And we certainly don't do the consumer the disservice of basically saying that the consoles have gone by the wayside because we have a new one. Right now, a prime example? PS2 is nine years into it. Where's the Xbox? Where's the GameCube?

Same thing with the original PlayStation. At some point we looked around and asked what happened to the Saturn? Where's the N64? So if we're doing that, let's compare apples to apples, and for me, because we're on a ten year life cycle, unless we're talking ten years it doesn't really make that much sense to me.

The only way Kaz Hirai tracks time is with decades.

This is Living [GamesIndustry]

Sony's ambitious virtual world has been so long in coming because it was for a time lost in a no-man's land between software and hardware developement, said SCEA president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America Jack Tretton.

"I think it is in no-man's land," he said. "We know how to develop software, we know how to develop hardware. But Home is not a software title and it's not necessarily a service. It kind of sat in the Worldwide Studio Group, but it really needed a lot of software support. It didn't get wok on that until more recently."

"There was a lot of learning and naivety."

Tretton said the company isn't bothered by Microsoft's recent announcement of avatars and a sort of virtual space of their own on the Xbox 360.

"I think we are going in a bit of a different direction in Home," he said. "We made a line in the sand (about not releasing Home yet) and made a strategic decision on home. It's a road we are going to go down."

A major reason behind the delayed release now is that the company needs to fill the space they've created, Tretton said.

"I would rather ship it two years from now and have it populated by a lot of neat stuff and be competitive than open something that is a ghost town," he said. "The shell is there but we need to get the real destinations from the third party publishers and the Nikes of the world."

"It's like you open a mall and they're only two stores in it."

However, the demo that was shown during Sony's press event looked, according to our own Crecente and McWhertor, much better than Home had previously looked.

Now I know why they're not inviting the press yet. Home is still in its good-in-theory phase. In execution it's still lacking. I'm all for Betas having rough edges. That's the point. But I was surprised that the Home Beta doesn't seem to have that something special — the thing that yet makes it obvious it's going to be a hit.

Sorry for the vague terms, but Home is a vague kind of thing. Are you supposed to have fun with it? Or, like most other interfaces, just take pleasure if it works smoothly?

I spent about 10 minutes with Home. I loaded it off the PS3 cross media bar, taking control of a lone avatar. During my brief time in Home I saw no other avatars. The service looked as it has in screenshots. It still has a virtual PSP for an interface as well as a diverse set of pre-canned emotes. I made my guy dance.

I went from an outdoor area to the movie theater lobby to an amusement area containing a bowling alley and an arcade. If that all sounds familiar it's because it was. The Beta wasn't packing any pleasant surprises.

Instead, what I encountered was a lot of loading. Each area my avatar stepped into had to load. This could be because the person who's PS3 I was using hadn't used Home before. It did underscore how key swift movement is going to be in Home and how frustrating it will feel if it takes too long to get from, say, the lobby area to the area where you'd go watch trailers. In the current Beta, loading isn't done even once you're in an area. In the movie theater, for example, framed wall-hangings initially displayed screens with loading progress bars on them. The videos that needed to display took a moment to show up.

The arcade was the best area I saw. It has a few stand-up video game machines including a Chop Lifter-style game that's been shown before as well as a locomotive-stacking puzzle game. I tried bowling and found it about as basic as Grand Theft Auto IV's implementation.

There's a reason projects are in Beta and not release. All the kinks aren't worked out. New ideas are surely being considered. And, clearly, Home can't be accurately judged when no one but yourself is in it.

So what's the big takeaway? Home is clearly still a work in progress, functioning not that differently from what you heard about more than a year ago. Whatever it needs to make it a hit, I don't think it's in there — yet.

Home 'Open Working Beta' Still On Track for 2008 [Wired]

If the libraries are available, then yeah, I would hope that the PS3 version can take advantage of that.

"Would hope"? Heck Phil, everyone would hope that.

Harrison Unsure [Multiplayer]

Brand new virtual events venue unveiled in Home on PLAYSTATION®Network

Home, the interactive 3D world for PS3™ users, hosts the virtual re-run of PlayStation Day 2008 in its new Media and Events Space

Last week, PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) users experienced all the sights, sounds and action of PlayStation Day, the product showcase held on May 6th in London, from the comfort of their living rooms. The online event was held as a test-run of the new PlayStation Media & Events Space, a virtual arena that will serve as the live entertainment hub of the thriving PS3 online community, hosting everything from new game unveilings to sports events to fashion shows.

Attendees were drawn from 10,000 PS3 users who have been test-driving Home as ‘closed beta’ users. Given exclusive VIP entry to the Space, they were greeted by an impressive, large-scale area dressed with various elements from real-world PlayStation Day, including the iconic hexagonal branding and artwork from each of the day’s PlayStation zones. Users were able to explore the Space, experiencing highlights of the day such as a photo gallery of games developers and a jumbo screen of the day’s speeches with an introduction from Kazuo "Kaz" Hirai, President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Sony Computer Entertainment. Users were also able to enjoy a video stream of all the action from the real-world PlayStation Day experience.

The online Media & Events Space can be re-dressed and re-branded just like a real-life venue. Following the test event’s success, Home will now start scheduling more elaborate and exciting productions for the Space, which will be available for use by both first and third parties.

“As well as looking great, the Media and Events Space is flexible and user-friendly - it’s a real focal point for our virtual community. This was a very exciting first event and we’ve already received plenty of great feedback,” says Home producer Martijn Van Der Meulen.

"Some people are just able to look at the game and in less than two minutes, get to the top score," said (UW associate professor of computer science and engineering) Zoran Popovic. "They can't even explain what they're doing, but somehow they're able to do it."

Created by University of Washington doctoral student Seth Cooper and postdoctoral researcher Adrien Treuille, working with Zoran Popovic, professor of biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator David Baker, and David Salesin, a UW professor of computer science and engineering, the game could revolutionize the way medical research is done.

"We're hopefully going to change the way science is done, and who it's done by," said Popovic, who presented the project today at the Games for Health meeting in Baltimore. "Our ultimate goal is to have ordinary people play the game and eventually be candidates for winning the Nobel Prize."

The team consulted with game developers in creation of Foldit, which along with human intuition introduces a competitive element to protein folding, allowing for players to create teams that will eventually compete against top researchers around the world. The game has been in testing with puzzles involving known proteins, and now they are beginning to move on to puzzles with unknown solutions. Later this year they intend to introduce proteins they wish existed, allowing players to possibly create all new biological creations within a game.

It remains to be seen how effective the Foldit is, but the concept itself is pure genius. If they could integrate this sort of thing into the Folding@Home project or just introduce it to consoles as a downloadable game via PSN or Xbox Live Arcade, they've immediately have some of the best minds in gaming at their disposal. Hell, with the push and pull mechanism of the puzzles I've played so far, even WiiWare wouldn't be out of the question, though then the medical community would have to tackle an even bigger problem - friend codes.

Computer Game's High Score Could Earn The Nobel Prize In Medicine [ScienceDaily]

"In that sense we were deserting gamers. So, we're concentrating on the gaming by launching games in Home, and attracting people who are into gaming in first - instead of the Nike people, or Adidas people who are into fashion and not necessarily into gaming."

Reeves: Home was too ambitious [CVG]

Yeah, I just wish it [Home] would ship. I [previously] questioned it a little bit, whether I'd want to wander around there. Phil Harrison showed me a demo — it's very cool, but let's go already. And so I'm disappointed that it's been pushed back a little bit again. But I really hope it gets going and becomes that portal to the PlayStation Network and we can utilise it. But boy, I just wish we'd get going.

We understand that we are asking PS3 and prospective PS3 users to wait a bit longer, but we have come to the conclusion that we need more time to refine the service to ensure a more focused gaming entertainment experience than what it is today. Our overarching objective is to provide users with new gaming experiences that are available only on PLAYSTATION Home. Spending more time on the development and on the Closed Beta testing reaffirms our commitment to bringing a quality service, maintaining the PlayStation tradition.

22/04/2008 06:00 SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF CLOSED BETA TESTING FOR PLAYSTATION®HOME IN SUMMER 2008 Opening Of The Service Scheduled For Fall 2008

Tokyo, April 22, 2008 - Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) announced today that it will expand the Closed Beta testing for PLAYSTATION®Home in Summer 2008, inviting a further number of registrants from the PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3®) users. Following completion of the Expanded Closed Beta test, the PLAYSTATION Home Open Beta service will commence in Fall 2008.

"We understand that we are asking PS3 and prospective PS3 users to wait a bit longer, but we have come to the conclusion that we need more time to refine the service to ensure a more focused gaming entertainment experience than what it is today," said Kazuo Hirai, President and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "Our overarching objective is to provide users with new gaming experiences that are available only on PLAYSTATION Home. Spending more time on the development and on the Closed Beta testing reaffirms our commitment to bringing a quality service, maintaining the PlayStation® tradition."

The PLAYSTATION Home Open Beta service that will become available in Fall 2008 will be built around providing new and fun community gaming experiences, such as connecting PlayStation games with Home and providing places and items from the games.

Details of the Closed Beta testing features, registration for the test and the opening of the service will be announced as they become available.

The demo began with Strong Bad waking up on his couch, after dreaming of Super Punch Out!!, a quick musical number and a hasty interaction with his portly brother, Strong Sad. After hassling his housemates, Strong Bad heads downstairs to chat with a despondent Homestar.

We're introduced quickly to Strong Bad's motivation. Homestar has been caught for indecency and Strong Bad is either tasked with cheering him up or making reparations for Homestar's pantslessness.

Interaction with characters uses a simple pop up talk bubble, with a minimal HUD that can be interacted with via Wii Remote pointer or the plus, minus and B buttons on the remote. Players will check the game map, use game tools and access other menus this way.

In the house kitchen, Strong Bad picks up a cell phone adding it to his inventory, giving him the ability to make prank phone calls. Strong Bad then heads outside to make a call to Marzipan and dig up a hidden Teen Girl Squad comic.

Heading upstairs, Strong Bad sits down in front of a television and Videlectrix console to play Snake Boxer 5, a simplistic top-down boxing game in the vein of Atari 2600 Boxing, but with snakes.

The demo ended there, but it certainly nailed all the right Strong Bad points. It was funny—genuinely funny, not typical video game writing funny—featured many of the series' beloved characters and looked very polished visually. The Telltale Games point & click adventure pedigree should do right by the IP and looks to please the rabid Strong Bad fanbase.

Space Invaders Pillow [NCSX via ALBOTAS]

As you can see, according to the list, April is a big month. These releases may be bundled together to help promote the PlayStation Store revamp, also rumored to hit on April 15. So what is all this stuff?

The Lair pack(s) shown in the leaked list may what finally brings analog stick control to the PlayStation 3 game. When we inquired with Sony about the patch on hand at GDC, we were met with silence.

Ratchet Quest For Booty is most likely either Insomniac's downloadable content for Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction or a PlayStation Network release. Considering the Space Pirate presence in Tools of Destruction, it would certainly makes sense as DLC. When we asked Insomniac about their plans for PSN game, they simply (and wryly) responded "We're very busy."

The Last Guy, we know almost nothing about, other than that Sony Computer Entertainment Japan filed for the that trademark last year.

Take this all as rumor for now, but keep an eye on the PlayStation Store updates to see if this pans out to be true.

[Image Credit]

Obviously the Holy Grail is to give people the tools to create their own things, but it's a difficult path to tread I think.

Thanks tipster!

Sure, you could do that with text or voice chat, but it sounds like the developers have gone the extra mile to make planning your battles even cooler.

Using a three-dimensional "sand table" replication of the level, Warhawk players are said to be able to lay out their strategies in a properly scaled space. They'll even be able to place little army men avatars around the map to envision their formations, something we hope they can also do with teeny tiny Warhawk planes, tanks and Jeeps.

The Warhawk war room is said to also serve as a launchpad for games, thankfully, so jumping into a match shouldn't require leaving the Home interface.

This is one of the coolest additions, in my personal opinion, to come to Home and the kind of thing that we hope is replicated and improved upon by other developers for their team-based titles.

But it's the Uncharted mini-game that has us far more pumped.

According to our sources, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune comes to Home armed with a side-scrolling 2D arcade game, described to us as reminiscent of both Contra and Out Of This World. Sounds kind of like Capcom's 2D remake of Bionic Commando in its execution, full of enemies and exploding barrels to shoot.

Sony is apparently pitching features like these to developers to extend the lives of their titles, using strong first and second party development showcases to prove that Home can effectively market outside of traditional means. We hope they take them up on their offer, because we're definitely excited about the prospects.

One of the first games expected to shine in one of Home's series of game portals is Insomniac's Resistance: Fall of Man. Resistance is said to provide Home visitors with an interesting room to explore, one that will let PlayStation 3 owners visit unseen areas of the game and tap into bonus content in the form of "intercepted" radio communications between European and U.S. forces.

These hidden transmissions will help to flesh out the Resistance story, giving players a better understanding of the game's conflict. We hear that Home avatars will have free roam of unpopulated levels, not unlike a virtual Resistance museum.

As interesting as these plans are to Resistance fans like us, they're not as impressive as what we've heard about what Home in store for Warhawk and Uncharted. Stay tuned.

Curiously, though, someone at PlayStation.com decided that whatever was being touted on the new PlayStation Network pages was something that wasn't quite ready for prime time. Perhaps it was the other PSN features, one that hints at new functionality coming soon.

While most of that's standard stuff—excluding mention of Home, something the current PlayStation Network web site doesn't do—one piece of new info surprised us. On the new PlayStation Network pages, Sony promises that you'll be able to "talk to others during gameplay, say hello anytime you're online or have a video chat with an Eye camera, USB camera or headset." Yes, most of those options are currently in there, with the exception of the during gameplay part.

It's pretty clear that Sony has heard PlayStation 3 owner demands for in-game access to the Cross Media Bar (XMB)—they say "some of the XMB features" may become accessible during gameplay—but does this signal that it's coming soon? With GDC going down next week, we wouldn't be surprised to hear an announcement about these new features within days.

Thanks to Joel for the heads up.

SCEA's Playstation 3 Folding@home project, which went live back on March 22, recently topped one million user, meaning that about 3,000 PS3 users have registered for Folding@home a day since the software went live on the console.

"Since partnering with SCEI, we have seen our research capabilities increase by leaps and bounds through the continued participation of Folding@home users," said Vijay Pande, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University and Folding@home project lead. "Now we have over one million PS3 users registered for Folding@home, allowing us to address questions previously considered impossible to tackle computationally, with the goal of finding cures to some of the world's most life-threatening diseases. We are grateful for the extraordinary worldwide participation by PS3 and PC users around the globe."

Thanks to all of those PS3 owners willing to tie their console to the network, and pay the resulting electric bill, PS3 users make up about 74 percent of the total teraflop computing power of the Folding@home project.

Well done Sony, well done. Oh, speaking of well done, Team Kotaku is currently ranked number 106 at folding@home. If you haven't signed up (for Folding@home) and own a PS3, you really should.

One Million PLAYSTATION(R)3 Users Participate in Folding@home Research Project

PS3(R) Users Support Research Efforts of Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Certain Forms of Cancer

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) today announced that since PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(R)) took part in Stanford University's Folding@home(TM) project on March 22, 2007, the total number of registered users has reached over one million users. This equates to roughly 3,000 PS3 users registering for Folding@home per day or 2 new registered users every minute worldwide.
"Since partnering with SCEI, we have seen our research capabilities increase by leaps and bounds through the continued participation of Folding@home users," said Vijay Pande, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University and Folding@home project lead. "Now we have over one million PS3 users registered for Folding@home, allowing us to address questions previously considered impossible to tackle computationally, with the goal of finding cures to some of the world's most life-threatening diseases.
We are grateful for the extraordinary worldwide participation by PS3 and PC users around the globe."
Folding@home aims to understand protein folding and misfolding, and how these are related to diseases and many forms of cancer. When proteins do not fold correctly, there can be serious consequences, including many well-known diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease, and many cancers and cancer-related syndromes.
Prior to the inclusion of PS3 in March 2007, the Folding@home project leveraged the distributed computing power of personal computers from around the world. Now a network of roughly 10,000 PS3s can accomplish the same
amount of work as a network of 100,000 PCs, and have the ability to perform research simulations in weeks rather than years. In fact, it took just six months after PS3 joining Folding@home for the project to surpass a petaflops (*1), a computing milestone that had never been reached before by a distributed computing network.
On September 16, 2007, Folding@home was recognized by Guinness World Records(TM) as the world's most powerful distributed computing network.
Currently PS3 users make up approximately 74 percent of the total teraflop computing power of the Folding@home project. For more information, please see official website: http://www.scei.co.jp/folding/en/.

(*1) A petaflops is the ability of a computer to do one quadrillion floating point operations per second (FLOPS).

Says a high school student: "I won't allow myself to be trapped in some fake reality." A 22-year-old college student: "It just doesn't look like it'd be fun as a game." A 24-year-old company guy says "It's more fun to enjoy myself in the real world."

Miyamoto in Famitsu [Next Generation via Insert Credit]

According to the report, user feedback changed a good portion of the virtual living space, with a streamlined theater and a wider variety of "apartments" being readied for launch. Sweet. Who else can't wait to virtually walk around and collect some virtual stuff?!

Home: Feedback led to changes [GamesIndustry.biz]

That was my world ten minutes ago. And then I saw this Batcave home theater setup.

In truth, it doesn't require a $36,000 Sony 1080p projector boasting a 110" screen display or eight motorized leather chairs to achieve its level of awesome. Most of us would happily load up our vintage Gameboys and play Paperboy, just to sit amongst the creepy bats and faux stalactites.
So hot. That is all.

Cool Stuff: Batcave Home Theater [via spluch]

We aren't planning any downloadable content for Uncharted...we are planning to take advantage of whatever kind of integration into Home is possible.

Uncharted getting Home support from Sony? [play]

Promotional trailers for the PlayStation Network itself, Toy Home, High Velocity Bowling, Pain, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Ratchet & Clank Future, TimeShift, Time Crisis 4, Battlefield: Bad Company and Burnout Paradise have also been added.

In addition to video game related clips, trailers for The Dark Knight (sorry, it's just the teaser!), This Christmas and Remember That Night—the Blu-ray disc release of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's performance from Royal Albert Hall—await your storage space.

Finally, a few new Uncharted wallpapers have been added. What? No themes? Bummer!

For those unaware of the Habbo Hotel phenomenon, the virtual online community features a strong "teen" contingent with some 80-million avatars created over the course of its seven year lifespan. Users can deck out rooms with "furni" bought with real-life money, chat with others and play simple games.

I may not take part in hanging out with teens online in Habbo Hotel, but I'll be damned if I you won't find me defending by virtual space in Home with a virtual shotgun. Anyone who even looks at my virtual Herman Miller Aeron knock-off is gonna get a belly full of shot.

'Virtual theft' leads to arrest [BBC]

This was taken at Umbrae's local Sharper Image retailer. We don't know which logo came first, but damn, that PS Home logo looks so similar to this. Or perhaps, it's the other way around. Coincidence or not? YOU DECIDE.

Stanford University's Folding@home program is going to be recognized by the Guinness World Records folks as the most powerful distributed computer network in the world, thanks, in part, to the Playstation 3.

"To have Folding@home recognized by Guinness World Records as the most powerful distributed computing network ever is a reflection of the extraordinary worldwide participation by gamers and consumers around the world and for that we are very grateful," said Vijay Pande, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University and Folding@home project lead. "Without them we would not be able to make the advancements we have made in our studies of several different diseases. But it is clear that none of this would be even remotely possible without the power of PS3, it has increased our research capabilities by leaps and bounds."

On September 23, the more than 670,000 PS3 users participating in Folding@home hit the petaflop mark. Grats, Stanford, Sony and gamers, hit the jump for the press release.

PLAYSTATION(R)3 Enables Folding@home(TM) to be Recognized by Guinness World Records(TM) as World's Most Powerful Distributed Computing Network

TOKYO, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) today announced that PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(R)) computer entertainment systems, part of Stanford University's Folding@home(TM) program, have enabled the distributed computing project to be recognized by Guinness World Records(TM) as the most powerful distributed computing network in the world. The record was initially set on September 16, 2007 as Folding@home surpassed one petaflop(*1), a computing milestone that has never been reached before by a distributed computing network. In addition to this, the collective efforts of our users have enabled PS3 alone to reach the petaflop mark on September 23, 2007.

The record is a testament to the widespread participation of PS3 users from around the world-currently more than 670,000 unique PS3 users have registered to the Folding@home network, bringing the overall computing power of the program to more than a petaflop. Thanks to PS3's powerful Cell Broadband Engine(TM) (Cell/B.E.), scientists will now be able to make greater progress in their studies of protein folding and its link to diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and certain forms of cancer.

"To have Folding@home recognized by Guinness World Records as the most powerful distributed computing network ever is a reflection of the extraordinary worldwide participation by gamers and consumers around the world and for that we are very grateful," said Vijay Pande, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University and Folding@home project lead. "Without them we would not be able to make the advancements we have made in our studies of several different diseases. But it is clear that none of this would be even remotely possible without the power of PS3, it has increased our research capabilities by leaps and bounds."

"To have PS3 play such a large role in allowing Folding@home to be honored by Guinness World Records is truly incredible," said Masayuki Chatani, Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, Technology Platform, Sony
Computer Entertainment Inc. "This record is clear evidence of the power of PS3 and the contributions that it is making to the Folding@home network, and more importantly, scientific research."

The Folding@home program up until recently leveraged only the distributed computing power of personal computers (PC) from around the world. The PCs that made up the Folding@home network numbered roughly 200,000 giving the program the equivalent of about one-quarter of a petaflop. On March 15, 2007, PS3 joined the program and since then more than 670,000 unique PS3 users have registered to the Folding@home network, bringing the overall computing power of the program to more than a petaflop.

Starting with Folding@home, SCE will continue to support distributed computing projects in a wide variety of academic fields such as medical and social sciences and environmental studies through the use of PS3 and hopes to contribute to the advancement of science.

I think Home is very interesting, but I want to see how people use it. Again - content. If there is an incentive for people to go into Home, beyond just customising their avatar, then it will be very, very good. If there is no incentive, then it will remain quite limited.

One of the limitations is linked to the PlayStation 3 - so the success of Home is 100 per cent tied to the PS3's penetration into the market.

I don't think you can say you will sell more PS3s because of Home, but if the PS3 had the right penetration in the market, then yes - Home will be very interesting.

By next year, you'll probably know more about why I'm up here.

[Timing is] definitely a concern...But I think we've got a good understanding now of the landscape, we have a strategic plan in mind ... if a year from now we don't have anything, then we probably won't have anything.

Is Microsoft headed toward a virtual world? [via maxconsole]

Darlene has an ideal blend of experience within the video game industry, including in-game advertising, making her a perfect fit for this newly created position. She will be tasked with the important role of working closely with our internal teams as well as our third-party publishers and external advertising agencies to develop business and marketing strategies for our newly formed online advertising group.

Sony Computer Entertainment America Announces In-Game Advertising Business Unit Industry Veteran Darlene Kindler Joins Company as Director of Network Advertising

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) Inc. today announced the creation of a new in-game advertising business unit. The company also announced that Darlene Kindler, a 25-year consumer electronic industry veteran, has joined the company as director of Network Advertising, effective immediately. Kindler will report to Phil Rosenberg, senior vice president of Sales and Business Development. In this new role, Kindler will be responsible for SCEA's in-game advertising strategy across all PlayStation(R) platforms including PLAYSTATION(R)Network.
Kindler brings to SCEA a wealth of experience in consumer electronics and technical related industries, working for companies such as Nintendo of America, Inc., IREM America Corp., Data East, Inc., 3dfx Interactive and Adscape Media. Most recently, Kindler was vice president of Publishing for Adscape Media, an in-game advertising company that was acquired by Google in March 2007. In her previous role at Nintendo, she was part of the company's early start-up team and was one of the key people credited with establishing a European distribution network for Nintendo.
"Darlene has an ideal blend of experience within the video game industry, including in-game advertising, making her a perfect fit for this newly created position," said Rosenberg. "She will be tasked with the important role of working closely with our internal teams as well as our third-party publishers and external advertising agencies to develop business and marketing strategies for our newly formed online advertising group."
The appointment of Kindler comes on the heels of SCEA's announced partnership in July with Nielsen Media Research. Together the companies are working to develop measurement systems for game network advertising. SCEA will share its game network data from PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3TM) as well as PLAYSTATION(R)Network, which encompasses PLAYSTATION(R)Home. PLAYSTATION Home is designed to serve as a 3D community gathering place for PS3 users from around the world and will present opportunities for SCEA to deliver dynamic, relevant advertisements in game. SCEA will depict brands in various forms within the game, where users would expect to see them in real life on billboards and posters, on shopping bags and soda cans and on images of TV screens. SCEA will continue to explore ways to incorporate dynamic advertising into other online environments.