Sony PSP E-1000 Announced, More Affordable Than Ever

Sony has announced some wonderful news today at the Gamescon keynote, and this is one of them. A brand new PSP E-1000 debuted today with an all new stealthy design with a PS3 Slim-like, charcoal matte finished exterior. The PSP E-1000 is a more affordable portable gaming console from Sony at a staggering price of €99. There is a catch however, the PSP E-1000 isn't WiFi enabled and will be a good option for those who just want to use UMD games and movies on the go. It also has a mono speaker instead of stereo speakers. Sony has yet to announce a US price and release date.

Sony Slashes PS3 Slim Price

Great news for those of you who just got pwned by the infamous RROD, Sony has announced at their Gamescon keynote today that it's dropping the price of the 160GB PlayStation 3 Blu-ray packed model from $299, down to just $249 in the US and €249 over in Europe effective immediately.

Sony Delays PS Vita Launch In The US & Europe

Some disappointing news for American and European consumers today, Sony's Kazuo Hirai has confirmed the delay in the release of the PS Vita portable gaming console that was said to be released later this year, will be pushed back for an early 2012 release in the US and Europe. Japan on the other hand, will enjoy the PS Vita before Christmas pulls in this year. Seems only fair. The PS Vita will be available at aggressive price points starting with a WiFi-only model for $249, and a WiFi + 3G model for $299.

Sony Announces PlayStation Vita Portable Gaming Console

Sony has officially announced its latest portable gaming console at E3 today called the PlayStation Vita, or PS Vita for short. Sony's PS Vita will be available worldwide for the holiday season in a WiFi-only model for $249 as well as a 3G + WiFi model for $299. The PS Vita packs a high-resolution 5" OLED multitouch touchscreen at 960x544, one of the best displays on portable devices. Full feature specs:

• 5" OLED screen with multitouch capabilities
• 960 x 544 Resolution
• Front and rear facing cameras
• Rear touch pad with multitouch capabilities
• Wi-Fi or 3G + Wi-Fi (3G on AT&T)
• Bluetooth
• Flash Card Media
• Six-axis motion sensing (three-axis gyroscope,
  three-axis accelerometer)
• ARM Cortex A9 CPU (4-core)
• GPS for location services

Battery specs have not been released weirdly enough.

Along with the release of the PlayStation Vita, a few game titles all taking advantage of the Vita's touch and motion controls are being developed such as LittleBigPlanet, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, new ModNation Racers, Ruin and Street Fighter x Tekken. 

Sony's New Official PS3 Wireless Stereo Headset Headphones

Oh yes it's about time Sony releases a pair of over-ear wireless headphones. These are not any normal wireless headphones though, the Sony Wireless Stereo Headset is built for gamers and features a 7.1 virtual surround sound promising that you will hear every little detail in the game. Other add-ons such as on board volume control, retractable boom mic with a mute button and on-screen battery headset and sound control status updates will let you game all day long with no interruption. Button controls will be accessible by simply tapping or sliding your finger on the headset's surface. Sony has confirmed that these do not use Bluetooth connectivity, but instead they use a small USB Wireless Adapter. The Sony Wireless Stereo Headset is slated to be released in September for $99.99. 

PlayStation Network Compromised, Password Reset Exploit

The PSN troubles are not quite behind us as Sony finds out that their password reset system has now been exploited. The exploit has forced Sony to take the password reset system offline temporarily until it irons out all the issues, again. Users who have been affected by the recent PSN hack have had their data stolen including their email address and date of birth. The two key ingredients for creating a brand new password which any hacker can use to create a new password for your account. Let's hope this will get fixed as soon as possible and that gamers will revert their attention to what they really want to do, game in peace. 

PlayStation Customer Appreciation Package Details

Details are now emerging about Sony's welcome back package to its customers affected by the recent PlayStation Network hack attack. The official PlayStation blog has confirmed the details of the "Customer Appreciation Package" for North America. Sony is welcoming you back with a welcome package that includes:

All PlayStation Network customers can select two PS3 games from the following list. The games will be available for 30 days shortly after PlayStation Store is restored and can be kept forever.

• Dead Nation
• inFAMOUS
• LittleBigPlanet
• Super Stardust HD
• Wipeout HD + Fury

For PSP owners, you will be eligible to download two PSP games from the following list. The games will be available for 30 days shortly after PlayStation Store is restored and can be kept forever.

• LittleBigPlanet (PSP)
• ModNation Racers
• Pursuit Force
• Killzone Liberation

• A selection of “On Us” rental movie titles will be available to PlayStation Network customers over one weekend, where Video Service is available. Those titles will be announced soon.
• 30 days free PlayStation Plus membership for non PlayStation Plus subscribers.
• Existing PlayStation Plus subscribers will receive an additional 60 days of free subscription.
• Existing Music Unlimited Premium Trial subscription members will receive an additional 30 days of free premium subscription.
• Additional 30 days + time lost for existing members of Music Unlimited Premium/Basic subscription free of charge for existing Premium/Basic members.

To welcome users Home, PlayStation Home will be offering 100 free virtual items. Additional free content will be released soon, including the next addition to the Home Mansion personal space, and Ooblag’s Alien Casino, an exclusive game.

Currently the PlayStation Network Store is offline and will be back online shortly so customers can access all the above. A similar welcome back package is offered to European customers. Get the details here.