Remember just the other day when PSU reported of Sony acquiring Rockstar? To recap, the previous post, we heard from PSU that: "Various sources in the press and development team state that Sony is looking to take Rockstar 'under their wings'." Apparently, it's all just some big misunderstanding. Over at the PSU forums, someone's posted the explanation of Justin Pinter as to how this came about.

It all started with an event that they attended: Sony gathered a bunch of journalists and media representatives for dinner at some sushi place in Santa Monica (mmmmm, sushi). The dinner progressed and with other journalists on the table, they went on to talk about the industry news:

We all talked about Bioshock, Tivo, video on demand, and then eventually made our way to the recent talk of Rockstar going exclusive with Sony after GTA IV with such titles as LA Noire, and the secret PS3 title. The talk lead to someone stating that they knew that not only was the rumor correct but there was more to it. Basically from what I heard, Sony was taking Rockstar under its wing. Now I don't know if that means they are buying them or if they are supporting them as if they were someone like Naughty Dog or Insomniac.

Now here's when things got messy. Upon coming back from the dinner, Justin Pinter had contacted the other staffers of PSU and told them of how the event went. One of the writers had picked up on the "Sony takes Rockstar under its wing" angle and wrote about it on their site.

Unfortunately it was notched as "News" when it actually would have to have been tagged under "Rumor". And with that, everything cascaded into one big ordeal. PSU apologizes for the misunderstanding and hopes that they've been able to clear things up now.

So what's the lesson here, kids? Sushi dinners make for interesting industry news/rumors. And knowing is half the battle. Yo... Joe!

Media. All we ever want is to make our media files more portable and "transfer-friendly." It's one thing to have them on your computer. It's another thing to have them on your TiVo. And ultimately, it's a whole lot different if you have them in your pocket (well, if you've got PSP/NDS-sized pockets, that is).

Onkyo is set to release their latest media recorder, the VR-1000J, on Christmas day. What it does is transfer media from your TV to your memory storage card. You don't need to learn Japanese just to understand how the device works. Just check out the pic below to get an idea of the device's power:

It supports Mpeg4 format for video and AAC/G.726/AMR for audio onto your memory stick or SD card for whatever device you might have (yes, even a mobile phone). For more info, the "Read" link leads you to all the nitty-gritty tech notes and a full list of its specs and supported media formats.

In case you are not aware, Sony has a new guy manning the senior director post of their corporate communications. He's Dave Karraker and while he isn't new to the game industry, he never expected he'll eventually end up where he is now considering his background. He actually started out as a TV reporter for CBS and NBC in Santa Barbara and Reno.

Enough about the guy and on to why he's making news today. Recently, gaming-dedicated site GamaSutra interviewed Karraker. It was a rather long interview and it was all about their marketing strategy, the PS3 launch, and other Sony stuff. However towards the end, the discussion shifted to PSP and downloadable contents. The moment we read that, we were like, "Dude, now we're talking."

"I think handheld is incredibly important for us, particularly as we start developing more and more downloadable content. And I’m not just talking about games, I’m talking about entertainment content as well," Karraker reveals. He then specifically pointed out TiVo-to-go saying it actually is a big hit. He then went on saying the DS simply cannot be compared to their product, as the former is more about gaming while the PSP offers a whole wide array of things.

The discussion then proceeded to PS1 games on the PSP. When asked how the emulated download works, Karraker explains, "Basically you just download them to the PS3, and bounce it to your PSP, and those will all be under US$ 5. And then there will be downloadable content from hotspots." Hmm, just under five bucks. What do you think?

Anyway, they then capped off the conversation with the types of games different markets dig. While actions and sports games work well with the PSP, such titles are not big hits in Japan as they prefer RPGs. Karraker then reflects, "it’s just a matter of getting the consumer in Japan accustomed to the idea of playing an expansive RPG on a handheld device."

Thanks go to wekilledbambi03 for enlightening us about Sony's desire to get our opinion in this new survey. The survey covers Sony's line of time shifting products, including the Location Free TV Base Station.

The PSP, PS3 and other devices that you can stream content to using a Sony Location Free Base Station are also covered in the survey. The pace proceeds based on your answers to the questions so the length of the survey will vary accordingly. There are also questions about how we use products like TIVO and how much we are willing to pay for the service. I know sometimes it all seems pointless, but the least we can do is try to tell them what we want!

It doesn't take more than five minutes to complete the survey and overall it doesn't seem to be too biased. Here is a sample of the survey questions you will find from Sony.

More survey questions can be seen in the Full Article!

TiVo owners have been able to play their recorded videos on their gadgets for a long time now. So what makes this new update which was released by TiVo themselves, any different? Here's what we've all been waiting for.

Now it allows you to upload your videos and convert them at the same time - no need for third party software! Video conversion with free programs can be tedious at best and this update, which will cost TiVo subscribers an extra $25, allows you to directly move your TiVo'd videos straight from your unit to your TiVo Desktop and convert them to be played on the PSP, Treo, and iPod in one straight step.

The update, version 2.3, will also feature 'TiVoToGo' which will allow users to schedule TiVo to PC transfers. Now get out there and get your favorite episodes of Gilmore Girls Ultimate Fighting Championship on your gadget of choice!