Firmware update 3.73 for PS3 has been out since October 18, 2011, therefore we half expected Sony to launch the highly anticipated 4.0 update when the network came back online a few hours ago, did you? With a major software update coming to Xbox 360 soon you would have thought that a high priority for Sony would be to further improve its console before Black Friday and the Holiday Season.

If you check out a few of our recent PS3 firmware update4.0-related articles you can see there are high expectations for its release, we can pretty much guarantee that it won’t bring cross-game chat, but that’s not a big deal for everyone. A recent discussion on our website saw huge feedback from our readers, most people want the firmware update to bring a new web browser (preferably Chrome-based), improved XMB and in-game music – how about you?

Perhaps Sony will be rolling out the update soon and the recent down-time was related to this, but as a PS3 gamer I hate the way such secrecy has to surround update plans, why not adopt Microsoft’s approach and tell us that firmware update 4.0 is being developed and then list some of the features and improvements they are planning to bring to PS3? Also when maintenance is scheduled why not explain why it is taking place, this would keep PS3 gamers far more patient during hours of inaccessibility….

Did you think the November 17 PSN outage may be related to new features and improvements being implement to enhance your PS3 experience?

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As Jeff Rubenstein – Senior Social Media Manager – recently noted over on the blog.us.playstation.com website, PlayStation will be showcasing the latest content from a number of its upcoming titles at their booth, giving visitors the opportunity to go hands-on with games such as Twisted Metal, Journey, Resistance 3, StarHawk and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception.

They are also putting the finishing touches on their custom-built arcade cabinets for the upcoming Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One game, which will be unveiled at their booth this week. The cabinets include a 40-inch Sony Bravia 3D TV with 3D glasses, custom artwork from the developer and a set of custom illuminated DualShock controllers with the colors of Ratchet, Clank, Dr. Nefarious and Qwark.

The PlayStation schedule kicks off at 10:00am on Thursday, July 21st, where attendees will get the opportunity to meet and chat with PlayStation Network developers including Minority Games’ Vander Caballero (Papa &Yo), Overkill Software’s Bo Anderson (Payday) and thatgamecompany’s Kellee Santiago and Jenova Chen.

Not only will they discuss what it takes to be a successful independent developer, they will also provide fans with a little more insight into the inspiration and creativity behind upcoming PSN releases. The guys at PlayStation also have a few hundred Journey t-shirts to give away, but numbers are limited to it is on a first come, first served basis.

From 5:00pm – 6:00pm on Thursday, July 21st is: Exploring a 1950’s Altered America: The Continuing Creation of the Resistance Universe, where members of the Insomniac Games development team – including creative director Marcus Smith and art director Grant Hollis – will provide attendees with an exclusive first look at brand new game content for the Resistance 3 game.

On Friday, July 22nd, attendees will be able to join Uncharted 3’s creative director Amy Hennig and cast members Richard McGonagle, Nolan North and Emily Rose, as they discuss the influence of styles and theatrical techniques from the history of film and how they have helped them to produce award-winning and industry leading interactive entertainment.

Those who are visiting the event on Saturday, July 23rd will get the chance to join David Jaffe – co-director of the upcoming Twisted Metal game – as he unveils the latest trailer and shows off its single-player campaign. If you are attending on Sunday, July 24th, you will get the opportunity to view never-seen-before concept art and exclusive StarHawk story details.

You can read more about the times etc via the blog.us.playstation.com website. Are you attending the San Diego Conic-Con International event this year?

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1UP sourced its information from DigiTimes’ article, obviously the legitimacy of the source is questionable, however if we trust DigiTimes’ word Sony will begin PS4 production late this year and will launch the console in 2012, not only this but it will feature its own body movement-based control like Kinect, if this is the case surely it means that Sony is admitting defeat for the PlayStation Move, which only arrived roughly 10 months ago.

DigiTimes go on to say that both Pegatron Technology and Foxconn will be involved in the manufacturing of the PlayStation 4, DigiTimes did not name its source, however went on to suggest that in 2012 at least 20 million units are planned to be shipped.

Up until posting this article we were under the impression that Sony’s next console would arrive later than 2012, whilst the next-gen Microsoft console was more likely be released next year. As we previously stated we are a little dubious about the legitimacy of this information, however it at least gives us something to think about.

Recently Sony CEO Howard Stringer said the “PlayStation 3 is really just hitting its stride” and added “And technologically, I don’t think it’s possible to provide any advancement beyond what we have. What we’ve seen from the competition is trying to add features that already exist in PlayStation 3. We invested heavily in that, we rolled a very heavy rock up a steep hill, through the launch period. But now I think that all pays off, and we’ve got a long run way behind it. So, I wouldn’t look for any discussion of a next generation PlayStation for quite some time”. This certainly refutes claims that a PS4 release is headed for a 2012 release, but after seeing Crysis 2′s DirectX11-powered visuals we think that the technology is out there to give next-gen consoles much more graphical power than the PS3 and Xbox 360 currently offer.

Previously Sony has stated that the PS3 has a 10 year life cycle, if this is the case it would mean that the PS4 would arrive in 2016, we can’t envisage this, can you?

Do you like the sound of a body movement-based control system for Sony’s next console?

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Firstly the cards which the PS Vita will use look like SD cards, however they are in fact different, this means that people will have to buy propriety memory cards somewhat like they had years ago when Sony products all used Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO and Memory Stick Duo memory cards. Sony’s memory cards usually cost a lot more than more common memory cards and offer no major benefits.

Obviously to a degree the PlayStation Vita will have some built-in storage, however by the looks of things there will be nothing substantial, this could change as Sony reveal more about the Vita in the future but we would have thought that they would have used E3 2011 to boast just how much storage their next-generation portable will offer.

If you head over to Engadget you can see photos of these new memory cards, apparently they will be available in 4, 8, 16, and 32GB capacities, we just don’t understand what advantages a propriety format has over more widely use ultra-fast memory cards such as the new SD cards?

Do you think using propriety memory cards is a disappointment?

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If you check out the official PlayStation Blog you can watch the keynote in its entirety when it kicks off, not only this but there is also a higher-resolution stream with alternate camera angles to check out to. We told you about this stream back in late May, however now we have the all important links for you along with the embedded video.

We have embedded the live stream at the end of this post and it should be kicking off very soon, if you are tuning in from somewhere in the United States the keynote starts at 5.00pm PST and 8.00pm ET and if you are in the United Kingdom coverage should start at 1.00am (June 7th).

Hopefully the embedded live stream will be pretty reliable, however if it cuts out you may want to check out the Engadget live blog, they are attending the keynote and have their 3D glasses ready to be wowed by Sony’s unveilings. Also as previously mentioned all of the event can be watched on PlayStation Home.

As and when we hear news which will interest you we will keep you posted so keep checking Product-Reviews for all of the latest news or Like us on Facebook.

Will you be watching the livestream?

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Since the games were launched on the Android Market early last month less than 1,000 units have been sold. This would cause some concern for most companies but apparently Sony is ‘unconcerned’.

The news comes from an article at PlayStationLifeStyle which reports that Dominic Neil-Dwyer, head of market development at Sony Ericsson, told them despite the low sales the Xperia Play is ‘shaking up’ the mobile.

The lack of concern comes from the belief that the exclusive games and gaming feature that the Xperia Play has will pay off in the long run. They are very happy with the device. Check out the full article by clicking the link above for more details on the Sony’s lack of concern.

Do you have an Xperia Play? What do you think of the games? Let us know in the comments below.

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Sony confirm lots that we already know, they say that it went down on April 20 due to an external intrusion which affected the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services, however they keep quiet about why Sony was not prepared for a compromise of its network and also do not say whether “Anonymous” carried out the attack.

Sony go on to confirm that an external recognized security firm are running a full investigation to unravel exactly what occurred between April 17 and April 19, 2011. Once Sony are happy that all security concerns have been addressed and are sure that the PSN can be turned back on safely they will, but no time indication has been given.

You can check out all of the questions and answers for yourself via this link, one question (11) asks whether Sony will compensate its loyal customers, Sony say that they are “reviewing options” and will tell us once the PSN and Qriocity services are back online.

If you are worried about your identity theft and/or credit card fraud you should read questions 14 and 15 very closely. Are there still any other questions which you want answered?

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This could be a bit of a shock for gamers who have wanted more from their games console, but how much truth is their to this news? Well, PC Impress Watch has been speaking to Kaz Hirai, and it was he who said that the PlayStation 3 is still their main focus, as it was only released in 2006, and is only halfway though its life cycle. More on this can be found on Eurogamer.

We can understand why Sony would not want to talk about the next-generation games console, but if this is true then the rumored Xbox 720 could have a two-year head start. The reason we say this is because it has been suggested that the next console from Microsoft could be launched in 2015.

This recent news certainly backs up one of our previous posts about Sony not wanting to rush the release of the PS4. We can already hear a collective sigh of relief, as you will not need to put your hand in your pockets any time soon for a new console or games come to that.

There had been fears that Sony had canceled the PlayStation 4, but 3anime reported that this was not true and things got a little lost in translation.

What would be a realistic date for the PS4?

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This is not the first time that such a rumor has circulated across the Internet, but as they now have a PS phone called the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, then why not a tablet right? According to Engadget there will be two devices, both of which is to run on Android 3.0 Honeycomb. It was obvious that Sony would work with Google on the software, as they have never been able to master that side of things. However, we cannot say the same about hardware.

Having said that, Sony will still have to work on a custom UI, and there have been suggestions that it is even an improvement than what the Apple iPad has to offer. Looking at the drawing it is a bit hard to grasp its design, but there seems to be a natural curve on the rear, so there is not need for a stand, as the S1 tablet will be able to rest upwards on a table on its own.

There are only details for one of the tablets for the moment, and that will come with a 9.4-inch capacitive touchscreen and is powered by a Tegra 2 processor. As you would expect there will be a front and rear-facing camera, which could be used in a number of games later. Speaking of games, it is not certain how these will be made available – maybe there will be a special apps section on PSN?

TechRadar is not too optimistic on its price tag of $599 (£372), as it seems a little cheap for such a powerful tablet gaming devices. Do you think that the Sony PlayStation S1 Gaming Tablet exists, and is it the answer to the iPad for gamers?

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We already know that the PS Phone is a GSM handset, but that has not stopped rumors that Verizon will get it as well. The issue here is that the phone maker will need to make a CDMA version as well, which is certainly a possibility. However, what about T-Mobile and Sprint, surely it is in Sony Ericsson’s best interest to make this almost like a Samsung Galaxy S, and make it available to all the major North American wireless phone carriers?

There is no doubt that the PlayStation Phone will be after some iPhone market share, so it is imperative that it is launched on more than one carrier – especially as Apple’s smartphone will be launched on Big Red next month. If not, then the PS Phone might just fade into the background.

We are not certain why the handset was not seen at CES 2011, but maybe Sony Ericsson is waiting for MWC next month? For those who have not seen the handset yet, then visit our recent post where we have a video of it in action for you. We also have another video for you here offering you a game demo being played on the PlayStation Phone.

Which carrier do you think will get the PlayStation Phone?

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