The PlayStation Network will be taken offline on Tuesday, April 21 for some essential maintenance according to Community Team Leader MusterBuster over at the Official EU PlayStation Forums. The maintenance will begin at 7:00 AM (GMT +1) during which time the entire network will be unavailable. The maintenance time frame was not mentioned so it could take several hours before the network is back online.
This week’s PlayStation Store update is in and there is a whole load of new game add-on content available to purchase and download. There are two new downloadable games on the European PlayStation Store, and both stores have some new wallpaper and XMB themes available for download. New game add-on content includes LittleBigPlanet costumes, Rock Band and Guitar Hero tracks, Roster updates for Smackdown vs RAW ’09 and add-ons for Valkyria Chronicles. Check out the complete list below.
Killzone 2 downloadable content was announced a few weeks back but we though we would wait until now to give you the details. The downloadable pack “Steel and Titanium” will be available at the end of this month but the price has yet to be confirmed – it will not be available for free. The pack will contain two brand new multiplayer maps with new gameplay elements and strategic twists. The two new maps are “Wasteland Bullet” and “Vekta Cruiser”. See below for more details on the two new maps.
A huge update to the playstation store this week. Both the US and European stores have several new downloadable games available to purchase include FLOCK and Rag Doll Kung Fu. Both stores also have two new playable demos each. There is also new game add-on content for LittleBigPlanet, Guitar Hero, Rock Band and more. As always you will also find a selection of new videos and trailers too. Check out the complete list below.
A fast-paced combat game with an imaginative look and feel, Ragdoll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic focuses on fun with exaggerated ragdoll physics action and charming High Definition (HD) visual effects.
In tomorrow’s PlayStation Home update, The Godfather II game space will be launched in the US. The game space will feature a Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Table. To celebrate the launch of this new space, Electronic Arts is holding a virtual Celebrity Poker Tournament on Thursday night (8:00PM EST, 5:00PM PT). All you have to do is thread up your avatar to look like celebrity and head on up the tables for a game.
In other Home-related news, Capcom is updating their Resident Evil 5 Game Space with a new mini-game and some new costumes in the souvenir shop. They’re also going to host some co-op RE5 matches through Home next week – make sure to login on Thursday, April 16, from 6 to 10PM EST or 3 to 7PM PT.
As of April 17th 2009, Europe will have its own dedicated PlayStation Blog, similar to the US version. Gamers in Europe have been requesting a dedicated blog for the European market ever since the US PlayStation Blog went live, and finally our prayers have been answered. The current semi-official blog for Europe, ThreeSpeech, will be shutting down as a result but the team will continue to blog on the new European PlayStation Blog. ThreeSpeech will be posting a further update within the next few days.
ThreeSpeech Statement:
"It’s your feedback, comments and suggestions that have made this possible, so you should all be very proud! Obviously both Three Speech and SCE UK are very grateful to everyone who has made this site so busy and lively over the past two and half years. Your input has really helped PlayStation to grow, and the new blog will be a further way for you to contribute ideas. It’s been good fun meeting all of you and we’re looking forward to seeing you on the EU blog!"
[Via: ThreeSpeech]
A patch for the
European digital TV add-on, PlayTV, has now been released bringing it
to version 1.10. The patch was announced a few days ago and is now finally available to download. You can update your version by launching PlayTV and selecting the Software Update option from the main menu. The new patch automatically upscales Standard Definition (SD) broadcasts to High Definition (HD). A few sound enhancement have been made too, such as volume control with
the official PS3 Blu-Ray remote and audio normalisation (similar to the
feature added to music playback in firmware 2.70).
You can now also jump directly into TV mode from the XMB, so you don’t
need the hassle of going through the PlayTV menus beforehand. In terms
of playback, other than the sound changes, the only other change is
slightly better rewind and fastforword handling, with new speeds added.
This action-brawler acts as the prequel to the story in the Watchmen graphic novels and movie. Taking place in an alternate history of the 1980s, the game stars the two masked vigilantes Rorschach and Nite Owl, and features a co-operative mode so that players can team up to beat down the bad guys.
It’s the first PlayStation Store update of April and it’s somewhat disappointing. There are no new playable demos on either store but the US Store does have a new downloadable game as well as the Killzone 2 4-D version. New add-on content is available for various games, including (but not limited to) PAIN, Command and Conquer, Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Qore Episode 11 is available to download for free from the US PlayStation Store. Check out the complete list of new content for both stores below.
European Additions:
US Additions:
