News from the virtual world:

Blu Christmas

Its shaping up to be a tough Christmas for anyone who's hoping to find a PlayStation 3 under the tree. Sony Computer Entertainment President Ken Kutaragi delivered the bad news, warning gamers that only half a million consoles will be available when the PS3 goes on sale. About 100,000 of those will be released in Japan Nov. 11; the rest will drop in U.S. stores Nov. 17. The news is worse for gamers in Europe, where the PS3s launch has been delayed until March.

Kutaragi blamed the shortage on a problem in mass-producing a key component of the Blu-ray high-definition DVD player.

"I am so sorry not to be able to answer all the expectations," Kutaragi said in a rare (for him) apologetic note. Sony had planned to deliver 4 million PS3s worldwide by the end of the year, but that number has been cut in half. The company is, however, sticking with its target of shipping 6 million consoles by March 2007.

Broadway bound

The news is sunnier on Nintendo's side of the street. IBM announced that it has begun delivering the microprocessors — code-named "Broadway" — that will power Nintendo's new Wii console.

"The first chips are in our possession," said Genyo Takeda of Nintendo's research and development department, and it appears that production of the console is well under way as it approaches its expected November launch.

IBM also makes the central chip for the Xbox 360, and collaborated with Sony and Toshiba on the PlayStation 3s Cell processor. So if all your game machines crash at the same time, you know whom to blame.

Hard-knock life

Denizens of the virtual world called "Second Life" got a rude dose of reality after the game's proprietor, Linden Lab, discovered a security breach that exposed players' names, addresses and encrypted passwords and payment information.

In the online world of "Second Life," user-created characters design and build virtual objects that they can sell to other residents; the game's currency, Linden dollars, can be exchanged for real money. The quickly growing community — with nearly 300,000 residents — has drawn visits from musicians like Suzanne Vega, politicians like presidential hopeful Mark Warner and now, unfortunately, potential identity thieves.

Linden discovered and repaired the database breach Sept. 6, but said it couldn't determine how much information was exposed — although unencrypted credit card information, which is kept on a separate database, was uncompromised. For now, Linden is requiring players to change their passwords, but the investigation is continuing.

Schafer lite

Developer Tim Schafer's last video game, "Psychonauts," was our choice for the best game of 2005. But its publisher, Majesco, was struggling at the time, and "Psychonauts" really didn't get the attention it deserved. Happily, Schafer — one of the more gleefully twisted minds in the industry — has found a new home for his next creation. Schafer's Double Fine Productions signed a deal with Vivendi Games to publish the as-yet-untitled game under its Sierra Entertainment label.

Sierra's recent efforts include such two-fisted bloodbaths as "F.E.A.R." and the forthcoming "Scarface: The World Is Yours," but some of us geezers fondly remember its goofy adventures of the 1980s, like the "Space Quest" and "Leisure Suit Larry" series.

"The Sierra team has been awesome to work with," Schafer said. "Everyone we've met brings experience from a small developer background, so they know where we're coming from and what we have to do to make a great game."

Old school

We're always happy to hear from our old (and we mean old) friend Grandma Hardcore. Barbara St. Hilaire, 70, of Mantua, Ohio, made a splash last year when her grandson started a blog featuring videos of her cursing out "Prince of Persia." On Grandparents Day, St. Hilaire was crowned "Coolest Grandparent of the Year" after winning a "Brain Age" competition at the Nintendo World store in New York City.

"I'm amazed I won," Grandma Hardcore said in an unusually profanity-free acceptance speech. "I didn't think I was that good."