The Consumer Electronics Association or CEA has decided to award Ken Kutaragi among others with the CE Hall of Fame award. The ceremony is scheduled to take place this coming October in Las Vegas. Alongside the PlayStation father are 11 others who were trailblazers in the electronics industry. Know more after the jump!

Aside from the announcement of Skype on the Sony PlayStation Portable and Bill Gates' final keynote, the Consumer Electronics Show 2008 was big for both consumers and companies alike. Records were set, and a lot of firsts happened this CES. Check out the full article to learn more.

The video game industry has had a pretty good growth spurt over the past few years. However, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has given word that the growth is expected to slow down this year. Apparently, it has something to do with a decrease in the hardware sales as compared to previous years.

Head on over to the full article for more.

Hollywood movie maestro Steven Spielberg has always been known as a staunch Blu-ray supporter since the advent of the format war. It's now surprising to see that some of his old films were seen in the CEATAC Conference in Japan. Jaws, Jurassic Park, and E.T. were spotted on a screen with the text "Look and Sound Perfect" native to HD-DVD titles from Universal Studios.

Spielberg has openly supported Sony's next-generation format, as evidenced by the exemptions of its work from HD-DVD's deal with Dreamworks whom he has worked with. He has also had some brush-offs with the HD-DVD as of late.

Earlier in the year, the HD-DVD Promotions Group apologized for including his films on a "coming soon" ad that they put out for an upcoming title. No legal mortars were fired, but the battle lines were clearly drawn.

So what gives with Universal Japan's seeming claim that the aforementioned Spielberg blockbusters of the past would land on HD-DVD? Did they land some sort of special deal? We wouldn't know for sure at this point, but we'll give you an update as soon as new word is forthcoming.

No less than Microsoft founder and Chairman Bill Gates, Panasonic President Toshihiro Sakamoto and Intel CEO Paul Otellini will keynote the 2008 International CES organized by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) in Las Vegas Nevada on January 7-10 of next year.

This was announced by the CEA as it ushers in the latest that the industry has to offer for people who like to live off the high-end. The show is known as a stage for previews of upcoming products and campaigns of each firm.

Gates is scheduled to kick things off with a pre-show talk discussing the state of the computer world and how his company is pushing it forward. Sakamoto and Otellini are set to do similar speeches as the first day progresses.

Some 2,700 exhibitors will show off their latest gear encompassing some 30 areas which include entertainment, wireless connectivity, audio and gaming. Products such as gaming consoles, TVs, notebook computers and portable audio are just some of the many devices which have been shown off in the past CES gatherings.

Madden is comparable to Halo in terms of popularity, sales, and reception of American gamers to the titles. It's not rocket science to figure out how every new football game (be it Madden, All-Pro, or NCCA) drives console sales. PlayStation experienced much success with the genre, but 1UP believes that things aren't too hot for Sony anymore.

"Xbox 360 versions of Madden NFL 08, All-Pro Football 2K8, and NCAA Football 08 will run at 60 frames per second, whereas the PS3 editions are locked at just 30fps," reports 1UP. Looks like a major disadvantage? Sony doesn't seem bothered.

"We have already proven that sports titles can run on the PlayStation 3 at true HD with 1080p output with NBA 07. If you have questions about specific third-party games, you should speak to those publishers," said Sony CEA's senior director of corporate communications Dave Karakker.

EA replied, supporting both platforms. "We want to make sure that we give the best experience we can on each platform. In designing a game, there are all sorts of tradeoffs that include frame rate, visuals, features, AI, etc," said EA's vice president of marketing sports Todd Sitrin.

He added, "As you can see, every company making a football game this year made a decision that the best experience for the Xbox 360 included 60fps whereas the best experience for the PS3 was 30fps."

That said, it doesn't really seem like Sony is losing because of the framerate. Some say that running at that speed might actually pull out PS3's potential in other areas and dish out unprecedented features aside from graphics alone. 1UP sees it as a disadvantage, pointing at hardware issues and relations between Sony and third-party developers. We'll have to see the end result before accounting anything to that, right?

In life, there are winners and there are losers. But for the CES, ever wondered how they churn out awards? We'll be taking a brief look at how the CEA administers to the "Innovations Design and Engineering Award." Branching out a bit, there are 29 categories to win for this award.

Within these 29 categories, one wins the "Best of" in their category, with 17 to 18 honorees. These 17 to 18 honorees are entitled to use the award for future product endorsements. Think how movie productions use lines like "Academy Award nominee."

To apply for the award, each company submits their best wares, which is in turn scrutinized by a panel of 40 judges. The panel itself consist of a healthy mix of industry journalists, designers, officials and other specialists who make the final call.

Of the 1,000 awards nominees that a CEA spokesman mentions, the Wall Street Journal notes that 380 received some sort of award. Statistically speaking, we're looking at a 40% chance of winning even an "honoree" status, which is still good if the company is after press coverage.

Just consider this additional insight into how current awardees earned their stripes (or was it gold) in the ongoing show. Keep alert for the further awards updates.

We've been hearing a lot on the Bill Gates key notes speech in the ongoing CES event. For now, we'll be hearing some words from the CES organizers themselves. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has just made their predictions for '07, and it sings of their favorite color - green(backs).

With them already pulling in $145 billion in electronics revenue last year, they expect a hearty US$ 155 billion to stream in by this year - a juicy US$ 10 billion boost.

Going into specifics, they expect to see a 23% increase in the videogame market, jacking this year's predicted revenue up to US$ 16 billion. They in turn attribute this to the next-gen console sales that kicked in last year. Given that the year's just warming up for the PS3 and the Wii, with the Xbox 360 already exceeding the 10 million mark, we're hoping that their prediction isn't too far off the mark.

While most are engulfed by the ongoing Consumers Electronic Show, let us take a few steps back for a while and talk about the consumer electronics sale. The two are related with each other anyway. Those which have been raking in money for this year were once part of the show in one way or another.

According to the Consumer Electronics Association or CEA, the consumers spent a total number of US$ 145 billion in electronics for 2006 and it is going nowhere but up this year. The group added that most revenues came from videogames, digital music and flat-screen displays. According to CEA V.P. Todd Thibodeaux, plasma and LCD TV sets and music players will continue to dominate this year:

The TV market is setting all-time revenue records. Traditional CRT-based sets are giving way to flat panel displays. The successful ongoing transition to digital television is driving demand. It continues to ship at large volumes and 2007 will be no different as the market shifts into a replacement mode. Many consumers will be replacing their first-generation players with new players offering video playback capability.

Their findings also showed that the age of standalone devices such as CD players and cassette tape decks is really over. CEA explained that the switch to digital media has benefited the manufacturers very well. The trend started back in 2003, jumping up the total revenues back then to 50%.

Attention all you male chauvinist gamer pigs, pretty soon videogames won't be a man's world. The lady gamers are moving in and the signs are everywhere. A new magazine, play vanilla, just for lady gamers is coming out next year. The Frag Dolls and the PMS, both all female FPS clans are kicking ass with their skills. And why do you think Sony rolled out the Pink PSP and Nintendo their fashion accessories-friendly colored DS?

But the biggest proof that estrogen and testosterone are destined to collide is "Understanding the Female Gamer" - a panel discussion for targeting female gamers and other non-traditional players at the 2007 International CES in Las Vegas. Moderated by Ismini Boinodiris Roby, the panel is made up of notable gaming experts including Mary Margaret Walker and Sheri Graner Ray.

While their names may sound like they're more at home baking cookies and folding the laundry, they are women on forefront of the movement. Roby is co-founder and Chief Editor of WomenGamers.com. Walker is CEO and co-founder of Mary-Margaret.com, a leader in international recruitment services for the interactive entertainment industry, while Ray is a Game Design Consultant and author of "Gender Inclusive Game Design."

These ladies will be joined by Robert Riedl, Executive Producer, Her Interactive, Inc. and Jason Rubinstein, Senior Director of Global Product Marketing, Mobile Devices Business, Motorola, Inc.

This session will focus on a Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) survey which found that women gamers outnumber men gamers in the 25-34 age group. Yes, guys, if you're in that age group you're in the minority. Better get used to the idea of being pwned by the girls every now and then.