MotorStorm will be having a sequel, ladies and gents. Yes, we do know that already. But until now, we've been referring to it only as MotorStorm 2. As it turns out, there's actually more to it than meets the eye. Wanna know what the name of the game is? Then read about it over at our full article.

Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable may not be leading in units sold worldwide,but some countries remain staunch supporters of the Sony brand. One of them is New Zealand. The gaming population has spoken here and they've decided that the PSP, PS3, and last generation's PlayStation 2 are still the best. Find out more in the full article.

It's been confirmed that Sony will be revealing new information during the Leipzig Games Convention about the announced PlayStation 3 TV tuner that was revealed earlier this month. Earlier details were given by Warwick Light of Sony Computer Entertainment New Zealand that the TV Tuner may be available early next year.

There's not really much to go on other than the promise of "some clarification on the digital TV tuner," but it would be pretty sweet if they'll make the PlayStation 3 function like TiVo.

The clarifications announced in the coming GC 2007 may be targetted at specific release dates and countries or areas where the service will be available in.

UK outfit MCV predicted earlier that the Sony PlayStation 3 might become an integral part of Freeview's advent, and they may be right on as a bit of confirmation was made from New Zealand recently.

Sony Computer Entertainment New Zealand boss Warwick Light told The Press that the PS3 camp is hoping to seal the deal to carry media from terrestrial broadcasts in order to transform the console into a programmable TV tuner.

"We're (also) hoping next year – about the same time that Freeview launches its terrestrial broadcasting service (expected to be in March) – to release a digital tuner for the PS3, turning it into a programmable TV recorder," Light says.

The move has been deemed as a very feasible one in a technical perspective as data input could be channeled from one of the PS3's USB ports and stored in the hard drive.

This leads Light to conclude that their console is an "incredible transformer" because "we (Sony) can transform the PS3 capabilities so as to meet people's changing entertainment needs."

Light even went far enough to dispute the PS3's classification as a game console. He says "a lot of people think that the PS3 is just a games machine. It's not a games machine. Well (laughs), it is, but it isn't (laughs again). It's a future-proofed super computer."

Sony Computer Entertainment New Zealand (SCENZ) confirmed that the sales from the New Zealand launch of the PS3 caused "a spike in retail spending not previously witnessed at the launch of any other console in New Zealand," according to analyst group Gfk. In other words, in the 10 days from March 23 - the day of the official PS3 launch in New Zealand - until April 1, there were 4,835 PlayStation 3 consoles sold.

Gameplanet calls it an "unprecedented sales spike." This isn't too surprising considering the PS3's successful pre-order campaign in New Zealand.

There's more good news. PS3 games have taken over the sales charts. Daniel Morse from Gfk said, "Since launch, PS3 games have dominated GfK sales charts taking out all of the top ten places (console and handheld)." The two top sellers were Resistance: Fall of Man and MotorStorm, two games published by Sony Computer Entertainment.

What's the reason for the PS3's success? Warwick Light (General Manager Sales and Marketing, SCENZ) mentioned their advertising campaign and their interactive display units that let people "experience" the PS3. And after the sales success, Light has a right to be proud:

Combining games, photos, music, movies and the Internet, the PS3 is the ultimate entertainment hub in the living room. With the ability to have its functionality expanded through on-line upgrades, PlayStation 3 will be relevant for at least the next 10 years.

For the curious, here are the sales results from March 23, 2007, to April 1, 2007:

• PlayStation 3: 4835
• PlayStation 2: 1567
• PlayStation Portable: 738

Apparently, the PS2 black and pink consoles and the PSP also continue to sell in New Zealand, making Sony the clear retail winner for this month. Here's what Morse had to say about that:

Our combined data for the month of March positions the PlayStation 2 (black) console second to the PS3 as the next highest selling console, with PlayStation 2 Pink and PlayStation Portable rounding out the top four giving PlayStation a clean sweep for the month.

It seems that Sony has a lot of "Casino Royale" movie units back in its warehouse. It was announced a couple of days ago that the first 500,000 PSN registrants in Europe will be given one copy each.

Likewise, every single one of the first 20,000 registrants in Australia will get "Casino Royale" alongside a ticket to download for free Gran Turismo: HD.

This time, New Zealand gets to join in the "Casino Royale" promo as Sony mentioned that the first 4,000 PS3 owners there who will register online will get a copy as well. Sony Computer Entertainment New Zealand's Warwick Light explained that Sony is doing this because it wants people to experience a whole new world of interactive entertainment.

"Casino Royale" stars actor Daniel Craig as the new James Bond. To date, the film has already grossed more than US$ 560 million at the worldwide's box office. Warwick Light, SCE NZ General Manager of Sales and Marketing, then shared:

The PlayStation Network unlocks the broad range of interactive entertainment features of PlayStation 3. It's a simple set up, it offers free online gaming, has an array of tools for staying in touch with friends and family, and includes a wide variety of content for download through the PlayStation Store.

The PlayStation 3 will finally be available in New Zealand on March 23 with a price tag of NZ$ 999.95 (US$ 704.63) for the 60GB model.