PSN weekly updates

[Arwin]

Apparently not great, though if you have a move there may be redeeming qualities in that. I have it free from
PS Plus but haven't tried ...

 

[RenegadeRocks]

What about the other games on sale, any suggestions? Have you guys bought something?

 

[Arwin]

I saw Split Second for 12,50 on PSN. Seemed like a nice deal so I went for it! Played 3 races so far.

 

[Sigfried1977]

I bought Split Second as well. I think it's kinda frustrating. The rubberband A.I. is ridiculous.
Regardless, that's a PS+ deal and not a holiday deal if I remember correctly.

 

[Arwin]

I bought Split Second as well. I think it's kinda frustrating. The rubberband A.I. is ridiculous.
Regardless, that's a PS+ deal and not a holiday deal if I remember correctly.

I don't think this was a PS+ deal. Rayman Origins for 39.95 on the other hand is.

 

[JPT]

Buy Rayman if you like 2D platformers.

 

[patsu]

Hurry up, UnderSiege patch. I'm still waiting on you before I buy another PSN game.

 

[Arwin]

Buy Rayman if you like 2D platformers.

I think I might. Interesting development that now finally a number of games I want are appearing on PSN at better prices then retail (was in mediamarket yesterday to compare).

 

[Arwin]

I bought Split Second as well. I think it's kinda frustrating. The rubberband A.I. is ridiculous.
Regardless, that's a PS+ deal and not a holiday deal if I remember correctly.

So I got ahead by about 7.8 seconds, and managed to maintain that lead (well, 7.3) for about 1.5 laps, or half of the race, in the first race of the second batch. So perhaps it is not so bad? Haven't played enough.

Also bought Origins for €39,95, after I had someone visit who asked for something like Mario (didn't play yet, as I wanted to try Start the Party again, which remains a big hit with just about anyone I let play it), but we'll have a go at it next time. Glad to finally have found someone who wants to play these kinds of games with me, and our kids are getting close to the right age to join us as well.

 

[Sigfried1977]

I don't think this was a PS+ deal. Rayman Origins for 39.95 on the other hand is.

Maybe it's different where I live, but Split Second is most definitely a PS+ deal here (it's 25 bucks otherwise) while Rayman Origins is simply a special Christmas holidays offer.
I'm still on the fence of buying it.

What I did buy was Renegade Ops, though. Lots of fun and really pretty, but a little too monotonous for my taste. Only recommended If you haven't already bought both Lara Croft The Guardian of Light and Dead Nation.

 

[patsu]

PlayStation Network Scheduled Maintenance
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/01/18/playstation-network-scheduled-maintenance-2/

PlayStation Network will be offline for routine scheduled maintenance on Thursday, January 19th from approximately 8am until 9pm PST.

During the maintenance, you will be unable to access the following services:
* PlayStation Store on PS3, PSP, and Media Go.
* PlayStation Network Account Management.
* PlayStation Network Account Registration.
* PlayStation Home
* Music Unlimited & Video Unlimited services

In addition, you will not be able to sign in to PlayStation Network from us.playstation.com.

Users who are already signed into their account on PlayStation Network before the start of the maintenance should be able to stay signed in to their online session, but will not be able to access any of the services listed above. Users who attempt to sign-in to their PlayStation Network account after the start of the maintenance may be presented with the site maintenance notification page if they haven’t signed in recently.
During this maintenance, you can continue to collect in-game Trophies and these will be updated on your profile once PlayStation Network is back up and running.

 

[patsu]

Another one ! What are they up to ?
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/02/01/playstation-network-scheduled-maintenance-3/

PlayStation Network will be offline for routine scheduled maintenance on Thursday, February 2nd from approximately 6am until midnight PST. During the maintenance, you will be unable to access the following services:

PlayStation Store on PS3, PSP, and Media Go
PlayStation Network Account Management
PlayStation Network Account Registration
PlayStation HomeMusic Unlimited & Video Unlimited services

You will not be able to sign in to PlayStation Network from us.playstation.com (or the PlayStation.Blog).
Fortunately, most online play will be unaffected. Users who are already signed into their account on PlayStation Network before the start of the maintenance should be able to stay signed in to their online session, but will not be able to access any of the services listed above. Users who attempt to sign-in to their PlayStation Network account after the start of the maintenance may be presented with the site maintenance notification page if they haven’t signed in recently. During this maintenance, you can continue to collect in-game Trophies and these will be updated on your profile once PlayStation Network is back up and running.

 

[Nesh]

I hope it is related to something good that we are going to get soon

 

[Arwin]

I hope it is related to something good that we are going to get soon

Don't get your hopes up too much. It's likely just getting everything ready for the Vita. They will realise that the west will look at the online features very critically, and they need these features and the PSN store to be up for Vita for reviewers this week so that the games get their proper attention.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I gotta ask, why does Sony's service keep needing to be taken offline for maintenance?! It's a poor system if you're relying on it for your entertainment and its not available. Do other services have such frequent downtimes? I thought whatever change you make are put in parallel on the system, and then you flick a switch and the traffic is routed through the new stuff, with maybe a bit of downtime like an hour or two. It seems Sony's system needs all the servers to be switched off before they make changes or something ludicrous like that!

 

[Arwin]

I gotta ask, why does Sony's service keep needing to be taken offline for maintenance?! It's a poor system if you're relying on it for your entertainment and its not available. Do other services have such frequent downtimes? I thought whatever change you make are put in parallel on the system, and then you flick a switch and the traffic is routed through the new stuff, with maybe a bit of downtime like an hour or two. It seems Sony's system needs all the servers to be switched off before they make changes or something ludicrous like that!

Well to be fair they typically overstate the downtime. It's more like guaranteed downtime, because I think most of the time nobody even notices it happens?

 

[Brad Grenz]

Yeah, last time they announced a downtime I logged in right in the middle of when it was supposed to be offline without any issue. It usually tends to be more of a "if you can't log in at any time during this period do not be alarmed" type of warning than a "you will definitely not be able to use this service at all for 24 hours" type of warning.

In any case, the recent ones probably have to do with adding Vita functionality to the network. Usually you don't get two this close together, but it makes sense ahead of a whole new platform launch.

 

[patsu]

I gotta ask, why does Sony's service keep needing to be taken offline for maintenance?! It's a poor system if you're relying on it for your entertainment and its not available. Do other services have such frequent downtimes? I thought whatever change you make are put in parallel on the system, and then you flick a switch and the traffic is routed through the new stuff, with maybe a bit of downtime like an hour or two. It seems Sony's system needs all the servers to be switched off before they make changes or something ludicrous like that!

No, generally speaking, maintenance don't occur that frequently on other services. e.g., Amazon's services are always up, but they did encounter extended unscheduled downtime last year.

If you ask me, I suspect it's a database related patch. Something like this:
http://www.infoworld.com/d/security/fundamental-oracle-flaw-revealed-184163-0

Note that this is merely my speculation. Enjoy reading. It's a fascinating and scary problem, but not really Sony's fault (*If* they use Oracle DB). ;-)

Other than that, yeah I have been able to sign in usually in other scheduled downtimes.

 

[Arwin]

I actually tested, and the Store was actually down yesterday for most of the evening (all the times I tried). Nothing else though, I was signed in, saw my friends, etc. during that whole time.

 

[patsu]

They seem awfully busy these days:


PlayStation Network Regular Scheduled Maintenance on Thursday
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012...rk-regular-scheduled-maintenance-on-thursday/

PlayStation Network will undergo a significant maintenance period on Thursday, March 1st. Maintenance is expected to start at just after 8:00 am Pacific and will last for several hours, until approximately 10pm Pacific. Unlike typical maintenance events, consumers who are already signed-in to PSN will be signed-out, and consumers will be unable to sign in for the duration of the maintenance window. During this time, users won’t be able to access the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Home, Account Management or play online.

PSN enabled websites will not be able to service users, including this one. Please stay tuned to the PlayStation Twitter feed for a notice when PSN is fully back online.