There’s 
already a ton of critical praise for Journey, the soothing — almost meditative — PSN adventure title. But the latest kudo carries a bit more weight.
Austin Wintory has been nominated for a Grammy for his work on the game’s soundtrack. This marks the first time a video game has been nominated for a Grammy.
Just 
a few short weeks ago, it seemed pretty clear how this holiday season was going to shake out for the video game industry – on a few fronts at least.
The long drought of mediocre titles would be replaced with a steady stream of AAA hits. Nintendo would roll out the first next-generation console system. And Microsoft and Sony would battle the Wii U with the best tool at their disposal: A price cut.
Then came Wednesday’s pre-TGS Sony press conference – and all hell broke loose.
Sony, 
it seems, thinks you’re not a big fan of price cuts. Or at the very least, they think you’re tired of trying to figure out where the real bargains are.
With this week’s unveiling of the Super Slim PlayStation 3, pretty much everyone thought the company would slash prices on the current, uh, “fat” model to help clear space on shelves for the new hardware.
Sony 
is putting its flagship video game system on a crash diet.
Confirming months of speculation, the company unveiled a redesigned PlayStation 3 at its pre-Tokyo Game Show press conference Wednesday.
While 
many were betting Sony would use its pre-Gamescom press conference as the launch pad for a new round of PlayStation 3 price cuts — or even yet another redesigned model of the home console — the electronics giant opted to leave well enough alone for the time being.
That’s not to say the company didn’t have a couple new offers up its sleeve for fans. Though hardware prices weren’t reduced, Sony did unveil a new program dubbed Cross-Buy that will allow purchasers of select PS3 games to receive the Vita version as a free bonus.
It’s 
hard not to be impressed with the Ouya so far.
First unveiled in July, it’s a full-fledged home console system powered by the Android OS. Every Ouya is a developer’s kit, turning every owner into a potential developer for the system. It costs $99, hooks up to your TV, comes with a gamepad, and is the size of a Rubik’s Cube. Pretty compelling stuff.
The 
SCEA boss remains optimistic about consoles, says social and free-to-play are just “an additive diversion”
There are a lot of people looking to bury the PS Vita these days. Sales haven’t exactly been blockbuster and the software lineup to date has been so-so, at best.
Even Sony itself has sent some mixed signals. At its pre-E3 press conference in June, the company promised 60 new Vita games this year – then only showcased three over the next hour-and-a-half. Despite that, Sony is telling investors it expects to sell 10 million units this fiscal year (which ends March 31, 2013), largely on the strength of its holiday lineup (which includes PlayStation All Stars: Battle Royale, Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation and Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified).
The 
length of this console life cycle continues to haunt Sony. The company saw a wider loss in its fiscal first quarter with poor PlayStation sales dragging the numbers down.
The games unit saw a notable decline in sales last quarter (from April 1 to June 30), selling 800,000 fewer hardware units and coming in at an operating loss of $45 million. Software sales were down as well. It was a discouraging performance for the division Sony is hoping will help guide the company out of its financial woes.
While 
everyone and their cousin is waiting eagerly for the PlayStation 4, Sony may still have a few ideas up its sleeve for the PlayStation 3.
A recent filing on the FCC database describes what appears to be a new design for the console — and, at the very least, a prototype has already been built.
Sony’s 
troubles aren’t getting any better.
The electronics giant reported a record loss for the 2011 fiscal year of $5.7 billion. More than half of that loss — $3.2 billion — came in the four quarter.
Chris Morris: Journalist 