Ape Escape Racer’s Japanese PSP demo seen during the Tokyo Game Show 2006 has found its way onto public domain. For your convenience, please download the demo accordingly within our download section of the forum. Note: A simple free forum registration is required to download the file - Register for free to participate in the #1 discussion board for ATRAC based device.

Instructions: Create a new folder - [UCUS98655] - within PSP>GAME and copy the Ape Escape Racer Demo file (EBOOT.PBP, 8,582 KB) into the newly created folder accordingly. Note: The demo will require the new PSP firmware version 2.81.

Enjoy!

(via Reuters)

TOKYO, Sept 25 - Japan’s Sony Corp. said on Monday its Executive Deputy President Katsumi Ihara will oversee its overall consumer products business from Oct. 1, expanding his current role of managing TV and video operations.

Ihara helped turn Sony’s mobile phone joint venture with Ericsson profitable as the venture’s first president and later launched the Bravia brand liquid crystal display TV, which grabbed the top spot in the LCD TV market away from Sharp Corp.

His new fields of responsibility include VAIO personal computers, Cyber-shot digital cameras and Walkman portable music players, as well as TV and video operations.

The move comes at a time when Sony, the world’s second-largest consumer electronics maker, which is in the early stages of an earnings recovery, heads into the critical year-end shopping season.

Sony also said Executive Vice President Yutaka Nakagawa will oversee Sony’s microchip and electronic components businesses.

Nakagawa, currently in charge of digital cameras, camcorders and audio products, will be promoted to executive deputy president as of Oct. 1.

Both Ihara and Nakagawa will report to Ryoji Chubachi, head of Sony’s electronics operations.
Shares of Sony closed down 0.8 percent at 4,730 yen on Monday, underperforming the Tokyo stock market’s electrical machinery index, which was virtually unchanged.

To delight discerning PSP fans, Sony has unveiled new color PSPs – pink, silver, camouflage-green, yellow, red and blue – at the Tokyo Game Show 2006. Among the displayed PSP units, Sony has more or less confirmed that the Japanese domestic market will be expecting the Silver and Pink color PSPs later this year. However, the remainder color variations are only listed as reference units.

(*pictures courtesy of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Dengekionline.com)

Click for more pictures …

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It has come to our attention that Sony has decided to reduce the suggested retail price of its upcoming PS3 20GB unit from an originally planned 62,790 yen ($536) to 49,980 yen ($430). Note: the 20GB variant will come equipped with HDMI (Verison 1.3/supporting Deep Color) output as standard with the system. The PlayStation 3 will make its debut in Japan on Nov. 11 and in the U.S. on Nov. 17.

(via Bloomberg)
By Kyoko Suzuki

Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) — Sony Corp., the world’s biggest maker of video-game players, said it will lower the price of its PlayStation 3 by about 10,000 yen ($85) in Japan as it competes with cheaper consoles from Microsoft Corp. and Nintendo Co.

The game player will retail for 49,980 yen and comes with a HDMI connection that allows high-definition pictures and digital sound, Ken Kutaragi, head of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., said at the Tokyo Game Show today. The Tokyo-based company previously said it would sell the lower-end model for 59,800 yen.

Sony is seeking to assuage concern about the price of the PlayStation 3, which comes equipped with a high-definition Blu- ray DVD player and a fast processor called the Cell. Microsoft this month said it will start selling a cheaper Xbox 360 model in Japan for 29,800 yen, while Nintendo is offering its Wii console for 25,000 yen.

“The Japanese users and media would not stop saying a price tag of over 60,000 yen, including tax, was too expensive,” Kutaragi told reporters.

Sony Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer is relying on the PlayStation 3 to revive a company that has lost half its market value in the past six years. More than five million Microsoft Xbox 360 players have been sold worldwide in the 10 months since its introduction last November, and Nintendo’s Wii console will be available from November.

Delay in Europe

Sony on Sept. 6 said it will delay the European release of its PlayStation 3 by four months until March and cut its 2006 global shipment target by half to 2 million.

The delay is due to problems with Sony’s blue diode laser, the key component of the Blu-ray player included in the console that reads information on the disc, the company said. A Blu-ray disc can store at least five times more than the 4.7-gigabyte standard DVD.

The PlayStation 3 will make its debut in Japan on Nov. 11 and in the U.S. on Nov. 17. Nintendo’s Wii console will go on sale on Nov. 19 in the U.S. and Dec. 2 in Japan.

Sony customers around the world are always envious of those special edition Sony goodies available only to the Japanese domestic market. Now US consumers will have additional choice. Following suit, Sony USA has finally decided to emulate at least a portion of those special Sony offerings available only in Japan via its newly launched “My Style” at SonyStyle.com. Beginning September 18, 2006, to quote Sony USA – “Expressing oneself got just a bit more stylish with Sony’s new My Style service.” Note: The 36 SonyStyle stores in the States listed below will have its very own “My Style” section.

“My Style” offers the discerning Sony customer the choice to personalize, customize and purchase exclusive edition Sony products – be it a Bravia, a sleek VAIO notebook, a Cybershot or a Network Walkman. At a glance, offerings from “My Style” are indeed limited compared to its Japanese counterpart. But it’s definitely a good initiative from Sony USA. Let’s hope “My Style” will continue to evolve.

The service is divided into three categories: personalization, customization and exclusives. The first offers customers the opportunity to engrave their VAIO® notebook computer with their name or a message that personalizes a gift. The second allows users to select optional different colored or patterned covers for select VAIO notebooks and as well as optional bezels for select flat-panel BRAVIA® LCD TVs. The exclusives portion of the service highlights products that are only available through Sony Style, such as various colors for Cyber-shot® digital cameras.

“Sony products have always set a benchmark in industrial design, yet one way to improve upon them is to allow customers to add their personal touch,” said Hiro Kawano, Sony Electronics’ senior vice president of direct consumer sales.

A showcase for innovative electronics and entertainment offerings, the stores provide consumers with a hands-on experience with Sony’s family of products, through multiple demonstration areas.

Now totaling 36, some of the Sony Style store locations include: The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas; Westfield Shoppingtown Garden State Plaza, Paramus, N.J.; Westfield Shoppingtown West County, St. Louis; Fashion Center at Pentagon City, Arlington, Va.; South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, Calif.; Beverly Center, Beverly Hills, Calif.; Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto, Calif; Mall at Millenia, Orlando, Fla.; Providence Place, Providence, R.I.; The Dallas Galleria, Dallas; Copley Place, Boston; The Houston Galleria, Houston; and The Gardens, Palm Beach, Fla.

They also include large destination stores on Madison Avenue in New York and at the Metreon in San Francisco.

Further information about Sony Style retail stores and a complete list of locations can be found at www.sonystyle.com/retail.

The PSP™ Content Pack for the month of September is now available for download at SCEA. (click here) The pack includes:

PSP® Content
★ Need for Speed™ Carbon: Own the City - Trailer (ESRB: E10)
★ The Godfather: Mob Wars - Trailers (ESRB: M)
★ Mercury Meltdown - Wallpapers (ESRB: E)
★ Lemmings™ - PlayStation® Underground™ Wallpaper Contest
★ September Calendar Wallpaper
★ PSP® TV Spot - Mr. Goose

PlayStation®2 Content
★ Dirge of Cerberus™: Final Fantasy® VII - Screenshots (ESRB: T)
★ The King of Fighters 2006 - Images (ESRB: T)
★ NASCAR® 07 - Media (ESRB: E)
★ Okami™ - Screenshots (ESRB: T)
★ Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run - Screenshots (ESRB: T)
★ Yakuza™ - Media (ESRB: M)
★ G.A.P. - Mythical Monster Contest Winners

PlayStation® Tricks of the Week
★ Travis Pastrana
★ Kevin McElhinney

The PSP™ Content Pack is a free download that features preselected content, optimized for your PSP system. We will provide the Content for you each month. All you need to do is connect your PSP to your PC, download the pack, then just sit back and relax while everything is transferred to your PSP system. Once the process is complete, your PSP system will be stocked full of the latest in PSP system optimized video clips and trailers, wallpapers, screenshots, audio clips, and game content, all for your viewing pleasure. Check back here each month for the newest edition of the PSP™ Content Pack.

UPDATE NOW AVAILABLE:
PSP Firmware 2.81: Japanese | US | European | Chinese

Sony Computer Entertainment (Japan) released today a new PSP system firmware version 2.81. The new firmware however is basically a patch added to address security vulnerability in the system software. In addition, the new firmware will rectify issues pertaining to reading Memory Stick PRO Duo with more than 4GB of free (recordable) memory space.

PSP FIRMWARE 2.81 UPDATE INFORMATION PAGE:
Japanese | US | Europe | Chinese