The Sony PSP once again proves that it is now the king of the Japanese hardware hill by keeping its top spot in the Japanese hardware sales chart for the week of July 21to 27. The Nintendo DS follows, with a bevy of software crowding the top 50 software sales chart...and yes,  Dragon Quest V is still top dog among other games. The list in the full article.

In-game advertising may tend to be amusing or sometimes even intrusive during play, but we haven't seen the full potential of it yet. Google is reportedly testing "AdSense for Games," an in-game advertising system that involves in-game characters initiating product plugs and other sort of advertisement. More in the full article.

Those hankering for more details on Capcom and Sony Pictures' Resident Evil: Degeneration will finally have a longer trailer to chew on, along with a few tidbits of details on the side. Yes, Leon and Claire are back, and the zombies are now invading Midwestern America. More details and the video in the full article.

Ubisoft's on a definite roll this time around, with the company enjoying good sales numbers in the first quarter thanks to a boost afforded by the release of games such as Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360, PS3, PC), Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC), and others. There's just one little snag, however, with the confirmation of Splinter Cell: Conviction's delay. More details in the full article.

If you like the idea of having MSPaint installed on your PSP, then homebrew developer Gefa's PaintMIXER is the closest thing you can get to Paint. It's a good clone of Microsoft's ubiquitous drawing application - go check it out. The changelog in the full article.


Download: PaintMIXER v2.1.0

Classic Sega gaming enthusiasts will definitely welcome the latest version of homebrew developer notaz' PicoDrive, the Sega Genesis/Megadrive and Sega Pico emulator. Consisting mainly of bugfixes, this particular update will improve the user's PicoDrive experience. The changelog in the full article.


Download: PicoDrive PSP v1.51
Download: PicoDrive PSP v1.51 kxploit

Here's something that may interest PSP owners immensely: the possibility of getting trophies for the PSP. Proof? There's none yet, but there's a big hint that was dropped during the Buzz! Master Quiz presentation at E3.. Hit the full article for details.

A simple blunder may cause some great, irreparable repercussions no matter the intent, and this one may just cause heartbreak to some fans: Sony accidentally showed Valkyria Chronicles as part of the PSP line-up, leaving the audience wondering if the great-looking game will indeed make it into the Sony handheld's line-up. But it's not meant to be: it was just a simple mistake. More in the full article.

Those who need to backup their PSP savedata regularly for some reason may need to take a look into this good alternative, the Miro Savedata Manager. The Miro Savedata suite has a unique feature: you can actually install a standalone version into the memory stick so you can access the program using any PC, even if that PC doesn't have the program installed. Important details in the full article.


Download: Miro Savedata Suite v1.0

It's now official AND finalized: Activision and Vivendi have finally completed all the transactions needed to seal the deal and merge into Activision Blizzard, and the union between the two major gaming outfits would open a whole lot of possibilities for the gaming industry. More details in the full article.