Sony said that its popular PlayStation consoles and handhelds closed year 2011 with a bang amidst speculations that the company had lost millions in revenue because of the hacking attack that happened in April. The Japanese electronics company, however, boasts that they were able to sell 6.5 units of PS consoles before 2011 was over.

“According to the December NPD, PlayStation 3 closed out a banner 2011 with a bang, showing increases in hardware, software and peripherals year to date,” said Patrick Seybold, the Senior Director of Corporate Communications of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), in a response to the most recent data released by research firm NPD.

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was hailed top-seller for the year 2011 but Sony couldn’t just hide the excitement of selling more than 6 million units of gaming consoles despite all the misfortunes that happened in the company last year.

“As we reported earlier this week, consumers flocked to PlayStation consoles and handhelds this holiday season with more than 6.5 million units sold worldwide,” Seybold added.

In the most recent sales report from Sony which was announced at CES 2012, the 6.5 million of units was a combination of sales made by PS3, PS2, PSP, and its newly-launched handheld gaming device in Japan PS Vita.

In an attempt to start the year with a good sales projection, Sony scheduled the release of PS Vita on February 22nd. In truth, it is one of the most anticipated electronics product in the first quarter of 2012. In Japan, Vita was reported to have sold 500,000 units by January 5th.

PS Vita is the only thing that will keep Sony Computer Entertainment alive in 2012 and 2013 because PlayStation 4 is not expected to come until 2014.

“With the highly anticipated U.S. launch of PlayStation Vita on February 22, featuring the biggest and best launch lineup across the history of PlayStation platforms, 2012 is already shaping up to be another exciting year for PlayStation,” Seybold said.

While the Americans prefer Microsoft’s products when it comes gaming devices, Sony can still hope for the best for its Vita in European gaming market.

Sony’s brand is greatly dominating in the UK.

The popular and notorious hacking group Anonymous uploaded a threat video for Sony and few celebrities on December 29th warning the Japanese electronics company of yet another hacking plot after it has aired its support for Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). If it happens, this is the second time Anonymous will be interrupting Sony’s operations.

In April, Sony lost hundreds of millions following a hacking incident of its networks. It was after the company sued few people who allegedly hacked its systems including PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable.

The company had to make its networks more secure after the hacking, some of the services and operations were stopped, more than 50% of its online customers were lost and so it has to spend millions for retention promos.

Anonymous is quite serious this time telling Sony that when the attack is initiated, it could be the end of the company’s presence online.

“Your support to the act is a signed death warrant to SONY Company and Associates,” Anonymous said.

This time, the group is looking forward to totally destroying Sony unlike the first attacks which were just a denial of service.

“We have decided to destroy your network. We will dismantle your phantom from the internet. Prepare to be extinguished. Justice will be swift, and it will be for the people, whether some like it or not. Sony, you have been warned,” added the group.

Popular celebrities like Lady Gaga, Justin Beiber, Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian who also aired their support for the act were also threatened by the group.

This isn’t the first time the group threatened people or agencies and for the record, it has always been successful in its attacks.

Few of the agencies and establishments that were hacked by the group is The United States Department of Defense, The Bank of America, The United Nations, and Lockheed Martin.

Here is the video uploaded by the group:

Sony created a lot of hype prior to the release of PS Vita making it popular in a short period of time especially in Japan. Its sales projection reached up to 321,000 units sold in the first week Japanese campaign and it wasn’t really bad at all considering it’s next to 3DS when sales figure is concerned.

3DS actually sold 371,000 units in the same time span and in the same scope of area. It wasn’t really that far for gamers to think that PS Vita could be the next popular thing all over the world when it comes to handheld gaming devices.

However, it seems that Sony’s latest entry to gaming industry has dropped dramatically in the second week selling only 72,479 units. It’s predecessor’s, the PlayStation Portable (PSP), performance is even better considering it was in its primitive form unlike Vita which is way too better when technology is concerned.

Vita is without a doubt a very popular gaming device especially in Japan but how could 3DS, Wii, PSP and PS3 beat it? Analysts say it is because it lacks compelling software or games. In fact, the hardware-software ratio during the launch was 1:1, meaning for each PS Vita sold, only one game is bought to go with it. And it could be because major and more popular titles are still not available for this device.

Unlike 3DS, PS Vita games haven’t made it to Top 20 chart for games. It means that its software is performing really bad compared with other the ones designed for other platform.

Apparently, PS Vita is not doing so well in Japan. Sony, however, still got a chance to excel when it launches the device in North America and Europe in February 2012, although there is no guarantee it would beat other gaming devices in the U.S.

Europe is actually Sony’s last hope considering the brand is among the most preferred names when it comes to electronic devices.

But will PS Vita perform what is expected of it?

The head of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), Jim Ryan, told journalists and gamers recently that Sony has a bunch of surprises waiting for its loyal customers. He also expressed his disappointment for losing one of their exclusive developers.

It seems not typical for Sony to keep secrets when it comes to their upcoming releases but Mr. Ryan had his mouth shut during a conference because he might not have a clearance to divulge things Sony is planning for next year.

“There’s a bunch of stuff at the back end of the year – I’ll tease you with this because I’m not going to tell you what because I can’t,” he said in a statement.

Those information, however, will be revealed in the coming months, he added.
For journalists, Mr. Ryan assures that there will be plenty to report, “(They’ll) give you plenty to write about.”

As much as Sony does not want pre-mature announcements, everybody is expecting that what Mr. Ryan is saying is all about the PlayStation 4. Reports suggested that PS4 is currently undergoing development, although not one could guess when the release date would be.

In a bid to provide people, especially gamers and journalists, explanation why Sony lost one of its exclusive developers, Insomniac Games, he simply said that Sony would have preferred to let the studio remain as its exclusive developer.

Insomniac Games is behind the success of Resistance trilogy and Ratchet & Clank, PlayStation’s main franchises.

“In an ideal world would we prefer them still to be working exclusively on our platforms? Yes probably,” Ryan stated.

However, he assured gaming communities that the loss of one of their best developers is not the end of top-notch Sony games.

“The strength of our internal studios at the moment means it isn’t the end of the world by any means.”

There were different instances in the past that lead to suspension of the accounts of players, but this is one of the most major suspensions we have seen. Playstation Network banned almost a hundred thousand users from their network after they have tracked down some suspicious things.

It’s unbelievable how fast hackers are already. This is just a month after the massive cyber attack that affected 100 million user accounts. Don’t worry folks, accounts were not suspended because they are part of the malicious activity, but to keep them safe. Playstation Network assured users that all credit card information are intact, and that there weren’t any private information that leaked.

PlayStation Network Attack

Now, what’s it this time? They have found out that these accounts have a considerable amount of unauthorized log-ins. Most of these accounts belong to the US and Europe, while quite belonged to Japan. This attack is different than the one happened before. This time, there weren’t any attack on Sony’s database. In fact they even think that these unauthorized log-ins just came from different sources like other companies and websites.

That’s how small time it is, the only thing that made it big time is the number of attempts. In any case, even if they were able to log-in successfully after 93,000 attempts, then they still wouldn’t be able to access the private information of the user because there are still additional security measures after the log-in.

After only a short while, this suspension would be lifted, but we can all be assured that this would not happen again. Playstation has definitely upped their security even more. But we can all thank Playstation for not settling for okay, and for keeping our bank accounts and credit card in safe from the hackers. This is a tough world and we always have to be vigilant. If there is any advice we could give that’s going to help PlayStation Network protect you: use an unpredictable username with an even more unpredictable password.

Good news for those having Xperia Play as Sony Ericsson and EA have jointly offered to get the owners of Xperia Play four games free for a period of time. Even if you don’t have XPeria Play right now, and you are planning to buy in near future, still you can make use of this offer and looking that way it is not an offer for a short period at all.

Another great thing about this free offer is that the games are really high quality titles you don’t expect to be offered free. It may be that, you have always thought of getting some of these and not had bought them for one or the other reasons. Now you have the chance to enjoy them.

The four free games offered are Dead Space, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Need for Speed Shift and Need for Speed Hot Pursuit.

If you wish to get any one or all of these games, you have to open the phone and find the on screen game launcher and you will get to the names of these four games for free. Then you will have to connect to WIFI and download each one of them. Free download period ends on 15th January, next year.

Classic PSP and PlayStation 2 versions of Konami’s popular stealth action series, Metal Gear Solid are being rebuilt and optimized to work on XBox 360 and PlayStation 3, available on November8 inthe Metal Gear Solid HD Collection.

The pack contains 3 updated versions of Metal Gear Sold 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

A limited edition of the pack offers even more content. The limited edition of Metal Gear Solid HD Collection will contain a 248-page art book and a special package and box art designed by lead artist Yoji Shinkawa.

The standard Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is priced at 50$. However, Konami didn’t yet announce the price of the limited edition.

The HD optimization update will introduce Konami’s latest game transferring initiative. This feature allows players to play a game on both of the PlayStation 3 and PSP by wirelessly transferring save files between the 2 consoles.

The HD Collection version of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker on PS3 will be the first game to take advantage of that initiative. However, Konami vice president Hideo Kojima hopes to bring that functionality to PlayStation 2 games, whereas saves could be transferred from and to the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.

The Battlefield 3 open beta went live 2 days ago on September 29 for all of the XBox 360, PlayStation 3 and the PC, and will last until October 10. As we get our hands on it, we’ll present and discuss what it looks like in detail in this article!

The beta is literally open this time, meaning anybody from the public can download the game for free and join! That’s right, not only those who have prepurchased can join in. To join the beta on PC, you can click here and follow the instructions, or download the game from the free games section of the Origin store. The Origin software is required to run the beta on PC. For XBox 360 and PlayStation 3, the game will automatically appear on the PlayStation Network Store and XBox Live Marketplace. The beta is currently about 4 GB’s in size, feel free to download and enjoy! The full game will be released 2 weeks after the open beta is closed, on October 24.

The current available content features only one map in one game mode; Operation Metro, rush (up to 32 players), infantry only, presenting the new infantry combat mechanics.

A plenty of the new features have already shown up in this limited beta, which we will present below, such as the new design of guerilla combat areas, the new class specializations, and the use of flashlights. The infantry combat has advanced to a whole new generation.

In Battlefield: Bad Company 2, infantry combat areas consisted of bunches of countable models of small 1-3 floor buildings being placed in small densities, thus forming hamlets suited for infantry combat. But in Battlefield 3, the design was brought to a whole new level. The combat in Operation Metro offers nativeParisian streetand architecture design, and the buildings have up to 5 floors that you can freely walk on. Deploying your machine gun on one of the windows of those high floors and shooting at the soldiers coming through the opposite field is a brutal experience.

The environmental enhancements bring more beauty as well as more destruction potential to the game’s environments. Indoors are times richer with details than they were in Bad Company 2. New elements such as breakable lighting bulbs were added. There are vending machines, more types of public utilities such as seats, destructible environmental cars (not drivable), and generally more stuff everywhere. Although not all elements have yet been optimized for destruction, the ones that have been will do that in beautiful ways. Metro doors for example will fall off their positions with their glass breaking. And with a direct rocket, each of the metal doors would split apart into some bent pieces of metal with explosion marks.

One of the biggest features/changes could be the replacement of the Support class by the Medic, and giving the Medic’s abilities to the Assault. The new specialization the Assault soldier has now is too reasonable, while the new Support class is bloody enjoyable.

The Support class is practically the overwatch of  his teammates, with the addition of the deployable bipods to light machine guns. The Support soldier is on a disadvantage in direct combat because of the high recoil of light machine guns. His best bet is to move behind the front line and deploy his LMG on tactical spots whether to defend a particular place or to provide a safer passage for his teammates by using suppressive fire against enemies.

When Dice first revealed this feature in the official blog, there were worries that people wouldn’t benefit from this feature due to the low teamplay spirit people usually have. But as I played, I found myself naturally providing perfect cover for my teammates and defense for the objectives without even bothering my mind thinking. What you’re gonna naturally do is choosing a tactical position, deploy your machine gun, and then starting to suppress your enemies.

The Assault is now the ideal class to carry the medkit and the defibrillators. The Sniper and the Support class that replaced the Medic are obviously optimized for fighting off the frontlines, which makes them unsuitable to have the medic specializations. The Engineer is already the medic of armor, and would lose his role by the removal of his Engineer kit. However, the Assault is both a frontline soldier and doesn’t lose his role by just removing his grenade launcher.

Breath control was added for snipers. You can now hold your breath with Shift button. Although, the effect isn’t as significant as it is in Call of Duty, because the rifle shak
es less and the steady effect is almost instant. Shots also hit the targets without a significant delay. But the ranges I got to snipe from were all short to medium, so I can’t picture the entire experience of sniping in BF3. All I can say is that it’s really easy in short range, but real long range sniping is still awaiting!

The game atmosphere doesn’t seem to be complete yet. As I tested the game, I didn’t feel it was as intense as Bad Company 2 is. That mostly revolves around auto voice messages, where soldier calls and auto cast communications in Bad Company 2 created most of the intensity and thrill in the atmosphere, and were the biggest factor in turning those robotic avatars into real living soldiers. The auto voice in the current beta phase of Battlefield 3 is of a lower density and intensity than it was in Bad Company 2, as far as I can see. Also, Operation Metro’s background is full of life as backgrounds are in Bad Company 2. But still, not all of the background animations are matched by sound effects (such as drop-planes flying on low altitudes.) The game’s atmosphere still has some work to be done on it.

All the weapons have new sound effects. The current sound effects are quite good. Grenades now have a metallic impact sound effect that gives a higher feeling of realism and mass in comparison to BC2′s kinda plastic sound effect. The grenade explosion sound is so satisfying, as all the other explosions are. However, the RPG-7 didn’t yet have a visual and sound effect when I used it.

The soldier movement became notably more dynamic, such as that when you prone while running, your soldier will jump onto the ground in a burst ahead instead of just stopping and prostrating in place. Your soldier will also automatically climb obstacles when you click space (as in Call of Duty) instead of just jumping normally. The screen also shakes a lot when you prostrate or g

et up, making those moves a disadvantage when you want to shoot. So you gotta choose when under fire: to shoot, or to get cover, can’t get both! More realistic, huh?

Between the new weapon attachments there are flashlights. Those thingies aren’t only useful for lighting up your way, but can also blind your enemies, with fantastic visual effects. Those flashlights work exactly as they did work in the old tag game we used to play in the woods when we were children; the light would give you a clearer sight, but would reveal your place. That’s what happens in Battlefield 3, the flashlights are so powerful that they can be spotted from above fifty meters away, and they would almost blind your enemy in short ranges in poorly lighted indoors. I’ve so far spotted a plenty of noobish snipers who have lighted their flashlights in the daylight. You just can’t miss those signs.

The beta still contains a plenty of bugs. Considering the beta ends only half way toward the release of the game, it’s expected that gamers will see the solution of most of the current bugs and sense real polishing of the game before the beta ends. The first beta update has already been released, being the fix for many bugs, as well as enhancing some of the gameplay mechanics. Also, we don’t know whether the currently available content will be extended to include more maps, game modes and vehicles or not.

Funnily, the current game interface is actually the Battlelog* itself, and it’s not explained whether it will remain like this or it’s just temporary. In either case, it’s necessary for Dice to develop an offline Battlelog client so players could access their singleplayer without the need of an online connection.

*(The Battlelog is a standalone online social network bound directly to player accounts that features real time player feed in addition to the common social network interactions between players.)

The game and the Battlelog are currently offered only in English. However, the Battlelog forums contain localized sections in 4 other languages, German, Spanish, French and Russian.

Sony’s Playstation 3 console is one of the most loved consoles in the world and now, Sony is planning a new service on the console named the Sony Video Unlimited service. Basically, this will be the best way to view content on your Playstation 3 and Sony is hoping that it will revolutionise the way that we access content in our homes. Now, Sony has announced that they will be launching a preview of the Video Unlimited service

Sony’s Video Unlimited service looks extremely impressive and the user interface has been extremely well thought out. The Sony Video Unlimited service is going to change the way that we access a variety of services on our TV’s and Playstation’s and is going to be the next big step after the Playstation network. Video unlimited is hoping to rival the more traditional methods of viewing media such as smart TV’s and other media boxes.

The whole idea of the Sony Video Unlimited service is in the design. It has been created so that it is always loaded with content and it will actually suggest new things for you to watch and will guess what you might like to see next. This is an extremely smart system that is also extremely fast from the looks of the demo and has a good chance of being the next big things in terms of content on demand and the Playstation service.

Playstation is one of the biggest names when it comes to gaming and their consoles are some of the most widely played in the world. The Playstation Home system has been around from Playstation for around three years but it never really managed to take off in the way that Sony had hoped. This is more than likely because the Playstation Home system is a little like a bad copy of the PC game; Second Life. Now, the Playstation Home system is being redesigned by Sony and will become more of a social games hub.

Sony has said that the reason for the change is simply the fact that virtual worlds are a thing of the past and people have already moved on in their gaming experiences. Now, people are looking for social gaming systems and this is exactly what Sony is hoping to do with the Playstation Home system. According to a spokesperson for Playstation, Sony is extremely confident in the new design of the system which they say they will be creating much better games for.

Sony have said that the new Playstation Home system will be all about games and these will be the first things that people see when they login to the system. The new version of the Playstation Home system is expected to hit stores in the Autumn and will be available on the Playstation 3 console.