While Sony's been touting the PS3's ten year life-span, Hiroshige Goto from Japanese site PC Watch is already talking PLAYSTATION 4. According to Goto, Sony is apparently moving forward with the PS4 and considering using the Cell Broadband Engine that powers the PS3 as the next console's architectural base. Sony, Goto points out, has invested heavily in the Cell so that it can be updated with new iterations and used for a long period of time — a point that does give strength to the rumour he floats.

What's more, using an upgraded Cell in the PS4 would obviously lower the cost of production with a smaller chip, too. That right there could be a key factor in why Sony could very well be investigating this possibility. What's more, it seems more in line with what Nintendo has successfully done with the GameCube and the Wii. Goto goes on to theorize if the next PlayStation will have 32 cores (compared to the current 8), but Goto doesn't have any concrete information about Sony's plans.

While the original Xbox had trouble trailing the PS2 (and all the PS2 developer kits that were sent out), Sony has been playing catch up against the Xbox 360. So, for example, if Sony wants to get the PS4 out in 2011 before the next Xbox, it will need a shortcut because actual chip development, Goto writes, takes 3 or 4 years.

PLAYSTATION 4は拡張版Cell搭載へ向かう [PC Watch]

A game that lets players love game consoles. Pico Pico, a naughty title from erotic game maker AGE SOFT's sub-brand Phi-age, features controller controlled characters cosplaying as game consoles. As website Hobby Blog points out, there have been loads of amateur drawings of humanised video game consoles, but Pico Pico appears to be the first professional made adult title for the PC to run with this motif. Pico Pico features characters like Famicom-esque Miko, "PLAYSTALLION7" Nana and DS-style Pipi. There's even a "Dreamcost" character! Game's out August 29th in Japan. Screenshots below.

Read More »

A new ban on video games in UK prisons limits gaming to those who have earned "top privileges" and completely bans violent games and shooters with an 18 or older rating.

The rule change comes after new prison directives hit that prevent taxpayers' money from being used to buy games or consoles.

The change in rules come after the Government revealed that they spent more than £10,000 on 80 PlayStations and 15 XBoxes for youth offender institutions.

In a document including the rule changes, Michael Spurr, the Prison Service's director of operations, wrote: "These changes will ensure that prisoners may only earn access to games consoles by a positive demonstration of good behaviour and commitment to the requirements of their sentence plan.

"This is in line with government policy flowing from the Prison Policy Update paper of January 2008".

Prisoners Have Their Playstations Taken Away [Telegraph]

Sony's E3 offerings run the gamut from Resistance: Retribution and Massive Action Game, to Buzz! Quiz TV. The full release is inside...

Read More »

At Sony's E3 2008 press conference, Jack Tretton announced a 80 GB PS3 "Core Pack" that'll go for $US 400 — "the same functionality of the 40 GB... with twice the storage", he said.

"This new 80 GB PS3 is perfectly suited for HD games, music, movies and more". Full release below...

Read More »

We're liveblogging Sony's E3 presser right here from The Shrine Auditorium starting at 11:30am PST. Brian Crecente, Mike McWhertor and Brian Ashcraft will be bringing it to you in real time right here, as the news happens. Click through to join the action.

Read More »

Sony didn't have many stats to boast about this year. But read on to double-check the four claims made during Sony's E3 08 press conference.

Read More »

The coming week will be completely dominated by E3 coverage. Come to think of it, the previous week was completely dominated by pre-E3 coverage. After the jump we've compiled a scene-setter of sorts, aggregating together all the lineups announced, so you know some of what to look for in the coming onslaught of copy.

Kotaku's crack staff on the scene will be Brian Crecente, Michael McWhertor, Brian Ashcraft, Mike Fahey, Leigh Alexander, and Adam Barenblat. They're going to be very busy.

Read More »

SCEE's "independent" blog Three Speech has spoken with Sony's new Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida, who recently stepped into the role vacated by Phil Harrison. Yoshida's been with PlayStation since 1993, primarily as a strategist - he claims credit, in the interview, for convincing Sony to invest in the PlayStation business to begin with.

Among many things, Yoshida expanded on his earlier response to what was his debut issue -- the cancellation of Eight Days and The Getaway, saying that evaluating a project at each stage is part of the "regular appraisal process":

Read More »

A recent spate of virus attacks has infected over 790 websites. Included in those attacks was the Sony PlayStation site. Pages for SingStar Pop and God of War were infected with SQL-injected code, which caused visitors to those sites to see a boogus antivirus scan and a message that their computer was in fact infected with malware. The aim was to frighten users into purchasing software to delouse their computers. Not to worry as Sony has since removed the injected code. Says security research expert Dancho Danchev:

If you don't take care of your web application vulnerabilities, someone else will.

You tell 'em Dancho!

Sony PlayStation's site SQL injected [ZDNet via CNET] [Pic]