Following the recent investment from Reliance Big Entertainment, Codemasters announced a strengthening of its studio leadership with the appointment of key game development executive Jamie Macdonald as Senior Vice President, Production.

Capcom confirmed that it has appointed David Reeves as COO at its European subsidiary. This role, effective from April 1st, 2010, will see Reeves responsible for overseeing all aspects of the European operation with the remit to maximize potential revenue and explore new areas for growth throughout the region.

Sony Computer Entertainment announced that it had acquired game developer Media Molecule, creator of LittleBigPlanet. Media Molecule will join as part of SCE’s global development operation, SCE Worldwide Studios.

THQ and Sony Pictures Consumer Products, Inc. announced two multi-year licensing agreements granting THQ the exclusive worldwide rights to develop and publish video games based on Sony Pictures Television’s popular game show properties, “JEOPARDY!” and “Wheel of Fortune”.

Sony announced that the holiday season retail sales of PS3 during the five weeks following the last week of November 2009 exceeded 3.8 million units worldwide, a 76% increase in hardware sales compared to the same period in the previous year, the highest record sales for PS3 for a holiday period.

Revealed a few days ago, Sony has released a new v3.15 PS3 firmware, optional, update, which has two key features; a Data Transfer Utility to  easily transfer all of your saved data from one PS3 to another, and the ability to play PSP “minis” on a PS3 system.

Sony announced the availability of the v6.20 system software update for PSP, which adds the Digital Comics Reader, although the service itself won't launch until December, and the ability to Export video/photo playlists.

Sony is about to release a new v3.10 PS3 firmware update, which incorporates Facebook so you have the option for the PS3 to automatically update your Facebook News Feed with Trophy and PlayStation Store activity. This update also enables developers to set specific criteria in their titles to publish additional game information to your News Feed. You can then check out your updates, and those of your friends, on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media favorites.

Sony Computer Entertainment America announced the addition of a variety of entertainment offerings from Lucasfilm, Cinetic FilmBuff, ContentFilm International, Image Entertainment, Inc., MPI Media Group and New Video to the PlayStation Network video delivery service.

Following the launch of the slimmer and lighter PS3 system with 120GB hard disk drive, Sony Computer Entertainment America announced that a new PS3 system with a 250GB HDD will be available on November 3 for $349.99 (MSRP).

Created with portable, pocket-sized gaming in mind, the PSPgo will come with 16GB of internal flash memory and be priced at $249.99 and be available October 2009.

Earlier this week Sony released a new v3.0 PS3 firmware update, which incorporates cosmetic changes that improve navigation on your PS3, changes to the design, look and feel of the XMB, a redesigned status indicator and Friends List, support for new avatars and dynamic themes, as well as other personalization options to help enhance your PS3 experience. Shortly after the v3.0 launch the community reported various issues, which was later acknowledged by SCEAm which has now released v3.01 improving system stability during use of some PlayStation 3 format software.

Sony announced its line-up of titles it will be showing off at Tokyo Game Show 2009 (Sept. 24 - 27), such as Gran Turismo (PS3 and PSP), God of War III, Heavy Rain, MotorStorm Artic Storm, but also a slew of third party PSP/PS3 titles like God Eater (PSP), Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker (PSP), Assassin's Creed II (PS3), Quantum Theory (PS3), Lost Planet 2 (PS3),  and many others.

Earlier this week Sony released a new v3.0 PS3 firmware update, which incorporates cosmetic changes that improve navigation on your PS3, changes to the design, look and feel of the XMB, a redesigned status indicator and Friends List, support for new avatars and dynamic themes, as well as other personalization options to help enhance your PS3 experience. Acknowledging issues reported by the community, SCEA issued a statement saying that it is looking into the "isolated issues" and will update accordingly.

Sony is about to release a new v3.0 PS3 firmware update, which incorporates cosmetic changes that improve navigation on your PS3, changes to the design, look and feel of the XMB, a redesigned status indicator and Friends List, support for new avatars and dynamic themes,  as well as other personalization options to help enhance your PS3 experience.

Check out the following new screens and trailers from Sony's GamesCom 2009 lineup:

• 'BUZZ! Quiz World' (PSP/PS3) - Screens & Trailer
• 'DC Universe Online' (PS3/PC) - New Screens
• 'Eyepet' (PS3) - Screens & Trailer
• 'Heavy Rain' (PS3) - New Screens & Trailer
• 'MAG' (PS3) - New Screens
• 'ModNation Racers' (PS3) - New Screens & Trailer
• 'SingStar Take That' (PS2/PS3) Announced - Screens
• 'Uncharted 2: Among Thieves' (PS3) - New Screens & Trailer
• 'White Knight Chronicles' (PS3) - New Screens
• 'God of War III' (PS3) - New Screens
• 'Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake' (PSP) - Screens
• 'echoshift' (PSP) - New Screens & Trailer
• 'The Eye of Judgment' (PSP) Announced - Screens & Trailer
• 'Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier' (PS2/PSP) - New Screens
• 'SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs: Fireteam Bravo 3' (PSP) - Screens
• 'MotorStorm Arctic Edge' (PS2/PSP) - New Screens & Trailer
• 'LittleBigPlanet PSP' (PSP) - New Screens & Trailer
• 'Invizimals' (PSP) - New Screens & Trailer
• 'Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time' (PS3) - Screens & Trailer
• 'LocoRoco: Midnight Carnival' (PSP) Announced - Screens & Trailer
• 'Dead Nation' (PS3) Announced - Screens & Trailer

With GamesCom officially opening its doors tomorrow in Germany, Sony kicked off the show with its press briefing, where it announced a new video on demand service, PlayStation Network voucher cards, all-new downloadable mini titles for the PSP, a new Digital Reader/Comics feature for the PSP/PS3, and of course confirming the much-rumored PS3 Slim and price drop.

Sony is preparing to release a new v3.0 PS3 firmware update, which incorporates cosmetic changes that improve navigation on your PS3, changes to the design, look and feel of the XMB, as well as added network improvements and personalization options to help enhance your PS3 experience.

The recession is finally starting to catch up with the video game industry: Midway closed studios and was sold to Warner Bros. for a few shekels, software sales have slumped for the past few months, and there are layoffs left and right. Even though Free Realms is highly successful, Sony Online Entertainment today issued a statement that it had to lay off 41 people (5% of its workforce). "SOE looks forward to continuing its leadership role in the online games industry as it celebrates the highly successful launch of Free Realms, the 10-year commemoration of its ground-breaking EverQuest franchise, and the continued performance of the company's other games."

When Sony launched the PS3, it promised backward compatibility with the PS2's Emotion Engine, but that feature disappeared a few PS3 SKUs later, much to the dismay of fans. However, now it seems Sony might be bringing back the Emotion Engine, but not through adding hardware, but by emulating it. A recent patent filing reveals that Sony has the code and technology to make it happen, either by decoding and converting, or decoding and recompiling into the PS2's Emotion Engine language.

Check out the following new screens & trailers from SOE's E3 2009 lineup:

• 'The Agency' (PS3/PC) - New Screens & Trailer
• 'Kung Fu Hustle' - 15 New Screens
• 'DC Universe Online' (PS3/PC) - New Screens

Sony is preparing to release a new v2.80 PS3 firmware update, which unfortunately is not really an major update as it only improves the playback quality of some PS3 format software.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe announced that it has extended its sponsorship agreement for the UEFA Champions League until 2012 and the UEFA Super Cup in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Sony announced the availability of the v5.51 system software update for PSP, yet again merely improving system software stability during use of some features.