Sony’s plans in the 3D TV space have been known for a while now, but the company has finally confirmed rumors that the PS3 is going to be tagging along for the ride.

In a presentation accompanying its earnings report today, Sony noted that it would “release 3D games in line with Sony’s 3D strategy” and that “all PS3 units will be firmware upgradeable to 3D”.

In and of themselves, the two lines are fairly benign. But when looked at in conjunction with the company’s larger ambitions, 2010 is getting very, very interesting on the 3D front. Establishing formats to bring 3D into the home and 3D gaming on the PS3 are the company’s top two goals.

We’ll know a little more about timing in January at CES, but it’s a pretty safe bet that Sony will prominently feature at least one AAA 3D game at E3 next year. There’s no faster way to create enthusiast excitement – and begin the rollout of the new sets. 

Full disclosure up front: I’ve got a little history with the Spike VGAs. In 2004, I was a member of the advisory committee, helping the network pick the nominees and winners for several categories.

I quit the board the next year, on ethical concerns, since the network was insisting that judges and advisors nominate and vote on games that weren’t yet released – and no one had been able to play in full.

This was long before gaming journalist Geoff Keighley started working for Spike. The awards are very much on the up and up these days. And they’ve truly becoming must-watch events for gamers.

The 2009 edition looks to be another bump in quality - and buzz. Bungie and Microsoft will give players their first look at “Halo: Reach” this year – and other exclusives will be revealed in the days leading up to Dec. 12, when the show will air live at 8pm.

The nominees (full list after the break) are a solid bunch as well – with “Uncharted 2” leading the pack with eight nominations. Players can vote on their favorites now at the VGA site.

Pandemic Studios has been always been something of a stepchild at EA, so when the company announced plans to cut 1,500 jobs last week the rumors started swirling. Today, they were sadly confirmed.

EA is essentially shuttering the development house – laying off 200 people and shifting the remainder to its Los Angeles studio. The Pandemic Studios brand will continue to be used, however.

Pandemic came on board at the same time as Bioware, after Elevation Partners merged those two companies together in 2005. John Riccitiello, at the time a managing director at the VC firm and currently CEO of EA, ran the holding company – so it was no surprise when EA bought the merged company two years later – though the $860 million price tag did raise some eyebrows. .

They’ve put out some good games – including “Mercenaries,” “Star Wars: Battlefront” and the upcoming “The Saboteur” – but have never had a true blockbuster hit, which probably sealed their fate.

It’s a sad fate for a really talented group of game-makers. 

September saw a brief respite from the bad news, but October brought it in spades for the video game industry.

Sales of video game software dropped 19 percent, compared to a year ago to $573 million. Hardware was even worse, falling 23 percent compared to a year ago to a little shy of $381 million. That was particularly worrying, since all three systems announced price cuts recently.

The news was particularly grim for Sony from a pure numbers standpoint. The company sold just shy of 321,000 PS3 units – a 33 percent decline from September (although it was a 69 percent improvement from 2008).

 Microsofts old just under 250,000 Xbox 360s, while Wii sales spiked to 507,000 units sold. That was better than September, but not enough to match the 2008 numbers – when 803,000 Wiis were sold.

As for games, “Uncharted 2” led the pack – but the real story was “NBA 2K10,” which sold 524,000 copies on the Xbox 360 and PS3 versus a measly 141,000 units for EA’s “NBA Live 10.

The full top 10 is after the jump.

 

When a game can make the launch of “Halo 3” look rather pedestrian, that’s saying something. “Modern Warfare 2” is one of those games.

Activision has released day one revenue of $310 million on sales of 4.7 million copies – IN JUST TWO AREAS. Those numbers only factor in the North American and U.K. markets – granted those are two of the biggest markets for video games, but Central American and rest of Europe are hardly tiny.

Tuesday, meanwhile, was Xbox Live’s busiest day ever, according to Dennis Durkin, chief operating officer of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business – with over 2 million concurrent players.

One more? Over 10,000 stores held midnight openings when the game went on sale. That’s a lot of sleepy clerks. 

The gaming industry’s leading brick and mortar retailer has an intriguing plan to take advantage of the growing digital distribution field.

GameStop COO Paul Raines, speaking at the BMO Capital Markets entertainment conference today, detailed plans for the company to install kiosks in its stores next year, letting people buy digital add-ons for titles as they buy the retail game.

In other words, as you buy a game, you’ll also be able to purchase add-ons for Xbox Live and your PS3 and have them waiting when you get home.

It’s a unique take on digital, but there is a method in what some may see as madness. GameStop plans to leverage the relationship its store clerks have with customers to upsell add-on packs – boosting the bottom line for them, publishers and console manufacturers.

“We believe we can convert a significant portion of our in-store traffic to digital downloads for publishers,” said Raines.

For hardcore gamers, there is an upside here. You’ll be able to use your trade-in credits for add-on content.

GameStop will begin in-store testing the concept in the first quarter of next year.

Oh – and as for full game downloads? The company still isn’t too worried about those.

“We believe a large market for full game downloads is not imminent in the near future,” said Raines.

Tuesday’s launch of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” was already being forecast as the entertainment event of the year, but even that may have been underselling things.

ELSPA reports that first-day sales of the game hit 1.23 million copies in the U.K. That’s roughly twice the number that “Grand Theft Auto IV” posted last April. Ben Schachter, an analyst at Broadpoint AmTech (and one of the brightest guys covering this industry) notes that if that 2:1 ratio is equaled in the U.S., it’s possible the game sold over 7 million units in a single day. That would work out to $420 million in revenue – the biggest one-day haul in the entertainment industry’s history.

Following the math, “MW2” could see first week sales of 11.7 million – which would blow out all of the economic models for the game. (Analysts were looking for sales of 12 million or so copies in the entire fourth quarter.)

Looks like the millions Activision spent on marketing the game during the NBA finals and Sunday Night Football have paid off in spades. 

id Software make shooters. It essentially invented the genre, in fact. So you might not expect the team there to be particularly enthusiastic over the introduction of motion control sensors like Microsoft’s Project Natal and Sony’s motion controller.

Technically, you’d be both right and wrong.

John Carmack, id’s co-founder and game engine wizard, says the upcoming devices mark the beginning of a new era of gameplay.

“I do believe that changes in I/O devices are going to make the biggest changes in gaming experiences going forwards,” he says. “However, most of these I/O devices do not add much value for games that are not explicitly designed for them. It has to be something like the Wii.”

In other words, while he’s a believer in motion control, he doesn’t see a big immediate payoff for Microsoft or Sony.

“I don’t expect much coming from the add-ons to the current generation – but I’ll be very interested to see what’s built into next generation machines,” he says.

As for action games – particularly the first person shooter – he thinks motion controllers will have less of an impact. The devices, he says, can open up new styles and genres of gaming, but will have a harder time altering the way people play certain existing game types.

“Great technology doesn’t help a game that’s not built around that technology,” he says. “FPS games are part of a fairly evolved genre that isn’t going to benefit from these.”

 

Warren Spector wants to be clear: Mickey Mouse wasn’t always as boring as he is today. And it wasn’t a deliberate move to rob the mouse of his mischievous nature. It’s just the way of the cartoon world.

“It happens to every cartoon character,” he says. “They all begin as dangerous, mischievous things, then they start to settle down and become more realistic – and the way they’re drawn becomes more realistic. Eventually, they move into a nice suburban home and get some nephews who are unexplained. Then someone comes along and reminds them that they’re this anarchist thing and the cycle begins again.”

What Mickey had that held that off for a while was Walt Disney. The company founder loved his creation and viewed Mickey as his alter ego. That kept the changes minute enough that Mickey was able to establish a lasting identity.

Spector’s hoping that “Epic Mickey” marks the beginning of a new cycle – a Mickey reboot, if you will. He’s lobbying Disney to use this re-imagined character in arenas other than games, though hasn’t received any commitments on that yet.

“Realistically, all we’re trying to do is make Mickey the game hero he deserves to be,” he says. “In my secret heart of hearts, I would love to see a movie or a comic book - and I plant that seed everywhere I can and see if takes root. But if it never happens, that’s fine.”

id Software might want to brace for some rage over “Rage”.

John Carmack, co-founder and technical wizard of the developer, says the company doesn’t plan to support dedicated servers for the multiplayer component of “Rage,” id’s upcoming new action game.

“It’s not cast in stone yet, but at this point no, we don’t think we will have dedicated servers,” he says.

Infinity Ward made the same decision for “Modern Warfare 2” and has been facing a massive backlash among its fans. The inevitable online petition has gathered over 183,000 signatures and even the developer has acknowledged the backlash.

“Modern Warfare 2” will use a matchmaking setup powered by IWNET for online play. It’s too early to say what Rage will use, but Carmack indicated he believed the servers are something of a remnant of the early days of PC gaming.

That said, he realizes the affinity many PC gamers have for them – and is glad “Rage” won’t be leading the charge away from them.

“The great thing is we won’t have to be a pioneer on that,” he says. “We’ll see how it works out for everyone else.”

Rage, meanwhile, appears to be on track for a 2010 release. But you might want to find a comfortable chair as you wait for the next “Doom” game.

“It’s looking realistic,” says Carmack. “We are on a crunch right now to do presentations for console first party manufacturers, so things are cooking along well for ‘Rage’. ‘Doom 4’ is obviously a bit further out.”