Robbie Bach On That Blu-ray Xbox 360 Rumor

Metal Gear Solid 4 DVD Humor Spoiler Alert!

Thanks to all who sent this in!

Eds Update: Konami has taken down the clip. Hit the jump for screens and rundown of the conversation.

Rumor: Microsoft to Announce Blu-Ray Xbox on Monday

Stringer: PS3 No Longer On "Life Support"

Sony's "climbing up the mountain," said Sony Corporation CEO Howard Stringer at The Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital D6 event earlier today.

Stringer also admitted the PlayStation 3 had been "on life support for a while," but told the event attendees that things were looking rosy for the console now - promising a boost for the PS3 thanks to Grand Theft Auto IV and titles coming down the pipeline that he says will make good use of the PS3's processing power.

He also talked about how PS3 helped Sony win the Blu-ray war:

In case you're just joining us this afternoon, today saw a whole slew of news coming out of the UK from the Sony PlayStation Day London '08 event. From the delay of Killzone 2 to early 2009 to the PlayStation 3 outselling the Xbox 360 in Europe, here's a rundown of the stories from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's big event.

SCEE: LittleBigPlanet Delayed, Not Coming Until October
Killzone 2 Dated for 2009
Resistance 2 will Feature Eight-Player Co-Op, 60-player Multiplayer
Motorstorm 2 Gets Named, Detailed
Gran Turismo Racing Academy Announced
Sony Gamers Day UK Info Dump: Resistance 2 to SOCOM Confrontation
Men In Black Becomes First International BD-Live Title
Episodic Siren Blood Curse Hits PS3 This Summer
Sony Brings Indie Music to PSN via Movement
Europe Getting MGS4 Bundle After All
SCEE Plays Up Social Gaming At Gamer's Day 08
PlayStation 3 Outsells 360 In Europe
Mirror's Edge In Motion

Men In Black Becomes First International BD-Live Title

"SPHE is delighted to bring BD-Live to International markets for the first time," stated Matt Brown, EVP, International, SPHE, "This follows a successful launch in the US in March and is just the start of the exciting possibilities that will soon be available on high definition Blu-ray Disc."

Another Manufacturer Says Xbox 360 Blu-ray Coming This Year

Analyst Warns Movie Studios That People May Be Playing Games On PS3s

Blu-ray campers may not have as much to boast about, according to one analyst, who questions how big of a contribution the PlayStation 3 install base really is to the format. ABI Research analyst Steve Wilson says that "the state of the Blu-ray player market is not all that encouraging," according to a Next Gen report on the study.

With an estimated 85% of Blu-ray playing devices being PS3s, Wilson says that those invested in the format should maybe concerned that owners of the console may actually be playing games on it. That's clearly trolling, Steve! Are you implying there are no PlayStation 3 games?

Analyst: PS3 a Crutch to the Blu-ray Market [Next-Gen]

New Blu-Ray Player Lets You Record TV On Your PSP

Microsoft Didn't Back The Wrong Format Horse, Yo

The horse that we're fundamentally backing is the one that says the future of entertainment content is online digital distribution. I would argue that we backed the right horse... If we're sitting here in 12 or 18 months time, we'll be saying 'why were people even thinking about a disc format when it's really about digital distribution?' Our strategy's been developed for the last six or seven years, and ever since we launched the platform it [online content] has been our big, big, big bet.

Microsoft Puts Lite-On Rumors To Rest

DigiTimes may stand by their informant who claimed that Lite-On was manufacturing Blu-ray drives for the Xbox 360, but Microsoft—who DigiTimes claimed refused to comment on the rumor, making it all the jucier—has apparently sent a statement to TechRadar denying that Lite-On is producing Blu-ray drives for their console.

"No. Lite-On is not manufacturing Blu-ray drives for Xbox 360. As we have stated, games are what are driving consumers to purchase game consoles and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster game available.

Microsoft: Lite-On NOT making Blu-ray drive [TechRadar]

Alleged Xbox Blu-ray 360 Could Put 360 Back In Red

Yesterday, DigiTimes reported that the Xbox 360 would be getting a Blu-ray drive. Today, they aren't backing down from the rumor reporting more intel from "industry sources."

The sources told DigiTimes that Xbox 360 Blu-ray drives manufactured by Lite-On would cost Microsoft $95-$100 a pop—a significant margin higher that their current DVD drives that run $18-$20. Especially with Sony in a unique position to limit supply of some Blu-ray drive components, this could mean that Microsoft's Xbox 360 would once again cost more to produce than Microsoft recouped in sales.

But if said scenarios is true, DigiTimes is overlooking on option in Microsoft's playbook.

What's The Deal With Those PlayStation 3 Mandatory Installs? I Mean, Hey...

Good things come to those who wait. That may not sell you on the ten to twenty minute installs required by some PlayStation 3 games like Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds or Devil May Cry 4, but for the time being some gamers are going to have to live with it. But what's the real deal behind the delayed satisfaction? Is it merely developer "laziness"? Crappy tech?

It's not merely "laziness" or the result of multi-platform lowest common denominator programming, even games like Gran Turismo 5 Prologue come equipped with a 12 minute install. So, what's the deal?

Xbox 360 Blu-ray Rumor Boomerangs Back

We know. We're actually a little sick of the Xbox 360 might get Blu-ray rumors, wait, no they aren't, too. But according to DigiTimes' industry sources, optical drive manufacturer Lite-On is developing a built-in Blu-ray for a future version of the Xbox 360 console. And Lite-On will begin shipping out the components in the second half of 2008.

Additional geek note: said future blu console will feature a 170-watt power supply. Exciting! We'd remind you again that this is all still considered rumor to the nth degree, but you're old pros by now.

Lite-On developing BD-ROM drives for Xbox 360, sources say [DigiTimes]

Unfortunately due to some last minute technical difficulties, we were unable to publish the new content to the PS Store yesterday. We are working to resolve these issues and will let you know as soon as new content is posted.

Research: PS3 To Drive Blu-ray Market, Sell 13 Million Consoles By End Of '08

New research from analysts at Strategy Analytics says that the Blu-ray equipped PlayStation 3 will drive adoption of the format into 2009, with 29 million homes expected to have at least one player by the end of the year, 13 million of those from console sales. The report goes on to predict that standalone players will lead the charge at some point in 2009, with 132 million homes Blu-ray capable by 2012. That factors in PCs, dedicated players and consoles.

Authors David Mercer and Peter King write that Europe will be the largest market for Blu-ray players—they do love their PlayStations—with the US and Japan placing and showing.

I just got No Country For Old Men on Blu-ray in the mail from Netflix, which is also probably not that interesting unless you're getting Blu-ray royalties. Or you're a stalker.

Sony: PSP Portable Copy Not Coming with 2.2

Turns out it's a good thing I was so dubious.

SCEA contacted us today to let us know we were right to doubt, the Playstation 3's firmware 2.20 update will not include Portable Copy support, despite reports to the contrary.

Too bad, I'm about to go away on a trip for a few days and was thinking I might be able to bring some movies with me. Of course, I'm also still confused about whether all Blu-ray movies will be copyable or if it will be only for movies that have an extra PSP file included on the disc.