[Vivien Muller Portfolio via Behance Network]

Talking about Lego, remember our Giz's Lego Go Miniman Go video contest with thousands of dollars in prizes, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Lego minifig. Brothers Brick is also running the Go Miniman Go Photo Contest, so remember to visit them and participate. [Simon via BrothersBrick]

Shapeways is a spin-off from Philips' Lifestyle Incubator. On one side, it's a website where you can upload your 3D models—which can even have joins—or use an online 3D creator with access to everyday models. The online 3D creator is extremely easy to use, so anyone can modify them without any technical or product design knowledge. With this, anyone can make a candle holder or a fruit bowl out of song lyrics or a personal message by just typing it. Advanced users to access to 3D packages can upload any model they can imagine in a 3D standard format, like STL, Collada or X3D.

On the other side, there are different types of rapid prototyping machines that can create that model using a variety of materials, from nylon to plastic composites, each with different properties. For example, the nylon one results in a semi-flexible object, while a plastic called "Cream Robust" gives you an extremely hard finish. Once you select the material and submit your model to 3D printer, you will get it in your hands in 10 days, with an average cost of $50 to $150, including shipping.

While the system is not perfect yet, there's no color yet and you can get different textures for the surfaces, the start is very promising and the possibilities are endless. As a consumer, the customization of objects is attractive enough, but the ability to upload any object and receive it in 10 days is even more exciting (and I don't mean printing dildos, which—apparently/sadly/fortunately for Benny—is not allowed). Model makers, Lego aficionados, product designers, and toy lovers of any kind, will absolutely love this one. [Shapeways and Philips Research Labs Tour]

And if those prizes weren't enough to run to get your camera out, we have asked the best Lego movie directors—Nathan Wells, David Pagano, and Nate Burr—to create three exclusive movies to inspire you. Even if you are not participating, you really have to watch these.

30 Years of Music, by Nathan Wells

Go Miniman Go, by David Pagano

Living in Meatspace, by Nate Burr

Nate, David, and Nathan will be the three judges in this contest along with Lego's director of Marketing Communications Keith Malone, and myself. Here are the rules for the contest:

Theme
The videos don't have to be about the 30th anniversary itself, like the two great odes to the minifig that David and Nathan have created. They just have to use the Lego minifig. Nate's, for example, is a good example of an alternative theme: just one funny skit, like the famous Death Star canteen short that uses Eddie Izzard's monologue.

One good line of work could be a 30-second fun short on any moment of technology history. Like Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak making the original Apple in the garage, the first astronauts arriving to the moon, Bill Gates retiring, a scene from a tech movie like Tron or War Games, or some famous advertising.

But don't be constrained by that. The bottom line is that, as long as it is original, creative, and revolves around the Lego minifig, you are in.

Technique
Remember that your videos don't have to use stop-motion techniques—although obviously these give the best results to tell a story—and we all are partial to stop-motion because it's just cool. However, keep your mind open and explore other possibilities.

Duration
A 20- to 30-second short—the duration of a typical TV ad—will be the minimum to enter the contest.

Due date
October 15th will be the limit.

Format
No need to go High Definition. A 520-pixel-wide video in crystal-clear MPEG-4 format will be enough.

How to send it
To send your video, we recommend you to use the free delivery service YouSendIt.com. Address it to jesus at gizmodo.com

Prizes
• First and second place: Galaxy Explorer or the Yellow Castle. Whoever wins first place picks the set he or she wants. The remaining set will go to the second place winner.
• Third price: A special set designed by Lego owner Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen.
• Runners-up: a ton of smaller vintage space and town sets, new vintage minifigure series, and newer sets.

Do you have any questions? Write them in the comments and we will answer them. Standard Gawker contest rules apply. [Go Miniman Go]

You already saw part of the process in the article about the Lego Storm Troopers cloning facility, but here's the whole process:

• First, the raw plastic material is put into the molds to create all the parts: the head, the torso, the minuscule hands, the hips, and the left and right arms and legs, plus any minifig complements, like helmets or tools.

• The head and torsos are always decorated. This is a complicated process that makes the minifig the most expensive part of any Lego set. This is why sets like the Death Star diorama are among the most expensive. The stamping of the colors is usually made in several passes. In older times, the faces always had the same designs. Today, however, they have different features that require different layers (personally, I like the classic ones more than the ones with different faces).

• Once they are decorated, the torsos are put into the body assembly machine, where the left and right arms are put into them mechanically. The same machine then places the hands inside the arms with absolute precision at lightning speed.

• The torsos are then taken to the packaging production line, where they are put together in the bags along with the head, hair/helmet/hat, and legs with hips. Before, the machines also connected the heads and legs, so the Lego aficionado would find the minifig complete inside the box. Now, however, this is left for the player except for the vintage minifig set, which comes with the minifigs completely built.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's special features on the 30th Anniversary of the Lego minifig. We have some amazing surprises coming, including an exclusive Gizmodo contest that will let you win some of the most famous Lego sets in history. [Go Miniman Go]

I encourage you to go check out the rest of the images, including a few of a failed baton hand-off, just like the American men and women did recently in the 4x100. [Flickr, shared under the Creative Commons License]

Do check out the rest of his roundup at Mac Mod Lab. The Pro envy feels a played out, though an actual Pro stuffed into a mini would be worthy of wankage. [Mac Mod Lab via Technabob]

Just pick your favorite gadget and do your own version. You can use anything: rocks, paper, plastic, wood, trash, cardboard, Lego... whatever you want. Gizmodo would even give some swag to the winner. You know, like a replica of the underpants I used when I played for Steve, in the presentation of one of the iPods.

Sounds good? Send your photos here.

[Thanks Moe]

We want a "DC vs Marvel: the Springfield Wars" miniseries now. [Springfield Punx, Thanks Oscar]

• Game over? Not with this completely awesome, never-ending, Donkey Kong Lego creation.
• The roof is on fire! And Google StreetView was there for the whole thing.
• Rear-entry fun with a poochie and a Wiimote? Maybe I shouldn't ask...
• They'll leave old fully-stocked NASA trailers anywhere these days.
• Farmers in China brought the Olympic "bird's nest" stadium to their fields when they built a huge bamboo replica.

Now, do a pole vault to the front page for the best gadget news on the Interwebs.

JD: How long did it take, total?
DK: Fudging the math here. About 3 months start to finish, working probably an average of an hour a day (more on the weekends, less during the week). 110-120 hours probably isn't too far off.

JD: Do you think, given enough time, you could use Mindstorms to recreate the arcade for real? I mean, controlling Mario travelling across the screen to the top. Too complicated?
DK: I've gotten this question a few times now.. It might be possible with some sort of magnet-behind-the-wall system, but it's not something I'll be able to attempt. I'd like to keep my wife.

JD: Any plans to do other games?
DK: I have some ideas for Ms Pacman, but it's still in the brainstorming stages. No promises..

[Vib via Brothers Brick]

[MAKE]

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

See? Aren't you glad you watched that? [Lego Computer]

[Ian mackinnon via Brothers Brick]

The Emirates A380 model has been placed at the Heathrow Airport roundabout previously known as the Concorde Roundabout—because it had a replica of that plane. It's not made of Lego bricks, but given the fact that it is bigger than my apartment, I won't mind living in one. [Emirates]

The seven robots were designed to achieve seven different missions:

Brian Davis, Indiana, USA
Project: Little Joe
This robot will perform an automated free-fall in an attempt to set the record for the longest MINDSTORMS NXT free-fall. The robot will be detached from the main balloon near maximum altitude and will free-fall until the parachute deploys.

Project: Gypsy
The robot will be an automated camera platform that will take both video and still images. The MINDSTORMS NXT will control all image timing as well as pitch angle

FLL Team 90/David Levy (Coach), Virginia USA
Project: FLL Team Challenge: Climate Connections
A FIRST LEGO League Climate Connections team will build a robot to measure UV radiation as a function of altitude. The MINDSTORMS NXT will not only data log the UV sensor readings, but will also be used to rotate the UV filters in position as well as control the robot heater with a temperature sensor.

Barbara Bratzel & Chris Rogers, Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA
Project: Fourth Graders
A group of 4th grade students will investigate the impact of flight conditions on yellow marshmallows (a.k.a peeps). The MINDSTORMS NXT will be recording temperature and pressure during the mission.

David Martinez, Jurgen Leitner, Sweden
Project: SpaceMasters
The robot will be measuring the change in G-forces as a function of altitude. The robot will repeatedly drop a tethered Wiimote at different altitudes to measure the acceleration experience.

Claude Baumann, Francis Massen, Jean Mootz, Luxembourg
Project : LUXPAK
The robot will be using an RCX to measure ozone concentration, air pressure, temperature (inside and outside) and reflected light from Earth during the descent.

Eugene Tsai, Taiwan
The robot will be using filtering papers to capture particles and/or chemicals in the air during the balloon ascent and descent periods. The LEGO Mindstorms NXT will be used to provide a mechanism to switch filtering papers to capture the materials in the air and then keep the papers in a secured compartment. The filtering papers will be retrieved and analyzed to see what chemicals and particles exist in different altitudes.

[More info will be posted soon at the Lego Mindstorms site]

Looking at the time it's taking me to finish the Falcon, I'm not going to try this unless I can get Lindsay Joy someone to help me. [Lego in Gizmodo]

* See? The dogs too.

In fact, I can already imagine Facebook's status worldwide:

"Jason is taking off his pants as he watches the city turn into flames"
"Jesus is trying to repent quickly of all his sins and having his last Margarita"
"Brian is liveblogging the incoming tsunami. It's cool"
"Mark is trying to finish Mario Galaxy II before the asteroid hits"
"Adam is looking for his bong"
"Matt is reading the NYT. Wha'?"
"Benny is looking for Tracie for a last snog"
"Strider is commenting in Brian's liveblog"
"Lindsay Joy is watching her Lego minifigs melt"
"Curves is keeping it cool, like always"
"OMG Ponies is OMG"

Have your own favorite California earthquake video or your future Apocalypse Facebook status? Post it in the comments.

This video was recorded in NetDevil's second Lego Universe Project event. According to Scott Brown, NetDevil's president, in the first LUP event they asked these Lego users to give them an idea of what the game should be like, which of course resulted in them building hundreds of actual Lego models of monsters, places, and all kinds of devices, machinery, and vehicles.

After that session, NetDevil started to program the software tools and the models needed to design Lego Universe terrains and structures. Now, in the second LUP event, they have trained those Lego people on the tools themselves, which they are using to create the virtual worlds. Apparently, NetDevil is very impressed by how fast these people—who in their day jobs are mostly engineers—got into the tools after just a three-hour class. Hopefuly that means things are progressing fast and we will see this game—which seems to have great potential—sooner than later.

Manual Methods:

Bug Net Launcher Gun: Just pull the trigger and four darts will shoot out carrying a net for capturing bugs. Available for $20. [Amazon]

Bug Zapper Tennis Racket: Fry those pesky insects and work on your backhand at the same time. Just two AA batteries will provide enough juice to electrocute the little suckers on contact. Available for $10. [Product Page]

Delete Key Flyswatter: It's old school, but any nerd can appreciate this method. Available for $8. [Spoon Sisters]

Let the Gadgets Do the Dirty Work:

Electronic Venus Fly Trap: Bait is hidden inside the mouth of the trap, which is fitted with two sensors that quickly snap the jaws shut when a fly is detected. After the deed is done, the jaws reopen and the trap emits a satisfied burp. Available for around $40. [Eurocosm via Link]

Talking Bug Zapper: This inhumanely hysterical twist on the old-fashioned bug zapper adds one of 15 phrases including “that’s gonna leave a mark,” and “goodbye cruel world!” when the bugs come in contact with the grid. It's probably more annoying than anything else, but it's cheap at only $20. [Product Page]

DIY Projects:

Electric Roach Motel: This little DIY project can generate 10 pulses at 400 volts per second using a 9 volt battery and a PIC12F683 with a switchable clock speed. That will fry a roach up good. However, it is probably not a good idea to have around if you have dogs, small children or gigantic, clumsy feet. [Mondo Technology via Link]

Lego Mousetrap: Mice are not usually a major problem in the summertime, but when the weather starts getting cooler they can be a real nuisance. Fortunately, you can put your love of Legos to good use by building a simple trap that is activated by a pressure plate. [True Dimensions via Link]

Torture:

Watch a Bug: It is supposed to be educational, but the bottom line is that you are holding a bug hostage in a tiny prison attached to your wrist. Whether it lives or dies a slow, agonizing death is up to you. Available for $5. [Wowcoolstuff]

Mosquito Spring-Loaded Bear Trap: Okay, this mini mosquito bear trap probably won't work, but if it ever did that would be a hunting tale for the ages. Available for $4. [FH Trading Post]

Let the Bugs Choose Their Own Fate:

Pest Decide: The device will draw in bugs using a set of UV LEDs, but which side will they choose? The blue light of Heaven or the red light of Hell? Either way, they still get zapped. Now that is cold. Available for around $28. [Lazybone]

The models include cross-sections showing the actual building structure and installations. The effect is particularly impressive in the Water Cube, full of minifigs like the Sport Village and the residence buildings. [KLUG via Brothers Brick]

A one-of-a-kind official LEGO version of Mead's "Spinner" flying car from Blade Runner, presented to Syd by LEGO when he attended a design summit in Billund. Syd let me pick it up and swoop it around my head like a child.

You should have ran away with it, Joel. Crime pays. They are still looking for their Galaxy Explorer at the Lego Secret Vaultin Denmark. [Boing Boing TV]

• The Cyber Alice augmented reality system creates a virtual peep show on your desktop.
• It was only a model, but this Lego space elevator was the bee's knees.
• Like Windows? Love convoluted processes? Then enjoy this iPhone pwnage for Windows machines. Kinda.
• One Star Trek-loving watchmaker made himself a kick-ass, hard to break (and read) wristwatch.
• Thwart hit and run drivers with your always on, always watching GPS security system.

Now, go to the Gizmodo home page and read the best gadget news on the face of the earth.

The exclusive tour is divided into three parts

While the storage areas are the most impressive part of the factory, I have to admit that nothing had prepared me for the scope and complexity that is required to make and pack 19 billion bricks every year. The scale of this factory, specially compared to the tiny bricks it produces, is absolutely breathtaking.

The warehouse and the mold room

We started in the main warehouse, which is half a kilometer long. Here they house the silos holding the raw plastic granulate. Through them, 60 tons of this material is processed every 24 hours. These towers are connected to the molding machines through a labyrinth of tubes that push the granulate mixtures in a permanent tin-pitched rumble.

It's the digestive system of the enormous factory, always feeding the molding lines through the tubes and moving big boxes full of pieces—using conveyor belts—into the storage area in an endless and precise dance which never ends: this factory works around the clock to fulfill the worldwide thirst for Lego.

The molding machines

Everything is recycled in the factory. The plastic granulate itself is a by-product from diesel, and whatever is discarded in the manufacturing process gets recycled. The leftover parts from the mold—the plastic that fills the channels that take the hot plastic into the piece negative—fall down the machine, gets ground up, and put back into the production cycle. Any other waste, like faulty pieces or the transparent plastic used to clean the inner tubes when they need to change the production color of a molding machine, are also ground up and sold to other companies for the production of other things, like pipes and even heating oil.

The machines produce more than two million pieces per hour, churning incessantly into color- and bar-coded boxes. I looked around and I couldn't see many people. A woman was in one of those endless aisles looking at a few molding machines with big "QT" signs on them. She was in charge of quality testing, making sure that the production was going perfectly.

At one point I was taking photos of a box of full of yellow bricks, and suddenly the machine stopped working. Fearing I had done something wrong, I saw a big wonky box coming from the distance, some kind of weird transport with strange sensors on the top, straight from a moisture farm on Tatooine or a spice mine in Dune. I stepped back, instantly realizing it was one of the many factory robots.

This transport bot was answering the call of the central mainframes, the brains of the Lego body that control every aspect of the process at all times. The mainframes had stopped the production of the machine, following the signal of the sensor next to the box and sending the signal to the robot, alerting it that it had to harvest the crop of bricks. The robots travel down the aisles autonomously, picking up boxes and leaving empty ones so production can be resumed.

The storage cathedrals, decoration and packaging

The robots then put the boxes in the conveyors, which move them into the storage cathedrals (click here to see a complete report on them, the following video only has a brief summary). There, the huge cranebots lift them to the heavens, placing them in endless towers of boxes. There are four of these cathedrals in the Lego factory, and no humans are inside. The mainframes know what it is inside at all times, and order the cranebots to retrieve boxes and send them to decoration and packaging, where Lego sets take their final form.

Here, the Lego pieces may take two ways. One is to go straight to the packaging lines. The other is to go into decoration. Decoration is the most expensive part of the Lego process. Here, the pieces are individually painted with absolute precision, like you can see in detail in this video.

In the packaging lines the pieces are distributed: they are dumped into the machine, which separates them one by one, then counts them using optical sensors, and placed in a generic small box. I watched in amazement, seeing how the pieces fell into these small boxes on a very small conveyor. At every step, one, two, three or whatever amount of pieces will fall into the box, according to the instructions of the set in production.

Along the way, high precision scales measure the weight of the box. The computers know exactly how much a box has to weigh at any stage, indicating that the correct number and kind of pieces are inside. If there's a variation of a few micro-grams, the alarm jumps and an operator grabs the box, sorts the pieces, and puts the box back into production.

Once the box is complete, the contents are dropped into the plastic wrapping machine, which makes a bag with the pieces inside. The box are then dropped inside another box, and passed into another production line, where more bags would be added until all the set pieces are in place, ready to be packaged and sent to shops all around the world.

As I watched the boxes going away, being wrapped for shipping, I couldn't help to have this feeling of absolute marvel. From plastic grains to full sets, everything controlled by computers and robots, in a scale that—given the size of most of these piece—stunned me. Next time you look at that Lego box full of bricks, or your collection of mini-figs, think about how complex and elegant the whole production process is. Your "toy" will have then a completely new dimension.

[Space Elevator Blog]

Microsoft
Nintendo
Sony

Microsoft
How your current themes will look on the Xbox 360
Why Microsoft made a new Xbox Experience
Netflix on Xbox 360!
You can play games directly off the Xbox's hard drive
Xbox 360 is getting Avatars
Newly colored Xbox 360 controllers

Sony
Sony knows what went wrong with the PS3's development
How Sony being cheap hurts the PS3
The PlayStation video store is open
The PS3 80GB model gets a $399 price tag in September
PSN gets a simple sign-on
PS2 gets a LEGO Batman bundle

Nintendo
Hands-on With the Wii MotionPlus
Wii Sports Resort gets a price
The Wii ain't so cheap
The Wii finally gets a mic

Elsewhere
Rock Band 2's Instruments look great
EA upgrades its iPhone games
The DS is not as strong as the iPhone
The Dreamcast IS as strong as the iPhone
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed on iPhone
The official Rock Band 2 track list

Force Unleashed really is a pretty game. Crystal clear 2D backdrops give the levels a lot of pizzazz despite that they are, you know, 2D. And lightsabers glow properly on the screen.

But where we'd hoped to run around and slice our foes with laser swords, the mechanics never gave us a chance. Much like the classic PC series Rebel Assault, you don't actually move your character through rooms. Instead, you reflect your foes' laser shots with properly timed/angled swipes of the finger and activating force powers (like throwing baddies or electrocuting them) by drawing out symbols on the screen.

As lame as this may sound on paper, the battles can grow enjoyably hectic as you block fire and toss your enemies aside. And it's all promised to be backed by the same soundtrack we'll hear in the Xbox/PS3 versions of the Force Unleashed (we just heard placeholder music during our hands-on).

Oh, and something really cool. You can rotate the game between portrait and landscape mode. Neither gave the characters the stretched look.

In addition to all of that, THQ promised us an uncharacteristically rich storyline for a mobile game and 2 1/2 to 3 hours of gameplay. For a cellphone game, it looks extremely good. But compared to something on the PSP/DS, it's going to be a tad disappointing. So depending on your expectations of the iPhone, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed may be worth checking out when it hits this September.

Sony Computer Entertainment America Announces New 80GB PLAYSTATION(R)3, Limited Edition PlayStation(R)2 Bundle, and PlayStation(R)Portable Entertainment Pack at E3 2008

Company Also Launches New PLAYSTATION(R)Network Video Delivery Service and Showcases More Than 140 First-Party and Third-Party Games Across All Platforms

LOS ANGELES, July 15 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) held its annual press conference today at the E3 Media & Business Summit, making a series of announcements which demonstrated the strength of the PlayStation brand across all three of its platforms and further leveraged the heritage and momentum of PlayStation's family of products to provide consumers with more compelling entertainment options than anyone in the videogame industry.

Starting in September 2008, the newly announced PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)) 80GB model will become the mainstay of the company's hardware line-up. The 80GB model will retail for $399, and will offer all of the features and functionality of the 40GB model with double the storage to accommodate more movies, graphics, music, photos and other entertainment content — all for the same price. As with its predecessor, the new 80GB model will be a complete entertainment system comprising of a Blu-ray(TM) player, HDMI output, an integrated Wi-Fi connection, Cell Broadband Engine(TM) and a built-in 80GB hard-disk drive. The multi-functionality of the 80GB PS3, combined with more than 140 exclusive and third-party titles and the PLAYSTATION(R)Network, is a comprehensive entertainment value designed to appeal to a wide range of consumers from hard-core gamers to general entertainment enthusiasts.

Following the success of five PSP(R) (PlayStation(R)Portable) Entertainment Packs, SCEA announced the Ratchet and Clank(R) Size Matters PSP Entertainment Pack, a new bundle showcasing PSP's multi-functional feature set, targeted for holiday gift-giving. Launching in October 2008 for $199.99 MSRP, the bundle will include a limited-edition "Silver" PSP system with the highly acclaimed game, Ratchet and Clank(R) Size Matters; a blockbuster movie on UMD(R) (Universal Media Disc); a PLAYSTATION(R)Network voucher to download the innovative puzzle game, echochrome(TM) from PLAYSTATION(R)Store: and a 1GB Memory Stick PRO Duo(TM) for storing music, videos, photos and more.

In addition, SCEA introduced a new family entertainment bundle for the PlayStation(R)2 system, the most successful console in industry history. The limited-edition LEGO(R) Batman(TM): The Videogame PlayStation(R)2 Pack will feature the highly anticipated TT Games/Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment title LEGO(R) Batman(TM): The Videogame, Warner Home Video's Justice League: The New Frontier on DVD, and a PlayStation(R)2 system — all for $149.99 MSRP, which represents a $30 savings for consumers if the contents were purchased separately. SCEA will also launch more than 130 new titles for PlayStation(R)2 system this year, totaling 10,000 PlayStation(R)2 titles by end of the year.

"It's undeniable we have three successful platforms, the broadest and best line-up of some of the biggest exclusives in the business, and are continuing to deliver compelling and original content to our consumers," said Jack Tretton, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. "Expect to see continued momentum this year as we remain focused on delivering products and services that extend the strength of our brand and reaffirms PlayStation's place at the center of consumers' homes."

Additionally, the company previewed more than 140 first and third-party games at E3 2008 proving its content line-up this year is unmatched in the industry due to its depth, breadth, and diversity. Throughout the holiday season and this fiscal year, SCEA and its third-party partners plan to release more than 140 software titles for the PS3 available on Blu-ray Disc(TM) (BD).

SCEA is also developing more than 50 games, game packs, and add-ons downloadable via PLAYSTATION(R)Network in North America this year, offering something for every taste, lifestyle and budget. Also, to continue offering greater value to PlayStation fans, SCEA will launch PS3 Greatest Hits program on July 28 with 10 first and third party titles at a reduced price of $29.99. The PS3 Greatest Hits titles include Warhawk(TM), Motorstorm(TM) and Resistance: Fall of Man(R) from SCEA; Call of Duty(R) 3, Activision(R); Need for Speed: Carbon, Electronic Arts; The Elder Scrolls(R) IV: Oblivion(TM), Bethesda(R) Softworks; Ninja Gaiden(R) Sigma, Tecmo(R); Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six(R) Vegas and Assassin's Creed(TM), Ubisoft(R).

SCEA also reiterated its commitment to make PLAYSTATION(R)Network the best entertainment experience in the industry, by announcing a new video delivery service on PLAYSTATION(R)Store for PS3 and PSP systems in the United States. The new video service, available today, allows U.S. consumers to download full-length TV shows and movies to both their PS3 and PSP through the PlayStation Store for rental or purchase.

In addition, SCEA further outlined progress against its revolutionary online experience, PlayStation Home. Highlighting new first party high definition virtual environments for hit PlayStation titles including, Unchartered: Drake's Fortune and Warhawk. With significant third party support already on board, Sony Computer Entertainment will be expanding the beta in Summer 2008 and commence the open beta service by Fall 2008.

About Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. continues to redefine the entertainment lifestyle with its PlayStation(R) and PS one(R) game console, the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, the PSP(R) (PlayStation(R)Portable) system, the ground-breaking PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system and its online and network services PLAYSTATION(R)Network and PLAYSTATION(R)Store.
Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. markets the PlayStation family of products and develops, publishes, markets and distributes software for the PS one game console, the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, PLAYSTATION 3 and the PSP system for the North American market. Based in Foster City, Calif., Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. serves as headquarters for all North American operations and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Visit us on the Web at http://www.us.playstation.com

PlayStation, PSP and the PlayStation logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. "PlayStation", "PLAYSTATION", "PSP", "PS one" and the PlayStation logo are registered trademarks and "PS3" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

[Sony]

11:32: Sony's pumping electronic music between audio feeds of the six games people are playing on stage. Metal Gear Solid 4, Pixeljunk Eden, GT5 Prologue, GRAW2, Ecochrome and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

11:33: What could Sony pull out to top Wii Music? It's going to be pretty difficult, if you know what I mean. Seriously, it's the epitome of gaming and developer should just go home at this point.

11:35: It's starting! A bunch of Sony PlayStation shapes are scrolling across the six screens.

11:37: The excitement level is definitely higher than Nintendo's which was laid back and totally casual-oriented.

11:38: The stage is definitely very well designed. Very pretty. Jack Tretton, Emperor of Sony, is coming on stage.

11:39: Jack is talking about all the stars that have been on this stage, including Jack Bauer and Jack Pallance. And then he made a crack about how Jack Pallance is dead, followed by slight shock and boos from the crowd.

11:41: It was 10 years ago that Sony introduced the PlayStation, and they're taking the crowd on a journey through the PlayStation brand—including all the more notable games.

11:43: Now Sony is talking about other features, like videos and photos, plus the @home research program that helps to cure diseases.

11:44: They're talking about how the Blu-ray won the next-gen disc format war against the HD DVD. And part of that is because of the PS3. A big part.

11:45: Grand Theft Auto 4, Metal Gear Solid 4 and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue are three examples of great games (sequels) on the platform, says Jack.

11:47: A five second video just went up showing an image of the PS3.

11:48: Jack Tretton is much better this year than last, where he was fairly awkward. He played off his awkwardness well this time.

11:48: Here comes Resistance 2 being demoed in real time.

11:48: There's a gigantic ugly alien stomping around a city like the Cloverfield monster.

11:50: It's definitely very cinematic, but the environment graphics don't seem all THAT fantastic. Definitely a good looking game though.

11:52: The game is set in Chicago in the 1950s.

11:53: There's eight-player online co-op and 60 player online-multiplayer.

11:55: They're playing a trailer with a Kennedy-esque president making a speech about how aliens are winning the war. Kotaku will have more on this later.

11:56: Next up is Little Big Planet. It's a game with pretty large social networking and user-created content.

11:58: Jack's using Little Big Planet to talk about the business updates. Very clever. Using the little guy (Sack Boy) to illustrate what would otherwise be Powerpoint slides. Woo!

11:59: A lot of $29 discount titles are announced as well.

12:02: Little Big Planet is coming October 2008.

12:02: Hats off to Sony for making a dry business presentation interesting with Little Big Planet.

12:03: Now, the PlayStation 2.

12:03: There are still 130 titles coming to the old system, in case you still haven't updated to a next-gen system yet.

12:06: Buzz, the quiz show, is coming to PS2 and PS3.

12:06: Singstar, the karaoke game, is still going strong on the PS2.

12:07: Later this year, a Lego Batman PS2 bundle will be $149 and also include a DC movie DVD.

12:08: Next up, the PlayStation Network. All PlayStation users will have a single sign-on over PC, PS3 and PSP.

12:09: Jack is talking about the amount of downloads on the PSN, which is up to 180 million pieces of content downloaded since Nov. 2006.

12:11: New game announcement: Rachet & Clank Future: Quest For Booty. It's a shorter game with a lower price, and was rumored before. It's a continuation of the Rachet & Clank game that's already out now.

12:12: It's darker than the original R&C, and he's got a new wrench tool.

12:13: $14.99 later this summer. See Kotaku for more.

12:13: Here's a dig at Xbox Live Arcade: "We're not interested in filling up our store with games nobody wants to play just so we can say we have more games."

12:14: And now a montage of upcoming PlayStation Network games. Hit up Kotaku for details on these.

12:15: A bunch of car TV content is coming to Gran Turismo 5 Prologue in October, including car shows like Top Gear and various Japanese racing events.

12:20: Now, PlayStation Home. Jack assures people that their patience will be rewarded when Home finally expands to wide beta.

12:21: He's talking about various game companies and their promise to provide content for PlayStation Home and utilize it in their games.

12:22: They're showing a bunch of game spaces like Warhawk and Resistance 2, which are basically like command-rooms that you can view some decorations based on the game and even launch it.

12:23: The PlayStation Network video network will have various content providers like MGM, Warner, and a bunch of others (including Sony Pictures.) Both standard def and high def TV, and pricing will be $2.99-$5.99 for rentals and $9.99-$14.99 for purchases. We've posted on Sony's PSN video before, but the pricing seems new. Once you purchase it for the PS3, you can load it on your PSP as well.

12:25: Eric Lempel of Sony is showing how the video store will work. It's located inside the PSN store now and looks pretty much like a video store would.

12:26: Downloading an SD movie takes an hour to get a two-hour movie, but you can start watching it after you've downloaded about a minute's worth.

12:28: HD rentals are more expensive (usually about $5.99).

12:28: There are two ways to get content onto the PSP. One way is going through the PS3 and transferring via USB cable, another is through the PC.

12:30: The video service is going up tonight, July 15.

12:30: Rachel & Clank Size Matters Entertainment Pack is coming soon at $199, with a Memory Stick and National Treasure 2.

12:33: Now, they're showing off a Resistance game for the PSP. It's called Resistance Retribution.

12:35: And now a highlights reel of PSP games. Hit Kotaku if you want a list of them.

12:37: Jack is talking about Google, with uploading clips onto YouTube automatically (only in some games).

12:40: Jim Lee, executive creator of DC Universe Online, is coming on stage. He's doing some one-arm pushups. Nice!