Sony

Only 200 prototypes of the Nintendo PlayStation were ever made, and most were destroyed when the partnership fell through. What was believed to be the last remaining prototype in existence sold at auction for $360,000 in 2020, but Julian Domanski discovered that former Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Ken Kutaragi has had one stashed away in a closet, as spotted by Time Extension. Don’t expect it to hit the auction block any time soon.

The Walkman Blog has shared new details and leaked images of Sony’s upcoming WF-C710N earbuds — a follow-up to the budget-friendly Sony WF-C700N earbuds that added ANC when they debuted in 2023.

The new Tick-Tock Shock level arrives today, while the remaining four will launch every Thursday at 9AM ET with new Special Bots to rescue. Astro Bot is also getting an update on PS5 Pros, allowing players “to enjoy an improved version of Astro Bot featuring a constant best resolution while still running at 60 frames per second.”

Sony sold 9.5 million PlayStation 5 consoles worldwide during the final three months of 2024, more than a million up on the previous year, bucking its downward trend. It’s now shipped over 75 million PS5 consoles since launch. Software sales and subscriber numbers are up too, with profits at the gaming division up by 37 percent overall.

Sony is making online multiplayer free from February 13th to the 15th. Existing PS Plus subscribers will also get five extra days for free following a PSN outage that lasted almost an entire day.

Following Sony’s announcement that it was officially ending production of recordable Blu-ray discs this month, Verbatim and I-O Data have pledged ongoing support and a stable supply of recordable optical media in a recent press release spotted by Tom’s Hardware.

Sony sadly wasn’t kidding when it said the original PlayStation, PS2, PS3, and PS4 themes for the PS5 were a limited-time thing. According to the official PlayStation account on X, the themes are being removed tomorrow, January 31st, but will return “in the months ahead.”

According to Bloomberg and user reports, T-Mobile’s list of eligible devices for beta testing Starlink direct-to-cell connections now includes iPhones. While only a few Samsung Galaxy devices were supported at first, now iPhone owners with the most recent update can reportedly connect, as well as some people with Android 15 devices.

As of April 1st, Hideaki Nishino will become the president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, the company behind the PlayStation brand. This comes nearly a year after he and Herman Hulst were appointed co-CEOs of the PlayStation business, splitting responsibilities for leading the platform business and games following the retirement of Jim Ryan.

If you missed it last night, here’s the moment we found out the pricing for both trim levels of Sony / Honda’s Afeela 1 EV: $89,900 for the Afeela 1 Origin and $102,900 for the Afeela 1 Signature.

On deck: updates about how to pre-order Afeela, the electric vehicle Sony is making with Honda.

Shank Mods’ winding tale about rescuing the behemoth Sony PVM-4300 from a recently closed restaurant on the other side of the globe is a delight from start to finish. (And getting the TV is only part of the story.)

Chris Barrett has filed a suit against his former employers alleging they, “deliberately destroyed his reputation” with claims that he was found to have engaged in sexual misconduct. Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that Barrett had been fired in March after an internal investigation. In a post on social media, Barrett denied any wrongdoing. He is seeking $200 million in damages.