Playstation

Electronic Arts recalled all copies of the PlayStation version of its "Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour" video game after discovering it included unauthorized material in a normally unused space on the disc. The material, a short cartoon, cannot be seen when played on the Sony PlayStation console but can be seen on a computer. The personal computer version of the game was not affected. Customers who bought the game since Nov. 23 can receive an exchange, the company said.

Sony Corp. said it would lower the suggested retail price of its PlayStation Portable gaming device by $30 to $170 amid intense competition among game console rivals, particularly Nintendo Co. It's the first time Sony has officially lowered the price on the hand-held console since its March 2005 debut. Video game publishers and financial analysts have been urging Sony to slash hardware prices

Sony Corp. said its PlayStation Portable hand-held console will debut in the U.S. on March 24, marking the Tokyo company's entry into an arena dominated thus far by Japanese rival Nintendo Co. Sony plans to sell the PSP for $249, bundled with headphones, a remote control and a copy of Sony Pictures' "Spider-Man 2" movie in a new, proprietary Sony format known as Universal Media Disc -- a small, DVD-like storage medium that can be played only on a PSP.

Ken Kutaragi, the developer of Sony Corp.'s PlayStation game console, stepped aside from day-to-day management of the unit after production delays forced the company to slash shipment targets. Kaz Hirai, head of the U.S. game division, will take over as president of Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony said Thursday. Kutaragi, 56, will become chairman of the unit.

Security software experts identified a malicious program targeting Sony Corp.'s PlayStation Portable systems that is the first so-called Trojan horse found in video game devices. Symantec Corp. said Thursday that the Trojan horse represented a low-level threat, affecting only machines that users have modified with their own code. A Trojan horse is a destructive program that masquerades as a harmless application.

Sony Corp. scouted out an unusual place to advertise its PlayStation Portable before the holidays: the side of an abandoned building in a gritty North Philadelphia neighborhood. The black-on-white graffiti shows wide-eyed cartoon characters riding the PlayStation like a skateboard, licking it like a lollipop or cranking it like a jack-in-the-box. But there's no mention of Sony or the PlayStation brand -- nor any hint the wordless display is an ad.

Let the games begin. Video game enthusiasts are lined up outside stores across Southern California today hoping to buy Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 -- a hotly anticipated machine that kicks off a three-way race for dominance in the $30-billion games business. Demand for PlayStation 3 will far outstrip supply when the console, priced from $499 to $599, goes on sale at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

"Star Wars Starfighter" justifies buying a Sony PlayStation 2. Finally, a game that begins to show off what Sony's hard-to-find 128-bit console can do in terms of graphics, speed and control. Although the game's a pretty standard flight-based shooter, "Starfighter" is the first PS2 title that offers players a truly intense game experience. Yes, yes, the system has hosted a handful of high-quality games such as "Smuggler's Run," "SSX" and "DOA 2 Hardcore."