Hacking the PSP Blog

Sony PlayStation “Double Life” selected as 2007 Clio Hall of Fame Inductee

NEW YORK — Sony PlayStation’s “Double Life,” a captivating example of storytelling and reflection on escapism in commercial advertising by London production company Gorgeous Enterprises and ad agency TBWA\London, has been selected as the 2007 inductee to the Clio Awards Hall of Fame. The honor will be bestowed during the Clio Festival, May 9-12 in Miami Beach, FL.

Directed by Gorgeous Productions’ Frank Budgen and first aired in 1999, ‘Double Life’ begins with a shot of young man walking through a crowded city street, speaking the lines "For years, I've lived a double life. In the day, I do my job, I ride the bus, roll up my sleeves with the hoi-polloi, but at night I live a life of exhilaration." It then launches into a quick succession of one-liner vignettes about the “other” side of the lives led by many different individuals, all related to the range of situations and emotions experienced while using the PlayStation.

“When ‘Double Life’ debuted in 1999, it was widely heralded as the UK’s answer to Apple’s ‘Crazy Ones’,” said Mark Tutssel, 2007 Clio Television/Cinema jury chairman and Worldwide Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett Worldwide. “This incredible spot romanticized video gaming and deftly captured the essence of it – the personality transformation and the fantasy of gaming worlds. It got to the heart of what gaming is all about. The signature line ‘I have commanded armies and conquered worlds,’ wove itself into the vernacular. After eight years, the spot has spawned a genre of its own, but ‘Double Life’ remains unrivaled. It is absolutely deserving of being inducted into the Clio Awards Hall of Fame.”

Read the full article here...

Source: Adoi Magazine

Solar charger hooks up with iPod, PSP and DS

Solar-powered devices like the Solar-fine 1350 from Links International in Japan always sound like a great idea but rarely deliver much in practice, due to the inherent problem of actually finding enough sun at the right time to make them practical.

The new ¥7,980 ($66.04) charger tries to make itself more attractive than the competition by including adapters for juicing up the most common products. Dongles are included for a range of devices, including almost all Japanese mobile phones, various handheld games machines, including the PSP and DS, and – of course – most members of the iPod family.

With a capacity of 1350mAh (you guessed that one, right?) and a voltage of 3.7V, the Solar-fine is obviously up to the job, but a solar-charging time of ten hours might explain why Links has included the option to charge by AC or USB too.

J Mark Lytle
May 16, 2007

Source: Tech.co.uk

Sony Q4 loss widens, sees sharp upturn ahead

TOKYO, May 16 (Reuters) - Sony Corp. reported a wider quarterly loss on Wednesday due to losses in its game unit, but it forecast a sharp rise in profit this year as it boosts sales of its PlayStation 3 video game machine and LCD TVs.

The Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate was hit hard last year by massive costs to launch the PlayStation 3 (PS3) and recall 9.6 million units of its laptop PC batteries, which in rare cases could catch fire from overheating.

But it is taking steps to cut production costs for the PS3 and is starting up an advanced liquid crystal display (LCD) panel plant with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. this year, which should help it make TVs more efficiently.

Sony, locked in a battle with Microsoft Corp. and Nintendo Co. Ltd. for dominance in the $30 billion video game industry, forecast an operating profit of 440 billion yen ($3.66 billion) for the year to March 2008.

The estimate represents a six-fold gain on 2006/07 and beats the consensus of 377.8 billion yen in a poll of 20 analysts by Reuters Estimates, though it includes a 59 billion yen profit from a sale of land not likely reflected in the consensus.

Sony expects sales to grow 5.8 percent to 8.78 trillion yen.

Read the full article here...

Aiko Wakao and Nathan Layne
May 16, 2007

Source: Reuters