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PSN going offline for maintenance October 13
Do you have next Monday, October 13 off work? Are you planning ahead to call in sick for school that day? Do you have that date circled on your calendar with the note "gaming marathon" written on it? If you answered "yes" to any of those questions, be aware that Sony has PlayStation Network maintenance scheduled for that day. The routine maintenance is planned to begin at 1:00 p.m. EST (10:00 a.m. PST) and will last until 8:00 p.m. EST (5:00 p.m. PST). PlayStation's support team noted that those that log in to PSN at any point from yesterday on will retain online play and app access during the maintenance period. However, the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Home and account management services will not be available during that time. [Image: Sony]
Mega Man X4, X5 zero in on PlayStations next month
Two of the PlayStation-era Mega Man X platformers are blasting their way onto PS3 and Vita in the next couple of weeks. The first mighty number to land is X4, which hits PSN in North America on September 2. X5 follows a week later on September 9. Capcom didn't announce prices, but hopefully the games won't cost a pretty zenny. Mega Man X4 was the first of the series to ditch the SNES and take full advantage of the 32-bit Sega Saturn and PlayStation. Apart from PC versions from around the turn of the millennium and a mobile phone port in Japan, Capcom hasn't put out either game as a standalone on other systems until now (they did appear in the PS2 and GameCube Mega Man X Collection). Does this mean Mega Man X6-8 could be on the way too?
PSN Store Update: El Diablo
Video games! They've been hibernating through the summer, but this week's PlayStation Store update brings plenty of the blighters onto PS4, PS3 and Vita. Let's start with the biggie, Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition, which brings Reaper of Souls to the action-RPG on PS3 ($40) and debuts the game itself on PS4 ($60). It's also out on Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The two other cross-platform releases are Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, which'll eat up 40 of your greenbacks on PS4 and 30 on PS3, and the stealthy CounterSpy, a $15 cross-buy purchase that unlocks the game ons PS4, PS3 and Vita. PS4 players also have a choice between the hyperviolent $10 Hotline Miami - also cross-buy - the somewhat less violent The Last Tinker: City of Colors ($20) and the retro Arcade Archives Rygar ($8).
Don't Starve: Reign of Giants just eats it on PS4 next week
The Don't Starve: Reign of Giants expansion stomps all over the PS4 next week, starting July 22 in North America and July 23 in Europe. The single-player DLC is priced $5 on PSN, while PS Plus members get to feast on a 10 percent discount at launch. PC players have been getting familiar with Reign of Giants over the last few months, while Vita owners can look forward to it as part of the upcoming port. Besides the eponymous giants, the content includes new characters, seasons and biomes to explore, as well as an extra save slot. If you fancy a quick walk among giants, you should watch the replay of our Reign of Giants livestream with Klei's Seth Rosen.
PlayStation Store Flash Sale offers up 99-cent deals
Surprise sales are always nice, especially when you've got a weekend to spend with whatever you pick up from them. The PlayStation Blog has detailed the PlayStation Store's latest Flash Sale, which offers a range of PSOne and digital-only titles at an impulse-friendly 99 cent pricepoint. Highlights from recent times include Papo & Yo, Machinarium, Double Dragon Neon and separately-offered PS3 and Vita versions of Thomas Was Alone. There's some love for the original PlayStation's library as well, with Dino Crisis 1 and 2, Legend of Dragoon, Harvest Moon: Back to Nature, Wild Arms 1 and 2 and the Syphon Filter trilogy up for grabs. You could always re-fuel some of your long-standing arcade rivalries with Virtual Fighter 2, too. If you're a shrewd shopper no matter how low a price is, you've got plenty of time to decide – the Flash Sale runs until 3 p.m. EST on July 14. [Image: Sony]
PSN Tuesday: Ultimate fighting champs and cheap Clanks
This week's PlayStation Store update submits a handful of new games, crowned by EA Sports UFC for PlayStation 4. There's a demo available already, paired with a fighting primer from EA that should get you into tip-top shape (for putting your tips on top of the right shapes). The store also houses a new console version of Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, and cuts two Ratchet & Clank games, Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time, down to $10 each. Those two make for a good distraction while you wait for the PS4 remake of the original game. Meanwhile, PlayStation Plus subscribers get Terraria for free on Vita, and Shadow of the Colossus and Ico both drop to $5 a pop on PS3. If their steady reduction in price is a secret countdown to The Last Guardian, then we're almost there! [Image: SCEA]
PSN Store Update: MLB 14, God of War Collection, Sportsfriends
Good morning, sports friends, and welcome to this week's PSN rundown. Starting on PS4, there's baseball with MLB 14: The Show (eventually) at $60, followed by stickball in PS Plus game Stick it to the Man ($10 regular). Then, get ready for flameball in Bound by Flame ($50, and it hits retail later this week), spaceballs in Titan Attacks ($12 Cross-Buy with PS3 and Vita), and finally some good old-fashioned sportsball in Sportsfriends. The local multiplayer sportsfest is $15 Cross-Buy with PS3, but if you want the Cross-Buy feature you have to buy it on PS3. Moving onto PS3, in addition to Sportsfriends, Bound by Flame ($40) and Titan Attacks, there's Hakuoki: Stories of the Shinsengumi for $34 and the All-in DLC pack for F1 Race Stars ($8). Also, Plus members get Pro Evo 2014 as an Instant Game Collection freebie. Oh, and not forgetting Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, and that's confirmed as a PS2 Classic. The sportiness continues on Vita with Football Manager Classic 2014 ($40), and Mahjong Royal Towers & Mahjong World Contest Bundle ($8) - Majohong is a sport, right? Handheld owners can also grab Titan Attacks, God of War Collection ($30) and Broken Sword 5 ($17). In summary: Sports! And some other stuff. [Image: Die Gut Fabrik]
Weekend-only Flash Sale offers $5 games on PSN
Filling up on 99-cent games during the PlayStation Store's last Flash Sale was pretty great, but this weekend's offering is also decent, provided you're willing to part with a little more cash for bigger games. Every title in the sale goes for $4.99 apiece, with Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne 3 and Spec Ops: The Line included on its menu. You can also visit Rapture in both Bioshock games, Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto 4, or an alien-infested version of Mars in Red Faction Armageddon, which is set in the future but will probably be historically accurate eventually - if there's one thing that video games has taught us, it's that aliens are out there, just waiting for us to inspire their rage. There are non-retail-sized experiences as well, like Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Datura and PS3 and Vita versions of Guacamelee!. Whatever you decide to download, you've got until 3p.m. Eastern on May 5 to make your purchases. If nothing we've mentioned has your interest, you can check out the sale's full list of deals at the PlayStation Blog. [Image: Sony]
PSN Store Update: Final Fantasy 14, Trials Fusion, FIFA World Cup
It's football, fantasy, and FMX in this week's line-up of PlayStation Store additions for North America, starting with the full launch of Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn. PS4 players can hook up with the subscription MMO for $40, or $60 if they fancy some in-game items from the Collector's Edition. You can also transfer a PS3 copy across to PS4 - Amazon has the PS3 version going for $25. Next it's FMX: RedLynx's next attempt to break your controllers is Trials Fusion, and it's the first in the series to arrive on PlayStation. The PS4 game - also available on Xbox One, 360, and PC - adds freestyle tricks to the trademark mix of motocross and puzzle-platforming. The regular game is $20 but if you're wheelie keen for the upcoming DLC, a Deluxe Edition is $40 and comes with the season pass. Speaking of puzzles, the PS4 also gets a few brainteasers this week. Pure Chess and Backgammon Blitz are $8 each - you can get a game-pack stuffed Deluxe Edition of Pure Chess for $15 - and finally, That Trivia Game will set you back That Ten Dollars. Onto to PS3, and football - the rounder, kickier kind. The catchily titled 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil is only on PS3 and Xbox 360, and you can score it as a $60 download on the former. Meanwhile, Beyond: Two Souls has been out for a while, but it's also now on PSN as a $60 download. Don't forget, this week's PS Plus freebie is the new Castle of Illusion, and that comes bundled with the Genesis original as a nostalgic bonus. Finally, the Vita has plenty of new releases including Conception 2 ($40, also out on 3DS) and Cross-Buy portable versions of Dead Nation ($8) and Ethan: Meteor Hunter ($10). For the full list of new releases, sales, and Plus discounts, head over to the PlayStation Blog. [Image: Ubisoft]
PSN Store Update: Lego The Hobbit, Strike Suit Zero, Persona 4
This week's PSN update brings PlayStation systems the the smallest of people in their smallest versions, courtesy of the newly released Lego: The Hobbit. It's out at retailers for PS4, PS3, and Vita, but if you'd prefer a download version it's also on the PlayStation Store. That'll set you back $60 on PS4, $50 on PS3 and $30 on Vita, so if you're after the smaller of prices, King Oddball at $7 might pick your fancy. The physics-based puzzler has an Angry Birds flavor, except it has a floating rock head who chucks smaller rocks around with his bizarrely long tongue. Oh and he has a crown on his head. It's been out on Vita for a little while as well as iOS, Android, and a few other platforms, but this is its debut on PS4. PS4 also has the new Director's Cut of Strike Suit Zero for $20, while the PS3 makes do with a Sonic Unleashed download for the same price. If you're after a more palatable vintage, Persona 4 is this week's PS2 Classic re-release, meaning you can get it on PS3 for $10. Finally, Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark is the latest PS Plus freebie for subscribers, and Episode 3 of Telltale's The Wolf Among Us is available to PS3 owners, priced at $5. [Image: Atlus]
Rental options spotted (but not working) on the PlayStation Store
A list of non-functioning (for now) links point towards the kind of rental options users can expect from the PlayStation Now streaming service. MP1st and PSNStores spotted links for 1-day, 7-day, and 30-day rentals of Atlus' romantic puzzler Catherine, and when PSNStores tried to purchase one of the rentals, it found "Catherine PS Now" in its transaction history. The links follows the clues laid out on a PS Now concept image published by Gaikai (via VG247) earlier in the week. Certain tiles displayed low prices for PS3 games - Uncharted 3 at $5, Far Cry 3 at $6 - perhaps an indication of the service's base prices for rentals. PlayStation Now is expected to see a full rollout sometime this summer, letting users rent games individually or pay for a subscription to the service. Developed by Gaikai, who Sony acquired for $380 million two years ago, PS Now lets users stream PS1, PS2, and PS3 games on PS4, PS3, Vita, Bravia TV, and other unannounced devices. [Image: PSNStores]
PSN Tuesday: Thief, Pac-Man Museum, Lords of Shadow 2
The PlayStation Store updated today with new games across every platform, led by the launches of Thief and Basement Crawl on PS4. Thief joins another new release in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 on PS3 this week. PS3 owners can pick up The Batman Bundle, which includes Batman: Arkham Origins and the Batman: The Dark Knight Returns animated film as well as the Tales of Symphonia Chronicles bundle that comprises both Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. Rounding out this week's PS3 additions is Magus and Pac-Man Museum, the latter being a $20 pack of games spanning the yellow gobbler's series. Vita owners only get one new game this week: Mahjong 2 World Contest, as well as PSOne Classic Herc's Adventures, also available on PS3 and PSP. Though Vita owners can now download the Crackle app to watch movies and TV shows, the marquee media streaming addition this week is the WWE Network app on PS3 and PS4. [Image: Square Enix]
Strider, AC4 Freedom Cry added to EU PlayStation Store
Double Helix's surprisingly good action game Strider headlines this week's PlayStation Store update in Europe. With favorable reception behind Killer Instinct and Strider, we imagine Amazon is extra happy with its recent acquisition. Joining Strider this week is Rayman Legends and standalone expansion Assassin's Creed 4: Freedom Cry, both available on PS4. Earth Defense Force 2025 drops on PS3 this week and retro 2D side-scroller Gunslugs makes an appearance on PS Vita. Battlefield 4 Premium subscribers can also grab Second Assault today. Knack and Tearaway have had their prices almost halved this week as part of a February sale promotion, and Lost Planet 3 receives a substantial permanent price drop down to £39.99 (€29.99). This simply scratches the surface of all the content added to the European PS Store this week, so head on over to the PlayStation Blog for the complete lowdown. [Image: Capcom]
PSN Tuesday: Strider, EDF 2025, Rayman Legends PS4, Tomba 2
The PlayStation Store updates later today, adding download versions of retail games Earth Defense Force 2025 and Rayman Legends PS4. On the download-only side it's a busy week, with three new releases and three restored classics to sink time into. Leading the new releases is a game with plenty of retro about it: We gave Capcom's Strider resurrection four stars in our review, lauding the PS4 and PS3 game's "absorbing fusion of action and platforming." If sci-fi ninjas aren't your bag, the PS3's Forest Legends: The Call of Love offers some lighter puzzling, and Vita indie Gunslugs brings dynamically generated run-and-gunning to the mix. As for the classics, you can choose from fan favorite PSOne platformer Tomba! 2, the PSOne version of Mr Driller, and the divisive PS2 outing of Neo Contra. If you've come this far and you're still shrugging your shoulders, head back to the top for the first ever PS Plus TV spot. [Image: Capcom]
PlayStation Store has a date with savings this weekend
If you're not much for the romantic angle of Valentine's Day and haven't gone broke buying up pounds of discounted holiday chocolate, the PlayStation Store is offering deals on select PS3, PS4 and Vita games until February 17. Among the listings are co-op friendly titles LEGO Marvel Super Heroes for $19.99 on Vita, $24.99 on PS3 and $29.99 on PS4. The team-up brawler Castle Crashers is available on PS3 for $3.49, as is the puzzling ibb & obb for $4.99. If you're aiming for something more competitive, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is available on PS3 for $9.99, and the Cross-Buy compatible Divekick is on PS3 and Vita for $2.49. You could always fight for court dominance in NBA 2K14 on PS3 for $39.99, too. If you're gaming alone, don't worry! There are plenty of fish on the PlayStation Network. [Image: PlayStation Blog]
Last of Us DLC, Lightning Returns, TxK join EU PlayStation Store
Yesterday the North American PlayStation Store was updated with a host of new software. Today it's Europe's turn. The highlights of this update include the addition of Jeff Minter's retro-shooter TxK, unexpectedly great roleplaying epic Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 and Left Behind, the final singleplayer DLC release for award-winning zombie apocalypse drama The Last of Us. In addition, European Vita owners now have access to Toukiden and Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. The former is a riff on Capcom's Monster Hunter formula that pits players against oversized beasts drawn from Japanese mythology, while the latter is an anime-inspired visual novel that melds courtroom tension with teenagers murdering one another. It's less grim than it sounds. In less modern news, this update also brings with it the PSN digital release of Atlus' excellent PlayStation 2 roleplaying game Persona 3: FES. While this incarnation lacks certain mechanical improvements added to the PSP's Persona 3 Portable, it still features hundreds of demons to befriend, loveable characters and more teenaged drama than your average inner city high school. A full rundown of today's additions can be found on the European PlayStation.blog. [Image: Llamasoft]
Minecraft, Battlefield 4, Terraria top December's PSN sales charts
Sony has listed the top-selling PlayStation Network games across all of its platforms in December, outlining the most popular digital releases in the month following the PlayStation 4's launch. EA DICE's Battlefield 4 ranks in as PSN's biggest-selling PlayStation 4 game in December, while Call of Duty: Ghosts emerged as the platform's most popular digital upgrade. Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition rose to the top of the PS3's charts in its debut month, meanwhile, beating out the first episode of The Walking Dead's second season and Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 5. 505 Games' Terraria led PS Vita software sales last month, as Media Molecule's Tearaway and Drinkbox Studios' Guacamelee! trailed close behind at second and third place. The full platform-specific sales charts are available at the PlayStation Blog.
PSN Tuesday: Don't Starve, Tiny Brains on PS3, free DmC
This week's PlayStation Store additions are marked by Klei Entertainment's Don't Starve, which is now available on PS4. The roguelike survival game from the makers of Mark of the Ninja is $14.99, but also happens to be one of two games that are free for PlayStation Plus members starting this week. The other PS Plus freebie is DmC: Devil May Cry for PS3. Two games joined DmC on the PS3's digital storefront this week: Tiny Brains ($19.99) and Twisted Lands: Shadow Town ($11.99). Tiny Brains already launched on PS4, and the game is Cross-Buy-compatible for those with multiple Sony consoles in their household. StreetKix: Freestyle is also available on PSP for $11.99, discounted to $10.79 for PS Plus members. Among PSN's new add-ons is the Illustrious Pirates Pack for both PS3 and PS4 versions of Assassin's Creed 4, which is $9.99 and free for season pass holders. This week also saw a handful of permanent pricing changes on PSN, including Saints Row 4 ($39.99), Need for Speed: Most Wanted ($19.99), Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 ($39.99) and the Artorias of the Abyss DLC for Dark Souls ($9.99).
PSN storefront opens up shop on Amazon UK
Amazon in the UK now has a dedicated PlayStation storefront where you can purchase PS Plus subscriptions, game download codes, season passes and select DLC for PS3, PS4 and PS Vita games. Hotline Miami, Journey, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and The Unfinished Swan are just a few of the games you can purchase through the online retailer right now. When PSN content made its debut on Amazon's North American site last month, select purchases were eligible for a $5 PSN credit. Unfortunately that doesn't appear to be the case with the Amazon UK launch, though Amazon UK does allow users to purchase special "top-up" cards for directly adding funds to their PlayStation accounts.
Amazon opens digital PlayStation store in the UK
While Microsoft is slowly ramping up the price of exclusive Xbox One digital games in the UK, PlayStation 4 owners could soon witness the opposite. Following its launch in the US, Amazon has launched the PlayStation Network store on the other side of the Atlantic, letting you buy digital Playstation 3, Playstation 4 and Playstation Vita titles, as well as season passes and DLC, through its website. Although Amazon offered a number of launch promotions in the US, including $5 credit on digital orders, the company isn't spreading the love to the UK and currently matches Sony's PSN pricing. However, Sony's decision to let PlayStation owners shop around for digital titles looks set to increase competition, lowering prices and helping you discover a Knack for finding the best game deals.
