Ever wondered what the happened to those PlayStation Network cards spotted in the wild some time ago? Well, the hide-and-seek game is finally up! It's time to stop bugging your parents for their credit cards just to get some PS Store credits, because now, you can pay for them up in the counter at Meijer retail outlets. Though they're currently exclusive at Meijer, there just might be hope for the cards to arrive in other stores like Gamestop. Hunt for more elusive details in the full article.

If you've been patiently waiting for the June 3 release of the God of War PSP, you may want to check your local stores in person. We've found one gamer who was able to snag the coveted PSP early. More after the jump!

What comes to your mind when you hear the words "Adults Only?" Chances are, you're thinking what we're thinking. There are, however, certain things you should know about what makes the rating and what the actual number of games with this kind of rating is. The latter point is especially important. Find out why after the jump.

If you prefer downloading software titles and content off the Internet rather than hopping over to the nearest store for your games, then you'll be pleased to know that the PlayStation.Blog has updated itself with a lot of new PC downloadables for your PSP handheld.

Grace Chen, Senior Manager of the PlayStation Store has posted this week's content release for Sony's online store for the PC. Check out this week's list of releases right after the jump!

Taking a look at the games from both the east and the west, there's no denying both have their own charm in wooing their respective crowds. However, some gamers enjoy crossing the lines and end up playing games, despite the fact they don't understand a word of what the characters say.

Read more about import gamers in the full article!

It's offical: everyone has gone crazy over Lumines after the monster Illuminati exploit. If you somehow managed to miss the hottest news, this magical key that unlocks the door to homebrew land skyrocketed to 14,000% in sales on Amazon. Such an overwhelming number can make heads spin.

Rumor has it that a gamer was able grab Lumines from Wal-Mart for US$ 0.10. Copy was supposedly tagged for US$ 11.83, but the receipt came out different. How likely can that happen?

Another poster claims that he got his copy in Canada for the same low price, but everyone else are mostly skeptic. Even with such high demand right now, it is quite difficult to imagine that any PSP game would fly off the shelves for that puny price. Well, the receipt is there, but it could be bogus.

 

Financial analysts are certainly having a field day with Manhunt 2, with its recent banning and all. They've tried to predict what Take-Two will do regarding their ultra-violent title, they've guessed as to why the publishing firm is getting all this bad rap - and now, they're saying that Manhunt 2's suspension could actually end up boosting the game's sales.

Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets is one of those analysts, saying that he doesn't believe the move to suspend Manhunt 2 will actually hurt the company's bottom line in the long run, but instead increase the game's exposure - thus boosting demand when it hits store shelves.

He also believes, as we've reported in an earlier article, that Take-Two will probably do what it has to do to lower the game's rating from the current Adults Only to a softer, more accessible Mature rating. And while it's a given that stores such as Wal-Mart will always be wary about customer backlash, the controversy itself is already free publicity - and savvy store-owners will take the risk of selling a Mature title that's already popular beyond belief.

Sebastian also notes that even if Manhunt 2 does tank, the struggling publisher still has an ace up its sleeve - namely, the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV - to fall back on. He puts it like so:

Relative to Grand Theft Auto it's [Manhunt 2] a lot less significant. Grand Theft Auto is the key driver. This is a second-tier title.

Well, for a second-tier title, it's certainly getting first-tier attention. And while it's very possible that controversy could actually boost sales, it could also work the opposite way if the game itself gets overhyped and for some reason it doesn't deliver what it's promised to do. One thing's for sure, though, is that it's violent as heck.

Further updates about Manhunt 2 as we get them.

"I think this is going to be the year for PSP, I think it's going to be a fantastic year for it. A very, very good year." That's how confident John Koller is on the fate of Sony's handheld for 2007.

And he actually has a well-founded reason for suddenly gushing like a schoolgirl. The recent implementation of the PSP price drop to US$ 169 apparently gave a whole lot of loving to Sony as PSP sales shot up to 300 percent - in just two days, at that. And all that love they'll be taking to the bank with them. Not only that, but the once-comatosed UMD scene suddenly gets a second chance at life as UMD sales also got a nice revival.

Also being held responsible for this rejuvenation of PSP sales is the new marketing scheme taken by Sony through its "Dude, Get Your Own" campaign. According to Koller, since the launch of the new campaign, they immediately saw an increase in sales. But admittedly, they also took a close, hard look at Wal-Mart experience during the last Black Friday.

But apart from all that, "Our greatest successes take place when publishers and developers recognize the value of the PSP owner as a PSP owner not repurposing a title," further explains Koller. "We've actively encouraged third parties in that direction."

To maintain the momentum of the PSP, Koller reveals that they will be having some major announcements coming this year. We expect to hear about them in the coming months, and you can bet we'l' be there to give you the heads up.

Well, it looks like there's no turning back now.

As it turns out, Valve is starting to test out the use of in-game ads for their titles, and the first guinea pig for this experiment is none other than Counterstrike 1.6 (screenies above, both courtesy of SK Gaming). Despite the flurry of protests that the mere mention of in-game advertising tends to generate, many game companies may soon be following Valve's lead.

While some fans argue that the sight of a real-world item being advertised inside a game tends to be detrimental to the whole experience, devs have noted that this form of advertising is actually beneficial for everyone in the long run.

After all, it generates revenue for game-makers.

Revenue equals more (and better) games.

More games equals happy gamers.

On top of that, there have been promises that the ads will remain discreet and out of the player's way.

At the moment, Valve is displaying advertisements for Portal and the upcoming Orange and Black boxes, all of which are their own products.

There have been earlier reports that Google ads may also end up invading the gaming world, and this has caused many to fear the possibility of having to encounter an in-game advertisement for Starbucks in a war-torn, World War II setting. After all, can you imagine running into an ad for McDonald's as you're crawling the trenches in games like Call of Duty or Brothers In Arms? Or perhaps one for Pedigree puppy food during an Unreal Tournament deathmatch?

On the other hand, there are also those who are willing to reach a compromise between revenue generation for the game companies and immersive gaming experience for the gamers. One point of this compromise involve the conditions which specify that ads that appear in games must be carefully chosen to match the theme and setting of the game itself.

Read the rest of the article after the Jump!

Sony, according to an eyewitness report, is recalling some defective PSP units at Wal-Mart. The eyewitness said he went to a Wal-Mart on January 11 just in time to see a sales person taking all the PSPs from the shelf. The eyewitness then questioned the sales person but didn't get an answer. That's a nice way of hinting it wasn't really the eyewitness' business.

Not taking a "no comment" for an answer, the eyewitness decided to ask someone else who worked at Wal-Mart. The chattier someone else told the witness that Sony recalled all the PSP systems. The eyewitness says:

I know there is a lot of defective PSP sold on Christmas and people are returning systems like crazy and the problems are system shut down by itself, UMD doesn't read, cannot read memory stick, system restore by itself and more.

The PSP recall theory triggered a few speculations.

1. One guy who said he works in the retail industry explained that it wasn't a recall but RTV or Return to Vendor. This means if a system is bad they take it back to the store. The unit is then shipped to the vendor's warehouse to be replaced. The unit itself is shipped back to the manufacturer to be refurbished. "Besides people do funny stuff with the PSP to get it not to work and will say anything to get it returned. Funny thing is, is that Wal-Mart... will take back almost anything without question and for any reason."
2. The eyewitness countered the PSP units he saw being carted away were new and in unopened boxes so it can't be RTV.
3. Retail guy said recalls MUST have a notice so consumers can be notified. "It is not a recall unless they specify with a notice at the return desk. If it is a notice than it is a recall."
   

There are other theories. You might want to sit down and not drink anything. If you spew your drink all over your keyboard it's not our fault:

• Sony's taking back the PSPs has something to do with Dark_Alex OpenEdition series.
• Maybe Sony has finally given up and pulled all PSPs. They figured if you can't beat 'em, just pull 'em. That is why no titles are being released, they just simply canceled all PSP-related sales after the stock of PSPs sold over the holidays.
• Maybe the Wal-Mart employees are digging them out and are going to eBay them as they did with all the 1.5's they could get their hands on after Sony upgraded new units before shipping them.
• Sony may be recalling them back to be replaced with a new motherboard to combat downgrading or their latest PSP batch could have some really big flaw which we could have used.

So many theories and no one really knows for sure. That's why we're classifying this as a rumor.