Sony: PSP has 10-year life cycle

Speaking to IGN about the PSP's three-year anniversary, Senior Marketing Manager for the system, John Koller, reconfirmed Sony's 10-year commitment to the platform. Said Koller: "We've talked about the PSP being a 10 year product, but a 10 year product in the continued lifecycle." Citing the different PSP models, Koller said the handheld "will still be a very strong portable gaming device that is centered in gaming and has a lot of multi-functional features."

Before you go scoffing at that time line, remember that the original PlayStation lasted for over a decade, with the ultra-successful PS2 still going strong after eight years. With the PS3 also given a "ten-year life cycle," we suspect that's just the modus operandi for Sony's hardware strategy.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

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GTA IV to allow real-world music downloads with Amazon

Aside from being able to murder innocent people in cold blood, the soundtrack has to be one of the best parts of the Grand Theft Auto experience. Now, you'll be able to take those tracks with you back into the real world without shelling out the bones for boxed soundtrack collections, thanks to a cool new service that will let you mark tracks for download in game.

It works like this: You hear a song you like, you'll call an in-game service called "ZiT" on your mobile phone to mark it. You'll get a text message with the song and artist name, as well as an email if you're a member of the Rockstar Social Club. Said email will contain a direct link to download the song from Amazon's music site for $0.89 to $0.99. What's more, there's no DRM, so you can do whatever you like with them.

[Via Joystiq]

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First Guitar Hero: Aerosmith tracks include 'Draw the Line,' 'Sweet Emotion'

Though we were briefly distracted by mention of some other bands set to feature in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Activision has reminded us that the rhythmography will, in fact, include Aerosmith tunes. Gamespot reports that of the 40-plus songs in the game, 60 percent will be devoted to the increasingly decrepit crooners.

Ah, but age is just a number and fans aren't likely to care when they start pressing plastic in rhythm to these confirmed numbers:

• "Make It"


• "Uncle Salty"


• "Draw the Line"


• "No Surprize"


• "Sweet Emotion"
  

Expect further songs to be revealed at an excruciatingly slow pace as the game's June release walks this way.

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