This! All of this stuff. Most of it playable, some of it playable only by Sony types. Point is, it's all of Sony's stuff, and if you're heading on up to PAX, you may as well know what you're getting yourself in for. The biggest draw will probably be playable Resistance 2 multiplayer, though MotorStorm 2 and SOCOM Confrontation should also be a hit with the kids. Click through for the full lineup.

So those PSN pre-paid cards aren't hitting GameStop until 2009? Screw GameStop. Sony have announced that, in addition to the stores currently stocking the cards (Pamida, Meijer and Speedway), come September three more chains will be selling them. Those three are Blockbuster, 7-Eleven and Riteaid. Which is all well and good, but I'm getting the feeling there are people outside the US - like me, for example - more interested in these cards than Americans. Mostly because it'll make buying stuff like Rock Band DLC that much easier.

Sony let us know today what that mysterious Savage Moon game is all about. Sadly, it isn't a game based on Cassie Edward's frontier romance novel. It is based on something though: Starship Troopers. Not officially, but come on. Look at it. It's basically a tower defence title, where you have to protect bases from hordes of alien bugs. Savage Moon is a PSN title, and will be released sometime in spring.

Savage Moon - Coming this US Fall to PSN [PlayStation.Blog]

Total PSP hardware and software sales figures for Japan have been announced. The console itself has shifted over ten million units in the period from December 12, 2004 and August 24, 2008. Software sales-wise, Capcom's Monster Hunter juggernaut is leading the charge. Here's the totals for the top selling PSP games so far in Japan:

1. Monster Hunter 2nd G (Capcom) March 27, 2008 Release: 2,396,642 copies sold
2. Monster Hunter 2nd (Capcom) February 22, 2007 Release: 1,706,387 copies sold
3. Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix) September 13, 2007: 790,705 copies sold
4. Monster Hunter Portable (Capcom) December 1, 2005: 668,964 copies sold
5. Phantasy Star Portable (SEGA) July 31, 2008: 545,242 copies sold

The PSP seems to have really taken off in the last two years here in Japan.

PSPの国内累計販売台数が1000万台を突破 [Famitsu] [Pic]

Multiple readers across North America have emailed to inform us that the new, slightly smaller, AC adapter-less PlayStation 2 systems are hitting U.S. retail outlets this week. Reader Schpadoinkle666 works at Walmart (we're sorry) and sends us a picture of the new package, while a guy named Creighton sends word that he found one in his local Fry's Electronics yesterday.

I was browsing the local Fry's Electronics on Monday and saw that they had the 90000 series PS2s in stock for $US 129. The box was slightly smaller than the slims (reduced to $US 124); the definitive clue to me was that the description of the box contents mentioned an ac cord but omitted mention of an ac adapter.

CVG say they've got first dibs on what the PS3's next firmware update will bring. After the excitement of trophies and in-game XMB, what treats could Sony have in store for us next? How about...Ctrl+PrtScn. Yes, the ability to capture screengrabs . Exciting, no? Shame this wasn't around before the in-game XMB, it would have made spotting those blurry, fake mock-ups that much easier.

First PS3 firmware 2.5 details [CVG]

Ah, exclusivity in the current hardware generation. Let's discuss it again, shall we? Speaking at last week's Leipzig Games Convention, SCEE boss David Reeves said he believes that the days of a platform holder negotiating exclusives with a publisher are long gone.

We have to accept more and more that platform holders themselves cannot have exclusives unless they're given millions and millions of dollars not to develop a particular game for one particular platform.

But for developers, and you could take someone like Quantic Dream for example - a great game, it takes a lot of time to develop, they need a little bit of funding, external development. In exchange, it's exclusive - that works. So exclusivity possibly with developers is more likely that exclusivity with publishers.

In other words, don't expect something like Metal Gear Solid 4 to happen ever again. Ever.

Sony: Publisher exclusivity probably "a thing of the past" [GI.biz]

Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe honcho David Reeves is not an easy man to impress. So even when Microsoft lands Final Fantasy XIII on the Xbox 360, Reeves just turns up his nose, flashes a "W" and goes "whatevers". Just listen to the man talk FFXIII:

I think that just as we got a massive blip up [in hardware sales] with GTA IV — which was not exclusive — we'll get exactly the same blip up with Final Fantasy... I know it [FFXIII] will look great on PS3 and — it's up to Microsoft to clarify this — it's still exclusive in Japan.

Never mind that Reeves works in Europe, it's what's happening in Japan that counts. That's the stronghold! David Reeves is here to defend it, dammit.
Reeves shrugs off FFXIII on 360 saying, "It's still exclusive in Japan" [VG247]

Don't see how the two go together, really, but hey, I'm not an advertising guru. Fosters - who here in Australia brew Stella Artois under licence - have decided to form a sales team specifically geared at shifting more Stella. Which in a country where local beer is the breakfast of champions is a tough sell. So they figured they'd think outside the box, and give all fifty members of the team a limited edition Stella Artois PSP. It's got a Stella graphic on the back, came in a Stella pouch and has a Stella XMB theme. Looks nice! Won the acclaim of advertisers! Pity, then, that all it's going to do is make punters think the PSP tastes like diet cats piss as well.

PSPs replace paper for brand storytelling [Lowe + Rivet, thanks Chrisso!]

If you are a gamer, living in a PAL territory can be heartbreakingly hard at times. There are so many languages, and it really takes forever for games to get released. But, chin up! Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe David Reeves is here, and he is ready to make you feel all warm and fuzzy about getting stuff last. According to Reeves:

"People say, 'Well, why do we always get things last? Why can't we say things?' Well, I've said this many times before: sometimes it's an advantage to be last in Europe, you know, when everything's ironed out.

...This time [at the 2008 Games Convention], we do have things to say in the European [market]. We have the music service, and we're doing great things on SingStar and there's more to come. These are global announcements.

He's said this last is the best spiel before, and he'll say it again. It's like David Reeves favourite thing to say. He loves it.

Reeves: "Sometimes it's an advantage to be last in Europe" [VG247]