Keep On Trucking: The PSP Is Still Japan's Favourite Piece Of Hardware.

It’s another week on top of the Japanese hardware charts for the Playstation Portable this week, despite stiff competition from the various Nintendo DS SKUs (there are about a billion of them). The Playstation 3 sits just below the Wii in third-place, shifting 27,763 units, with the PSPgo and PS2 at the bottom.

Hit the jump for the full round up.

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Degrade That Demo, Yo. You've Been Playing It Too Long.

A patent filed by Sony has revealed that the company may have plans to release some form of degradable demo functionality. It essentially details a taster for a full game, in which elements are taken away depending on how far you’ve progressed or how long you’ve been playing. Those elements can then be restored, should the user decide to purchase the game.

In essence, these demos would allow players to experience complete games before purchase. In comparison, current demos only provide a particular slice depending on what the developer wants you to see.

There are specific examples of this idea over at SiliconEra, including weapon deformation and the removal of tracks from a racing game.

Arc - Augmented Reality Controller?

Perhaps fuelling the fires that Sony’s Playstation Motion Controller will eventually be called the Playstation Arc, Siliconera’s found a Japanese trademark filing for the name. Couple that with a website registration a few weeks ago and you have your name.

It doesn’t really take a genius, eh?

The Playstation Portable Is Still On Top In Japan. Surprise!

This week’s Japanese hardware chart looks vaguely similar to the week before it. The Playstation Portable still tops the charts, with the PSPgo in dead last at the other end of the spectrum. Somewhere in the middle is the Playstation 3, with some Nintendo platforms above it and the XBOX 360 far below it.

Check the numbers after the jump.

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The Torne's Out Next Month In Japan, Yo.

Sony’s trophy-enabled television watching device, the Torne, is due to launch on March 18th in Japan. The device is similar to Europe’s PlayTV, and will cost ¥9980 (roughly £70) on its own, or ¥42,800 (£300) with a 250GB Playstation 3.

If you want trophies for watching TV, better go buy Japan.

The PSP Continues To Dominate Japanese Hardware.

The Playstation Portable once again topped the Japanese hardware charts this month. The handheld shifted over 43k units in Japan this week, beating out its nearest rival, the Wii, by 7k. The PS3 managed 25,450, while the PSPgo lost out to the Playstation 2 at the bottom of the charts.

Full figures after the jump.

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Want More Level 5 On Your Playstation 3? Sounds Like They've Got Your Back.

Level 5’s announced during a speech to potential recruits that the company are working on unannounced Playstation 3 titles.

“We’re currently producing titles for PS3, Wii and so forth,” said CEO, Akihiro Hino. “I believe we’ll soon be able to announce a new console title.”

Level 5 are currently working on White Knight Chronicles 2 with SCEJ, the prequel of which is due out here in Europe in a couple of weeks. Hopefully we’ll get a taste for whatever else they have planned in the coming weeks.