Here is what is making news today: Updated PSN/Qriocity Outage, Cyberbike Cycling game for Wii, PS3 controller used in robbery, Shadows of the Damned and much more throughout the day.

PSN/Qriocity Update

For all our PS3 owners it appears there is no change in the network outage issue. Late Saturday the official Playstation Blog released an update on the situation.

“We sincerely regret that PlayStation Network and Qriocity services have been suspended, and we are working around the clock to bring them both back online. Our efforts to resolve this matter involve re-building our system to further strengthen our network infrastructure. Though this task is time-consuming, we decided it was worth the time necessary to provide the system with additional security.

We thank you for your patience to date and ask for a little more while we move towards completion of this project. We will continue to give you updates as they become available.”

So it looks like any plans you had for an Easter weekend multiplayer online experience is a bust, and there is no estimated time/date for a resolution. Lets hope when they DO come back online the network is bigger and better than before!! As always, we’ll keep you updated on any changes in the situation.

Cyberbike Cycling game

Getting in shape again

Well over a year ago, Nintendo released an exercise game for its Wii console, a long time to wait for something new in that genera.  Well get ready for something new, Bigben Interactive announced that its Cyberbike will be launching in North America this summer.  It will be packaged with a Cyberbike Cycling Sports game by Eco.

The Cyberbike is a magnetic resistance stationary exercise bike that plugs into the Wii through a GameCube controller port.  You can adjust the bike’s resistance level with a tension control knob, the handlebars include buttons and dual analog sticks allowing for compatibility with any Wii game that uses the Classic Controller.  Additionally, its adjustable seat can hold up to 286 lbs.

The Cyberbike Cycling Sports game includes both Story and Fitness modes, as well as a multiplayer mode where you can take turns riding the bike. The price of this bike and game package hasn’t been determined yet but reportedly such information should be available within a month.

PlayStation Network Outage

Could be a day or so yet

Playstation Retail Loyalty Site’s official Twitter account announced the recent outage of Playstation Network was due to some issues in Japan.  The Japanese Engineers worked diligently to restore the network for the more then 70 million users.

Playstation’s blog attempted to reassure the network’s users with this post: “While we are investigating the cause of the Network outage, we wanted to alert you that it may be a full day or two before we’re able to get the service completely back up and running. Thank you very much for your patience while we work to resolve this matter. Please stay tuned to this space for more details, and we’ll update you again as soon as we can.”

The PlayStation Network store holds over 900 games and 4,000 items of add-on content for gamers, not to mention the over 30,000 movies and television shows available for download.  Sony reported yesterday that it would be launching PlayStation Home service update for users visiting the Network’s virtual world.  Is it possible that update created problems, or as some of their members speculate, was it a hacker?  Either way, we hope that by the time of this printing, all is well in the PSN.

Update1: As the outage continues to plague Sony and many of its members, the hacking group AnonOps posts on their website “For once we didn’t do it” adding that they “do not take responsibility for what happened.”

Update2: Sony reports that the entire network could continue to be down for another 48 hours.  They probably won’t see a resolution to the problem until Saturday at the earliest.

Update3: Sony’s blog reports that an “external intrusion” to their system forced them to take their network down. No hint at when they will be bringing it back online, but we suspect they are checking everything thoroughly prior to letting people back online for anything malicious that may have been done.

PS3 controller used in robbery

Hand over the money or I’ll .. I’ll ..

A 20-year-old male Florida resident was arrested for reportedly trying to rob a Sun Food Store with a PlayStation 3 controller.  He reportedly walked into the store with a controller in his pocket, telling the clerk that it was a gun.  Police officers had received a tip that the young man was planning the robbery and arrived at the store while the robbery was in progress.  Apparently, one can not use a PS3 controller to rewind, respawn, or pause events in real life no matter how hard you mash the buttons, the suspect was apprehended and gave up his controller willingly.  He now faces robbery and violation of probation charges …. And somewhere in Florida, a PS3 is minus one controller .. bummer.

Shadow of the Damned

New release date announced

A survival horror game, Shadows of the Damned, is the next game from Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture. The game was originally slated to come out on June 7th, but it was recently reported that the game’s launch has been delayed for two weeks. Shadows of the Damned is now scheduled to be released for the Xbox 360 and PS3 on June 21.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympics

The third in the Olympic series announced

Sega and Nintendo announced their latest competitive sports-themed series, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, saying it will arrive for the 3DS and Wii.  The launch date hasn’t been announced yet and there are no plans to provide a release date until later this year.  It is rather curious that the last two Mario & Sonic Olympic games were released on the DS, and yet that system was not mentioned as part of yesterday’s announcement.

Mr. Toot

Can a unicorn be a weapon of mass destruction?

Mr. Toots is a multi-colored unicorn introduced to us by YouTube video sensation Freddie Wong and friends.   The unicorn has a rather interesting ability to produce a high-powered rainbow beam from his .. umm .. his backside.  The beam is capable of destroying anything in its path.  Yes, yes, that’s funny and interesting, but exactly why is this game news?  Well, it seems that Mr. Toots is the property of Volition Inc., the developers of THQ’s Red Faction and Saints Row games. Freddie Wong notes in the making of the video that the “unicorn weapon” model is being used in “one of Volition’s upcoming games.”  OK, now this could get interesting.  Could we see a rainbow shooting unicorn weapon in an up-coming Red Faction game?  Worth pondering, OOooo I hope its true!