(continued from previous page) ...that it is nearing its bug testing phase of development. The studio also let the public know that the Metal Gear Solid Online Starter Pack would be included with the release of the game itself. This has put to rest speculation that it might possibly be an add-on that we’d have to purchase.

PlayStation fans were also notified of Darth Vader being given as a PlayStation 3 exclusive for its upcoming title, Soul Calibur IV. Sony also announced that the production cost of its units was about to be cut nearly in half. This would definitely create a huge opportunity for Sony to potentially give out another price-cut. With the company expected to make a profit throughout 2008, it’ll be no surprise if this happens; however, it will be a nice gift to gamers still sitting on the fence.

With all of the blockbuster news happening in those 4 short days in Vegas, Sony fans worldwide are expecting the company and its console to take over the console wars this year. With a line-up of great exclusives at their disposal and big announcements like took place at CES 2008, we can only hope for great things this year around.

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Danny Ramos (Journalist)

Full Circle. These two simple words are what can sum up Sony’s showing at CES 2008. After a tumultuous first year filled with controversy, delays, and all sorts of negativity surrounding the long-awaited PlayStation 3, everything seems to be coming full circle. It seems like the company was riding the coat tails of a great holiday season of sales on the gaming side as over 3 million PlayStation brand units were sold and the future is looking pretty bright from Sony’s camp. They certainly made their mark at this year’s CES by help scaring away HD DVD and stomping on Microsoft’s going away party for head man Bill Gates with the showcasing of many new features, some that had been in the works for a while and others that blew us away.

On the PlayStation side of things, Sony left everything on the showroom floor and showcased the newest feature for the PSP; the integration of Skype VoIP for the handheld, which will allow its users to make internet phone calls straight from their portable gaming system. I was extremely impressed with this move, although it was one that was expected, but it really makes the PSP the only true portable entertainment device available on the market. Sure there are other handhelds that have their own feature sets, but now there is only one that can play music, movies, and elaborate video games, surf the internet, and now it will be able to place phone calls! Somebody get me a PSP quick!

I also found it extremely surprising how Sony threw caution to the wind (because of piracy concerns) and has announced at CES the support for future Blu-ray disc titles to come packaged with a formatted version of the film ready for the PSP. This update will allow you to just copy over the movie from your PS3 to your PSP and have it saved onto your memory stick. This may leave you worried about not having enough space on your memory stick? Sony even covered that problem at this year’s CES as they announced the release of the latest memory stick that holds 16GB of memory! That’s more memory than an iPhone, and the same as an iPod Touch, and neither is a gaming system at its core! CES even marked the announcement of the all-new GPS add-on for the PSP. What handheld device does all these things as well as the PSP? Keep thinking because there aren’t many that I can think of.

Although I never thought I would be moved much toward Blu-ray when I first purchased my system, now I find myself looking forward to new Blu-ray releases. My interest has definitely grown because of the many companies that have decided to abandon ship from HD DVD and that are producing solely for Blu-ray. The latest and probably most important being Time ... (continued on next page)