Sony's fake blog, "All I Want for Christmas is a PSP," still lives in infamy. It hit number three on 1UP's list of "top ten WTF moments of '06." "Chock full of painfully awkward slang, the whole thing peaked with a horrendously embarrassing hip-hop video that as much as we'd like to we just can't un-watch." If you missed out on this marketing blunder, check out the links below:

See also:
Flog archived for your pleasure
PSP for porn, pedophiles and Nazis ... according to FOX

[Via Joystiq]

Sales figures and stock prices are important to any fanboy's repertoire. For some reason, there's a strange assumption that higher sales of a system means better games (something that I'd like to disagree with ... RIP Dreamcast). However, considering how we're all invested (mentally) in the industry, it's still fascinating to see how gamer perception reflects upon stocks--and Digital Battle did the research for us.

Sony fanboys know that Sony hasn't done as well as they could've this year, with both the PSP and PS3 launches. Nintendo has been on a roll with the Wii and the DS, and it appears the stock reflects that nicely. However, considering how Sony is a mega-conglomerate corporation, one can't assume the poor performance of the video game devision is to blame for their fiscal stagnation: I'm sure exploding batteries haven't helped them one bit.

[Via digg]

What is PSP Fanboy's Game of the Year? You chose it, by an overwhelming margin:

PSP Fanboy Game of the Year:
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (32% of the votes)
Is there any surprise? Portable Ops is no side-story, spin-off, or card game. This is the real deal, with console-quality presentation to prove it. The surprisingly deep story and incredibly detailed graphics made Portable Ops a great game; but the online multiplayer, recruitment abilities and GPS functionality made this a system-defining game. Portable Ops proves that a handheld game can not only follow in the footsteps of its console brethren, but actually surpass it.

Runners-Up:
Loco Roco (17% of the votes)
You know a game is special when it feels like nothing you've ever played before. The brilliant three-button control scheme, colorful graphics, and charming personality made this one of the year's best.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (15% of the votes)
You can drive, kill, chill, golf, swim, and more in this insanely huge follow-up to last year's Liberty City Stories. The incredible graphics and fantastic presentation values showcase why the PSP is a technical powerhouse.

Andrew's PSP Game of the Year:
Daxter (7% of the votes)
Daxter may not be innovative, but it shows how a PSP game should be made. The silky graphics are made even sweeter by non-existent load times, and controls that make you never, ever beg for a second analog stick.

Every major video game site loves to do an end-of-year "Best of" awards feature (something we'll undoubtedly lash out at you, PSP Fanboy reader). Contrary to popular belief, the PSP has done quite well for itself, and some of the awards its received may surprise you. Here's a run-down of everything I've seen across the Internet:

Gamespot
Best Platformer: Daxter
Daxter beat out three Nintendo DS games, including New Super Mario Bros, thanks to its incredible technology, great personality and fantastic gameplay. "The gorgeous visuals and sound are wrapped in gameplay that is as polished and enjoyable as any full-fledged PlayStation 2 game. While not wholly original, Daxter sacrifices nothing and is simply an all-around amazing game."

Best PSP Game: Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
"Portable Ops not only delivers some of the best presentation quality to date on the PSP, but makes some meaningful, interesting changes to the MGS formula. The resulting game is very well suited to playing on the go and also achieves a better balance of gameplay and storytelling than previous Metal Gear Solid games."

IGN
PSP Game of the Year: Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror
"What's most impressive is the depth of the action -- no second analog stick required! The control scheme enables you to do everything from operate a set of gadgets and diffuse bombs to snipe enemies and sift through different enemy types, all without slowing down the pace of the action."

Games Radar
WTF Award: LocoRoco
Games Radar certainly took a non-traditional approach to awards this year. "We also loved that you couldn't play this game without cracking a smile - the nonsense songs were insanely catchy, the bright colors and curvy shapes were captivating and the overall theme was almost relentlessly happy and fun. By forcing our jaded, stone-like faces to grin once again, LocoRoco earns its Platinum Chalice like few other games on this list."

The "It Doesn't Actually Suck" Award: PSP
Games Radar understands what we've known all the time: PSP is a great system. The plethora of excellent exclusive titles and fantastic PS2 ports has Games Radar and PSP fanboys everywhere asking "this is a bad system?"

Next Generation
23rd Best Game: LocoRoco
In its top 50 list, LocoRoco managed to break into 23rd place. "Eminently cute and weird as a $3 bill, LocoRoco had players controlling a world and tilting it in order for a smiling blobbish thing to collect goodies, get fatter, and eventually roll or drop past a finishing point. It was as if someone's strange drug-induced hallucination had come to life on the PSP, complete with a dandy soundtrack and a punishing difficulty factor."

It appears that more media sources are praising the PSP's surprisingly good year, filled with high-quality games, and maturing media capabilities. UK tech website, The Register, spoke about the PSP's success in 2006. They note that although the PS3 came nowhere close to as successful as they thought, the PSP has been performing quite handidly: "But with the PSP, Sony has outstripped Microsoft and its Xbox considerably."

Of course, while the PSP platform grew in 2006, it's far more exciting to look towards 2007, where the machine may finally tap into its wide capabilities: "To say that Sony PSP sales would sell over half the numbers of the iPod was bold, but it has turned out to be bang on with around 20 million devices now sold since last March when they were launched. During 2007 the PSP will come into its own, we said, and there are big signs that it is doing just that, although it will need the Sony launch of an online film service for the PSP and the promised interaction with the PS3 to make the success spectacular."

This might creep you out. Or not. Back in January, Ed wrote up a list of five predictions he had for the PSP for the year 2006. How many did he get right? You may be surprised. Let's take a look:

PSP Prediction #1: The UMD movie market will collapse. "It will continue to be priced too high and include the bare minimum in terms of value add (we should have predicted this for 2005)... Inventories will rise, prices will plummet and new content being delivered on the format will level off to something more sustainable by the market."
Andrew comments: Ed hit this right on the head. UMDs were never priced the way they should've, and consumers responded. UMD continues Sony's line of producing unsuccessful media formats. Is Blu-Ray next?

PSP Prediction #2: The PSP will take on some very specific colors. "Count on at least two new colors, including a hot-rod red and a camo green, possibly marketed with or around the likes of, oh, let's say Gran Turismo 4 and Metal Gear Solid."
Andrew comments: While the US market continues to be ignored, Sony has released a number of colors in international markets. Scarily, like the camo green PSP... for Metal Gear Solid. However, to think Gran Turismo 4 would ever come out was silly!

PSP Prediction #3: The PSP will allow you to access your PS3 from anywhere. "You'll be able to access PSP content content that is stored on your PS3's HDD (media, game saves, whatever) by accessing it via the PSP over a wifi Internet connection... You won't be streaming PS3 games or anything like that, but who needs memory sticks now?"
Andrew comments: Wow. Great job predicting a feature months before its ever announced. Remote Play support does allow you to access your PS3's hard drive in almost the exact same way Ed mentioned. However, you won't be able to access it "from anywhere" until next year.

PSP Prediction #4: The PSP will get a price drop and then some. "Yeah, this one is a bit of a no-brainer, but we wanted to get at least 1 out of 5 right. The PSP will certainly see a price drop this year (likely sometime in the Fall, but possibly at E3). We expect the drop to be in the $50 dollar range."
Andrew comments: The "no-brainer" proves to be the only prediction to not come true. Sony shed $50 by going Core, but that isn't a price drop, persay. Ed predicted free goodies to be given away with every system, but Sony proves with its Entertainment Pack that it wants you to pay for bad pack-in UMD movies.

PSP Prediction #5: Sony will completely botch PSP advertising in 06.
Andrew comments: Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

How will PSP Fanboy fare with our 2007 predictions? You'll have to come back in a few weeks when we unveil them!

The PSP took a whopping 31 nominations this year in 1UP's annual "1UP Awards." The DS, on the other hand, only received 22. If you're a member of 1UP, now's the chance to rock the vote and show everyone that the PSP really does have an excellent library of games, no matter what Nintendo fanboys may say. Here are some of the categories the PSP is competing in:

Strategy
Metal Gear Acid 2
Field Commander

Shooting
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror
SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 2

Sports
NFL Street 3
NCAA Football 07

Racing
ATV Offroad Fury Pro

Action
LEGO Star Wars II
Mega Man: Powered Up
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
Killzone: Liberation

Adventure
Daxter
Grand theft Auto: Vice City Stories

Fighting
Power Stone Collection
WWE Smackdown vs. Raw
Guilty Gear Judgment
Tekken: Dark Resurrection
Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX

Online
SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 2

Puzzle (the PSP nearly swept this category!)
Lumines II
Every Extend Extra
Mercury Meltdown
Exit
Gunpey
WTF
Lemmings

Simulation
Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception

Most Innovative
Loco Roco
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops

Game of the Year
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops

I don't think I can ever get bored of Metal Slug's super expressive and detailed sprites dying ultra-violent deaths, and this year's Tokyo Game Show kicking off today, Gamespot has uncovered a cache of new screens for us all to drool over.

Now, in case you don't already know, Metal Slug Anthology is a collection of six previous Metal Slug games. It is set to ship Nov. 7, 2006 and will support two-player wireless multi-player.

God, I love this franchise and to think we get six games in one really gets me excited.

(Via Gamespot)