PSN Staying Free, Kids

The more people buy PS3s, the more people sign up to the the PSN. The more people sign up to the PSN, the more it costs Sony to keep the thing running. So will there come a time when Sony start charging you for the use of the PSN? Maybe! You can never rule that kinda thing out. But if they are, they're not doing it soon, with PSN boss (and man of the moment) Eric Lempel saying:

We’re happy with what we’re doing right now and we’re going to stick with it. I think being free is always an advantage. The fact that it’s free is nice for consumers who want to try out the online experience, those who may be new to it and may not be ready to commit to spending dollars, and that’s a really good message for us.

Course, Eric then says that leaves you with money free for game subscriptions (and he doesn't mention Qore), but his basic point remains valid! Free stuff is nice.

INTERVIEW: Sony on PSN’s “Big Leap Forward” [Next-Gen]

Sony Talk A Little Trash Over Microsoft's XBLA De-Listing

PlayStation Network boss Eric Lempel knows what he wants in an online service. He also knows what his competitors offer, and in some cases, what he does not want. Take the Xbox Live Arcade, for example, and Microsoft's recent decision to start de-listing the more unrecognised/shitty games from the service.

While naturally we only want to keep quality titles on the network we do have room for a lot of them. I think if I look over at the competitors’ UI they may have some issues just displaying content, and scrolling up and down lists isn’t the easiest way to find things.

No, it certainly is not. And Microsoft may well be reading these words and sobbing gently into their morning coffees. Then again, they may be doing something about it.

INTERVIEW: Sony on PSN’s “Big Leap Forward” [Next-Gen]

Mega Man 9 Coming For XBLA, PSN As Well

A retro-themed Mega Man 9 is a surprising move by Capcom! You know what's less surprising? The news the game won't just be appearing on Nintendo's WiiWare service. Really, why would Capcom turn down free money? Turns out the game's also destined for the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade as well, making Mega Man 9 the first game (I can think of) to be released across all three current-generation platforms.

Megaman 9 to be the first game to hit Wiiware, XBLA, and PSN [Ars Technica]

Sony: "Live-Like Stuff" In Works For PSN

Those leaked shots of the PS3's upcoming trophy system? Probably just be the start of a wholesale push by Sony to go toe-to-toe with Microsoft in the online space. A "senior PS3 development source" has told VG247 that "there is Live-like stuff coming to PS3, yes. It’s going into titles in the works now". Sounds like more than just trophies to me, and if anything, lends a little more credibility to those rumoured 2.40 features from last night, which looked like they were taking "Live-like stuff" like organising and communicating with your friends a lot more seriously than they have up to now on the PSN.

Source: “There is Live-like stuff coming to PS3″ [VG247]

Planning on a spot of Warhawk with your Warhawk-based pals tomorrow? Might want to hang with your pen pals instead, because Sony has announced that the PlayStation Network will be down for around six hours tomorrow for "scheduled maintenance". It'll be taken down at 8am tommorrow (June 24), Pacific Time, and will hopefully be back by 2pm, during which time you won't be able to play games online or access the PlayStation Store. We're not even going to bother telling you not to expect 2.40 to hit (since when does a firmware update need the whole network taken down?), because we know you'll ignore us and start expecting it anyways.

Scheduled PLAYSTATION®Network Maintenance [PlayStation.com, thanks Justin!]

PSN Cards FINALLY Hitting Stores

PSP, WiiWare, XB Originals Masking The Cracks In Online Offerings?

Next Week On Rock Band: Not The Pixies

Wires were apparently crossed, resulting in mass Rock Band DLC confusion, as The Pixies' Doolittle album will not be appearing on the digital delivery system of your preference next week. That classic full-length will instead be virtually shippin' out the week of June 24. Instead, you'll get the following tracks, each priced at $1.99 USD (160 Microsoft Points) with the exception of Crooked X's song which is only $0.99 (80 Microsoft Points).

• “Afterlife” by Avenged Sevenfold
• “Critical Acclaim” by Avenged Sevenfold
• “Hammerhead” by The Offspring
• “Rock N Roll Dream” by Crooked X

After last week's tardy PlayStation Store blow-out, it would be hard to go anywhere but down in the content department. At least there's a sweet Metal Gear Solid 4 theme! If you a craving a bit more action, perhaps the Enemy Territory: Quake Wars demo will suffice. Hit the jump for the full list, with requisite Guitar Hero III and Rock Band music downloads rounding out a light-on-anything-but-trailers week.

Sony Computer Entertainment Japan has released new media and details on Shiki-Tei, the recently announced PlayStation 3 gardening game coming to consoles via the PlayStation Network. If you aren't up to speed on the SCEJ developed gardening sim, it appears to be Viva Pinata for adults, a Pikmin for the city folk who fantasize about a horticultural utopia devoid of cutesy characters. Yes, chipmunks are cute, but they're not googly-eyed cute.

Shiki-Tei will be available to Japanese gamers later this month when it goes on sale for 1500 yen on the PlayStation Store. The gardening game features both Japanese and Western style gardens, photo sharing, over 150 plants, two dozens animals, and a chance for salarymen and their wives to flex their green thumbs virtually. It may look like an odd addition to the relatively scant PSN line-up, but perhaps Sony is hoping for a slice of the casual set with this off-beat (and quite pretty) title.

Alright, no complaining. We don't wanna hear it. You're getting two brand new downloadable games for the PlayStation 3 this week, plus three potentially good demos, plus a free Guitar Hero III tune from God of War II. Sure, this week's Rock Band tracks may make you wish you could download a half-dozen MP3s of fingernails scraping across chalkboard, but some solid new game trailers should help wash away that Margaritaville film. Oh, I suppose you could also question why you'd want to pay three bucks a month for Qore, but it wouldn't do you any good.

Hit the jump for the full list of new additions to the North American PlayStation Store.

The North American version of the PlayStation Store will get a top down shooter shot in the arm tomorrow, according to the official PlayStation blog. Tiki Games' Novastrike—which looks like it's more Time Pilot '08 than it is Ikaruga—will be the first "self-published" game to hit the PlayStation Store this Thursday. The official PlayStation blog has video of the PlayStation 3 title in action, a clip that will either have you thinking "Another top down shooter?" or "Another top down shooter!" You make the call.

Novastrike Invades PSN This Week [PlayStation.Blog]

Capcom had its full suite of Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network titles on hand at Captivate 08, including Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Plunder, and Bionic Commando: Rearmed as well as two games I was looking forward to getting time with, 1942: Joint Strike and Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3. As a fan of both the 194X series—I started with 1943—and Mercs—Commando passed me by—I was pleasantly surprised to see both pop up on Capcom's release list. Given that we had ample time to play, I spent a respectable time with both.

In fact, I came this close to beating Commando 3 on my third attempt, making it to the final boss solo. While the game supports up to three players at a time, it's not much of a challenge to take down the game's five levels on your own. That's mostly due to potentially too powerful guns, plus copious power ups and screen-clearing attack ammo.

If Commando 3 has a fault, it's that there's not much of a challenge to it, making for occasionally dull play. With familiar Smash TV-style controls and constant flow of bullets (or flamethrowers or rockets), mowing down scores of rebels is easy for any arcade vet.