Since its release the Sony PS3 games console has proven very popular in the UK as well as around the world. The Slim PS3 model was greeted with great enthusiasm in the UK, and consumers rushed to snap up one of these consoles. Sales of the console have now soared to way above internal expectations according to reports, but whilst this is great news for Sony there is also a slight problem that has become apparent.

There were rumours recently that stocks of the Sony PS3 in the United States were running low, with demand for the console being so high. Sony has now allegedly admitted that there are also stock shortages of the console in the UK, which could mean that consumers still keen to get their hands on this console may struggle to do so.

Sony has stated that it is doing what it can to remedy the situation, and hopes that it will be able to sort things out over the next few weeks. The shortages appear to be affecting the 120GB model in particular. With a number of hugely popular and highly anticipated games set to come out over the coming weeks Sony will be keen to ensure that stocks of the PS3 are plentiful.

An official from Sony stated: “Since we launched the slimline PS3 model, the demand has been overwhelming – running over 20 per cent ahead of our expectations. Whilst it is hugely pleasing that PS3 slim has been greeted so enthusiastically, we understand that this has lead to some stock issues, particularly with the 120Gb model. We are doing our best to address these issues and hope to catch up in the next few weeks.”

Source - MCVUK

Since it was launched in the UK the Nintendo DS has enjoyed huge success, with many people now being proud owners of these games consoles. It has now been revealed that a larger version of the Nintendo DS is to come to the UK, and many consumers will be delighted with the larger screen and clearer graphics.

The new version of this popular console is called the Nintendo DSi XL, and it is due to be launched in the UK in March. There is a possibility that it will also be launched in other parts of Europe at around that time, although no details regarding this or regarding the pricing of the console have yet been released.

This will be the fourth version of the Nintendo DS to be released, and according to reports this version will boast a 4.2 inch screen that is almost double the size of those on its predecessors. It is also thought that the screen will boast clearer graphics, making users’ gaming experiences all the more enjoyable.

It is claimed that the new DS will be bundled with four different applications, one of which will be a web browser. Some believe that whilst official pricing has not yet been released the cost of the new device will be around the one hundred and fifty pounds mark, which compared to just under one hundred pounds for the Nintendo DS Lite Red.

Source - IT Pro Portal

Three years ago the gaming world in the UK saw a revolution as the Nintendo Wii was launched. Immediately every household wanted to get their hands on one of these gaming consoles, and within a very short space of time it was pretty much impossible to get one, as availability was like gold dust. According to the group Chart Track the Wii has now sold six million units since its launch in the UK, and has become the fastest selling games console in the UK.

In 2008 the Nintendo Wii enjoyed a particularly successful year, and since then has slowed product to some degree. An analyst from Cowen Group suggested that in 2010 sales of the Nintendo Wii would become sluggish because its gamer base was a more casual one but the record sales of this console suggest that this may not be the case.
With a quarter of households now owning a Nintendo Wii the console has become the fastest selling console in the history of the UK, and this is an honour of which the company is very proud. An official from Nintendo stated: “With its inclusive, family-friendly and fun nature, we’re very pleased Wii seems to have captured the imagination of over six million families across the UK and reached such a landmark sales figure in such a short space of time.”
He added that the company would be working to make sure that the Nintendo Wii continued to enjoy this success by making it appealing for all ages and groups, adding: “We’ll work even harder to ensure that the interest in Wii stretches over months and years, appealing to people of all ages and gaming experience.”

Source - Video Games Republic

The row over disconnection of broadband users that are illegally downloading files and are involved in online piracy has caused a great deal of controversy lately. It now appears that games console users also have something to worry about, after Microsoft disconnected up to one million gamers this week from its X-Box Live gaming service for using illegally downloaded copies of games.

Officials from Microsoft said that the gamers that had been disconnected were those that they believed had modified their consoles so that they could play pirate copies of games. The move coincided with the release of the eagerly anticipated game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The fact that pirate copies of this game appeared prior to its release resulted in Microsoft deciding to take action against many console users.

One official from Microsoft stated: “All consumers should know that piracy is illegal and that modifying their Xbox 360 console to play pirated discs violates the Xbox Live terms of use, will void their warranty, and result in a ban from Xbox Live.” The company also said: “The health of the video game business depends on customers paying for the genuine products and services they receive from manufacturers, retailers, and the third parties that support them.”

Disconnected console owners will still be able to play games offline following disconnection, but X-Box users who have paid to have their consoles modified are mortified by the measures that are being taken by Microsoft, as some have paid a fair amount of money to get their consoles modified.

Source - Information Week

In order for the handheld system from Sony to reach its full potential there would need to be a price cut on the PSP Go he advised saying “The Go is just priced too high for the perceived value. It may play music and movies, but most think iPod Nano (149 USD) or Touch (199 USD) for that, and it is very expensive for a portable gaming device. I don’t see it boosting overall sales, and without a price cut, 3000 sales are likely to be down year-over-year.”

He went on to add “I think Go will sell 400,000 in the US, 400,000 in Europe and 200,000 in Japan through March. Most of those units will be incremental ‘replacement’ sales as people trade up, and they may dampen PSP-3000 demand by half that much. The 3000 is selling at last year’s price in a worse economy, with new competition from a sub-200 USD Wii. I think overall PSP sales will be pretty similar to last year’s, maybe down a small amount.”

The pricing on many of the handheld devices has often been a big issue for many experts of which Mr Pachter is one the more outspoken, advising that Sony should carefully consider its future pricing in order to make this kind of products more appealing to the game players. Although the has been no indication given by Sony regard changes to prices there is a good chance it may change its pricing in order to bolster its sales in the run up to Christmas.

Source - Play

The new version 4.2 firmware update for the Wii was recently released to address an issue that allowed a “channel” for unauthorised application to be installed and launched by hackers. The update was claimed to be a success by Nintendo, although it has led to the “bricking” of legitimate console as a side-effect of the firmware update. Console apparently became locked in a frozen state that could not be resolved by rebooting when Gamers began the downloading and installation process.

Although Nintendo has noted that this “bricking” issue normally occurs on consoles that have been modified in some way, it has confirmed that it is now aware of the situation. It has also been confirmed, however, that exactly the same issue is being experienced by consumers that have unmodified console. Wii owners are now being forced into calling the Nintendo support-line in order to arrange for their console to be repaired as the issue cannot be easily fixed.

Nintendo have advised “If you’re experiencing problems with your Wii console after downloading Wii System Menu 4.2, and you believe your system has not been modified, please give us a call. If we find that you have a normal system and the update caused your system to not work, we’ll repair it at no charge.”

It is hoped that this free of charge repair statement that has been release by Nintendo will also cover the cost of shipping charges for the consoles and will also cover out of warranty Wii consoles as well as the new units.

Source - Toms Guide

Despite the ongoing recession there has been much talk of green shoots in the economy over recent months, and many industry sectors believe that High Street sales in the run up to Christmas may not be as bad as envisaged, with experts stating that there are definite signs of recovery in the UK economy. It seems that many gaming console manufactures are hoping to get a slice of this renewed High Street sales revival, and many are now making moves to try and beat their competitors when it comes to Christmas sales.

Consoles have always been a popular choice for Christmas gifts, but over the past couple of years with the financial crisis having affected consumers sales have been slipping. With Christmas now around the corner, and with expectations that consumers will be hitting the High Street again with renewed energy, gaming console manufacturers are doing all they can to ensure that they take the largest slice of the Christmas console sales market.

In order to tempt customers that may still be keeping an eye on the pennies some of the major console manufacturers have already cut the price of their consoles in the hope of increasing sales. Nintendo is the latest gaming giant to slash its console prices, cutting the cost of the popular Nintendo Wii by around twenty percent. Console giants are also using other tactics to tempt Christmas shoppers such as improvements to their consoles and impressive claims with regards to why their systems are better than those of their rivals.

Manufacturers are also vying for exclusive rights to blockbuster games, knowing that often the games that come with the console play a huge part in consumers’ decisions with regards to which console to choose.

Source - BBC

Three PlayStation repair companies were approached by the TV show and were asked to look at a number of faulty game consoles and from this it was apparently found that the solder that connects the various components inside the console together displayed a high level of faults.

A study carried out by Sony, however, found that the conclusion of widespread manufacturing defects were not supported and went on to say that the claims were nothing more than a ‘stunt’.

Before to show aired the senior vice president and managing director of Sony UK, Ray Maguire wrote a letter to the editor of the programme stating “We think it is highly unfair to suggest that from an installed base of 2.5 million that the numbers you mention somehow are evidence of a ‘manufacturing defect’.”

He went on to write “The phrase ‘yellow light of death’ has been adopted by certain members of the online community to describe the situation in which PS3 systems have shut down following the illumination of the yellow light on the PS3’s front panel. The yellow indicator is simply a non-specific fault indicator that can be triggered in a range of different circumstances.”

Soldering issues could not be identified as the definitive source of a manufacturing issue because of that fact that not all of the consoles looked at by the Watchdog technician had this issue present in them said Maguire. The show treated an issue that could have serious damaged the reputation of both the PlayStation 3 and Sony brand names with an inappropriate level of levity he added.

An investigation into this issue was carried out by Watchdog following complaints it received from 150 viewers regarding problems with their PS3 consoles and because of this the BCC has stood by its show.

In a statement the BBC advised that stories of the “yellow light of death” had been sent in by another 265 PlayStation 3 owners following the broadcasting of the show and said “We presented a fair and accurate account of their stories, using expert advice and we broadcast Sony’s response.”

Source - Telegraph

Although there is a lot more interest in the PlayStation 3 at the moment and many stores are selling much larger quantities according to the monthly figure provided by NPD Group, the market specialist, there is a little concern as to whether the recent price cuts that were made by Sony will create sustainable momentum with consumers.

With the first positive market shift for Sony’s highly expensive gaming console in the last 10 months the year-on-year sales for the PlayStation 3 increased by 13 percent in August according to figures from the NPD.

The month-on-month figures for the PS3 are even more impressive with reports from the NPD showing that 210 000 units had been sold in August, which compared to July is an increase of 73 percent.

Although the US is showing the largest increase in PS3 sales, other global markets like the UK and Japan are showing a small rise in consumer interest in the lower priced consoles.

With a combination of the announcement of the PS3 slim and the reduction in price of the standard PS3 the independent retailers in the UK have seen a 15 fold increase in sales.

A spokesman for the Simply Games retailer said recently that the changes made to the configuration and pricing of the PS3 was considered to be “especially effective” and as the holiday season approaches there could be higher run of sales, and he added that following the price cut the retailer had sold 15 times the normal number of 80GB PS3.

The spokesman went on to say “Sony really needed this shot in the arm and this sort of initiative brings momentum for the entire industry.”

Source - The Tech Herald

The latest announcement from Nintendo that those looking to use the Wii Internet Channel can now use it for free is the most recent move to provide more features for console users. The Wii Internet Channel is the name that has be given to a specially designed Wii compatible version of Opera 9.0 and to make it compatible with the Nintendo DS even more changes were made.

In 2007 the Internet browsing facility was completely free, although after a while a charge of 500 Wii points was imposed by Nintendo. Users will now, however, get a free videogame from Nintendo if they have already spent money in order to access the application and can expect to get something from either WiiWare or the Virtual Console service.

Users that use the Wii Internet Channel will now be able to view content on YouTube and a number of other video sharing websites as the service has now been updated in order to use Flash Lite 3.1. They will not, however, be able to view the more complex applications that deliver copyrighted material, like Hulu and Netflix.

With the Xbox360 from Microsoft now the only console that doesn’t offer users a free web browser for its users to access many believe that this is merely an attack by Nintendo or the Microsoft console. It is also believed that Nintendo are looking to ensure their console remains popular after the price reductions recently announced by both Sony and Microsoft.

Source - Softpedia