PS4 sales are outpacing Xbox One sales in Spain, according to PlayStation Spain and Portugal CEO James Armstrong. Armstrong claims that the PS4 is outselling Xbox One by more than three units to one. The console has sold about 80,000 units in Spain since the European PS4 release date of November 29, he also claims. Armstrong said that the company is working hard to fulfill another 12,000 - 15,000 pre-orders that have yet to be met due to supply constraints.

Sony's security team has uncovered what it is calling "irregular activity" and has reset a number of PlayStation Network and Sony Entertainment Network passwords this week, according to Verge. The extent of this activity was not detailed and it is unclear how many users are being asked to change their passwords. Sony seems to be extra cautious, likely remembering the widespread 2011 PlayStation Network hack that brought the service down for months.

According to "trusted sources" speaking to Eurogamer, game streaming on PlayStation 4 powered by Gaikai will launch in the third quarter of 2014, with a European launch slated for sometime in 2015. Developers have been briefed on Gaikai, the report claims, and some have been asked to participate in a beta for the cloud service said to begin in 2014.

Following a recent password reset in Europe for the PlayStation Network users, Sony has decided to do the same to North American users as a precautionary measure.

The company's European division did the same thing last week after detecting what it called "irregular activity" on the network.

According to CVG Sony is acquiring the rights to Crash Bandicoot from Activision. Crash Bandicoot became the official mascot of the first Sony PlayStation console and was a popular franchise for many years until it was sold as part of a deal with Vivendi.

In a meeting with investors today (as detailed by Bloomberg) Sony CEO Kaz Hirai acknowledged that the company is looking to make $250 million worth of cuts in its entertainment business, but gently rejected a plan by its biggest shareholder to sell off its media business.

Just as Microsoft did last week when Sony launched the PS4, Sony has congratulated Microsoft on its launch of the Xbox One today. Sony's official PlayStation Twitter account offered the following congratulatory message to Microsoft and its Xbox team:

"Congrats, @Xbox @Microsoft! #NextGeneration #GreatnessAwaits"

Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida also sent a congratulatory tweet to Microsoft's Phil Spencer, Phil Harrison, Major Nelson and Albert Penello:

Are big publishers finally turning a corner on trying to tame the used games market? If you believe some Sony and Electronic Arts executives this week, it sounds like they are finally acknowledging that the used games market is an important part of the video games ecosystem. Yesterday Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House told Game Informer that used games sales generally go back into buying new games.

As the PlayStation 4 hit North America some consumers took their shiny new next-generation home and realized that it didn't work very well. On Friday Sony said that it was looking into an issue some customers were experiencing with the PS4, and today they have put together a page dedicated to working out the problem. What was the problem? Some customers in North America were reporting that the console was giving them a blue blinking light. A blue blinking light was replacing the white solid light, which means that the console is in the "powered on" state.

Whoever wins the first round of this new console cycle war, individuals at Microsoft are showing that they can be cordial and decent. Today via its official Xbox Twitter account Microsoft offered Sony congratulations on lunching its PlayStation 4 console. Several Microsoft executives involved with the Xbox One also extended their own personal messages congratulating Sony.

Kicking off a series of successive nut punches to Microsoft, Sony announced during its E3 press conference that the Playstation 4 will feature no new restrictions on used games.

Ah but the Playstation Network Terms of service clearly state that you can not resell disc-based software "unless expressly authorized" by Sony.

Wait, so can we or can't we?

Both a Sony rep and Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida have clarified that we will be able to resell our PS4 games.

Sony is reiterating what it said during E3 earlier this year: users can sell their used games without too much trouble. The clarification comes on the heels of an update to the company's Sony Entertainment Network terms of service. Besides saying that it reserves the right to monitor PlayStation Network users' actions and share it with authorities as it sees fit, the updated agreement also states that games are services and cannot be resold.

The update to clause 7 reads:

Sony has donated 15 million yen towards relief efforts in the Philippines. The country was hit by Typhoon Haiyan last Friday, which killed an estimated 10,000 people and has left millions affected in some way. Sony Philippines has also donated 400 emergency radios to help communities devastated by the storm.

Sony issued the following statement this morning about the donations:

CVG has unearthed an interesting part of the PlayStation Network's Software Usage Terms that the company reserves the right to conduct surveillance on certain activity on PSN including text or voice communication, or user-generated media (UGM) where they feel it's necessary.

Sony announced today that its current-generation PlayStation 3 has sold through over 80 million units worldwide since it launched in Nov. of 2006. Sony also said that 4,332 games have been released for the system in the last seven years and that the number does not include downloadable titles. Despite the PlayStation 4 launching on Nov. 15, Sony says that it expects an additional 300 titles to be released for PS3 during the holiday season.

While Red Bull is the number one brand on YouTube (mostly because it sponsors so many interesting sporting and gaming events worldwide), "PlayStation" is also pretty popular, according to data collected by Statista and Mashable.

Sony reported a net loss of $197 million, or ¥19.3 billion in the second quarter of its current fiscal year. Despite a boost in revenue from positive currency exchange rates and decent smartphone sales, the company saw a 24.5 increase in net losses. As a result, the company has lowered net revenue expectations by about 40 percent to ¥30 billion, or $305 million, due to what it calls lowered expectations for sales of "certain electronic products."

Are you looking to secure a PS4 or Xbox One in time for Christmas?

Well, according to a PR email we just received, Walmart is currently "the only retailer taking online pre-orders for PS4 and XBOX One Standard with a guaranteed ship to customers on December 16."

Microsoft's Xbox One won't be the only next-generations system that will need to apply a launch-day patch before it can be used. Sony confirmed that the PlayStation 4 will need to have a firmware update applied before consumers can have access to some features.

Several reports have surfaced today (originating from a Kotaku report) that Sony has supposedly been pressuring certain publications to pull down reports about a debug mode in Beyond: Two Souls that allows access to alternate camera angles, including one for the game's shower scene. From that angle, users can supposedly see a detailed nude version of the game's main character, who was based on Ellen Page.

Sony announced that, beginning today, it is rolling out PS4 demo kiosks at its retail stores throughout North America. Gamers interested in trying out a few games on the new console can do so at select Sony Stores nationwide. The kiosks will be rolled out to other retailers such as GameStop, Best Buy, Target, and Wal-Mart in the coming weeks.

Games available on the PS4 demo units include Knack, Octodad: Dadliest Catch, FIFA 14, Contrast, Super Motherload, and Pinball Arcade.

The PS4 launches on November 15 in North America, with a November 29 release in Europe to follow.

Taiwanese electronics manufacturing company Foxconn is back in the news over claims that it is using forced labor in one of its China-based plants to build the PlayStation 4 for Sony.

Sony has joined in on helping to promote the Extra Life charity by offering some much needed real estate to promote it on PlayStation Network. In a blog post this morning, the folks at Extra Life announced that Sony is helping to promote the charity to the 78 million PlayStation 3 owners around the world and to help them find a local Children's Miracle Network Hospital to support.

Sony has released a new firmware update for the PlayStation 3 that adds a number of new features that used to be exclusive only to (paying) PlayStation Plus customers. The new firmware update, 4.50, should be waiting for you the next time you turn on your PS3. New features include auto download features for system updates and game purchases; new privacy settings for your trophies (allows you to hide them if you want); and improved data transfers that make moving content to and from your PS3 and PSP and Vita systems a lot easier.

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced today that it will honor Sony president Kazuo "Kaz" Hirai as this year's Champion Honoree at its annual charity gala event and dinner, Nite to Unite. Hirai has had a profound impact on Sony, playing a key role in shaping Sony’s vision for the PlayStation video game consoles and the company's handheld devices, as well as the PlayStation Network. Past Champion Honorees include Blizzard Entertainment's Mike Morhaime and Valve Software's Gabe Newell.

Sony has confirmed that the European release of Quantic Dream's Beyond: Two Souls has been censored. Sony says that around 5-10 seconds of footage has been edited in the European release so that the game could get a PEGI 16 rating. Sony did not say just what exactly censors in Europe found so offensive as to have it altered to avoid a higher rating, but one would guess it relates to gratuitously violent scenes. As a general rule, having wanton violence in a game is a good way to get a PEGI 18 rating under the European ratings system...

In a recent interview with Dengeki Online, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida said that the company's ultimate goal with its Gaikai streaming technology is to deliver PlayStation games to "all devices." He claims that the technology could be used to one day to stream PlayStation games to a variety of non-Sony devices like PCs, tablets, and smartphones.

Apparently Sony Computer Entertainment was a bit surprised that Westerners (Europe, North America and regions outside Asia) were fascinated and interested in its micro-console, the PS Vita TV. Speaking with Eurogamer today at the Tokyo Game Show, Sony Japan exec Masayasu Ito said that the response had been "strong... more than we expected."

As part of its Tokyo Game Show press conference today Sony Computer Entertainment revealed that it will be launching the Gaikai cloud-streaming service in North America next year. The service will launch with a specific selection of PlayStation 3 games, playable on the PS4, PlayStation Vita TV, and PS Vita. The announcement was made by Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida, who compared the streaming games service to Netflix.

Sony's micro-console will not be available outside of Asia right away, according to a report on Techon (as unearthed by PS3Trophies). Speaking at a round-table press event on Sept. 10, Sony Computer Entertainment President and CEO Andrew House said that the PS Vita will be released only in Asia, starting with Japan - at launch.