Rockstar is the company behind the blockbuster hit Grand Theft Auto (GTA), among other titles. Sony is promoting the fact that the collaboration with Rockstar will emphasize the PS3's uniqueness. "Rockstar really wanted to make a game that you can truly only do on PS3, harnessing the power of Cell and Blu-ray disc," wrote Sony's Michael Shorrock on the PlayStation blog. This deal will do that, he added.

The companies said they wouldn't talk about the details of the arrangement other than to say it is not referring to upcoming title LA Noire. That Rockstar game is a "next generation crime thriller" developed by the Australia-based studio Team Bondi, and is said to "blend cinema and gaming."

'Take Advantage' of PS3

Online reaction by the PS3 user community was generally positive. "Now this is the kind of stuff we want to hear," said a user called Slick, on the PlayStation blog. Another user going by the moniker of Kamahl even went so far as to proclaim "there's no bad game by Rockstar."

"GTA4 looks amazing," noted Slick, "but I will always be left wondering how it could have been had it [been] made from the ground up to take advantage of the PS3's capabilities."

Exclusive titles that capitalize on the PS3's technology could help the PS3 in its struggle to rise from its third-place position among current-generation game consoles.

According to numbers released recently by The NPD Group, the PS3 sold about 98,000 units in June, a rise of more than 20 percent over May. But the second-place Xbox 360 from Microsoft sold 198,400, which was a 28 percent jump, and top-rated Nintendo's Wii increased 13 percent to 381,000 units.

None in NPD's Top 10

Of the top 10 game titles for all consoles in the NPD report, none were for the PS3. Six were for Nintendo machines (four for the Wii, two for the DS), three were for the Xbox 360, and one, Guitar Hero 2, was for the PlayStation 2.

In fact, according to a new survey released last week by Nielsen, the previous-generation PS2 is the most popular game console in terms of actual game time spent by players. But among current-generation consoles, the Wii has taken over not only the top hardware sales position but also the top position for number of exclusive game titles.

A report released earlier this month by Gaming Target said that there were now more Wii-exclusive games in development than for any other console, a position that the Xbox 360 had held since such tracking began in late 2006. According to the report, the Wii has 113 exclusives, the Xbox 360 has 96, and the PS3 -- before this Rockstar deal -- only 47.