I just received a message from Gaia online today that asked a strange question: “Hi Lucy, What do Neopets, MapleStory and Habbo all have in common?”

Out of curiosity I logged into my Gaia Online account to see what Kate Pietrelli, an account manager for TriplePoint (Gaia’s PR agency), is typing about and, sure enough, along the top of the page is the option to send an instant message my fellow Gaians…

A lot of industry watchers were skeptical when Sony opted for the proprietary Universal Media Disc (UMD) as the PSP’s exclusive media storage format. And, as it later turned out, there doubts were not unfounded as Sony’s choice of format didn’t really go down well with the gamers for various reasons. However, a major factor for UMD’s notoriety was Sony’s inability to provide enough games and media for the PSP. But the company is certainly rectifying its follies by making more content available, and now popular MTV programming will be available on the UMD.