No matter what Microsoft Game Studios' Shane Kim says Redmond has up its sleeves, Sony probably doesn't care. And who could blame them? Their recent triumph with Blu-ray has solidified Sony's mark on the consumer entertainment front, and the PlayStation 3 just overtook the Xbox 360 in market sales for a month. What could be sweeter? CEO Jack Tretton hints that it starts with a two and ends with an eight. More at the full story.

Korea's IPTV service for the PlayStation 3 we reported on last month will be launched tomorrow, November 20. Named MegaTV, the video-on-demand service is a joint effort between Sony Computer Entertainment Korea and KT, one of Korea's top telecom operators, to bring PS3 users some high-definition games and Blu-ray content.

How soon before other regions get their own PS3 IPTV? Here's to hoping... As for those in Korea, setting up MegaTV is fairly simple.

 

California-based Target Technology Company has filed a suit against Sony earlier this month. The technology company is seeking "damages multiplied due to willful infringement" for alleged patent violation relating to Sony's current high-definition format bet, Blu-ray.

Here's the deal: Target Technology Company's patent revolves around the use of certain silver-based alloys that are more resistant to corrosion than pure silver, and has the advantages that gold has. The patent was filed in April 2004, and was granted to Target during March of 2006.

That was then, this is now. Now, Target Technology Company named Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), Sony Pictures, and Sony DADC in its lawsuit. Target claims that products under the Blu-ray name - this includes PS3 games and that new Blu-ray HD movie you've got in your closet - infringes on Target's patent for reflective layer materials in optical discs

What's odd about this legal action though, as pointed out by the folks at GameSpot, is that Target Technology Company didn't specify in its suit if all manufactured Blu-ray discs infringe on Target Technology Company's patent or just a portion of discs manufactured in certain ways.

This situation isn't new to Sony. It can be recalled that it had to pay damages to Immersion Corporation in dispute over the rumble function in Dual Shock Controllers. Since then, the two companies moved past their former issues and there are even reports that Sony and Immersion are working on a new project that should introduce rumble technology to PS3 products.

So will this lawsuit affect Sony and the Blu-ray's apparent success as a format in other regions? Given that Sony might also figure out a convenient way to settle this legal problem like before, it seems unlikely.

Thanks to QJ reader Spirit Hawk Leon for the tip!

NextGen informs that Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) has stated that cumulative Blu-ray movie unit sales stand at just over 439,000 units in the U.S. HD-DVD sales, on the other hand, are just under 438,000. Moreover, according to the NPD group, Blu-ray currently stands as the number one new DVD format in unit and dollar sales in the U.S.

Although Blu-ray only lead by around 1,000 units, Sony has said that they expect the gap in sales to widen throughout 2007. Sony adds that the company currently lays claim to 40 percent of the Blu-ray player market with the PS3 and the company's US$ 1,000 BDP-S1 standalone player.

NPD reports that since the November launch of the HD-DVD add-on for the Xbox 360, the add-on has sold 92,000 units in North America as of the end of December 2006.

Even before the release of next-gen consoles Wii and PS3, it is no secret that both of their controllers would be using motion sensing technology. In Sony's case, the tilt can be used to control dragon mounts in the game Lair while Nintendo's need no further explanation as they have been big on the Wiimote ever since day one.

Given such advance gaming features, the technology behind it has actually been around for a while now. It's just that the advancements we've had the past few years brought down its price and size paving the way for its mass production. Prior to it being adapted to games, the motion sensing chip otherwise known as accelerometer had been used for military and navigational purposes.

"Accelerometers have been used to guide missiles and aircraft. We had a $25,000 inertial system that was probably comparable to the one in the Sony controller," explains SCEA Special Projects Head Richard Marks, who used to work on an underwater robot. Before accelerometers came in their today's chip form, they used to be large mechanical devices with liquids that sensed orientation and movement.

STMicroelectronics NV head Benedetto Vigna further compares the technology to microelectromechanical systems or MEMS. The former is a Switzerland-based manufacturer that provides motion sensing chips to Nintendo. "What ST is doing now is bringing this from the automotive industry to the consumer," says Vigna. MEMS were actually used first for the sensors that activate air bags back in 1980s.

Building off on our previous coverage about the fight between HD-DVD and Blu-ray, we now have some words from Dave Karraker, senior Director for Corporate Communications, SCEA. It has been earlier said that Nintendo would win the next-gen console "war" simply because they were hell bent on doing their own thing. On the other hand, Sony and Microsoft were just trying to outdo each other. These days though, Microsoft has been trying to do their own thing.

For starters, they did release info about the HD-DVD addon but firmly told everyone that it would be for movies only. Here's what Dave Karraker had to say about Microsoft's HD-DVD addon:

"It's unfortunate that Microsoft's external HD-DVD drive will not enhance the experience at all for the gamer. Sony realizes that to truly take gaming into the next generation requires a larger data format for both games and movies. PS3 uses the Blu-ray format for gaming, giving developers 50 GB of high-definition storage on a single disc, while Microsoft's 9 GB DVD gaming format is an obstacle for storing HD content. Furthermore, Microsoft's announced HD games patch is really just a compatibility feature -- upscaling lower-resolution content does not make it Full HD (1080p), something that PS3 can do out of the box."

It's understandable for anyone to support something he's part of, but would a minor jab at the opposition cause bad press for them? Sony is at a crossroads at this moment. Their trump card, the PS3, will be released within a few months and at this point they should try to get all the good publicity they can.

Now while Sony might have raised their knives and pitchforks, Microsoft wasn't one to take the attack lying down. We just noticed a statement from Microsoft on GameDaily Biz:

"The facts are that with this software update, video and game content developed for 1080p will be output at 1080p -- native, not upscaled. Only content developed for lower resolutions will be upscaled."

We'll leave it up to our readers to take sides in this matter, we're totally neutral apart from this but it's still really interesting to predict what could happen. Stay tuned for more updates...