Hasta La Gadget!

Now that North America has been thoroughly blanketed in the beautiful green light of a working PlayStation Network, it’s time for other countries to sign on too, and the first out of the gate are the United Kingdom, Ireland and unspecified nations in the Middle East. Sony’s official PlayStation Europe Twitter account reports that parts of the EMEA are beginning to light up now, and while there’s no convenient map for you to monitor the rollout this time around, you can still get updates straight from the source — follow the Twitter feed at our source link and Sony should let you know when to get your game on.

Update: Looks like it’s not just the EMEA, as PSN’s spreading across the world — as of noon PST, it’s lighting up the smiles of bereaved gamers and music lovers in Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South America as well.

Update 2: We’re hearing that the UK, Ireland and the Middle East actually went dark again for a tad, but now they should be up again.

Update 3: Sony’s having a bit of difficulty getting millions of passwords reset in such a short time, due to a number of things, including ISPs that are automatically blocking or delaying the huge influx of email password change requests. Give it time, folks.

PlayStation Network restoration spreads across the world (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 May 2011 14:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s PlayStation Network has been down for over a week, and it’s a royal mess for all involved — as you’ve no doubt heard, an external intrusion by unknown hackers compromised the personal information (supposedly including everything but credit card numbers) of potentially millions of users. This morning, Sony VP Kaz Hirai (formerly of the PlayStation division) will address the world from the company’s headquarters in Japan, and our friends at Engadget Japanese are on the scene to bring us first-hand details in just a few minutes. Additionally, there appears to be an official livestream that will begin at 1AM ET, so keep it locked right here and potentially find some video at our source link.

Update: We’re hearing that Sony’s “goodwill gesture” may not be an incredibly significant one — affected users can expect a free 30-day subscription to PlayStation Plus and a free software download of some sort, while Qriocity customers will get an extra 30 days of service on the house.

Update 2: As many as 10 million credit card numbers may have been exposed, though Sony says it has no proof that any actually have been compromised, and claims that it’s received no reports of credit card fraud thus far. It is, however, working with the FBI to investigate the hack.

2:00 JST: The show’s begun — following a little bit of Mozart, Sony has trotted out three solemn-looking executives. More updates after the break.

Continue reading Sony’s Kaz Hirai addresses PlayStation Network hack, we’re liveblogging

Sony’s Kaz Hirai addresses PlayStation Network hack, we’re liveblogging originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 May 2011 00:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Sony PSP Go is today being reported to have “completed” its production and shipment in Japan, seemingly foreshadowing a worldwide discontinuation of sales. Such is the word from Impress Watch, which cites an official statement from Sony Computer Entertainment that promises support, firmware updates, and repairs for the PSP Go, but no further stock of the handheld. We doubt it’ll be missed too much, what with its high price and inability to play UMD games, but if you’re afraid this signals a similar demise for the PSP-3000, worry not. Sony has said it’ll focus on shifting as many units of that classic device as possible until the NGP strides in and revolutionizes everything.

Confirmed: The PSP Go is no more originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 06:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Let’s face it — smartphones (namely, iOS and Android devices) are slowly chipping away at the portable gaming market. If you recall, Apple took a nice slice of the market-share pie — and as you’ll notice in the picture above, we’re seeing the same trend this time around. According to data from Flurry and NPD Group, iOS and Android are earning a sizable chunk of the revenue in the portable gaming software sphere, with the Nintendo DS’s dominant market share dropping from 70 percent in 2009 to just 57 percent in 2010 to accommodate the newcomers. We may be seeing the decrease in relative revenue because the PSP and DS are on the way out to make room for the NGP and 3DS — however, this chart speaks only of the current-gen portables. But hey, it’s easy for almost anyone to spend a single buck on a full-fledged game, right? Head past the break for some more videogame revenue stats, if you please.

Continue reading iOS and Android continue chipping away at mobile gaming market, consoles remain strong

iOS and Android continue chipping away at mobile gaming market, consoles remain strong originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 04:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When a new console launches you expect it to hit the ground with a big “thwomp” that knocks the competition aside. Nintendo’s 3DS, however, has had something of a softer landing. It released in Japan on February 26th and had been positioned high and proud at the top of the sales charts. However, it’s already been usurped by the humble PSP, which according to Media Create sold 58,075 units in the week of March 28th to April 3rd. The 3DS, meanwhile, sold 42,979. This is in large part thanks to PSP dating sim Amagami, an old PS2 game that’s just been re-released for the portable. It seems nostalgia trumps 3D wizardry again, and with the PSP getting cheaper in Europe this week, the competition is even getting tougher.

3DS outsold by PSP in Japan, gets dumped for a dating sim originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 08:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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