Collective shrug at $99 PS2

As announced in a number of media outlets today and a story first broken by a number of enterprising store clerks who noticed the change in price in their store inventories (as detailed here), the Sony PlayStation 2 is now $99, a drop of $30. This much anticipated announcement wasn’t what hardcore gaming fans were expecting, especially since it was hyped up at sites like Kotaku, 1up and Smarthouse among a few others. Read more

Pedophile uses Playstation

Anthony Scott Oshea of Kentucky has been arrested by  police for persuading an 11-year-old girl in Houston to e-mail nude pictures of herself from her Playstation 3 to his.  Having gotten her to send him the pictures, Oshea then e-mailed them to people in at least five other states — all through his PS3. Oshea was arrested by Kentucky police near his home. Houston authorities say they will try to bring him to Texas for trial. Read more

Sony: dating help tech for otakus

“We have solved Japan’s underpopulation problem!” declared Kazuo Hirai, chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment division, upon the announcement of their patent pending AssistiveTech line of technology. The new technology aims to bridge the real and virtual by offering a computer based interface to deal with complex real world situations. The primary market of this technology are hikikomori, a growing group of Japanese who have chosen to shut their lives off from real life and interact only through virtual means.

“As a leading technology company in Japan, we have to be cognizant of the social responsibility we bear,” eulogized Hirai in his introductory speech. “Hikikomori represent a growing problem and contribute substantially to the issue of the nation’s population deficit. AssistiveTech, by providing a familiar interface, will help wean hikikomori from their dependence on virtual means of expression.” Read more