Sony is pushing a software upgrade to its Sony Reader that will allow it to download books from other sources besides Sony.

Now we're talking.

One of the reasons I've not even looked hard at eBook readers is because of the proprietary nature of their content and delivery. If I buy Amazon's Kindle, then I can only download from Amazon. But with Sony's newest change, I can now potentially download eBooks from libraries, booksellers, publishers, and even Amazon. The open Sony Reader will allow access to a host of free downloads, as well.

An anonymous reader points out a Los Angeles Times report that Sony is planning on making movies and TV shows available for download through the PS3 "as early as this summer." Sony hopes to make use of the roughly 4 million PS3s already sold in the US to compete with similar services such as XBox Live, which began offering video downloads over a year ago. "One of the service's greatest obstacles may be Sony's own culture. Sony Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Stringer has been battling a corporate silo mentality in which divisions within his company work in isolation, undermining new initiatives. The PlayStation group in Foster City, Calif., has been notoriously aloof. Once, a former executive said, it scuttled plans for a movie subscription service for the PlayStation Portable even though Sony Pictures had supported the initiative. What is more, the company, looking to safeguard its film, television and music holdings, has been an aggressive champion of copyright protection, often, critics suggest, at the cost of technological innovation."

Sony BMG Music Entertainment has agreed, in exchange for a slice of Yahoo’s advertising revenue, to let Yahoo’s users upload videos and music clips containing its produced content. The deal comes just over a year since Sony made a very similar agreement with Google that also entailed the release of “thousands” of music videos on Google [...]

KDR_11k writes "1up reports on a Famitsu article discussing the future of microtransactions for PS3. According to the article, Gran Tourismo HD will require all cars to be bought via microtransactions. More specifically, the 'classic' package will come with no cars or tracks and the 'premium' package will include 30 cars and a measly 2 tracks to race on. Additional cars cost between 50 and 100 yen ($0.43-$0.85) and tracks go for 200-500 yen ($1.71-$4.26) a piece. No pricing was given for the game itself." From the article: "Now, is it possible that the game will be a full-priced title with a built-in download system that allows users to download cars and tracks equal to the number of the game's retail price? We hope the model ends up similar to this. However, right now, details are extremely sparse, and Sony has to have an answer to these questions -- most of the people who can answer are over in Tokyo, we'll update if we hear back. Welcome to next-gen."

Interesting, turns out that blue diodes are gonna be tough to get this year. That’s what’s inside the Toshiba HD-DVD player I bought and what is scheduled to be inside Sony’s Playstation 3’s later this year. My brother says this is making the Xbox team look like geniuses.

Wired Magazine writes an indepth article on Sony’s PS3 and its fight against Xbox 360. I guarantee you that folks over at Microsoft are happy that Sony has tripped over their feet a few times. I remember meeting with Xbox folks a few years ago when Xbox 360 was only a dream on their whiteboards [...]

eldavojohn writes "The Yankee Group (a Boston Technology firm) recently announced that it predicts Sony's PS3 to lead the market with a 44% share through 2011. Most interesting is their prediction that the Wii will maintain only 16% of the market share. From the article: 'The analyst group believes Sony will lead in next-gen market share by 44% in 2011, with Xbox 360 taking a close 40% share, followed by Wii with a wee little bitty 16% share.'"

Sony's Kaz Hirai hints that, in addition to the $600 console, we may have even more expensive games to look forward to. From the Gamasutra article: "I don't think consumers expect software pricing to suddenly double. So, the quick answer is that we want to make it as affordable as possible, knowing that there is a set consumer expectation for what software has cost for the past twelve years. That's kind of the best answer I can give you. So, if it becomes a bit higher than $59, don't ding me, but, again, I don't expect it to be $100."

Rinzai writes to mention an article on Gamasutra, noting a statement by Ken Kutaragi where the CEO states that the PS3 is a computer, not a console. From the article: "He went on to outline a scenario where many parts of the PS3 were upgradeable, much more like a PC, noting: 'Since PS3 is a computer, there are no models but configurations', and continuing (though talking in the theoretical): 'I think it's okay to release a [extended PS3] configuration every year'. It's clear from the comments that Sony is indicating that it will be possible to upgrade hard drives and perhaps even other components easily."

Filed under: Gaming

Need to drum up some cash? Sell accessories. Already sold a slew of accessories to your core audience? Sell some lux accessories to your so rich we don't know what to do with it audience. Sounds like a plan for SCE, who launched their PlayStation Signature series to fashion conscious "adult" consumers well heeled enough to spend some serious cash at their popup PlayStation design store in Aoyama, but not wealthy enough to, say, buy The Simmons Jewelry Co.'s $35k PSP case. The PlayStation Signature includes: ¥13,000 MDR-EX90SL PSP headphones, a ¥2,200 acrylic PSP stand, ¥8,000 and ¥4,000 crocodile-like PSP and UMD case, ¥30,000 tote bag with PSP pocket, ¥15,000 rayon/poly blend shirt, ¥5,500 coin purse, ¥6,000 card case, ¥11,500 wallet, ¥5,500 t-shirt, ¥6,500 polo shirt, ¥4,800 PSP strap, ¥2,200 champagne flute, ¥2,200 red wine glass, ¥2,100 white wine glass, ¥20,000 notebook, ¥2,600 pen set, and a ¥33,600 Emeliio Pucci-designed crocodile or leather PSP case. Were you to buy all of these, you'd be paying ¥174,700, or $1,551 US to outfit yourself in all things PlayStation. When asked about the cultural ramifications of the Signature line, our Japanese correspondents both laughed at and expressed concern for Sony. We forgot to ask how you say "jump the shark" in Japanese.