Sony Corp.

Say It Ain't So! J. Jonah Jameson Being Recast for New ‘Spider-Man’ Film

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 27, 2010 | 2 comments

Oh no! Over the last several weeks, we have been reporting on all the new casting for Sony Pictures and Marb Web Spider-man reboot. We have the Lizard,Uncle Ben, Aunt May, Gwen Stacy and of course Peter Parker, aka Spider-man. Now comes news that Sony is also looking to recast J.K. Simmons (above) who played Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson ever so perfectly. For fans of the comic and the 90’s cartoon, J.K. Simmons nailed that character perfectly with not only looks, but attitude, wit, and charm at the same time. It’s really hard to imagine anybody else filling in those shoes and having the same impact. I know that this series is a reboot and it’s out with the old actors and in with the new actors which Mar Web wants to leverage and create a story told differently but really, can we please just keep J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson? Please?

[Via SlashFilm]

Windows 7 Wants to Share Blu-ray with Mac

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 26, 2010 | 16 comments

The following is really a stretch of the fact that Sony is part of the Blu-ray foundation, thus it’s relevant to the site. Other than that, I just really wanted to post this. It’s kind of sad though that the Mac offers no option for Blu-ray considering how many high-end machines their platform has. As the Mac community has put it, we don’t want it standard and we understand the reasoning for it not being standard, but for those of us who do want/need Blu-ray, at least give us the option via the custom configuration.

New PlayStation 3 Bluetooth Headset Available Now

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 26, 2010 | 6 comments

Sony’s new PlayStation 3 Bluetooth headset is now available for purchase, priced at $49 MSRP. Some new features include:

Dual-microphone design
Automatic pairing via USB cable with the PS3
In-game headset status indicator
An easily accessible microphone mute button
Charging cradle which also functions as a desktop microphone
High-Quality (HQ) mode (which delivers crystal clear voice chat while gaming on the PS3) with built-in noise cancellation for filtering out ambient noise when used with the PS3
30% smaller than the original mode

Hit the jump for more pictures.

[Via PlayStationBlog]

Sony to Offer Wider Range of Android Products

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 25, 2010 | 2 comments

If you thought Sony’s ambition/obsession with Android was going to plateau, think again, because they want to offer even more devices with some form of Android OS in them. Currently, you can get the Xperia X10 with Android 2.1, the Sony Internet Blu-ray Player and Sony Internet TV with Google TV (which is a custom Android skin) and the leaked Playstation Phone with the Android OS, but that’s not enough for Sony.

“We’re thinking about using Android in more consumer electronics products,” Yoshihisa Ishida, head of the company’s TV division, told reporters in Tokyo. He didn’t specify what kind of products those might be.

Though we don’t have much more to go off of, it’s really not a surprise to see Sony expand the Android OS in the products it offers. Sony has long been known to make excellent hardware but lacked the engineering grunt to offer a modern OS, especially for the western audience who is very finicky about their devices. With Android, Sony can let Google develop and further expand the scope of the OS while Sony can focus on how to properly marry it with their hardware in a cohesive ecosystem.

[Via Yahoo!]

Two Trucks Full of Sony Products Have Been Stolen in Canada

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 24, 2010 | 40 comments

Not Actual Stolen Trucks

Looks like some people couldn’t just wait for Grand Turismo 5 to be released. Over the last week, two separate trailers have been stolen in Canada, containing well over a $1 million worth of Sony goods. The first trailer was stolen last Monday in Brampton, Ontario which contained the first $500,000 of Sony products. There is no mention of which products were specifically in that trailer. The next day, a separate trailer, containing another $500,000 worth of Sony products, including PS3 and PSP games and consoles, was taken from the same area which doesn’t seem like coincidence.

Police said the first stolen trailer has the inscription “Werner” printed in yellow on the side and a Nebraska licence plate bearing the number 85619.

The second trailer has the inscription XTRA LEASE printed in maroon on the side and an Ontario license plate — T62046.

[Via Winnipeg]

PlayStation Move by the Numbers, So Far

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 24, 2010 | 43 comments

Here is an image from Sony to sum up the performance of the PlayStation Move so far.

Sony PlayStation 3 Expands App Offering for Sport Enthusiast with NHL GameCenter Live

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 23, 2010 | 6 comments

I’ve long championed that the PlayStation 3 is the best home theater device on the market, offering every group and type of entertainment. Take into consideration the following:

PlayStation 3 games
PlayStation Move motion gaming
3D Games
3D Blu-ray Movies
Blu-ray Movies
DVD Upscaling
Native Netflix app
Native Hulu Plus app
Free Online play and game store via PSN
Movie/TV Show Rental and purchasing store via PSN
MLB.TV

Now Sony is looking to expand its services with NHL GameCenter Live.

NHL GameCenter LIVE subscribers who enjoy free access to PlayStation Network and its variety of online content, can now stream live out-of-market regular season and select playoff game broadcasts in HD by downloading the NHL GameCenter application on the PS3 system. In addition to offering live hockey games, NHL GameCenter LIVE also allows subscribers to watch full-length and condensed replays of the current season games they missed (48 hours after they air, no blackouts) and relive NHL history with unlimited access to over 500 classic games from NHL Vault.

PS3 users that do not have a subscription to NHL GameCenter LIVE will still have access to a wide range of NHL content through the NHL GameCenter application. Fans will have access to features such as post-game highlights, team schedules, standings, player stats and profiles, and the full NHL scoreboard.

Seeing this trend, we can only expect that Sony is looking to expand into other sports like the NFL, NBA, Nascar, and soccer to name a few. Now, it’s time for Sony to tell people about this feature and not just post it on their blog. Another thing I would love to see from Sony is that all these additional apps like MLB.TV, NHL GameCenter Live, Hulu Plus and Netflix to come pre-installed in the future. Many people might simply not dig through the PSN Store to find them while if they were already on the XMB, they would more actively seek out and use them.

Box Office: Harry Potter Casts a Spell on the Audience

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 22, 2010 | 4 comments

Coming as no surprise, the seventh Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, rocked the box office of this weekend with a $125.1 million take and a $330.1 million worldwide gross. Part one of this two-part finale which is slated to end on July 15th, 2011 grabbed a phenomenal $24 million on its Thursday night midnight opening alone, which is higher than some other movies’ weekend take. Flying past previous franchise installments, the 7th film in the series posted the highest numbers yet, putting Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire‘s $102.7 million a distant second. Opening approximately 9,400 screens at 4,125 locations, the franchise also set a new record number of IMAX venues (239), and they contributed an estimated $12.4 million, setting a new opening weekend benchmark for the format.

As a franchise, Harry Potter ranks second behind Star Wars with a $1.84 billion take versus $1.92 billion. With still another movie under its belt and the 7th film still early in its release time, Harry Potter will out Star Wars as the highest grossing franchise ever.

Also opening this weekend was the thriller nobody saw, The Next Three Days, which made an estimated $6.8 million on close to 2,700 screens at 2,564 locations. Megamind still faired decent, but couldn’t help falling 45% to earn another $16.2 million. Though the film has earned $109.5 million in 17 days, it still trails behind this year’s release of Despicable Me which had $161.3 million by day 17. Also on its 17th day, comedy Due Date fell another 41%, putting its total at $72.7 million. Unfortunately, Morning Glory couldn’t find much of a new audience, falling 43% and gaining only $5.2 million, putting the films 12 day total at a lousy $19.9 million.

Unstoppable had a better then average slow down of 42%. gaining another $13.1 million to put the films US gross at $41.8 million and $61.1 million for its total world wide gross. The Tony Scott film had a $100 million budget. The hack alien invasion film, Skyline fell a whopping 71% to gain only $3.4 million this weekend. The film has earned $17.7 million so far on its $10 million budget.

Box Office Results:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 – $125.1 million ($330.1 million total worldwide)
Megamind – $16.1 million ($136.4 million total worldwide)
Unstoppable – $13.1 million ($61.1million total worldwide)
Due Date – $9.1 million ($119.5 million total worldwide)
The Next Three Days – $6.7 million ($6.7 million total worldwide)

Editorial: How To Not Sell PlayStation Moves with Creepy/Random Advertising

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 22, 2010 | 5 comments

As I write this post, I’m trying to not come off pissed but I can’t help it. We have pointed out on this site over and over again that Sony makes some fantastic products, but has the worst marketing department on the entire planet. This holiday season is a crucial one for Sony. The PlayStation 3 has been enjoying great momentum and is only 3-4 million units away from the Xbox 360. This is a big deal for Sony as the PS3 has always lagged 7-9 million units behind the Xbox 360. With this new steam behind PlayStation 3, Sony has also released the PlayStation Move to offer users both something new and to counter Nintendo. Having a great product is one thing, but having people find out about it something entirely different, and Microsoft knows this. Most of their products are mediocre at best. Look at Windows Vista. Look at the Xbox 360 with claims of 40% failure rate. And yet, that doesn’t matter because Microsoft knows how to advertise. Simply put, Kinect won’t work for most people, but that’s not going to stop Microsoft, nor the $500 million they have set aside to advertise it. Sony has already claimed that it has no plans to match Microsoft when it comes to spending and that’s ok too. I understand it, Sony simply does not have that kind of cash, but that does not mean that they should spend the cash they do have on weird as hell advertising.

Microsoft makes it clear during the 30 second ads that people are having fun playing with the Xbox 360 with a new interface that requires no controller. There it is, a simple pitch, but from the beginning to the end, it’s clear that this is a Xbox commercial for their new product. What does Sony do in their Latin America ad? Have some weird commercial with adult babies (wow, that wasn’t two years ago) who are going about their day, doing “adult” stuff and at the end, you see a PlayStation 3 with a Move controller logo.

Sony and Kevin Butler Think that the PS3 is Great for the Whole Family

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 21, 2010 | 13 comments

Another ad from Sony and Kevin Butler, this time building the case that the PlayStation 3 offers something for the whole family. Sony is looking to leverage the fact that the PlayStation 3 has a built-in web browser for access to popular social networking site Facebook and the native Netflix app for the whole family to watch movies from. Ssshhhh, don’t say another word.

Sony, with the help of Kevin Butler, Targets Holiday Shoppers

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 20, 2010 | 2 comments

With a new holiday ad on the airways, Sony and Kevin Butler are targeting parents who both want a gift for their kids, say a gaming console, and something more adult like, say a new Blu-ray player for the house. Sony’s solution is simple: the PlayStation 3. It’s a gaming console for the kids to play on and still one of the best Blu-ray players on the market, all packed into one. Of course, Sony has recently expanded the scope of the PS3 again by offering 3D movies and games, as well as their new motion controller, the PlayStation Move.

Google TV Loses All Major Network Support, Sony Comes to its Aid

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 19, 2010 | 1 comment

If you haven’t been keeping up with Google TV, in a nutshell, it’s a device that brings web capabilities to your TV habits like the ability to browse the web and watch TV at the same time or run dedicated apps. As mentioned, the Google TV, which Sony is a supporter of, has a fully functional web browser with Flash. This means that users can access websites like ABC, Fox and NBC to watch TV shows at their own leisure. TV networks didn’t like the idea of users watching their content on their TV without them actually counting towards the given shows ratings or ad revenue. When users now visit these sites like Fox and attempt to view the content, they will be greeted with “This content is not compatible with your device”.

In the middle of all this, Google TV fans have a new supporter whom they can turn to; Sony Pictures. Unlike the networks, Sony-owned website Crackle is going to remain open to all Google TV owners which has a host of original videos, as well as films from Sony Pictures like Snatch, Jerry Maguire, Godzilla, Starship Troopers, Sniper, Lords of Dogtown and The Cable Guy.

Crackle, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s premium video entertainment network, has built an optimized website for Google TV, it was announced today by Eric Berger, senior vice president, digital networks, Sony Pictures Television (SPT).

Offering a unique mix of high-quality content, Crackle’s ad-supported service features original series, an unmatched collection of full-length television shows, and unedited motion pictures from the vast Sony Pictures library. Crackle can be accessed on Google TV through the Spotlight section.

“Our customized site is the latest in our ongoing efforts to bring Crackle’s extensive content catalogue directly to consumers over IP-enabled and open internet platforms,” said Berger.

Google TV combines the web with the TV viewing experience, and gives users a powerful way to search across both. Google TV is available on Sony Internet TVs, Sony Internet TV Blu-Ray Players, and via Logitech Revue set top boxes.

One of the fastest growing entertainment destinations on the Internet today Crackle.com is ranked one of the top 10 U.S. sites in comScore* (US comScore Oct-Dec 2009, 3 month average). Online viewers experience pure entertainment: full-length movies, TV shows, and original online series – all uncut, uncensored and free. Crackle.com is available the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.

You win some and lose some but being a supporter of the Google TV platform, Sony Pictures is welcoming all Google TV users, whether you are using a Sony built one or not does not matter to enjoy their content. This also seems to be part of a larger strategy by Sony to expand the scope of Crackle.com.

Sony Vaio Y Series Shrinks From 13.3 to 11.6 inches

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 18, 2010 | 17 comments

On November 27th, Sony is going to be providing Vaio owners of Japan a newer configuration, shrinking the already small 13.3 inches laptop, down to 11.6 inches. Although the new VPCYA19FJ/B model is indeed getting smaller, the unit is still able to pack a 6 hour battery life with some great specs under the hood:

1366 x 768 Resolution Screen
Intel Core i3-380UM (1.33 ghz)
320GB Hard Drive
2-8GB of Ram
Bluetooth 2.1
802.11b/g/n
Gigabit Ethernet
HDMI Out

No price has been announcement for this yet, or a State side release date. Hit the jump as always for a full press release and gallery.

Gran Turismo 5 Commercial, Kevin Butler Style

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 18, 2010 | 1 comment

Now that we know Gran Turismo 5 is coming out, why not follow it up with another awesome commercial? Maybe add some sexy cars and throw in Kevin Butler. Yea..that’s what I think we need.

Sony Ericsson’s Anzu Xperia X12 Leak

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 18, 2010 | 19 comments

The leaks continue on the Sony Ericsson front and we are happy to bring them to you. Following up on the Playstation Phone leaks, we now have some pictures and specs to share for you on the codenamed Anzu. Anzu, which we believe will eventually be called the Xperia X12, is the newest from Sony Ericsson to be sporting the Android OS. Unlike previous models that have been late to the Android OS updates, the Xperia X12 is believed to be currently using the Android 2.1 build but will actually ship with Gingerbread in Q1 next year. This would make the Xperia X12 one of the first phones to be shipping with Android 2.3 and could be a nice flagship model for both Sony and Google to show the Android platform.

Notice anything else from the picture? How about the fact that this thing is damn thin! Other things we know about the phone from its current build:

4.3-inch display
HDMI Out
1080p recording

Hit the jump for some more pictures.

[Via Xperai X10 Blog]