PS3 Fanboy

How's that for an attention grabbing headline? Who doesn't like free coffee and doughnuts? So if you're going to be at PAX, or even if you're just in the area, come by Top Pot Doughnuts (at their 5th Avenue location). Not only will there be free stimulants, but you'll also get to meet up with other PlayStation fans (including myself) and potentially win some prizes. Bring your PSP.

The breakfast meet up will be taking place between 8:30 and 10:30 (in the morning, naturally) on Saturday the 30th. That's this coming Saturday. If you're going to be attending, be sure to let the PlayStation Blog know via Facebook or email them. Don't forget to tell us too! Do so in the comments. We'll see you in Seattle.

Remember back around Christmas, when we were promised a Rock Band patch which would allow people to use Guitar Hero III controllers? You know, the patch which was going to allow PS3 owners the same features as the Xbox 360 version? Sure, it never appeared, but it seems that Sony is making sure that such a thing never happens again. Michael Shorrock, director of 3rd party relations, has posted up some info on the PlayStation.Blog stating that Rock Revolution, Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour's instruments will all be compatible with each other.

Not only that, but Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Band 2 will support SingStar microphones. This is great for those of us who are interested in picking up all of these games, but are a little less interested in having our living rooms full of plastic drum sets and guitars. The good news doesn't end there, though. That patch we mentioned at the beginning of this post may still see the light of day. Shorrock says they're "still working hard to ensure compatibility between the Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles currently on the market, and we hope to have an announcement on that shortly."

Thanks to Sony for pre-emptively solving what could have been a very messy Christmas. Universal peripheral compatability just makes so much sense. Now comes the hard decision. Which game's instruments look best?

So Life With PlayStation, the upcoming global news and weather service, didn't make its July release. According to Noam Rimon, of the SCEA R&D team, this is due to some "procedural matters" and the service should instead be released sometime in August. No more specific date than that has been revealed, but no doubt we'll hear more closer to the time. Rimon promises that when it finally arrives, Life With PlayStation will offer "a variety of interactive content and channels on a visually stunning worldwide map interface."

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Want more gameplay footage of The Last Guy? Check out the video above. The game still looks bizarrely awesome. Especially with the levels based on real world loca-- wait, is that Trafalgar Square? The PlayStation Blog contains even more information on the title, including some background "story" involving monsters, aliens and purple ray beams. Sold.

Gameplay seems pretty simple. Collect the survivors and desposit them in the Escape Zones, while avoiding the aforementioned zombies and monsters and utilising your heat-vision and any power ups you may come across. The PSN keeps getting better and better as more unique titles like this one become available. We're definitely looking forward to The Last Guy's release.

You simply never can tell what SCEE have planned. Deborah Mars, producer for the PixelJunk series, has stated in the comments of the recent PlayStation Blog post that Eden will be available today in Japan, Europe and America. We would love to believe her, honest we would, but until we see it with our own eyes we simply can't. SCEE has had a hard time understanding the phrase "simultaneous worldwide release" several times in the past, after all.

We'll remain hopeful and will update you with the full PSN release list as usual when it lands. In the meantime, have you tried the PixelJunk Eden demo? If so, you might want to take a look at the trophy list and get practicing. The game launches today, after all. Worldwide! Hopefully ...

A day late, but not necessarily a dollar short. The PAIN Amusement Park trailer is now up on the PlayStation Blog and can also be seen above. The expansion, which is due out next month, looks to be bigger and better than any other PAIN level that we've seen. Though, considering the game only shipped with a single level, that's not a particularly brave thing to say. We look forward to seeing more and picking up the Amusement Park, and not just because of trophies. Honest.

Enjoy the video and check out the GamesRadar preview for more information. PAIN fans should love this expansion, while those who are still on the fence might be convinced to finally pick it up. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Not sure whether to drop that five bucks (or three quid) on the new Hot Shots Golf course or not? A new preview on the PlayStation.Blog might help you make up your mind. Technically, you already have the new Oceania Resort Course, as it's included in the latest game patch. You simply need to unlock it with the key, which is on the PSN Store right now.

The course is promised to be one of the most difficult yet, and includes many features of the Australian outback, including kangeroos, alligators and ... giant lobsters? There will be official tournaments coming up especially for the Oceania course, which we should hear about before too long. If you want to see more images of the course, be sure to check out the preview post over at the PlayStation.Blog.

Your PS3 is about to get a digital gift in the form of another firmware update. Version 2.36 will improve "system stability when playing select PlayStation format software titles." That is to say, not a lot. Still, the latest PlayStation Blog post has finally confirmed the rumors that another firmware update is on its way at some point. 2.40 will include in-game XMB and trophies. But you already know that.

There's no real timeframe for either of these updates, but you can expect to see v2.36 within the next day or so. As for 2.40, the PS Blog is careful to stress to us that they, and only they, will be the source for when it is coming. You may have heard various rumored release dates for the update which have passed by uneventfully, so that's clearly something to keep in mind. Needless to say v2.40 will get the full video tutorial treatment, as usual. We'll let you know as soon as we're told anything new.

NovaStrike is heading to the PSN Store very soon. Tomorrow, in fact. This has been announced by Kevin McCann, President of Tiki Games via the PlayStation Blog. After giving us a brief biography, McCann goes on to explain what exactly NovaStrike is and announces that it will be made available in the US (no word on EU) in tomorrow's PSN Store update.

We've had some hands on time with the game in the past, so check that out if you're on the fence about buying the game or not. Mostly we suspect it will come down to price, though there's no mention of how much we're expected to pay for the game. Check back tomorrow when we'll have the full PSN update list and, in the meantime, check out the video above to see the game in action.

Siren: Blood Curse looks set to terrify PlayStation 3 owners when it launches this Summer in the US and Europe. Tsubasa Inaba, Senior Producer for the game, has posted a new trailer up on the PlayStation Blog for all of you phobophiles out there. This video is different from the one on the European PSN Store but is easily as, if not more, scary. We hope to hearing more about this episodic scare-a-thon on the PlayStation Blog soon, including the release date for the first episode. We're hoping soon.

Sony may have already proved that they're listening to what we want with the redesign of the PSN Store, but there are plenty of other features people are clamoring for from the service. Peter Dille, Senior Vice President of the PlayStation Network, has written a post on the PS.Blog letting everyone know that they are listening and that features are coming. Specifically, he confirms that in-game XMB is coming this year, along with a video download service (for North America) and "other community-related services."

There's lots of exciting stuff to come this year then, not to mention Home which will (literally) add a whole new dimension to the PlayStation Network. Dille promises that more information on the video download service will be coming "very soon" and states that we should "stay tuned" for "more announcements on the expanding community functions within PLAYSTATION Network in the near future." Trust us, Peter (can we call you Peter?). We've been "tuned" for over a year now. Let's here more about those features ASAP, please.

Lastly, the PlayStation Network cards are finally getting released in the US. They're shipping out to retailers this Spring and will allow you to add either $20 or $50 to your PSN wallet. Handy for those of you who don't have a credit card.

[Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]