Powered by its strengthening dollar, Canada will be receiving price adjustments for its downloadable content this May 1 for the bigger and better PlayStation Store. This was confirmed by SCEA over at the PlayStation Blog. More details after the jump.

Sony's senior vice president of marketing, Peter Dille, is confident in the Sony PlayStation 3 for the holiday season. Gamers in need of "the most technologically advanced gaming system" should look no further, he says.

More on Dille and the PS3 lasting 10 years at the full article!

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) has just revealed their plans of a new TV advertising campaign for their PSP handheld platform. Who's the endorser, you ask? It's none other than NFL All-Pro athlete Michael Strahan of the New York Giants.

The football star will be the image model for the new PSP campaign that will extend the "Dude, Get Your Own" line of commercials. In fact, Strahan will be appearing side by side with the PSP's "Annoying Guy" made popular in the existing ads. Hmm... A tall tower of muscle faced against a skinny PSP fanboy. Accident waiting to happen, much?

More details behind the Full Article link below!

In the same E3 interview by Gamasutra where Sony's Peter Dille talks about the Xbox 360 and announces the arrival of a movie download service soon for the PSP, he also speaks in defense of the decision to retain the PlayStation Portable's Universal Media Disc on the PSP Slim's design. Peter Dille is the senior vice president of marketing for the PlayStation.

Gamasutra addressed the concerns from users about loading speed and the lack of availability of movies in the new UMD format. Dille says that the new design of PSP Slim has fixed the loading time of the UMD "to a certain degree." As for his take on the movies, he says that there was a problem communicating the PSP's demographic with Hollywood.

Essentially, the PSP was aiming at males from 18 to 35 years old but the movies released in the UMD format didn't match that demographic. The lack of attention in the right areas invited in a lack of popularity. With the release of the new PSP Slim and its new video output feature, there may be hope yet for the UMD to make a comeback.

Dille's comments echo PSP Senior Marketing Manager John Koller recent comments about the UMD and how Sony will stick to it. To read the whole interview, follow the Read link after the jump.

The E3 Media and Business Summit 2007 may have come and gone, but there's still a ton of important post-E3 tidbits that deserve every gamer's attention. Mostly because in addition to new videos and screenshots of the latest upcoming video games, there are things you probably haven't heard of yet.

For instance, you might have heard about the conflicting reports about the 60 GB PS3 getting phased out, but did you know that the advent of the PSP Slim may also herald the death of the old PSP model?

How about the strongly worded remarks Peter Dille made against the Xbox 360? You probably heard him say that HD-DVD is as good as dead. Did you know, however, that Peter Moore has a rebuttal to that? Even more importantly, it's a civil one!

You also probably know that the Nintendo Wii is selling oodles of units, but how about the possibility of the Wii outselling the grandmaster of gaming, the PS2? There's certainly some merit in that assertion, though it'll probably take the Wii a while to break the 100 million unit barrier.

Our post-E3 roundup of gaming goodness has all that and more. While you're at it, feel free to check out our E3 roundups for days one, two, and three of the summit. We're certain you'll find some talking points there. Enjoy!


Talking Points:
E3 update: Sony phases out old PSP, no price cut for existing PSPs
E3 update: Peter Moore says Dille's HD-DVD's death comment greatly exaggerated
E3: Iwata says the Wii could break the PS2 record


QJ's assorted bits of E3 goodness:

E3 video interview for Dead Head Fred
E3: Nyko's third-party accessories for Wii, Xbox 360, PS3
E3: Gamecock's E3 funeral procession
E3: three new Silent Hill: Origins gameplay videos

More tidbits of E3 after the jump!

As E3 winds down, you'll notice more talking points coming out of the different console camps. In this case, today's E3 coverage gives you a ton of  E3 video and screenshot goodness, as well as important quotes from the highers-up of the different camps.

Perhaps one of the biggest things that came out of the PS3 camp was the report that the price cut for the 60 GB PS3 would last only as long as there were units. Sony hasn't been able to make up its mind yet, as conflicting reports are coming from members of Sony themselves, but it's something you can definitely read about below.

On the Xbox 360 side, you've got strong words from both two different Peters: Microsoft's Peter Moore talks about the Xbox 360's US$ 1 Billion repair bill, as well as his observations on the PS3 price cut. On the flip side, Sony's Peter Dille had his own strong words against the Xbox 360.

Lastly, Nintendo's George Harrison also talked about the future of the Wii and discussed where it was headed. To them, it seems, the future lies in establishing new intellectual properties, as well as making more games that cater to the hardcore gaming demographic.

While you're going over today's list of E3 goodies, feel free to also visit our previous E3 roundup articles. You may find something you missed beforehand. At the very least, there are some nice promotional videos that you might want to have a look at.

Talking Points:

E3 news: 60GB PlayStation 3 to be phased out
SCEA denies 60GB PS3 phaseout rumor, but Kaz Hirai confirms it
E3: Microsoft's Shane Kim on dropping the Xbox 360's price
E3: Microsoft's Peter Moore talks about the Xbox 360 and the PS3
E3: Sony's Peter Dille talks about the Xbox 360
E3: Tretton talks PS3 games going multiplatform and sports titles doing 30fps
E3: Nintendo's George Harrison talks about the future of the Wii

More news and goodies after the jump!

 

In an E3 interview conducted by Gamasutra with Sony's senior VP of marketing, Peter Dille announced the imminent arrival of a movie download service for the PS3 and the PSP.

While the slim version of the PlayStation Portable was announced during the E3 showcase, Dille explains that the download service was left out of the program because its formal announcement would be a crucial moment for the PlayStation brand and that it's something Sony wants to get right or else they'll "get creamed." He continues:

So we want to make sure we get the consumer experience right, get the right content, and we’re working really hard on it. And I don’t think we’re talking about years, I think this is something we could get behind really soon.

Dille hopes that users who are still undecided on which console they should choose to buy would see this as the deciding factor. "I think what might convince [people who haven't picked up a PSP] would be the advent of a service that allows them to put content onto the PSP in an easier fashion."

Considering the new slim version of the PSP that has a new display function that can output video into external sets, the service might do just that.

Do you remember those PlayStation Experience Trucks happily roaming your quiet peaceful towns every now and then? Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) is happy to announce that these custom built, double expandable 53-foot trailers have received the Best Vehicle Design during the Ex Awards sponsored by Event Marketer Magazine.

Ex Awards, for those not in the know, honors the very best promotional campaigns in the whole world. Sony's competitors in the said division included Proctor & Gamble and General Motors. SCEA Senior VP of Marketing Peter Dille had this to say:

Winning the 2007 Ex Award for our PlayStation Experience truck is a great honor and testament to the design and strategy behind this revolutionary marketing vehicle Traveling around the country to various events and concerts, PlayStation Experience is a true ambassador of the PlayStation brand.

In case these happy trucks didn't pass by your location for whatever reason, we're telling you that you really missed a lot. Just so you know, here are a few of the PS Experience Truck's more remarkable features:

• A PlayStation 3 (PS3) gaming area featuring a 52-inch LCD screen and plush leather chairs
• The PS3 Lounge which features seating for six gamers across three different gaming stations
• Two individual PS3 gaming kiosks each featuring their own 40-inch LCD TV
• Ten individual PS3 stand-alone gaming stations
• Two PSP (PlayStation Portable) Zones featuring nine different gaming stations, plus a PSP Spot Download Station
• Four PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system stations

While Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) exec Jack Tretton talked about PSP Store (or whatever they will call the service) during Gamers Day, another SCEA exec, this time Marketing VP Peter Dille, talks about the same service. In the movies, TV, and music content department, the PSP has a lot more room to grow, and Dille admits it's high time that it did grow:

The missing ingredient for us has been making it easier for consumers to get video content or music content to the PSP, because the device has this awesome technical playback capability, awesome screen built for video and yet we don’t make it terribly easy for people to access any content. So we’re looking to fix that.

So what are the plans for the PSP Store (tentative name we're assigning)? GameInformer asked him during Gamers Day if it will involve the PSP's Wi-Fi capabilities or require the PS3 for cross-downloading? Peter can announce no details, but he says "I think both paths are open to us." Dille also foresees this rolling out later this year.

When questioned about that new PSP model, Dille held up his hands. "Sony’s a technology company so there are lots of people out there wondering what we’ll do next. But as a rule, we don’t comment on rumors or speculation." What he could say, though, is Sony's confidence in the PSP - as a format, and not just as the SKU. As well as the many games coming for the machine in the foreseeable future, Dille believes that the downloadable entertainment media service is what will "energize the market."

There are a lot of speculations going around about Sony lately. First, new firmwares have been released for both platforms PlayStation 3 (PS3) and PlayStation Portable (PSP). Also, it should be remembered that the air is yet to be cleared concerning the planned lay-offs due to "industry change."

Well, we don't expect the company to give its take on these matters as of now. It looks like Sony is busy marketing upcoming video game titles for Q2 of 2007. In fact, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) just released the official spring lineup for its consoles PSP, PS3, and PlayStation 2 (PS2). Senior VP of Marketing peter Dille announced,

Our second-quarter line-up of PS3, PSP and PlayStation 2 software titles demonstrates a continued commitment from both SCEA and third-party developers to the PlayStation family of products. We are excited by the content being developed by our partners, but are also looking forward to launching PlayStation-branded exclusive games created by our own worldwide studios this quarter and throughout the rest of 2007.

 

Here's the official video games lineup:

PlayStation Portable

• Alien Syndrome (Sega)
• Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars (Sega)
• CRUSH (Sega)
• Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground (XSEED JKS)
• FINAL FANTASY (Square Enix)
• FINAL FANTASY II (Square Enix)
• Harvest Moon Boy and Girl (Natsume)
• Ridge Racer 2 (Namco)

See the rest of the PSP lineup as well as the PS3 list after the jump!