Its a great year to be a fan of soccer video games. This year looks like we’re getting one of the best annual crops ever with everyone stepping up their game (no pun intended) and giving us something dramatically better than before. One of the titles to keep an eye on this year is Pro Evolution Soccer 2013, also known as PES’13. Lately the FIFA series has been battling them for dominance, but this isn’t the highlander. There can be more than one. Often this sort of game franchise competition can muddy the waters, resulting in several games that seem more or less the same. Not this time. PES is distinct from FIFA in its particular brand of depth.

I've never tried counting to 6.5 million, but assuming it's doable, I would have counted to the number of PlayStation family hardware units that Sony sold during the busy holiday season.  What's really impressive is that the sales figure spans four video game platforms, including the PS2 which somehow still manages to have legs after more than eleven years on the market. 

Here's how it all breaks down:

Sony Computer Entertainment Canada had a big media this fall to show off all the latest and greatest from the PlayStation family, including their upcoming next-gen portable gaming system, the PlayStation Vita.

We all know that Back-to-School time can be a daunting and stressful time, especially when deciding what technology and gadgets to get that school-aged someone in your life.  We've covered a lot of popular Back-to-School topics here already on the Tech Blog, ranging from picking the right smartphone to what specs you'd want in a laptop, but of course we can't forget what's going to be on every teenager and young kid's mind -- new video game hardware.

Have you heard?  PSP games are being remastered for the PlayStation 3, and now the middleware technology that bridges the two platforms has a name: the PSP Engine.  The first PSP game to be ported to the PS3 is going to be Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD, at least in Japan, and when it comes out expect plenty of graphical enhancements.  

After 14 years of development the game Duke Nukem fans have been waiting for is finally playable...well for some people at least.

The electrifying Cole MacGrath saga continues with inFAMOUS 2, the sequel to 2009's blockbuster PS3-exclusive open world adventure developed by Sucker Punch.  To supercharge the experience, Future Shop is giving away an exclusive Downloadable Content bonus for those who pre-order the game in-store.  The bonus DLC unlocks Cole's Light Grenade attack which can be used throughout the gameplay experience. 

In what can be described as massive step forward for Sony's PlayStation Network restoration plans, the company has announced plans to relaunch the online service in Japan and Asian countries and regions including Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand on May 28.

Bioware went home the big winner at last Wednesday's second annual Canadian Videogame Awards which took place in Vancouver's Centre for the Performing Arts.  The Edmonton-based game developer which is wholly owned by game giant Electronics Art took home the much coveted Game of the Year award for their blockbuster follow-up to 2007's Mass Effect.  Bioware also nabbed awards for the Best Console Game, Best Game Design, and Best Writing categories.

PSP owners have something to look forward to. Sony has just announced a new initiative which will allow gamers with Sony's portable console the ability to play PSP titles on their Playstation 3.

Sony is calling it PSP Remastered. The idea will not only see you playing portable games on your home console, but there will also be some enhancements.

I will never forget the thunderous roar from the Playstation community when Sony announced a new Twisted Metal game was headed for the Playstation 3 at last year's E3. It was incredible. In fact the reaction even took Sony reps by surprise as many I have spoken to since admit no one expected the reaction.

For those who are not aware, Twisted Metal is the longest running franchise on the Playstation. More than 16 million copies of the seven different games have been sold in North America alone. So why is the creator David Jaffe so concerned about fan reaction to the upcoming release?

Seems like it's the time of year for financial results and stuff, which means that lots of big companies will be announcing impressive numbers, or if they're not so impressive, spinning them like crazy. Sony have a bit of a mixed bag this year, announcing that the PS3 has now shipped fifty million units and the PlayStation Move eight million, but also (and much more quietly) announcing that the PSP Go is being discontinued.

Sony's on a roll this week, not only announcing a slew of new PS3 games getting the Greatest Hits treatment, but also a reduction in the price of their flagship PSP model. According to the press release, the PSP will be reduced to $129.99 (MSRP) starting February 27, 2011.  That's less than the cost of a Nintendo DSi making it the least expensive major handheld on the market.

We can finally put the rumours to rest! After weeks of rumblings Sony has finally unveiled the follow-up to the PSP (or PSPGo, not that it really caught on).

Dubbed the NGP (Next Generation Portable), Sony's new handheld will have a multi-touch 5" OLED with nearly four times the resolution of the original PSP, dual analog stick, front and rear facing cameras, rear-mounted touchpad, GPS,WiFi (EEE 802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth, and Six-axis motion sensing system (accelerometer, gyroscope, and electric compass). It will also showcase a brand new User Interface.

Ubisoft has hit all the right dance moves with Michael Jackson The Experience, a brand new dancing game that debuted during the holiday season on the Wii (images above and below), Nintendo DS, and PSP.  Across all three versions, the game has sold two million units in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, according to Ubisoft internal estimates.  The company was quick to point out that this figure does not include Japan where Michael Jackson has a huge fan base.  The game is expected to release in Japan later this year.