The PlayStation Network will be going offline later today for scheduled maintenance, between 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM PST (that’s 5:00PM – 7:00PM BST). Note that this is around the same time as Sony’s Press Conference at GamesCom. Could Sony be prepping the PlayStation Network for something major? Could it be that Sony is prepping the European Video Store we reported last week? During the downtime, you will not be able to access the PSN or the PlayStation Store.
The first phase of MAG Beta codes are now being sent out. We got an email earlier this morning with our beta code attached (see screenshot below). The MAG beta only runs during certain hours, and funny enough, you can’t play on the weekends. Currently, the playable hours are Mon-Fri, 10:00AM – 1:00PM PDT and 5:00PM – 8:00PM PDT (thats 6:00PM – 9:00PM BST and 1:00AM to 4:00AM BST).
According to a unofficial looking document we received today, Sony has an unannounced PS3 product that is to be revealed during the Sony GamesCom Press Conference tomorrow. The conference which is to be presented by Kaz Hirai and Andrew House, lists 2 PlayStation 3 TOOL consoles and one unannounced PS3 product. The authenticity of the document is questionable since the it mentions the incorrect date of 18/09/2009.
VidZone has managed to score their 3rd exclusive music video. Placebo fans are in for a double treat on Wednesday August 19th, 2009 when two brand new music videos from their #1 album “Battle For The Sun” will be exclusively available in VidZone (even before TV or elsewhere online).
PlayStation 3 stocks in the UK have become pretty scarce over the past few weeks. According to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, there is mounting evidence of a price cut. Speaking in a recent VG247 podcast, Pachter said that Japanese retailers are in a situation similar to the one retailers in the UK are experiencing. The PS3 price cut is widely believed to be made public at GamesCom in Cologne on Tomorrow.
Get ready for some high-end mutliplayer toy car racing action! TikGames and Creat Studios have announced that Smash Cars, a PS3 follow-up to the original PS2 game will finally be heading to PlayStation Network on August 20th. Smash Cars is a tricked-out single and multiplayer online RC toy car racing game featuring real-time physics simulation and vehicle customization.
It was previously mentioned that Sony would be holding a 3 hour press conference at GamesCom next week, but a SCEE representation has cleared some thing up for us. Although three hours are booked for the conference, most of the time will be used for people to sit down. The press conference will actually be “just over a hour.” SCEE also sent out a press release saying that the conference on August 18, 2009, Tuesday, will last from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM CEST (5:30 PM to 7:30PM BST) instead of the 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM time slot they mentioned a while back.
This week on the PlayStation Video Store, check out 2 Months, $2 Million. It’s a new show from G4 that takes you inside the world of competitive high stakes online poker. The show follows the lives and adventures of four young high IQ friends trying to break the bank of the online poker world. You will also find lots of new movies and TV shows to download as usual. As for this week’s top 10 downloads, Dragonball: Evolution moves to 1st place (from 2nd place last week), followed by Miss March, which has dropped to 2nd place. In 3rd place it Obsessed. Check out all the new content listed below.
This week on the PlayStation Store, there are new downloadable games for both Europe and the US, namely Marvel vs Capcom 2, and the US has also received three new PSOne Classics, including Tomb Raider. As for downloadable content, there are new costumes for LittleBigPlanet as well as the History Level Kit, the first DLC pack for Red Faction: Guerrilla, and new tracks for Rock Band. For those of you who can’t get enough of Fat Princess, you can also download some free XMB wallpaper.
This week, the VidZone has been working hard to provide you with new playlists and exclusive content. You can also now find all the new videos added to your region from the Recommended > New Videos menu. VidZone also introduced their own TV show; the pilot episode is available to stream now. You can find exclusive footage and interviews from two of London’s best festivals including words from Pixie Lott, Florence, Mr Hudson, Soul II Soul, N-Dubz, Kid Cudi and more.
