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June’s NPD hardware sales figures are out and they reveal that the PlayStation 3 sold just over 164,000 consoles with the Xbox 360 selling 240,600 units in the same period. The Wii was again the leader with 361,000 sales.

The Sony corporation are finding themselves with a large problem in the form of their PlayStation 3 console.

Internal Problems
It appears that they still can’t make money based on the consoles current price and as a result, despite intense pressure, are refusing to drop the price further. The PS3 has been at its current retail price for such a long time that it now looks very expensive, even the long-standing argument that you get a ‘free’ Blu-ray player included with the PS3 no longer washes, especially when a stand-alone Blu-ray player can be had for around £120 or less. Sure you get integrated wireless connectivity and free online gaming with the PS3, but not everybody wants these, nor are they essential to the PS3 gaming experience. As well as the perceived lack of value that the PS3 provides, the persistent rumours of a impending price reduction and/or a slim version are sure to keep potential buyers from making a purchase any time soon. Sony therefore has a dilemma. Reduce the price to enable them to keep existing and attract new customers to the Sony brand but loose money in the process, or leave the price alone, loose a minimum amount on each unit but risk loosing customers to main rival Microsoft and their Xbox 360 console. From a financial perspective at least they will sell fewer units with the latter options and therefore loose less money, although at the detriment to long term strategy due to the erosion of the PlayStation user base, something that needs to be avoided in the competitive games console world.

Microsoft Problems
Despite the PS3′s current woes, I think the biggest problem for Sony is yet to come. I think this problem will come from Microsoft in the form of a new Xbox console much sooner than anyone is expecting. Such a product, released as a successor to the Xbox 360, would surely be the worst possible news for Sony. The hype of a new console and the demand that this creates would not only steal buyers away from Sony but it would cement the current generation of Xbox users firmly in the Microsoft camp, especially if full backwards compatibility is included. Judging by the furore over the lack of PS3 backward compatibility it would surely be crazy to overlook this feature. A further knock on effect of a new Xbox would be that developers may, in light of falling hardware (and hence software sales), drop the Sony platform altogether to concentrate on the new Microsoft console. That it is a well-known fact that the PS3 is hard to write software for will only make dropping support for it more likely. This is only my opinion, but a new Microsoft console brought to market in the next 18 months would be perfect timing for Microsoft and could cause irreparable damage to Sony’s gaming division. It could even spell the end for the PlayStation series of gaming machines and this is something that any consumer should not want to see.

Final Thoughts
Maybe the rumoured Slim PS3 will become a reality and be used as a tool to counteract a possible attack from Microsoft? Sony’s current stance of doing nothing certainly won’t work for much longer. Monopolies are no good for anyone, except the company with the monopoly. Windows operating system anyone?

Is Sony throwing free games at the consumer instead of a price cut? US retailer Best Buy is to release a special PS3 bundle next Sunday which contains the PS3 80GB console, Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4 for the same price as the console on its own. Bad news for anyone who bought a PS3 recently although with a slim version rumoured to be on the way we’re not sure if this is the best deal going. You might be better to wait as your big fat PS3 value’s would plummet once the new one arrives.

Rumours are suggesting that the PlayStation 3 might get two additional downloadable content packages for Grand Theft Auto IV, PS3 Informer are reporting that one of the new packs will be named Blood and a Four Leaf Clover and will focus on the Irish family Nico helped in the first episode. It will also be available on the Xbox 360. There was no news on the other pack but this could be The Lost and the Damned Xbox 360 exclusive which was previously reported as coming to the PS3 when Mcrosoft’s exclusivity deal runs out later this year.

More news as we get it.

Rumours are gathering about the iPhone 3GS having an overheating problem Users of Apple’s latest model are complaining that the device has become too hot to put to the ear during calls, whilst others have gone so far as to claim that the white edition of the 32GB is actually stating to turn pink due to the intense heat.

Apple has avoided any suggestion of a problem and says that the 3GS should not be left in a car where temperatures can exceed 45C. In a support article on their site, Apple says that “if the interior temperature of the device exceeds normal operating temperatures you may experience the following as the device attempts to regulate its temperature: device stops charging, the display dims, weak cellular signal”.

Apple also goes on the say that the iPhone 3GS incorporates a overheating safety feature that warns the user via an on screen message that they should turn off the device and allow it to cool.

There are plenty of overheating reports though that do not entail the device being left in a hot environment such as a car. Simply using the GPS or even the new integrated video camera may cause the device to overheat. Despite these teething troubles, you can get a free iPhone3GS by visiting the link and completing a few simple steps. The iPhone3GS is available in 16GB or 32GB flavours with each one being available in either black or white.

Reports are surfacing that Sony has filed a patent to cover an ‘Emotion Engine Emulation system’ that is capable of being used with the PS3’s Cell Processor.

The Emotion Engine was the name given to the chip in the original 60GB PS3’s that allowed it to become backwards compatible with the previous generation PS2 games. This technology was subsequently removed from later versions of the console in the name of cost cutting.

It looks as though Sony has found a cheaper way of incorporating the technology into the PS3 though some sort of software emulation. Maybe we’ll see it appear soon, possible in the much rumoured slim PS3 sometime later this year?

The UK focused retailer play.com is now selling the pay-as-you-go version of Apple’s latest iPhone for a whopping £899! This is for the 32GB version of the iPhone 3GS, the 16GB version can be had for around £600 – and I was thinking the standard PAYG versions were expensive enough.

The first ever Metal Gear Solid game, first released to the gaming world in 1998, is now available for download on the North American PSN today for the princely sum of $9.99 USD. Get your retro fix in now without the need for dusting off your PlayStation One!

Far eastern optical drive makers predict the cost to produce Blu-ray players will drop to around $50 USD in 2010.

The current cost of production is around $100 USD, with the bulk of the cost taken up by chipsets and laser heads.

In light of this, we would expect these savings to start filtering through to the retail channels over the next few months.

Well, for us folks in the UK (as well as North America and most of Europe) the iPhone 3GS is out today. As a result, we thought we’d give you a run down of the prices we are expected to pay here in the UK compared to those across the pond.

The handset cost for a 16GB iPhone 3GS will vary from nothing to £184.00 (about $300US) on an 18 month contract. If you sign up for a 24 month contract you’ll pay less, again from nothing to somewhere in the region of £87.00 (about $141US).

The handset cost for a 32GB iPhone 3GS will be between a high of £274.00 (approx $444US) and low of £97.00 (approx $158US) for an 18 month contract and somewhere between £175.00 (approx $283) and nothing on a 24 month contract.

The actual monthly costs (all UK plans include unlimited data and Wi-Fi) will also vary between £29.00 (approx $48US) and £73.00 (approx $120US) for an 18 month deal and £34.00 (approx $55US) and £73.00 (approx $120US) for a 24 month duration.

Pay as you go customers in the UK can be expected to pay around £440.00 (approx $712) for the 16GB iPhone 3GS and £538.00 (approx $874) for the 32GB iPhone 3GS. Not sure what you think, but we’d say these are pretty outrageous prices for something that doesn’t look or really feel any better than its predecessor. If it’s too much then you can get a free iPhone 3GS by following the link and completing a few simple steps.

Let us know what you think.