Welcome Back Package now live!

Ohhh yeaaa finally! It is up. Free 30day trial for PS+ and other goodies that comes with it. Activate your PS+ now I don't know what to say. I already downloaded a bunch of free stuff that you can keep even after your free PS+ subscription is done.

Your chance to get your PS+ package is only available until July 3rd!

If you have 2 or more accounts, you can download pretty much all the games for both PS3 and PSN. However, those accounts should be registered prior to April 20 2011.

Game list vanished from PS Store? Don't worry! It is still there! Go to your "Account Management" then hit "Transaction Management" then to "Services List" and finally to "SCEA Promotion".

PS Store to be Restored

Hello, there is a press release that was just posted by Sony. All PSN (including PS Store) will be back online worldwide with the exception of Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea. It will resume all services on June 2, 2011 which is tomorrow.

Update(1): Welcome Back package will not be available until sometime later. Expect some delays and errors when you try to access PS Store as many will be trying to access it at the same time.

To see the press release yourself click : Sony Press Release PSN Restoration"


"Tokyo, June 2, 2011– Sony Corporation and Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) announced today that Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI, the company) will fully restore all PlayStation®Network services today June 2, 2011, in the Americas, Europe/PAL territories and Asia, excluding Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea. The company will also resume Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity™ for PlayStation®3 (PS3®), PSP® (PlayStation®Portable), VAIO and other PCs."
- Sony Press Release

Oh the Similarity!

Watch the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3  Am3rica teaser.

Then here is a link directly on that scene where MW3 : Am3rica teaser looks like without the technical stuff matrix look alike : Red Alert 2. That video is the first thing that came into my head when I saw that trailer. I am pretty sure some of you guys have played RA2.

Yes! The Russians are back in MW3. This time it is a total world war. A continuation of the story from the last one. Are you getting it or are you getting bored of Call of Duty coming out every year only bringing small changes everytime it comes out. I'm up for Battlefield 3 though.

PSN : Overloading

Hi guys, I just want to spread the word out that the PSN will be down for 30 minutes to clear up the queue for those people who are requesting to change their password. Apparently, the servers are being overloaded for requests for password change. It is expected but after this, everything will be going as planned (I hope). Almost three weeks of no PSN and it will be down for 30 minutes. Patrick did not state when or what time it will occur.

"We’re currently experiencing an extremely heavy load of password resets, and so we recently had to turn off services for approximately 30 minutes to clear the queue."

- Patrick Seybold

No further details released. To keep connected to your online game, don't turn off your PS3. You might have a hard time logging back in.

PS3: Firmware Update 3.61 is Up For Grabs! SOE and PSN Back Online Today!

That is right! 3.61 firmware upgrade for PS3 is now live. Like I stated in my old post, it is a security update that forces you to change your password. I think we are nearing the end of the dark times. Turn on your PS3 and get your update :) Also, PSN is coming back online now for North America - "state by state" as we speak.

* Not confirmed but just rough estimates/predictions. It could be some of their surrounding states as well. Thanks :)

Update(9): Playstation Network is online for North America 12:00am Pacific May 15, 2011. WOOT! See you guys online!


Canada is also back online. You can request your change of password now using your PS3. It is faster than PC. I highly recommend using the PS3 to change your password. Remember, only the PS3 you always log-on into will work for the password change.


If you are going to try to change it through your PC, you have to wait for an email that could take 24 hours to arrive. The email will provide you a link so that you can verify that it is you and update your password.This is what you would see from your PC if you try to log in:

"To sign in, an update of your account information is required. An e-mail message with instructions has been sent to Your_Email. It may take up to 24 hours to receive this message."

Update(8): West coast and mid-west U.S.A is now back online. Also some Central parts, Alaska and Hawaii as well. Every state in U.S will be back sometime in the morning. Welcome back guys! Now we look forward for our "Welcome Package". 11:00pm PST. Congrats!

Update(7): Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, and Pennsylvania are up and running! (Officially confirmed) 10:30pm PST

Still coming up next few hour or so*:
Washington State (Possibly next)
Texas and surrounding states- Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Oklahoma (Possibly next)
North/South Dakota(2-3 hours or so)
and Oregon (in about 2-3 hours or so)

Update(6): Florida, South/North Carolina,and Georgia are now online 9:00pm PST (officially confirmed) Enjoy guys!

It seems like they confirm states every hour. Please be patient.

Still waiting for Washington state(trying to confirm right now), Louisiana, Dakota, Texas, Michigan/Ohio (trying to confirm as well), possibly Oklahoma as well as Alabama, Illinois and their surrounding states to come up next hour.* One of these should be officially confirmed as well as some of their surrounding states

Germany (Will be back on soon as well).

Update(5): Florida, Louisiana, Washington State, and Dakota coming up next. In addition, Texas and Michigan/Ohio area are coming up too. Alabama will join shortly.

Update(4): State of California is now on as of 8:11pm PST. Europe servers are still down but has updated their blog post. PlayStation Network Restoration Begins - Sony UK


Update(3): Seems like the official site is having trouble loading. Probably the server is being overwhelmed. Nothing has changed so far from the map. 7:51 PST

Update (2): New York are and entire far North East of U.S is now officially back on. Still no word for Canada. You can now access your PSN and online multiplayer if you live in NY, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey area.

Update(1): People are reporting that they are having trouble downloading the new update probably due to the amount of people downloading it. So just keep trying and you will download the update successfully. The PSN is still down in my region as we speak.

"An error occurred during the download operation. A connection to the server cannot be established. (80710101)"

____________________________

PSN is going back on today state by state. Maybe by tomorrow, the whole North America will be back online.

"Please note that these services will take a bit of time to be turned on and rolled out to the whole country. The process has begun and some states are being turned on now, so please be patient as we reach your city and state."

They kindly put up a map on which state is currently on. To see the official blog. Click :

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/05/14/play-on-%E2%80%93-psn-restoration-begins-now/

"We strongly recommend that all PSN account holders with PS3s update their systems to prepare for when PlayStation Network is back online. The release of this update is a critical step as we work to make PlayStation Network significantly more secure. Thank you for your continued support and patience."

 -  Eric Lempel - VP, Sony Network Entertainment

It is quite a big update. I am pretty sure there is more behind this update other than just forcing you to change passwords of course. There was no noticeable changes made but we will find out once the PSN gets back on.


However, PSN is still down but I think it will come back soon. I expect another firmware update once before the whole service is back up since PS Store will be disabled up until the end of the month.


For full official blog post:
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/05/14/ps3-system-software-update/

Also, a welcome message from Kaz.
Kaz Hirai - PSN Relaunch Announcement


SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT

In addition, GOOD news for SOE PC gamers! Your service is coming back on today! Still no words for PSN though. Happy hunting!

"Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) announced today that restoration of its game services will begin today. The phased restoration will include the return of nearly all of SOE's portfolio of online games, the reinstatement of SOE's game forums and websites, and added functionality to require players to reset their passwords."

 For the official announcement :

http://www.soe.com/securityupdate/restorationannouncement.vm

Amazon EC2 kicked PSN Down?

Another Bloomberg report. This time, I think it is more accurate compared to previous report that they have made. However, I think when Bloomberg reported that the PSN will be back on by the end of this month is slowly becoming more realistic.

Apparently Bloomberg is saying that the FBI is slowly making a trace back to the perpetrators of the PSN hacking scheme. The hackers used Amazon's EC2 servers to help them enter PSN and bring it down. EC2 is a cloud computing service helping developers to compute much easier. It is a pay-as-you-go type of service. So anyone can sign-up, pay, and the service is yours. The hackers used false information to sign up for the site. However, it will be another road block for the authorities if they find out that the hackers used a stolen credit card or even a pre-paid credit card.

At least the FBI is making progress tracking down the guys behind this. I am pretty sure that the hacker has already thrown off his hard drive and computer into the river by this time :)

PSN : Sign of life? SOCOM4 Leaderboard Active

I am not sure what exactly going on here but for some reason, some people can access the games online. Playtesting perhaps. Who knows. SOCOM's online leaderboard for May is a little busy during the past few days even if the PSN is still offline.Could this be dev accounts? Playtesters? Or a sign that the PSN will go back on soon? Maybe a server glitch or whatever. Thanks to someone who started a thread about this on SOCOM 4 forums that got me interested - bayport kudos! :)

Here is a guide that I just made on how to access the SOCOM4 leaderboard without logging in:

SOCOM 4 Leaderboard for May

You can check the leaderboard without logging in by simply copy and pasting this URL in to your web browser and replace the insert_name_here to any of those names listed on that photo above or even yours (if you were able to log in before PSN was taken offline).

URL:
http://www.socom.com/en-us/SOCOM4/Leaderboards?handle=insert_name_here

Once you are looking at someone's stats, look for leaderboards in between co-op and compare stats tab.

The tab

So, you now have an access to the leaderboards without having to log-in. You can change the time range to see who is playing during this week or this month. You can check their stats too and look at when they started playing. I hope this helps :)

Update (1): Dunham tweeted :
"We have some internal tools available to us this week. Since I'm out, though, I can't elaborate"


He is currently on vacation. When he gets back, I think more questions will be answered :)

Sony : Just a little bit more...

Argh! Now I am really frustrated. I can tell you guys are too (so many searches in regards to PSN updates). Today, Mr. Seybold has just announced (re-stating the announcement of the announcement that was announced more than a week ago) "Few more days". No I am serious. This is a new announcement. Sony got us excited on that blog post in regards to final stages. What did we just get after that post? Another blog that says it will take another couple of days for the PSN to get back up on its feet - step by step.

Patrick Seybold : *shrugs* 

Please Patrick, just include something that will really give hope instead of saying just those words like "can't" ,"I know", and etc. At least say - "Oh one of the three security companies that we brought in has finished their testing...on to the next one." All we got was "Hang in there!" Some people can't hold on any more. They are getting tired waiting and listening to the same thing over and over again to "next few days" "A little more time". Better yet, just don't post at all and surprise us.

To be honest, I can't really wait any more. I thought Move and other games that I just have purchased are going to entertain me until the return of the PSN. I guess I am wrong. I finished Portal 2 and SOCOM 4 at the same day I got them. Those were some of the big titles that has came out recently.

The PSN is also necessary to post on message boards which enables the community to voice out their concern directly or discuss other things with each other. Funny thing is that some of the developers  can't even post on their official forums because they cannot log-in since it requires PSN.

Another day, another blog post with no definite date when the PSN will be coming back online.

Here is that short and bitter post. I wish it had a different title. Not really a "Timeline Update" so beware of the misleading title of this official blog post.

Here ya go:
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/05/10/psn-restoration-timeline-update/

PSN 2.0 and "Welcome Back" package

There is an update on EU PS Blog about the return of PSN service - PSN 2.0. Oh and yea, you will be forced to change your passwords when you return back online as I said on my previous entry. Besides that, you can only change your password on your own PS3 (where you activated you account) or through your verified email. Also, you will be able to download two free games of your choice from a list that they will provide for your PS3 and PSP (so if you have both PS3 and PSP, you can download 4 in total).The blog says that it will be different per region. If you are from North America, you might get different titles.

Update(6): PS Store will be up on June 2nd 2011.

Update(5): PS Store might be back early next week May 24th. It is confirmed that it will not be back on 24th.

Update(4): An official announcement was made in regards to "Welcome Back" package.

Like EU announcement, North America/South America will be given a choice between games and ability to download 2 games for free for both PS3 and PSP.

The games for PS3 are: LittleBigPlanet, Superstardust HD, Dead Nation, Wipeout HD+fury, and Infamous.
For PSP: LittleBigPlanet, ModNation Racers, Pursuit Force, Killzone Liberation

In addition, North America will be getting free movie weekend on selected movies.

For PS Home, there will be 100 virtual item freebies and more to come up soon.

30 days free PS plus for the non subscribers and 60 days free for subscribers.

For Europe:
PSP recieves the same titles as North America. For PS3, they will be getting: LittleBigPlanet, Infamous, WipeOut HD +Fury, Ratchet and Clank: Quest For Booty, Dead Nation.

Here are links for gameplay videos:

Dead Nation : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-syxOHFqN0k

Infamous: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drQO_Ya3ijc

LittleBigPLanet:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGzOKbVC2r8

Super Stardust HD : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jhhocl7jf3o

Wipeout : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGNbrQM5e54

Update(3): There will be an announcement made sometime tomorrow in regards to the "Welcome Back Package". 16th May. There will be multiple updates for PS store in a week once it is back up to catch up on the backlog.

Update(2): UK official PS blog made a link for the "Welcome Back" program. However it is still not up. No words yet what will be offered for North American users.
http://uk.playstation.com/welcomeback/

Update(1): EU official blog update in regards to PS3 and PSP free games upon PSN returning back online:

http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2011/05/06/scee-identity-theft-protection-offering/

However, I think that North American PSN will offer the same thing. I think the games that we will see on the list are from a first party developer and those games were released ages ago. 30 days PS+ and four free games of your choice from a list? Hmm calculate how much that would be then multiplied by...the total amount of PSN registered users. Oh hell...

There is a rumour going around that there will be new features for the PS3 as well such as cross game chat (seriously, you already can do this with the chat in XMB why bother with voice since most of PS3 players got no mics) and in-game video-chat (interesting but I doubt it will be a new feature. PS3 does not have enough RAM  to do so. Running the XMB can be sluggish on some high resource hungry games). However, I am pretty satisfied of what the PS3 offers right now.

I just wish they  update the web browser (There is another rumour about that. PS3 might be getting a Google Chrome)

Sony is saying that PSN 2.0 will be much more efficient and secure. I do hope so. They put up so much defences that I hope it does not slow down the network or go through too many scans before going online. That would be a hassle. 

I am just tired of waiting. These guys from Sony Playstation are teasing us everyday. Part of getting users back again I guess. So maybe this week for sure it will be back up! Are you guys excited or what?

Oh yea, for those who has codes for PS store (redeemable codes for extra weapons/DLCs), you cannot claim or activate it since the PS store is not going to be part of the stage one restart of Playstation Network. It will be days or weeks later after PSN going back online they will decide to re-open the PS store.

Do you want free money?

Sony is considering offering a reward for any information in regards to the hackers who stole millions of customer personal data according  to CNET. Pretty interesting read. Oh yea, nothing is free. You need to provide information in exchange for money...or whatever that is.

There are reports that some members that were kicked out of their gang was apparently providing information to law enforcement. Hmmm... that is what happens when people are butthurt. If you kick someone in the ass, they will kick yours back.

I think Sony will use this tactic as the last resort if they could not trace the path back to the hacker's laptop/computer/or even a modified PS3. Yes, there is a possibility that they have used a modded PS3 to enter Sonyland. That would be the easiest way to get into the system servers. Hitching a ride in their own system making it harder for the servers to detect. I don't know. It is just something that came into my mind but it is still possible.

If they do end up using this reward tactic, I think many from their own group would turn over against each other. Well, primarily because none or ...maybe a few of them knew each other "personally" and a free money is up for grabs. Their handle/username/Alias is a start. Of course, the FBI will be there and other law enforcement if this happens. It wouldn't be like a dark alley exchange scene from movies (but that would be cool).

If you are one of those people that knows or "knows" the hacker's alias or identity, would you turn that person in for a bag of money?

I would love how this goes...this is getting interesting everyday!

Oh yea here's the link for that CNET article :
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-20060661-83.html

Subpoena

Remember this word from Hotz case that haunted many users for sometime due to Sony scouring through information from Youtube and other sites? Well, it is making its way back to the Sony scene. This time it is against Sony.

The New York state issued a subpoena for Sony reported by Bloomberg today. Mr. Kaz's response was beyond the due date that was put down by the House of Representatives. So, I guess the reason why the court issued a subpoena is because they want more answers from the hacking.

What does this mean to Sony? Sony will be sending a representative to explain the whole situation. It was revealed that Sony's servers were running an outdated software with known holes and outdated firewalls . That was a bad part from Sony. Like they said, they were clueless themselves about the incident because they do not know what was going on in their system. The reason? not enough firewall and sub-par defences and operating systems for the servers.

People put their trust so much to these successful companies such as Apple (which was collecting your information in secret). That trust makes us consumers blind. Be aware that there is no perfect system out there for consumer grade level. Take pre-caution when entering your information out there.
Payback is best served cold.

Portal 2(PS3) - Fun and Challenging

Finally, I found a copy of Portal 2 for PS3 in my local electronic store. It has been sold out everywhere. I was so excited to play it. I have played Portal 1 on my laptop but my laptop is crappy so I had to give up. Still, I got Portal 2 for the PS3 because you can have cross-platform gameplay and steam cloud. Don't forget the initiative bonus code so you can download a free copy of Portal 2 for PC/Mac.

PS3 Portal box art

Seriously, I have never played a game with two sarcastic characters that will make you laugh throughout the game. It is like watching a stand-up comedy while playing the game which never gets boring as you go along each levels in Portal 2. Each dialogue will make you think and smile. I think this is one of the things that makes this game interesting and original. The first person view also immerses you the "maze".

Portal 2 is set few years (or more) after Portal 1. Glados is back and will be with you again throughout the story. It starts with you trapped in a room and a voice asking you to perform actions. After that, your environment starts shaking and collapsing because your room is being moved by Wheatley - a blue eyed core. Thus, your journey inside Aperture lab begins.


Anyways, the first levels are basically training levels. They can get very challenging as you go along each one; requiring you to think and perform tasks based on timing and problem solving. I did have some trouble figuring out one or two level. Maybe it is because midnight and I could not think properly. I was scratching my head too much while trying to figure out the logic behind the lasers and portals and gels ...oh man there were so many things to handle. Sometimes that I just want to drop the controller.


I have only played the beginning of co-op since the PSN is down. I played it offline with my sibling. So I can't say anything much about it other than...yes it requires a great deal of co-ordination and teamwork. It still deal with the same basic principle of using portals and your brain.


The graphics in single player is excellent. No framerate problems and everything sails smoothly even if there are many things going around the environment. I believe they have used anti-alias in this game as everything looks smooth and not jagged. After going through the developer commentary level, I found out that the main goal of the engine is to reduce the amount of CPU power needed to render the environment. The design of the characters and levels are minimalistic but at the same time has this sense of high technology/futuristic and  a modern feeling. Character designs are well thought too. The developers explained how they came up with the characters in the game.


Just like the graphical style of being minimalistic, controls are the same and easy to get used to. The only button you will be pressing most of the time are R1 and L1 since they are for making portals. Other than that, O makes you crouch and R2 for zoom in. I got used to the controls within the first 5 minutes of playing. I wish this game has supported the move motion controller because that would be so perfect.


The voice acting, sounds of environment crashing, gel flowing is very crisp and realistic. The voice acting is well done! It gives and shows the personality of each robots and emphasize it. The sound of footsteps and landing on metal after making a leap of faith is very satisfying. They did a great job also making the ambience realistic. The background music was alright. Sometimes it gets emotional depending on what chapter you are in. Sometimes, I do not even notice there is music playing at all.

Voucher for PC/Mac

The best part of having a PS3 copy is the cross-platform co-op and the free copy that comes along for PC/Mac. Also, Steam cloud is available for the PS3 platform. It is different from the PS cloud. I am excited to log-in with my Steam account on the PS3 to link it with my PSN. I have some couple of PC player friends that play Portal 2. For now, I can't since the PSN is still down due to a recent tragic event. I can't wait to see more titles that support cross-platform gaming.

Overall, I think I am very extremely super satisfied with this game. I wish there are more levels to beat on the campaign mode. The graphics is nice as well as the sound. It is easy to get used to the control settings but I wish it supported the Move. Voice acting is fantastic. The biggest bonus why I purchased the game, the cross-platform capability. I think that will be part of the future of gaming for both consoles and PC version. I have no gripes about this game as it stayed true to the story. Kudos to Valve for making such a great game. I  would rate the game 9.5/10. I just wish there are more testing done. 


SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCEEEE!


Update (1): Valve has announced that there will be an upcoming DLC for Portal 2. I am looking forward to it. They might bring port Steam/Valve games if they see that Portal is a success.


Oh and to clear it up, you can only play on one platform at the same time after you redeem your code for PC/Mac download since that code is attached to your PSN name.


I definitely think that Portal 2 is very successful. Portal 2 was sold out everywhere I went on the release day. Also, I finished the game. Perfect ending :)


Update(2): PC to PS3 Co-op is fun! Works the same way as PS3 to PS3. PC players can communicate via text chat or mic. Since steam is on the PS3 version also, you can chat with your friend in steam that are PC players. You can also log in at your PC and PS3 at the same time on steam (not the game though). You will be able to see the same messages on your PC and through the TV at the same time. I love it. PC players can type in-game text but I have not figured out if it is possible with the PS3 too. Anyways, it is pretty sweet to have a cross-platform gameplay. I wish there are more games like this.