We've waded these waters before, I know, but it seems the whispers just won't stop. First it was a Sony Computer Entertainment UK executive that put the phrases "in-game communication" and "firmware 2.4" in the same sentence, and then several other folk started whistling to the same tune. Now we've got more wood to fuel the rumor fires, thanks to the new leaked video we tripped upon. See for yourself at the full article.

Fasten your seatbelts, Gran Turismo fans! GT Academy is now live! If you want the real thing and not just your virtual cars on screen, here's your chance to make it happen. Details after the link.

Sony Computer Entertainment UK managing Director Ray Maguire was at the recently-held ELSPA press conference and he had a few things to say about the now popular Byron Report. The boss commented that the report's recommendations are valid today, but when the time comes that brick-and-mortar retailers take a back seat to online stores, things will be done differently to enforce the rating system. More in the full article up next.

Sony PlayStation 3 owners, heads up - there's a new development about the infamous PlayStation 3 80010514 Error, and it's direct from Sony itself. It seems that the company is just a bit unprepared for the bug itself - and that's never good. Are we going to see a repeat of the dreaded Disc Read Error that plagued early versions of the Sony PlayStation 2? All the details in the full article.

Good news! Ray Maguire of Sony Computer Entertainment UK has revealed that the PS3 has officially hit one million in sales for the UK. Maybe those 40GB PS3 SKUs really did help push sales, but more interesting to note here is that Maguire also revealed that the PS3 has sold faster than its previous siblings, the PS1 or PS2. And oh? What's this? Mention of PS3 firmware 2.40? Coming this summer? Why, that'd could be the BD Live update! Or... do we hear in-game messaging? Read more for the full scoop.

Sony has revealed its Christmas TV campaign for the PlayStation 3 in Europe. This time around they're focusing on the PS3's high definition capabilities, moving away from their previous campaign which focused on games.

Watch the new ad, named "The Entertainers" in the full article.

With the release of the cheaper 40 GB SKUs, Sony Computer UK managing director Ray Maguire is confident that the PlayStation 3 will be able to sell a million units through Christmas in their area.

Currently, the new SKU is moving at an incredible rate so Maguire's prediction coming to pass won't be surprising. The 40 GB SKU caused PS3 sales to spike by 178% last week in the UK and even caused some games to reenter the charts, like Heavenly Sword and MotorStorm.

Aside from the success of the console, Maguire has expressed confidence in the future of PS3 games saying that developers will begin looking to the PlayStation 3 first before the Xbox 360: "We're in the period of crossover now, where people will start to develop on PS3 as the lead [platform] if they're multiformat."

Maguire, who predicted that the PS3 will indeed get "better reception" with the new SKUs earlier this month, may prove to be right again and this may indeed be a white Christmas for Sony.

Ray Maguire, Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment UK, is quite confident that people will be reacting positively now that the new 40GB entry level PS3 units are finally out in Europe. He said that this new strategy initiated by SCE UK will finally silence doubters and take the console to "the next level."

He explained that the reason for the newly unveiled SKU was a product of industry pressure, failing production costs, and a desire to boost sales as the industry moves into the peak period. He also revealed plans to eventually phase out the 60GB console now that the new 40GB PS3 is selling at a better rate due to its reduced price (GBP 299 or US$ 611) compared to the original console.

He explains this initiative the company took by saying:

We have to take a more strategic view on when we do these things. We’re always mindful of price and installed base, but we’re also mindful that we have a sustainable business. We’ve been considering this since launch – this is all part of a very carefully thought-out plan.

Maguire also countered the many anti-Sony sentiments filtering around the 'Net by explaining that the new console will change a lot of attitudes now that it's out. He noted that the resentment a lot of people express towards Sony relies mainly on information without a full understanding of the facts behind the company and the finances involved.

ChartTrack (Chart-Track) is a UK-based sales monitoring service formed in 1996. It keeps track of music, video, and software retail sales in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and Denmark. Now they've released their first ever PS3 UK charts.

According to MCVUK, 165,000 Sony PlayStation 3 units were sold this weekend, breaking the first weekend launch sales record of Nintendo's Wii (105,000 at its first weekend) and Microsoft's Xbox 360 (an estimated 70,000) - but not breaking the 185,000 PSP launch weekend record.

ChartTrack confirmed the 165,000 sales figure, and that definitely brings Sony close to the 100 million GBP target shared by Ray Maguire, the managing director of Sony Computer Entertainment UK (100 million GBP or UK pounds sterling is nearly 200 million US dollars). Anyway, the 165,000 number might help you make a guess about the numbers of games sold, because ChartTrack didn't release numbers - just a simple list of the top 22 Sony PlayStation 3 games sold for the week ending March 24, 2007:

1. Resistance: Fall Of Man - Sony Computer Entertainment
2. Motorstorm - Sony Computer Entertainment
3. Formula 1: Championship Edition - Sony Computer Entertainment
4. Call Of Duty 3 - Activision
5. Ridge Racer 7 - Namco Bandai Games
6. Virtua Tennis 3 - Sega
7. Virtua Fighter 5 - Sega
8. Genji: Days Of The Blade - Sony Computer Entertainment
9. Fight Night Round 3 - EA Sports
10. Sonic The Hedgehog - Sega
11. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 - EA Sports
12. Def Jam: Icon - EA Games
13. Need For Speed: Carbon - EA Games
14. Marvel Ultimate Alliance - Activision
15. Tony Hawk's Project 8 - Activision
16. Full Auto 2: Battlelines - Sega
17. NBA Street Homecourt - EA Sports
18. Blazing Angels: Squadrons Of WWII - Ubisoft
19. World Snooker Championship 2007 - Sega
20. Enchanted Arms - Ubisoft
21. Mobile Suit Gundam: Target In Sight - Namco Bandai Games
22. NHL 2K7 - 2K Sports

We earlier posted a list of the games available for the UK launch. You can check it out to see which titles didn't quite make it.

Just moments after the PlayStation 3 (PS3) European and UK launch were over, Sony Computer Entertainment UK managing Director Ray Maguire was quoted saying "Our egos want to make sure that we have the biggest launch in history." He even mentioned that total sales will go up this weekend. Well, it's already weekend and the numbers are in.

We don't know about egos, but we're certain that Sony's efforts paid off...

According to reports, the PS3 did break the record for the fastest selling home console in UK or what Maguire refers to as a little island where rents and rates are at an absolute premium. Company Chart Track stated that a total number of 165,000 out of the 220,000 PS3 units available has been sold during the launch weekend.

When we consider sales of all consoles, Sony doesn't need to worry at all as the record is owned by its handheld system, the PlayStation Portable (PSP). Back in September 2005, when the unit launched in the said market, its total sales during the launch weekend rose to 185,000.

Nintendo was able to sell 105,000 Wii units during its December launch last year while just 70,000 Xbox 360 systems was sold back in its 2005 launch.