The latest weekly sales figures from Media Create show that the DS is continuing to dominate in Japan. It clocked in over 116,000 units last week with the PSP only managing 20,271.

Source: Media Create

Phil Harrison, the head of Sony’s Worldwide Studios, has recently commented that he has no regrets at all over the decision of leaving out the vibration function in the PS3 controller.

He believes the motion-sensing feature built into the pads will deliver a greater gameplay experience in contrast to the single-input vibration function.

Source: GamesIndustry

Sony has released a Firmware 2.82 update for the PSP, the new features are unknown as of yet, however being a minor update it probably only contains the usual security updates. :P If you wish to update the link to download can be found below.

Download PSP Firmware 2.82

Dark_AleX has released an update to his impressive special edition firmware. Sporting full homebrew access on 2.71 in the previous version, SE-B kicks it up a notch with support for ISO and CSO files, the ability to run homebrew at startup, compatibility fixes, and more!

Download Firmware 2.71 SE-B

In Major Nelson’s latest podcast, Epic VP Mark Rein answered some general questions concerning the much-hyped Gears of War title for Xbox 360. Among the questions, one very interesting tidbit of information came up when Rein said "That story you all heard about us costing Microsoft a billion dollars, that’s actually true!".

Apparently, it had to do with the initial spec plan for the 360. Microsoft thought 256MB of RAM would be fine but Epic disagreed and said it would not be enough to display HD content in Gears of War. MS listened to them and in the end shipped 360 units sporting 512 megs of RAM - costing them one billion dollars!

Sony’s Phil Harrison confirmed that a few titles will be available at launch via the new download service, including Twisted Metal and Syphon Filter. The catch is you’ll have to play them on your PSP, since PS3 currently lacks the required PS1 emulation software.

Firmware update anyone?

Source: Joystiq

EA has provided some insight on how the different controller setups in Need for Speed: Carbon will function. In the first control scheme, you rotate the nunchuk left and right to steer, and tilt the Wii remote forwards or backwards from a 45-degree position to accelerate or brake.

Additionally, the second control setup will require you to hold the Wii remote at a 90 degree angle and tilt it forward to accelerate, while using the Z-button on the nunchuk to brake.

The third option is similar to the second, only with the difference of using the nunchuk’s analog stick to steer, instead of rotating the nunchuk to steer.

It’s likely these controller setups should appeal to a variety of gamers while adding more realism to the game.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is now available for download via Xbox Live. Users can purchase the game for 800 points or download a free demo.

Source: MajorNelson

FOL has updated his Amiga emulator for PSP - PSPUAE, this release includes improved frameskip support, and compatibility fixes.

Download PSPUAE 0.60

Major Nelson has reported that a demo of Tony Hawk Project 8 is now available to download from Xbox Live in all regions except for Asia.

Source: MajorNelson