The freezing issues with Grand Theft Auto IV is affecting a limited number of Playstation 3s and there has been a low volume of calls to customer service about the issue, Sony Computer Entertainment of America said today in the first public statement about the apparent problem.

Despite the "limited number" of people effected by the freezing, Sony says they are working with Rockstar to isolate the issue and identify a solution.

Yes, we are aware of what the message boards and a few of the industry blogs are saying about a 'freezing' issue with GTA IV on a limited number of PS3s. Although we have seen an extremely low volume of contacts to our customer service department regarding such an issue, we want to ensure that every consumer has a great experience on our console and with GTA IV. All parties involved are working to isolate the problem for those few units and identify a solution.

Canadian Playstation 3 gamers are getting a price drop on Playstation Network downloadable content by tomorrow due to the strengthening Canadian dollar, Sony Computer Entertainment of America said today.

"We are continually looking for ways to enhance the player experience on the PLAYSTATION®Network, and downloadable content through the PLAYSTATION Store is just one of our areas of focus," said Grace Chen, Senior Manager for the PLAYSTATION Store. “We anticipate that this price adjustment will meet the expectations of our Canadian consumers and provide them with a better PLAYSTATION Network experience."

Sony's long-rumored, rarely officially talked about video download service is coming to PlayStation 3s this summer, according to a report from the LA Times. Hints that Sony would be capitalizing on the Sony Pictures and Sony Home Entertainment library have been tossed about by the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal with Peter Dille—SVP of marketing for SCEA—dropping semi-official word on the unnamed service on the official PlayStation.blog last week.

Details are still incredibly scarce on the movie and television download service that was shown to publishers earlier this year at Destination PlayStation, but Dille teases that Sony will "be offering a video service for PS3 in a way that separates the service from others you've seen or used." The LA Times sources anonymous film execs who say that video downloads could... yes, could be transmitting via PlayStation 3 connections this summer.

Clear some space on your calendars, folks!

Sony to launch online video service for PlayStation 3 [LA Times]

God of War: Chains of Olympus is a stunning and portable prequel to the much touted God of War franchise. Taking place ten years before the original God of War, Kratos is delivered to gamers in a title that can be played on the go. While the story-driven gameplay and over-the-top action of previous God of War games made them nearly instant classics, developers Ready at Dawn had to try and encapsulate all of that screen-filling glory on a 4-inch LCD without losing any of the pizazz.

Ready at Dawn certainly achieved their goals, but they didn't do so without a bit of stumbling.

In addition to announcing a ship date and hardware bundle for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, SCEA today revealed that a beta for the game's online component will happen before the June release. Metal Gear Online, as you may be aware, will be a separate release from the single player experience, but Metal Gear Solid 4 will come with a "starter pack" that will give gamers a taste of what to expect from the full version.

The multiplayer beta test for Metal Gear Online will kick off in April for those who pre-order the game. Run, do not walk, to your local retailer and bring a fiver with you.

SCEA's Playstation 3 Folding@home project, which went live back on March 22, recently topped one million user, meaning that about 3,000 PS3 users have registered for Folding@home a day since the software went live on the console.

"Since partnering with SCEI, we have seen our research capabilities increase by leaps and bounds through the continued participation of Folding@home users," said Vijay Pande, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University and Folding@home project lead. "Now we have over one million PS3 users registered for Folding@home, allowing us to address questions previously considered impossible to tackle computationally, with the goal of finding cures to some of the world's most life-threatening diseases. We are grateful for the extraordinary worldwide participation by PS3 and PC users around the globe."

Thanks to all of those PS3 owners willing to tie their console to the network, and pay the resulting electric bill, PS3 users make up about 74 percent of the total teraflop computing power of the Folding@home project.

Well done Sony, well done. Oh, speaking of well done, Team Kotaku is currently ranked number 106 at folding@home. If you haven't signed up (for Folding@home) and own a PS3, you really should.