PS3 firmware 2.01 is now available via Network Update. This minor update will fix a few glitches noted in the big 2.00 release. Hopefully, those that have reported game freezing, and other performance issues, will be able to sigh a breath of relief.

[Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]

On the eve of the PlayStation 3's first birthday, the entire team was huddled inside PS Fanboy Headquarters, located deep inside a cavernous mountain off the coast of Bangladesh. There, we were visited by a celestial being who spoke only one immensely insightful sentence: "There is perhaps no greater litmus test for measuring success than to look back at one's past accomplishments."

At first, we weren't quite sure what our ethereal host wanted us to do with this incredibly important message. After hours upon hours of internal discussion, we made no headway into uncovering what we believe is certainly the key to finding the meaning of life.

With nothing else to do, we began talking about our undying love for the PlayStation 3, but the PS2 and PS1 kept creeping into the conversation until we started to compare the three systems. And now that the PlayStation 3 has just turned a year old, what better time to look back at how it stacks up against the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation than the present?

So sit down, grab a hot cup of cocoa and be prepared to be wowed, because some of our findings may surprise you.

We love Fox News, if only because they offer such a unique perspective on things. Here's their reporting -- you decide on how hilarious it is. You may have read about one man's crusade to get his PS3 replaced ... but it was "too dusty" to be repaired. Sony is supposedly refusing to repair his machine due to "neglect." (Here's a picture of the system in question.)

It's fascinating to see the mainstream media pick up on this "story." With so much attention being placed on one man's defective machine, it seems wise for Sony to simply hush him with a replacement system, even if its unwarranted.

Do you want it? Let me hear it! Ladies and gentleman, we're celebrating the one year anniversary of the PS3 by giving away a free system. Yes, you heard right: a free system. Join the PS3 Fanboy ranks by nabbing this 80GB system, which includes Motorstorm and a bonus copy of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune simply by commenting on this page.

To enter, shout out "Happy Birthday PS3" in a language of your choice. The comment must be left before November 23rd, 5PM EST. You may enter only once. One (1) winner will be selected in a random drawing. Winners will receive an 80GB PS3 with Motorstorm and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (ARV $600). Click here for complete Official Rules. You must be a US resident, age 18 or older to enter.

Once again, thanks to everyone that's been reading us for the past year. We're growing as a community, and we have to thank all of you for that. Good luck! Also, don't forget to check out our other anniversary features:

• The games press looks at PS3's first year
• Fanswag: Win an incredible Uncharted prize pack
• PS3 Fanboy review: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
  
• SCEA's Kim Nguyen looks at the PS3's first year
• One year ago: a look at PS3's violent launch

In a large interview with Sega's Noah Musler, we get a lot of insight into the world of Sega and how they're doing lately. See, we've got a secret crush on Sega, but don't tell Sony. Sega was always sort of an unlucky console that still managed to pave the way for some of our favorite games and many of our ... not favorite. So we still like to hear what Sega thinks about the console war or race or whatever you kids are calling it these days!

Noah said that the PS3 still needs "a little bit of time to grow. But all of our projections... I think that most analysts would agree that PS3 is going to catch up to the 360, if not surpass it, as more and more big titles come out." Big titles on the scale of Uncharted, we hope. It's a small quote in a big interview, but it's nice to know that a huge ex-console maker like Sega believes in Sony even after it cruelly trampled all its Dreams. Get it? It was almost clever.

Uncharted has only been out for a little while, but already there is a semi-funny, semi-disturbing video of the game in action on YouTube. 28030MOR has crafted a rather strange video of Drake's random dance moves from the game. What sells the video is the crazy music: El Chombo - Chacarron. With this in mind, will you make your Nathan Drake bust a move?

Sony has announced today that it will be incorporating new tools into PlayStation 3 development kits. Without going into too many techy detail, these tools from SN Systems will help developers produce games for the system more efficiently. Not only that, but Sony has also dramatically cut the price of the development kit by almost 50% to $10,250 in the US and €7500 in Europe.

This can only be a good thing that will lead to more developers working on the PlayStation 3 platform. We look forward to seeing that happen.

The PS3's first year has come to a close, and we wanted to ask our friends at various gaming outlets to tell us what they thought about Sony's debut performance in this new gaming generation. Obviously, the company has received a lot of flak, but can they turn it around? Read on in this PS3 Fanboy exclusive:

Siliconera
Sony took a step in the right direction by slashing the price of the Playstation 3 and introducing the 40 GB model. Sure, it doesn't play Playstation 2 games, but the cheaper model will get the PS3 into more homes and that makes it a more viable console for third party developers. Yes, the Playstation 3 needs more games, but more importantly it needs a unique experience that is only on the PS3. Easier said than done right? Perhaps, developers can look at the Playstation 3's underutilized features for inspiration like remote play, the MMC slot for importing media and the Playstation 3's internal web browser. I'm imagining an alternate reality hacking/detective game where players surf websites, carry their PSPs to get data from sham networks around the world and then create their own mysteries with the help of the MMC reader.
-- Spencer Yip


GameTrailers
Sony's sheer dominance in the prior generation of consoles seemed to pave the way for a clear run at the crown in this generation of gaming, but by not offering the complete online experience or game play innovations delivered by its prime competitors, Sony has taken a significant hit in the current console war. A revamped online presence, key PS3 exclusives and a clear approach to the system as game machine and not just an media centerpiece for high-income families will be essential for Sony to return to it's once dominant position of prominence.
-- Daniel Kayser

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is in stores today, and we're giving you a chance to win this incredible prize package, featuring a very limited edition piece of framed concept art, a replica ring from the game, a thermos, t-shirt ... oh, and a copy of the game as well.

To enter, tell us what your favorite Indiana Jones movie was. The comment must be left before November 21st, 5PM EST. You may enter only once. One (1) winner will be selected in a random drawing. Winners will receive an Uncharted prize pack (ARV $150). Click here for complete Official Rules. You must be a US resident, age 18 or older to enter.

Usually, I open my reviews with one or two vague paragraphs about the game, but this time I'm not going to beat around the bush. Uncharted is the best PS3 game, nay, one of the best games, I've ever played. If that's enough for you to get off your bum and go buy the game, fine, get going! If not, you can read this review to see if you fall off of that purchasing fence you're perched on. Even though I found the game amazing in almost every sense, I'm still going to approach the review as objectively as possible.

Uncharted follows the tale of Nathan Drake on his search for the Golden Man, "El Dorado". As a descendant of Sir Francis Drake, he has an edge on finding the treasure that his ancestor apparently knew the whereabouts of. It's a tale that could only be weaved by masters of film, but it transfers into the world of next-gen gaming perfectly. In fact, I'd much rather watch/play this game than ever see another Indiana Jones film. Well ... maybe, those are classics. But it's definitely preferred over the new fourth Indy movie coming out at some point. If Uncharted could get described as an amalgamation, it would go like this: One part Gears of War, one part Orgasmic, a dose of Prince of Persia, a dash of Resident Evil 4, and a plethora of storytelling akin to Indiana Jones.

Happy Birthday PS3! One year down, nine more to go. Sony's first year in the new video game generation has been a rough one. But, what does Sony have to say about it? We chatted with SCEA's Kim Nguyen, Marketing Manager of the PS3, to find out more.

PS3 has struggled quite a bit during its first year of release. Why do you think the games media has bashed the PS3 so much?
Looking back on year one, we're proud at how far the PS3 has come and are sure that the future will only be brighter. There were some bumps in the road but that's to be expected during the first year of a platform's lifecycle. Regardless, we are very confident in the future of PS3 given our new hardware and pricing, along with the strong line up of upcoming software titles that will place PS3 in a very strong position this holiday and for years to come.

What has Sony done to turn things around?
We recently launched new PS3 hardware and pricing and are already seeing strong sales momentum at retail--PS3 sales have increased by 192% over the past 2 weeks at major retailers in North America . We have more than 160 games coming to the platform including 19 exclusives. We also recently launched a new ad campaign, our biggest marketing effort to date, that conveys the overall benefits of PS3 including Blu-ray and PLAYSTATION Network. Again we feel PS3 is in a very strong position this holiday and for years to come.

What better way to look at our one year retrospective than to go all the way back to launch? The PS3 launch was a nightmare. With supplies in incredibly short stock, people went a bit crazy trying to secure one. People were shot, and as seen in this video, people were probably trampled too. Of course, once people actually secured a system, they immediately sent it to eBay, trying to mark it up to ridiculous $1000+ levels (one auction went for over $10,000!). To think, a year afterwards, the system is still in third place in the next-gen console wars and is now available for $399. A lot has changed over the past twelve months, and we're certain that the next twelve will feature even more drama and turmoil.

We're not entirely sure, but we think there are a few other Blu-ray movie releases this week that don't have "Die Hard" somewhere in their title. Seriously, this is like the greatest day ever for die-hard fans of Die Hard. (See what we did there?)

• Live Free or Die Hard
• The Die Hard Collection
• Hairspray
• The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
• David Gilmour: Remember That Night
• Badder Santa: Unrated
• Die Hard
  
• Die Hard with a Vengeance
• Die Hard 2: Die Harder
  
• Pathfinder: Unrated

Even if you're somehow not a fan of John McClane, there's not really much left over unless you like to see a foul-mouthed Santa, John Travolta in drag or even more exploitation of the poor, unfortunate Native Americans. Yippie ki-yay!

So, this weekend marks the advent of the PlayStation 3's birth and like most children, it experienced what can only be called Growing Pains. It gets into hilarious situations in which Kirk Cameron and Alan Thicke must reconcile their differences and ... oh, wrong scenario. Anyway, the Poll Police are charging you with assessing the progress of the Sony brand and the PlayStation 3 over the past year. What did you think? What will happen from now on? The future is unknown, until it, well, becomes the present. So: will the PS3's first year be remembered as the worst, or does it mark itself as the high point in its life cycle?

Will the PS3's first year be the worst, the best, or meh?
	It was a rough start, so this was the worst year.
	It had a slow start, but it went okay.
	I'd say the PS3 did pretty well in its first year.
	Are you kidding? This year can't be beat!
pollcode.com free polls

That's that, then. Last week's poll was interesting, because we focused on a single demo to see how the world was receiving Sony's latest title in Naughty Dog's Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. How did it fare? Well, you'll have to take the jump to find out.

Sony has added a few more commercials to its revamped PS3 marketing campaign, and this time it's all about third party games. Exclusives, like Time Crisis 4, Haze and Metal Gear Solid 4 play through the now-definitive music. It's exciting, and makes you really think the PS3 has a lot to offer. Keep up the good ads, SCEA.

[Thanks, mike!]