offers players six new missions, playable for two to four players -- including new Achievements and Trophies to unlock. Feel free to check out some new screens in our gallery below, then head past the break for a new trailer.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/22/ps...vailable-toda/ ...

While iOS 4 is delivering on every promise for the iPhone 3GS users out there, as we were all told up front, the iPhone 3G would be missing some of those touted new features. Granted, we knew such disparities would exist but were never given the finer details. Now that the final build is percolating through the internet, we decided to take a look at what features are and aren't working on the earlier year's model.

What's there
Folders
Threaded mail
iTunes playlist creation / editing
5x digital zoom: just tap on the display near the capture button, but be warned, it doesn't paint a pretty picture
iBooks: we were having issues with the earlier build, but it seems to be running fine after today's official download -- PDFs work, too.
Photos: you can now sort by albums, events, faces, and places
Game Center: the icon is present, but as of this writing we're unable to connect to the servers. (Update: a number of readers saying it didn't come with today's download. We nabbed ours as a gold build, which might explain the discrepancy despite still being considered "up to date" by iTunes.)
Spell check has been updated
Spotlight search: you can search the web and Wikipedia from the home screen search bar. That said, not all our queries -- "Engadget," for example -- weren't offering the option. [Thanks, jkane08]
What isn't
Multitasking: this is the big one. Double-tapping the home button doesn't give you the handy menu, there's no fast app switching, and background use is missing in action.
Screen lock: normally in the multitasking menu (which isn't available on 3G), it's nowhere to be found, even under Settings. Bummer.
Home screen wallpaper: you'd think this simple addition would make the cut, but sadly no. The dock has been given a visual upgrade, though.
Bluetooth Keyboard support: we haven't tried this ourselves, but an influx of reports from Twitter suggest this is also a no-go.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/21/i...er-multitaski/ ...

Wedbush research analyst Michael Pachter has again voiced his skepticism of Microsoft's Kinect motion control camera, describing it as "a limited device".

In his latest Pach Attack show on website GameTrailers.com, Pachter described Kinect as "a limited device, because you’re really not, as Kevin Butler said, gonna to be going 'pew pew,' shooting people with your finger."

"If you want to play a dance game and have your whole body picked up, or you want to do a fitness game and have the monitor tell you to lift your knee higher you 'fat B', this is the device that you want to own," added Pachter.

"The hardcore probably aren’t going to be as impressed. Their mums are, their girlfriends are, their wives are, their kids are: that is who wants this thing," he concluded.

Pachter yesterday voiced concern at the effect a high price tag could have on Kinect's success and repeated those comments in his Pach Attack report.

"If Microsoft prices it right I think it blows out, I think it’ll sell like crazy. If they price it too high, I think it’ll take a while to get off the ground," he said.

Pachter suggests that some within Microsoft would like to sell Kinect at a $99 price tag in the US but all evidence so far, including Microsoft's own website, suggests a $149 price.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...limited-device ...

"Almost all Worldwide Studios developers are researching how they can incorporate stereoscopic 3D technology into their games," claims network president Shuhei Yoshida.

Speaking to the official PlayStation website, Yoshida indicated that the response from all developers had "been great," but admitted that adding 3D technology to existing titles "is much more difficult to do as the game engine has already been developed and in most cases the development team has moved on to new titles."

SCE (Sony Computer Entertainment) Worldwide Studios includes a number of first party developers from around the world. Yoshida took over as head of the network in 2008, replacing interim president Kazuo Hirari following the departure of original boss Phil Harrison.

Developers include Bigbig Studios (Pursuit Force), Evolution Studios (MotorStorm), Media Molecule (LittleBigPlanet), SCE Cambridge Studio (MediEvil), SCE Liverpool Studio (wipEout) and SCE London Studio (SingStar) in the UK - as well as Killzone creators Guerrilla Games in The Netherlands.

In Japan the studios include Polyphony Digital (Gran Turismo), Clap Hanz (Everybody's Golf/Hot Shots Golf) and the expansive SCE Japan Studio, including Team ICO.

Finally, the US studios include Naughty Dog (Uncharted), Sony Bend (Syphon Filter), support developer SCE Foster City Studio, SCE San Diego Studio (MLB: The Show), SCE Santa Monica Studio (God of War) and Zipper Interactive (SOCOM).

Yoshida also indicated that the developer response to PlayStation Move had been very positive, suggesting that "they are happy and amazed at how well PlayStation Move works and how easy it is to incorporate the technology into already fully developed game engines."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...researching-3d ...

The US Army is to close a $12 million "Army Experience Center", which made prominent use of Xbox titles such as Halo to entice new recruits.

The centre was the only one of its kind in the US, and intended to be a two-year long experiment to discern the most effective way of attracting visitors. It will close officially on July 31.

Situated in the Franklin Mills Center in Northeast Philadelphia, an earlier Philadelphia City Paper report described the centre as having multiple Xbox consoles running tournaments for games such as Halo, America's Army and Madden NFL.

Bespoke Apache and Black Hawk helicopter simulations were also featured, along with a Humvee simulator housed in a full-size vehicle. The centre also has touchscreen computers which allow visitors to browse potential Army jobs based on salary and location.

Army representatives indicate that some of the installations may be used in other standard recruitment centres or a new experimental site could be set up elsewhere in the country.

Speaking to The Philadelphia Inquirer an Army spokesman indicated that the centre "did what it was supposed to do. It was a success."

"The biggest part of this was using the technology," said the spokesman. "Recruiters have used tricolour brochures, but that doesn't work with the digital generation. We have to keep up with the way people get their information."

The location was chosen because New Jersey, and the Philadelphia metropolitan area in particular, had "the lowest propensity toward military service in the nation." Recruitment has risen 15 per cent since the centre opened, although it's unclear what affect the global recession may also have had on these figures.

A controversial concept from the start, the centre has attracted hundreds of demonstrators in its two years of operation, with objections over the glorification of violence and stereotyping of enemy forces.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...erience-center ...

Remember that chart that pointed out the differences between Google, Apple and Microsoft? Well, it's looking increasingly like Google is intent on filling any and all gaps in its portfolio. Those good old unnamed sources have been talking, originally to CNET last week and to the Wall Street Journal today, and disclosing Google's supposed intent to introduce its very own music store. This would initially encompass a web store where you can stream or download tracks, with a search tie-in that'll get your money into Google's pocket in the fastest possible way. Subsequent plans are said to include Android integration in 2011 -- something that Google rather nonchalantly demoed at its I/O conference last month. Of course, none of this is as yet confirmed, but it looks like Apple and Google will be competing across yet another front -- hold on tight.

Remember that chart that pointed out the differences between Google, Apple and Microsoft? Well, it's looking increasingly like Google is intent on filling any and all gaps in its portfolio. Those good old unnamed sources have been talking, originally to CNET last week and to the Wall Street Journal today, and disclosing Google's supposed intent to introduce its very own music store. This would initially encompass a web store where you can stream or download tracks, with a search tie-in that'll get your money into Google's pocket in the fastest possible way. Subsequent plans are said to include Android integration in 2011 -- something that Google rather nonchalantly demoed at its I/O conference last month. Of course, none of this is as yet confirmed, but it looks like Apple and Google will be competing across yet another front -- hold on tight. ...