Despite announcing two new PlayStation 3 SKU's for Japan and North America and three for Europe, Sony says that it has absolutely no plans on slashing the price of its older PS3 models that are in stock around the world.

Speaking to Engadget, Sony's John Koller justified the position by saying that customers are tired of "weird price moves" often made by the hardware manufacturers related to promotions such as price promotions, gift card offers, etc.

Sony Computer Entertainment has let a number of its employees in its marketing department go after doing a little shuffling of the personal deck, according to a Games Industry International report. After consolidating all of its public relations operations within the company, Sony decided that all future PR work would be handled by its Foster City headquarters.

Sony announced today that a new PlayStation 3 will launch next week, offering 500GB of storage and a super-slim case design that promises a 25 percent reduction in size and lower weight than the current model. The hardware comes with a sliding disk cover and will be available in black (and white in Japan), due for release September 28 in the UK.

Twenty-year-old Raynaldo Rivera has been arrested by the FBI for his part in various cyber attacks as part of the Lulz Security hacking group. The FBI alleges that Rivera took part in hacking operations against on Sony Pictures in May and June of 2011. They further claim that he worked with Cody Kretsinger, another LulzSec member who pled guilty to hacking charges in April of this year.

Joining PopCap and Funcom (and last week OnLive) workers on the unemployment lines this week are employees of Sony's Studio Liverpool. The studio responsible for the classic Wipeout series and Colony Wars, has been closed as part of Sony's plan to re-focus its resources and energy on other studios. The company said in a statement that SCE Worldwide Studio performs regular reviews of its internal studios. After its latest review of the Liverpool studio, it decided to shut it down.

While Sony has no plans to slash the price of its PS Vita any time soon (we wish they would), a new update might make you want to consider buying one. Beginning August 28, over 100 PS One classic games will be available for download. These games include such hits as Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, and Resident Evil 2.

Fans have been asking for PS One support on PS Vita for quite some time, so Sony's Gamescom conference announcement about compatibility was welcomed news.

Sony claims that it has sold right around 2.2 million PS Vita hand-held systems since its launch as of June 30. In May of this year the company announced that it had managed to move 1.8 million units of the system. Around 400,000 units sold during the months of April, May, and June. Earlier in the month Sony said that it sold about 1.4 million PS Vitas and PlayStation Portables combined during the last quarter, with the PSP accounting for nearly 1 million of the total.

While many would like to see Sony slash the price of its PS Vita hand-held - mostly because it's the same price as a brand new PS3 - the company says that this is unlikely to happen in 2012. Speaking with Eurogamer, Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida says that the company has taken that option off the table for 2012, but it is trying to find new ways to bring value to customers.

Sony is doing all it can this week at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany to breathe new life into its latest hand-held, the PlayStation Vita. Earlier in the week it announced that it would give consumers a free copy of a Vita game when they purchased a select PS3 game, and announced that an upcoming firmware update would make PlayStation Classic games compatible on the hand-held.

At Gamescom in Cologne, Germany today Sony announced a new initiative that will give PS3 players an incentive to buy: free games for the Vita. Dubbed the "Cross Buy initiative," players who buy a PS3 game in this program will get the PS Vita counterpart game for free.

For example, gamers who buy the PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale will get the PlayStation Vita version free. Sony also announced that Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time and Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault will be part of the initiative.

In episode 15 of the Super Podcast Action Committee, Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight talk about Harry Potter games, OUYA's Kickstarter success and pre-order, a dehydrated teen, piracy, free-to-play spending, and Nintendo and Sony's trouble getting third-party developers to love their hand-helds. Download Episode 15 here: SuperPAC Episode 15 (1 Hour, 5 Minutes).

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has teamed up with Birmingham City University (Birmingham, England) to give students in the Gamer Camp program the opportunity to receive scholarships and a job with Sony. This is the second year that Sony has given university game development students access to its PlayStation Academic Scholarships program.

Sony Computer Entertainment will shut down some old servers that provide multiplayer for several PSP and PS3 games, the company announced this morning. SCE will start by shutting down the servers for MotorStorm Pacific Rift for the PlayStation 3, and the PSP titles MotorStorm Arctic Edge and SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 on October 1.

Of course all of these games will still be available for offline play.

Speaking to IGN, Sony Santa Monica Design Manager David Hewitt revealed that God of War: Ascension will not feature violence against women. Hewitt said that the development team listened to some critics who pointed out that the game's E3 trailer was ultra violent.

According to Sony Online Entertainment CEO John Smedley, 70 percent of DC Universe Online players prefer the game on the PlayStation 3. Speaking to GamesIndustry International, Smedley says that his company has proven that free-to-play gaming on Sony's console is a viable market, and one that's supported well. Smedley makes a good point considering that there are more MMO's on the PS3 than there are on any other console and the PS3 is the only console system that has successfully supported the free-to-play model in games like DC Universe Online and Free Realms.

Square Enix’s worldwide technology director Julien Merceron says that Microsoft’s and Sony's insistence on extending the lifecycle of their respective consoles has ultimately hurt the industry. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry International he called this protracted life cycle the "biggest mistake ever made" and claimed that this move has ultimately damaged the overall console market. Those are fighting words.

Sony Computer Entertainment has acquired Dave Perry's cloud-based gaming service Gaikai for an estimated $380 million, the company announced this morning. Before the Electronic Entertainment Expo there were rumors circulating that Sony was going to buy a cloud-based gaming service - or at the very least announce that it was building one of its own. Another rumor last month was that Gaikai was looking for a buyout to the tune of an estimated $500 million. It turns out that all the rumors were true.

You would think that employees in Japan that work for the likes of Nintendo or Sony would make more money than someone who works at Square Enix, but it turns out that the opposite is true. According to Nensyu Lab's top salary chart (as uncovered by Andriasang), Square Enix employees get an average salary of ¥21.68 million ($272,384.40). Sony and Nintendo employees are paid ¥9.23 million ($116,232.40) and ¥9.14 million ($115.099.10), respectively.

If you were hoping that a Sony studio or an outside source was going to pick up the popular Resistance franchise abandoned by Insomniac Games earlier this year then we have some bad news for you: It ain't going to happen. Speaking to Official PlayStation Magazine, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe online producer Daniel Brooke said that there are no upcoming game based on the property currently in the works.

The PlayStation Store for South Korea will be shut down temporarily, according to a report on Kotaku. The digital marketplace for the PSP, PS3, and PS Vita will be shut down due to a new "Shutdown Law" in the country that is meant to keep gamers in the region age 16 or younger from playing games during a six hour block of time every night. The law was already imposed on the PlayStation Network.

According to this Eurogamer report, Sony has bid over a half a million dollars to secure top level web domains related to several of its products. Sony has bid a whopping $550,000 to secure ownership of three web domains: .sony, .xperia and .playstation. On a related note, Apple bid $185,000 for .apple, and Microsoft has bid for 11 different web domain names including .bing, .windows, .skype and .xbox for a total cost of $2.035 million.

Apparently Sony owns a skyscraper in Manhattan, and according to this NY Post story they are looking to unload it for a pretty penny or two... According to the NY Post Sony is in talks with commercial real estate broker Newmark Grubb Knight Frank for the potential sale of the building at 55th and Madison Avenue. 

A Bloomberg report reveals that Sony Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai's salary will be reduced, along with salaries and bonuses of several company directors. According to the report, Sony paid 799 million yen ($10 million) in salaries to 21 executives and directors in the fiscal year that year ended in March.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter believes that Microsoft and Sony may very well cut the price of their respective consoles at some point but are waiting to see what the retail price of the Wii U will be so they can respond accordingly.

"I think both Microsoft and Sony are waiting to see Wii U pricing. If it is over $300, they don't need to cut." Pachter tells C&VG.

Sony is on the fence about having a major presence at the popular European gaming event Gamescom later this year. Sony Computer Entertainment's German communications director Guido Alt told the German arm of GamesIndustry International that a decision has yet to be made on Gamescom and that they are still negotiating terms with the event's organizers.

Sony Computer Entertainment is bullish on PS Vita's future in the current fiscal year, despite its lack of Vita software shown during its E3 press conference this week. The company said this week that it expects to sell ten million units of its newest hand-held system by March 2013 - the end of its current fiscal year. It will do this, it claims, by releasing "blockbuster games" during the holiday season and by strengthening the system's online offerings as well.

Last year Sony was saying that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to let Microsoft get a significant jump on them in the next generation of console hardware with its "Xbox 720" system. This year at E3 in Los Angeles, Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Jack Tretton says that being first isn't as important as being best. He told GameTrailers TV that "the number one goal is to be the best machine." The statement was in response to being asked if Sony's next-generation home console, the PS4, would be released before Microsoft's.

If you have been thinking about buying a PS Vita but were hoping that Sony might slash the price of its newest hand-held like Nintendo did with the 3DS you can forget about it. When asked by Eurogamer about the prospect of a price cut for the PS Vita in the near term, Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida said that it was too soon to do that.

According to this MCV report Sony's upcoming announcement about a partnership with a cloud gaming firm may actually lead to an acquisition. Citing a source close to the situation, MCV reports that the deal is much more involved than anyone knows and that it is close to being finalized. While the report doesn't specifically name any particular companies the prevailing rumors is that one of the leaders in the space - Online or Gaikai are probably the most likely targets.

A new Sony patent will allow the company to pause your gameplay while it serves up advertising. Delightful. In the illustration submitted with the patent, cars are racing against other cars and some louder speakers or warning lights are show. The gameplay pauses and then a soda ad appears. After the ad is served the game resumes.