Sony UK Boss Ray Maguire claims that the PSP UMD format is doing well, despite many retailers turning down the format due to low sales. Maguire claimes the company is “pretty pleased with UMD”. Many retailers claim that UMD sales are moderate, and only do well as part of cross-promotions.

Do you think the UMD format for movies is slowly dying? A survey we did over a year suggested that not many people bought UMDs since you could ‘rip’ movies onto a Memory Stick. What do you think?

[Via: EuroGamer]

Issue 16 of the XTREME PSP Magazine has just been released. This issue is packed with over 90 pages of great content including previews of Work Time Fun, Pro Evolution Soccer 6 and Ridge Racer 2, plus reviews of Gangs of London, Super Monkey Ball Adventure and more.

You will also find all the usual content including news, tips and cheats, wallpapers and a all new homebrew feature. Download a copy now (6.4MB).

Sony is already planning to release a Pink PSP soon in Europe, but now it will also be sold in Japan. Sony has also announced that Japan will also be getting a Silver PSP, making the PSP available in 4 colours. The Silver PSP is being shown off at the Tokyo Game Show 2006, along with other prototypes including Red, Blue, Yellow and Camo PSPs.

We have updated the site layout once again, and this time it’s much easier to navigate. As the layout is currently in BETA stage, you may encounter some errors here and there, but we are working on resolving any issues. If you do encounter any errors, use the Contact Form to let us know. We hope you enjoy the new layout and find it much easier to use than the previous one.

Sony has finally released some more photos of the upcoming Pink PSP. For those of you who are interested in getting yourselves or your girlfriends a Pink PSP, see the below photos to get a better idea of how it will look. Personally, I think the Pink PSP will suit the female gamers out there!

It seems like the UK will have to do a lot of waiting over the next few months, firstly with the delays in the launch of the PS3, and now, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is also being delayed to November 3rd 2006, originally slated for Mid October 2006. The US release date of October 17th remains untouched, for the time being.

The exact details of this delay have not been revealed, but it could relate to the financial troubles of Take Two Interactive, partner publisher of the GTA developer Rockstar.

It’s official. Firmware 2.81 was released by Sony today addressing security vulnerabilities in the system software as well as a few minor bug fixes. Not a big deal really, but as you all know, Sony will be pushing users to update to the latest version. The update is available via the Network Update feature or through the regional PSP sites.

Here is a summary of the bug fixes:

• Patch added to address security vulnerabilities in the system software.
• Memory Sticks with more than 4GB of free space are now readable.

Today, Sony has announced that it has revised the original PS3 launch date of 17th November 2006 to March 2007 for all PAL territories (Europe, Russia, Middle East, Africa and Australasia). The good news is that the launch dates for Japan and North America will remain the same, which are November 11th and November 17th respectively. The revision of the launch date in the SCEE territories is caused by the delay in the mass production schedule of the blue laser diode within the Sony Group, thus affecting the timely procurement of key components to be utilised in PLAYSTATION 3.

The previously announced PLAYSTATION 3 shipment forecast of 6 million units globally within the fiscal year ending 2007 is not changed. For Europe, it means many gamers won’t have a PS3 this christmas and must wait a further 4 months before the PS3 is available. Here is the official press release:

“London, Wednesday 6 September 2006 – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced that it would revise the launch date of its PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system in the PAL territories of Europe, Russia, Middle East, Africa and Australasia from 17th November 2006, as previously announced to March 2007.

Launch dates for Japan and North America will remain the same, which are November 11th and November 17th respectively.

The revision of the launch date in the SCEE territories is caused by the delay in the mass production schedule of the blue laser diode within the Sony Group, thus affecting the timely procurement of key components to be utilised in PLAYSTATION 3.

The previously announced PLAYSTATION 3 shipment forecast of 6 million units globally within the fiscal year ending 2007 is not changed.“

The PSP Quick Shot camera will be available from 2nd of November while the GPS will be available fro 7th of December. The camera will be available for approximately USD 44/GBP 25 and will be equipped with digital zoom and allow the user to shoot 1.3 megapixel photos, record video and use the camera in games. The GPS will be available for USD 54/GBP 30 and will weigh around 16g. It will a 20-channel reception system with a frequency of 1575.42MHz (L1 ban, C/A code). It would take 40 seconds before it could acquire your position, but would refresh every second after that. The positioning precision is 5m, or 16 ft, which is pretty accurate.

The GPS will come with the “Planetarium Creator Homestar Portable” navigation tool, which contains information on over 5 million stars, 300 heavenly objects, and over 15 planetarium style shows. Not only can this tool find stars above your head, it will also provide information about them. Eager astronomers will sure find this tool useful. Other uses of the GPS include games. Two games are currently set to use the device include Everybody’s Golf and Metal Gear Portable Ops. How the GPS will enhance the gameplay for these games is still unknow.