Microsoft and Sony are still going head to head in the consoles race. Each continue to churn out services and products that aim to outdo the other. Sony, though, is confident that they will hit a homerun soon over Microsoft, especially since the debut of Home is drawing very near.

Do you ever wonder which among the consoles are getting the most attention from the developers, meaning how many developers are actually working on a particular platform? Apparently, Game Developer Magazine wondered precisely about this, and so has published a survey report on the state of the game development. Their findings can be found after the jump.

Now that news of Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Xbox 360) going multiplatform has hit the Internet waves since it's recent E3 announcement, followers of gaming industry news can't help but wonder: how is Sony taking the news? Read SCEA executive Jack Tretton's comment in the full article.

To those of you wondering if Konami's Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will be joining the same cross-platform bandwagon as Final Fantasy 13, the answer is a solid and resounding "no". Jack Tretton, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), mentioned that such a thing would be "impossible" for other consoles to achieve, knowing the game's heavy technical demands. Tretton explains further  right after the jump.

The NPD has finally revealed the final console numbers for the month of March, which revealed that Nintendo once again trounced both of its rivals, Sony and Microsoft. So what do they think about it? Quite surprisingly, both Sony and Microsoft took the numbers well. Read all about it in the full article.

It's no secret that a monopoly on exclusive games such as the Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy franchises is a large selling point for the PlayStation 3. However, EMagLive.com reports some very disconcerting info for Sony if it comes to pass: their sources report that the two heavyweight franchises may go multiplatform.

A source close to Microsoft said that the company was currently in talks with Square Enix to "at least get [Final Fantasy XIII] as a timed multiplatform and at most get the game as a simultaneous release." The talks are largely in favor for Microsoft, pending an agreement on the amount for monetary compensation.

When EMagLive.com contacted Square Enix for a comment, the company maintained a stand that could still go both ways:

At this time, there is nothing announced toward a Cross PlatformFinal Fantasy game, other then Final Fantasy XI (Xbox 360, PC) and The Last Remnant (PS3, Xbox 360). This is not to say it will never happen ... decisions to develop additional games for the XBox 360 will ultimately be made by Square Enix and Microsoft.

While investigating FFXIII, they also found that Microsoft may also be close to acquiring the Metal Gear Solid franchise. Konami made an equally ambiguous comment regarding the franchise making the trip to the 360 console:

[We] have no information concerning the possible release of Metal Gear Solid 4 on the XBox 360 at this point [but] keep an eye on our website for updates [regarding any announcements on a 360 version of the anticipated title].

Microsoft's only comment was a no comment statement: "[We] just can't divulge any details of any deals we have with business partners." SCEA CEO Jack Tretton commented on Sony's stand on exclusivity earlier this summer: "We don't buy exclusivity, we don't fund development. We don't, for lack of a better term, bribe somebody to only do a game on our platform."

This is still all hearsay though. In truth, we may never be able to confirm it for sure until the companies decide to announce it, so all we could do at this point is speculate and wait. Updates as we get them.

On to fifth issue of QuickJump QuickPeek! Positive feedback has been strong and if there's one thing we love to do outside playing videogames, that's got to be making sure you guys are liking your stay here. So amidst the fanboyish shouts of "Avada Kevadra" and "Erecto Wand" (opps, wrong spell) from potter maniacs here at the office, we bring you the round-up of the things that shook the halls of the gaming industry this week.

PlayStation Portable
Welcome to our fifth issue! For this run, we have more news that prove how strong the PSP homebrew scene is. For starters, we have Sony CEO Jack Tretton signifying support for PSP homebrew. For those who missed this report, try pulling those raised eyebrows a little lower first.

OK, this "little" revelation was made on an IGN interview with Sony bigwigs Tretton, senior manager Patrick Seybold, and senior director Dave Karraker. When asked whether they have any plans of giving PSP homebrew some long-deserved love, here's what Mr. Tretton has to say: "We certainly see some of the stuff that has been done via homebrew, and it's incredibly creative. And I think we'd like to try and tap into that a little bit more".

Now ain't that a stunner? Not really. Sony's a company that thrives on creativity, so it's highly likely that they still know how to appreciate creative strokes of genius when they see it. However certain boundaries are part of entrepreneurial realities, so it's only natural for them to be protective of their own product. We'll keep an eye on how this will develop. Meanwhile...

The full issue awaits after the jump!

With Peter Moore's move from Microsoft to EA Sports, people would naturally wonder how other gaming companies would react. Would all things be cool, or would stuff hit the fan? Sony's stand: Good luck, Peter Moore!

Jack Tretton, Sony Computer Entertainment America's (SCEA) top man, gave a statement saying "We wish Peter the best of luck in his new role at Electronic Arts and look forward to working with him." This was made not long after Microsoft's announcement about Moore's resignation. He will be replaced by Don Mattrick as Microsoft's corporate VP for entertainment.

EA Sports titles have enjoyed successful sales on Sony platforms throughout the years, and both companies look forward to continued good relations with each other. With Tretton in high spirits and looking forward to great things, one can't help but be a bit excited as well.

Can the Xbox 360 outperform the PlayStation 3 (PS3) when it comes to Folding@Home? We don't know for certain yet as Microsoft is yet to jump in, so to speak, but Sony Computer Entertainment America's Jack Tretton is questioning Microsoft's motives and mentioned that he'd be very disappointed if they are just seeking out good PR.

Tretton added that if big MS is indeed just trying to create a good image for itself then that is a rather shallow reasoning. And he suggested that MS might be doing this only because Sony is doing it. Tretton explained:

I think to look at it as a marketing platform is something that a company certainly wouldn't want to do. I'm certainly not insinuating that's Microsoft's motivation, but I'm not even sure how relevant it is to what we're doing. Would they be even having this conversation if we weren't doing it? I don't know.

More interestingly, Tretton went on to question as well the processing abilities of the 360 and doubts if it is capable to take part in such project. The official claimed that Stanford University is not even sure if Microsoft will be able to help them in this endeavor. According to Tretton:

I would guess that the medical community would take help from anywhere they could get it, but the commentary that I heard is that Stanford isn't sure that would help them very much. Which is odd to me because if it helped at all, it seems like they would welcome it with open arms.

It should be remembered that earlier this month, Peter Moore suggested that Microsoft is willing to join the project provided that they can "truly believe that they can in some way marshal the resources of a much larger installed base of Xbox 360 owners." In the end, Tretton lamented that he just wished MS is not trying to milk the medical community:

It's really ugly territory to get into, but let's take fighting a disease and see if we can get some credit for that. It's not a cool game to play one way or the other so I don't want to even give the impression that that's our motivation, and I'd be very disappointed if they're looking for PR value or to try to suck off some of the goodwill that we're doing.

Here's the picture that Microsoft execs had to look at during the months leading to the Wii and PS3 launches: a lot of Xbox 360 games are selling like hotcakes. Well, that sounds good, what's the problem? The hardware (the console) didn't quite dominate as much as it should have, despite the early launch. Of course, we're not the ones painting that picture here. We're just relaying it to you guys.

Here's what Frank Gibeau, executive vice president of Electronic Arts says:

Nobody wants to be stuck with the wrong machine. There's a lot of buzz and hype around the PS3 and the Wii coming out. 360 is not hurting from innovation or hardware availability or title availability. It's just hurting from the fact that people are taking a wait and see approach until all three are on the market and then they can choose.

He's not the only executive to say that. Here's what Ubisoft North American president Laurent Detoc had to say: "The software has done really well, but it has not driven hardware as much as people expected."

So if you're a Microsoft exec, what do you do? In order to counter the console launches' fallout that your opponents are gonna be having, you do your best to increase that third-party game title list. You spend and spend, and you try to get people to make games for your glowing white and green box.

Here's when interesting things happened. Sony slipped.

Get the rest of the article after the Jump!