Yesterday's PlayStation Store update was a crowded one, bringing forth a rather varied assortment of downloads for PlayStation 3 and PSP owners, including adhocParty.

A free download, adhocParty enables the offline-only adhoc multiplayer of select PSP games to be played online through a PlayStation 3 with all the PlayStation Network trimmings, such as voice and chat text. However, the PlayStation 3 must be connected to the internet through wire, as the system's wireless connection is utilized to transmit data between PlayStation 3 and PSP.

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Other new additions to the Store include PopCap's joyous ball-bouncer Peggle ($9.99), the Peggle Nights expansion ($4.99), PSOne Classics Resident Evil 2 and Legacy of Kain ($5.99 each), and demos of LittleBigPlanet PSP and PixelJunk Monsters PSP along with the usual smattering of downloadable content for Rock Band and Guitar Hero.

The PlayStation 3 will indeed be upgraded to better support stereoscopic three-dimensional visuals, maker Sony has confirmed.

"All PS3 units will be firmware upgradeable to 3D," the company declared in a recent investors meeting that detailed plans to "release 3D games in line with Sony's 3D strategy."

Sony plans to launch the PlayStation 3 update and other initiatives, like accelerating 3D theater growth, in its 2010 fiscal year, which runs April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011.

Additionally, Sony intends to return its game business to profitability by the end of the same fiscal year through the expansion of "hardware software/sales and enrichment of PlayStation Network services" coupled with "cost reduction... Read more

Joining the Xbox 360 and Nintendo DSi, the PlayStation 3 is the latest game console to integrate Facebook, as Sony has confirmed that the system's next firmware update--v3.10, due "soon"--will add support for the social networking site.

At this point, linking one's PlayStation Network and Facebook account allows three kinds of automatic Facebook updates--Trophies, PlayStation Store Purchases, Game Events--that can be toggled on or off. "This is just the beginning of our integration with Facebook and we are looking forward to adding new features," PlayStation Network operations director Eric Lempel explained on the PlayStation.Blog.

Other changes in the update include a revised look for both Photos and PSN Friends, with the latter stemming from feedback to the tweaks made in the v3.00 update.

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Sony has revealed that the PlayStation 3's "adhocParty" functionality will debut in North America later this month, allowing those that own both a PlayStation 3 and PSP to play portable games like Gran Turismo PSP and Monster Hunter Freedom online.

Supporting only certain titles, the adhocParty service essentially transforms the PlayStation 3 into an online access point, which then enables the ad hoc multiplayer of compatible PSP games to be played across the internet instead of locally.

Sony is billing adhocParty as a "new social gaming service," with Capcom North America and Europe's COO Mark Beaumont noting that "at last, Monster Hunter fans will be able to adventure together, regardless of where they are in North America."

Following an analysis of review scores and the value of a fast framerate over graphic quality, Insomniac has stated that just-released platformer Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3) is "probably" its last game to run at 60 frames per second.

"There is virtually no advantage in sales or reviews of a 60 fps game versus a 30 fps game," reads a blog post from Mike Acton, the studio's engine director. "However it does appear that gameplay scores are also influenced by graphics scores. i.e. Better looking games appear to be more 'fun' to reviewers."

Acton explained that "only a minority...notice framerate as a significant issue of any kind" and noted that some players even view slowdown "as a reward... Read more

Sony has announced a partnership with Netflix to bring the DVD rental subscription service's streaming online library of movies and television shows to the PlayStation 3.

"Initially, watching movies instantly streamed from Netflix via the PS3 system will be enabled by a free, instant streaming Blu-ray disc," Sony explains, which "leverages Blu-ray's BD-Live technology to access the Internet and activate the Netflix user interface on the PS3 system."

The disc will "Reveal movies and TV episodes that can be watched instantly... conveniently organized into a variety of categories based on members' personal preferences, popular genres, new arrivals and members' individual instant Queues."

Rival console Xbox 360 has supported Netflix streaming direct from the dashboard--no disc required--since the 'New Xbox Experience' update of November 2008... Read more

Despite the upcoming release of Sony's wand-like motion controller, the company is still prototyping stick-shaped PlayStation peripherals, as this new patent discovered by Siliconera suggests.

The patent itself is devoid of details, save for a few sketches of the device (shown below). Speculation on its purpose runs from a nunchuck peripheral for the motion wand, to a simple gameshow controller for Sony's Buzz! franchise.

A new model of the PlayStation 3 hardware that includes a 250GB hard drive will be available in North American shops November 3.

The new model will go for $349.99. Apart from a bigger hard drive, it's identical to the 120GB PlayStation 3 that sells for $299.99.

Rival Microsoft will release a 250GB version of its Xbox 360 hardware this fall via a limited edition $399.99 bundle that packs a copy of Modern Warfare 2 and an extra controller, though it has no plans to release the larger hard drive separately.

Both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 allow owners to replace or upgrade their hard drives, though Microsoft is the only official provider of Xbox 360 hard drives. The PlayStation 3, meanwhile, is compatible with most 2.5-inch SATA hard disk drives.

It seems that word of Insomniac's extremely likely followup to Resistance 2 has emerged not from the gaming industry, but Hollywood.

NeoGAF user goldsoundz claims to have run across a movie set with a billboard for the unannounced PlayStation 3 exclusive sequel. The logo features a silhouette of the Statue of Liberty, suggesting that the sci-fi shooter will be set, at least partially, in New York.

The set is reportedly located in Shreveport, Louisiana, which then led other message board denizens to conclude that the location was gussied up for Columbia's upcoming alien invasion flick Battle: Los Angeles. The movie is due out in February 2011.

Unsurprisingly, Insomniac and publisher Sony have yet to issue any comment. Insomniac traditionally releases a new game each fall, and has alternated between Ratchet & Clank and Resistance releases since the PlayStation 3 launched. The next Ratchet is due out October 27, with no official word on what's next for the independent studio.

Amazon.com today launched a new PlayStation Network store, allowing users to purchase downloadable PlayStation 3 and PSP content through the online retailer.

Offerings include full games and add-on content. However, not all of the items sold through the online PlayStation Store are available here, such as Rock Band tracks.

As with the section dedicated to downloadable Xbox 360 games, buyers will receive a download code via e-mail that can then be redeemed in the console's marketplace. That code is also stored on Amazon.com "so [customers] can retrieve it at any time."

With the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 both set to receive new motion-tracking controllers next year, it has been revealed that some existing PlayStation 3 software will be updated with enhanced control schemes via patches while Xbox 360 games probably won't.

Though Microsoft has demonstrated the Xbox 360's motion-sensitive Project Natal camera with retrofitted versions of existing titles, such as Burnout Paradise and Beautiful Katamari, project head Kudo Tsunoda told Destructoid that such efforts required a significant amount of code to be changed--presumably more than a patch could.

Meanwhile, rival Sony used Tokyo Game Show to reveal that some existing PlayStation 3 games will be patched to support the upcoming PlayStation Motion Controller, including LittleBigPlanet, PAIN, Flower, EyePet, Hustle Kings and High Velocity Bowling.

In addition, Sony unveiled several upcoming titles that will make use of the wand-shaped ball-tipped device, including an "Alternate Edition" of Resident Evil 5, Ape Escape, Echochrome 2, Motion Party, Sing and Draw, The Shoot and Tower... Read more

Sega's presumably accidental publication of a confidential talk with PlayStation maker Sony did more than just leak word of downloadable PS2 games for PS3--it provides a rare glimpse into the workings of the industry and the deals that determine exclusivity, what controller is in a commercial, and whose game will be displayed where at E3.

The document, which inexplicably appeared recently on Sega's Media FTP, covers a number of topics, such as Sega asking Sony for a list of "Sega IP that would work well with the motion controller"--an "easy way to differentiate the PS3 SKU."

Interoperability between PlayStation 3 and PSP games was a major focus--"think of features that would make users want to buy both PS3 and PSP SKUs," wrote Sega. In fact, "SCEA would be really interested in having [Sega] at their booth next E3" should Gearbox's upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines somehow support such functionality.

The discussion even ventured into marketing, with Sony offering Sega cash should it "show PS3 controller on TV ads" and possibly "helping on ... Read more

Though Sony has definitively stated that PlayStation 2 backwards compatibility is "not coming back" to the PlayStation 3, an internal document that recently appeared on publisher Sega's FTP claims that Sony is preparing a "PS2 emulator for PS3."

"SCEA wants to sell all PS2 titles on PSN," reads the document, which provides notes on an August 5th meeting between Sony Computer Entertainment America and Sega.

Elsewhere in the document, it's said that Sony is considering "a special Japanese Import section (pricing $9.99 to $39.99 for full game)" for the online marketplace... Read more

Motion controller maestros Richard Marks and Anton Mikhailov are back with wands in hand, demonstrating Sony's fancy controller with the help of their E3 demo.

The eight-minute video serves as a behind-the-scenes look at the demo, as well as a glimpse of some elements that were ultimately cut from the unveiling.

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Scarily determined to live up to the PlayStation 3's new "It Only Does Everything" slogan, Sony is touting the ability to order Papa John's pizza direct from the console, complete with a dedicated Papa John's button on the system's internet browser homepage.

"Hungry? Need something to eat?" asks a mass mailing to members of the PlayStation Network, explaining that at long last "you can jump over to your PlayStation 3 browser between epic battles and high-speed races to get a hot delicious pizza delivered to your door... all this while never having to leave the comfort of your PS3 system."

Sony's MMORPG EverQuest 2 infamously added the command /pizza to launch a browser window for Pizza Hut's online ordering. Allegiances have apparently shifted.

This addition might shake up the results of recent studies which found that gamers are not fat, but sad, and that casual gaming can help beat snack cravings.

Sony has begun casting for a new reality show series to air exclusively on the PlayStation 3. Contestants on the show will compete to earn a job as a Sony game tester. You can't make this stuff up.

Dubbed "The Tester," the show will see a group of gamers competing in "a series of elimination challenges designed to test their mental prowess, dexterity, and video game knowledge and compete to win a gamer's ultimate dream job--an official PlayStation game tester."

The series, developed by "Rock of Love" and "Flavor of Love" producer 51 Minds, will air this winter. The official website is now accepting applications.

But first, you may want to watch the follow video, and ask yourself: "Are you a gamer? Are you the BEST?" ... Read more

Celebrating the PS3 Slim's launch, Sony has let loose the PlayStation 3 Firmware 3.0 update, available to PlayStationers when they next sign into the PlayStation Network.

For more on what the update brings--including a 'What's New' section, custom themes, and status indicator--point your peepers at this video by the PlayStation Blog.

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Sony's posted up a video featuring two developers behind the upcoming PlayStation 3 motion controller, Richard Marks and Anton Mikhailov.

The two R&D guys briefly explain what they're working on with the controller, and then wave the technologically-advanced sticks around for a bit.

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With the PlayStation 3 price drop and slimmer model now official, Sony has kicked off a new marketing campaign that carries the tagline of "It Only Does Everything."

The campaign will see Sony "have direct conversations with consumers about everything the PS3 can do," SCEA VP Peter Dille explained on the PlayStation.Blog before premiering the first commercial (below), which pokes fun at the months of rumors and leaks that prefaced the official announcment of the price drop and new model.

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The second video, meanwhile, centers around candles and online... Read more

Sony has revealed its expectations to the release the new PlayStation 3 Motion Control peripheral, which it claims will provide "true 1:1 tracking" and "true 3D pointing" when used in conjunction with the PlayStation Eye camera, in the spring of 2010.

"We are slating it for spring of next year," Sony executive Kazuo Hirai told Times Online when asked about the device during GamesCom last week. "One of the things is that we just don't want to put out the controller. We need a great software that supports the controller at launch. It's something that we've been working on for the longest time."

During its GamesCom press conference, Sony showed a new trailer for the device (below), and promised that more details on the specific games... Read more