While not quite as stellar as last week’s massive PlayStation Store update, this week still manages to pack a punch in the add-on content department. Up for grabs now is two Soulcalibur IV weapon sets priced at $4 each, along with the usual round of Rock Band tracks and a free Oklahoma City pack for NBA Live 09. Moving on, PS3 owners can experience BioShock for the first time as a playable demo is now available on the store. Other demos for this week include Brothers In Arms Hell’s Highway, Beijing 2008, Eternal Sonata, and NBA 2K9.

If none of that piques your interest, there’s still quite a bit of content tucked away in this week’s PSN update, including a PixelJunk Eden game soundtrack and two digital PSP downloads, Untold Legends the Warriors Code and Work Time Fun. The full list of offerings can be found after the jump. more »

Following up on the rumor posted earlier this week, the folks over at French site PSPGen have posted video proof of PSP firmware 5.0 in action, running on a testing tool unit. Keep in mind this is a development version of said firmware and as such, certain features may not be present in the public release.

According to Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Jack Tretton, both the PlayStation 3 and PSP platforms are shifting units beyond company expectations. Sales of the PS3 are up 30 percent higher than initial forecasts anticipated, while PSP figures are “20-30 percent ahead of plan.”

Even if the ongoing economic crisis begins to affect hardware sales this holiday season, Tretton remains confident that the PS3 will still break the projected 10 million barrier by March 2009.

Sony says PlayStation 3 sales better than expected [Reuters]

Homebrew developer Zx-81 strikes once again with an update to two of his popular PSP-based emulator applications, the TurboGrafx-16/PC-Engine flavored PSPHugo and PSPColem, a Colecovision emulator.

For the complete changelog on each, look past the jump. more »

If a report from French site PSPGen is to be believed, PSP firmware 5.0 will bring direct PSN access as well as an updated RSS reader capable of reading of text-based articles. As you may well be aware, the current version of the RSS component is limited to viewing items containing only audio, videos, or images.

It’s worth noting that the information is being based off a development version of the PSP firmware designed specially for Testing Tool units. This means that certain features may not be present in the public release of the firmware. However, we’d say that the inclusion of a built-in PS Store is nearly a given, considering that Sony announced it was hitting PSPs across the globe later this fall.

Les nouveautés proposées par le Firmware 5.00 bêta [PSPGen]

It’s taken far longer than we would have liked, but pre-paid PSN card are finally expanding to major big-name retailers this holiday season. Expect the cards to show up Walmart, Best Buy and select Sam’s Club outlets this October. A rollout is slated for Barnes & Noble locations later in November.

The cards will be available in $20 and $50 denominations, suitable for purchasing both PSP and PS3 content from the online-based PlayStation Store. Currently, PSN cards can be obtained from smaller outlets, such as Blockbuster, 7-Eleven and Riteaid.

Full release after the break. more »

Massive. It’s the only word suitable for describing this week’s PlayStation Store update. Up for grabs now is WipEout HD, Burnout Paradise, GEON Emotions, and Mega Man 9. Joining the aforementioned titles is add-on content in the form of three question packs for trivia game Buzz! QuizTV, a Halloween equipment set for Soul Calibur IV, and the usual selection of Rock Band tracks.

Additionally, two PSP UMD titles, Untold Legends Brotherhood of the Blade and Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, hit the service as downloadables this week. Full content listing after the jump! more »

The days of practicing law for anti-video game violence activist Jack Thompson are coming to an close. After careful consideration of the initial ten-year “enhanced disbarment” recommendation made by Judge Tunis last May, The Florida Supreme today took matters to the next level, ordering Thompson to shut down his practice. The ruling takes effect in thirty days from today.

The Court approves the corrected referee’s report and John Bruce Thompson is permanently disbarred, effective thirty days from the date of this order so that respondent can close out his practice and protect the interests of existing clients. If respondent notifies the Court in writing that he is no longer practicing and does not need the thirty days to protect existing clients, this Court will enter an order making the permanent disbarment effective immediately.

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In Japan, the PSP hardware and software business is booming. But in North American and to a lesser extent, Europe, not so much. Next year though, the times will be a-changin’ for SCEA, or so says marketing man John Koller:

I think going into next year we’re going to see significant growth. We’re counseling retail to be ready for it. We have a number of very strong franchise games on the docket that will be launching next year. We haven’t gone public with those, and many third-parties have not yet either because they’re concentrating on holiday, but we have a number of very strong titles coming.

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Not one to sit idle, homebrew developer Zx-81 has released an update to his recently released PC-Engine/Turbografx-16 emulator PSPHUGO. Version 1.0.3 brings emulation speed improvements to the table, along with support for 320×240 resolution and two additional sound engines in 22 and 44 kHz flavors. As per usual, the full changelog can be found after the break. more »