PSN Store Update and Network Downtime Confirmed

It's been confirmed that the next system software update and PSN Store update will take place on April 14th, just in time for those of us rushing to file our US Income Tax returns to be forced to take a break and try to track down that receipt for that business dinner at the "Thirsty Alligator House of BBQ".

According to playstation.custhelp.com, the PSN store will be upgraded and inaccessible from April 14th at 8:00 am Pacific Standard Time and available again at 11:00 PM that evening. The entire PSN will be unavailable as well during this time frame. Once the PSN is back up and running, a new software upgrade will be available and will be required to use the PSN.

[Alcaponedyou]

cant' wait.

[KozmoOchez]

i am sooo happy...cant wait to try this out...anything is better than the old one...plus, US VERSION OF GT5 Prologue!!!

[Milky]

So it will be back up at 7:00am GMT ?

[Utalkin2me]

Been waiting a while for this one finally. No if we can just get home along with it. Would be great.

[Room 641-A 8 5neDDaM]

keep the updates and refining coming strong. Nothing like an investment that appreciates over time.

[RecSpec]

Hopefully the new stuff is there too.

[Skerj]

I might actually get prologue in a few weeks, not now though since I gotta get Fes next week and finish paying off GTA4.

[Jim Crowslaw]

when will it return?

[INehalemEXI]

What sucks is I imported a UK version of GT5P and its still not here yet bah I should have read the fine print. Says shipping could take 4-7 weeks thats so pissing me off right now.

[jkhan]

Relax mate, I bought BioShock from Ebay, it came after 6 weeks:(

[spandexxking]

i was losing it so bad when play.com delivered gt5:P 3 days late. i ended up buying it the day it was released then returning the one i got in the post!

[Mikelarry]

lol

[Fruit Loops]

The PS3 just keeps getting better and better.

[MaximusPrime]

totally agree with you there. It seems 2008 is a bright year for Sony.

[LJWooly]

A great year for gamers.

[ER1X]

So I won't be able to play any games online for 15 hours?

[snakeak]

it just says no store access during that time.

[Tragedy]

Snakeak:
"The entire PSN will be unavailable as well during this time frame."

[The Wood]

pixel junk monsters it is then

[Grassroots]

Go back n play SOCOM the old maps are free downloads now lol.

[snakeak]

"It is not anticipated that this will affect other PLAYSTATION Network services"

[WAR_MACHINE77]

dear god I hope the online games will still work. I can't go with out fraging someone after work.

[jkhan]

Boy can't wait, thankfully that lousy interface will be replaced by a cool one. I wonder if they would let us customize the PSN theme, I mean change it background color from blue to black, etc. etc. :P

[whoelse]

There should be an option to change it to 'Current XMB Background'. Then it would feel even more integrated into the XMB and not a separate application.

[Splitz]

It's not like they need 15 hours to pull up a new store!
Get ready for Home Beta!!!

[Storm23]

Wow, do you really think it could be? I doubt it.

[TheExecutive]

well they arent taking down the PSN for 15 hrs to update the ps store. They may be getting ready for it or they may actually release it. Who knows... it could be very interesting. could this be the 2.4 update? I dont know if 2.3 was ever the confirmed number for this firmware update.

[Infolite8907]

15 hours for a new store? nah. "Welcome Home", "Home Sweet Home".

[micro_invader]

ooh, can't wait. I'm gonna try to be one of the first 50 in the store to download something special although it may be a bit hard since my internet is so crappy :P

[Megaton]

It was every 50th, not the first 50.

[Storm23]

Wow, 15 hours off is crazy. Do you think that only the store is getting done?

[gEnKiE]

Awesome....I wonder what else they may be doing?

[Blackcanary]

why 15hrs heres hopei ng for Home open Beta once the store is open.
does anyone know what time it will be opened in the UK.

[phctheone]

nicee.. can't w8

[THC CELL]

Metal gear beta baby wooooooooo cant wait

[TheExecutive]

Why is the entire PSN coming down for 15 hours? I smell something a little larger than a frickin store update coming.

I dont really know if its going to happen, but they are at least getting ready for something pretty big.

[S1nnerman]

Don't tease me with promises of something bigger otherwise my hopes will be dashed and I'll be reduced to a blubbering wreck if I don't get Home .... do you want to see a grown man cry? :P

Can't wait for the updates though :)

[TheExecutive]

it just seems like a long time to be down. I am not saying that anything will be released which wasnt already said but come on!

They are at least testing multiple things, whether that be HOME, in-game XMB, or just maintenance on all of their servers. We just dont know, but they are definitely doing something.

[perils]

im not optimistic enough to dare think they'll give us home. i hope at the very least they expand the classic game selection. i hope they remember why its called the classics as well! reel fishing!!? i never even heard o that one! anyways i cant wait just to mess around in the store and go "oooooooo"

[Lew_Ijgee]

I can't really see a need to shut down all of PSN to just upgrade the store or even Home. However, (and hopefully) I could see it happening for In-game XMB. I say that because with in-game XMB they would have to completely rework the method in which the PS3 OS communicates with PSN.

That is, if they include features like in-game chatting and messaging (a PIP-style in-game video chatting would be sweet) then protocols for these features would have to be included on the PSN server side as well.

[ScottEFresh]

Ummm I highly doubt this is the entire PSN. You will still be able to play games online im sure.

[Milky]

ScottEFresh, it is the whole Playstation Network,

'The entire PSN will be unavailable as well during that time'

[snakeak]

the official PLAYSTATION customer help link says:
"It is not anticipated that this will affect other PLAYSTATION Network services"

[chasuk08]

how do we know this is confirmed, we have no confirmation from sony and has come from one website, with no other websites reporting this story.

[TheExecutive]

yeah, we dont. I am sure there will be a PSblog about this stuff tomorrow. But if true, they are doing something.

I dont know, maybe it takes that long to test the store and make sure everything is functioning? I just have a hard time believing that. Dunno though, maybe it isnt true.

[xtreampro]

then i'll just chill for the whole day then switch on ma PS3 at night and see the changes, buy the way am new here

[JadeTyrant]

if you're new, then be careful what you say in here, these fanboys hunt in packs

[skynidas]

WELCOME mate, and be careful with the fanboys

[Infolite8907]

...You might see, I mean you will see Jason 360 and Power of Green in these post, but you don't have to worry about them they say stupid stuff anyway, lol hehe!

[juuken]

Go Sony!

Can't wait for this update. :D

[marcindpol]

hope for new flash 9 support

[OJ_juice]

OMG, I cannot wait. All day im just gonna day dream whats going to be like.

[Crazyglues]

LoL.....

Bubbles for that because you made me laugh,.. that's going to be one long day dream... (15 hours is a long time to be day dreaming)

The new store should be pretty cool though. If you saw the video on the walk though I like the way it is going to work now, and it looks pretty cool too.

[JCITY]

just my two cents...but i think home will be out...idn but if u look at the gran turismo videos it shows how it will be intergrated into home..or something like that..i kno it has the home sign in the roght bottom corner...and gt5 p is coming out this week...so what else could it be...15 hours...dat is a force jus for a new look on the psn store..plus they said look forward to the beta "REALLY REALLY SOON"

[EZCheez]

And they don't have Home yet either.

A lot of games being released already seem to have Home integration. GT5P is not the first.

[Xlll]

I don't know about home being out but 15hrs is a long time for an update. Most MMORPG's have massive updates that only take from 3-5hrs. So the chance of it being more then just the new store is pretty good. Not saying it will be HOME but might be some new content like PSone classics.

[TheExecutive]

Yeah i dunno whats going on but it seems like something is cooking.

[Xlll]

@TheExecutive
I hope that is the case. If it is then that just means more goodies for us PS3 owners.

[Revvin]

The UK forums have been down a week while they integrate forum accounts with PSN accounts, maybe this extra downtime for the store will also bring HOME beta?

[Varsarus]

15 hours to update psn store?, don't think it takes THAT long, we'll see anyway.

[Tarasque]

Great......Mucho needed.

[J@D]

woot*woot* now I can sleep earlier and wake up around 2:00am just to download the firmware update and take a look over the PSN Store and the new features ^__^

[Blackcanary]

I really really want to know why 15hrs down time the PStore is already made so what else could it be fore. Its gonna feel like its X-mass my bday and easter rolled in to one 2morrow don't think i'll be able to sleep to night.

[sephy 9 2 5]

It states that the maintenance is anticipated to not have any affect on other PSN services. Which one is it?

[Hercules]

could be for the MGO Beta...and they are testing it first for download on the 17th..who knows..oh well i cant wait

[Marty8370]

What time(GMT) does the PS Store open?

[stuntman_mike]

cant believe im getting excited by a store update, my standards must be dropping lol. never mind while thats happening i can read the C&VG GTA4 special that they will be releasing.

[siberiantiger28]

could be the rumored psone classics that are coming to the store, including the 2 original gta games.

[Infernus]

You can get GTA2 for free online from R* for PC :D

Good times...

[Meus Renaissance]

PSN being down for 15 hours is unacceptable. It really highlights the fragility in Sony's experience and resources with an Online infrastructure that an application update would have to result in the entire network being taken down. That's embarrassing.

[TheExecutive]

I agree if that is the case. We will have to wait and see whether there is something else going on. But if they need to take down the entire PSN for 15 hours to update the store then there is a serious problem.

[darkshiz]

Only the store is down.

IMO it's not embarrassing because it's a free service and yet it hasn't crashed yet, unlike Xbox live which has crashed over 3 times.

[Infernus]

Removing PSN access makes complete sense to me (rather odd it's gone over other's heads), the PSstore is basically a browser linked into PSN, so since they're getting rid of the 'browser store' and replacing it with an 'integrated store' they will need to alter parts of the PSN infrastructure to integrate the new store. Otherwise it'd be another store that works the same as the old one.

This isn't just about a new look, the new store will behave differently. This will be integrated into the PS3 so we won't need to load the pages of the store up. It'll be like the nice orange info bar :)

EDIT: If they can add in the new store and remove the old without cutting out other PSN features for gamers globally then I'll be impressed. I don't mind if they take it all down for the update, the only game I play using PSN regularly is COD4. I also game on the PC and have other things to do anyway so PSN downtime isn't that much of a problem...

[Superiorrior]

ps3vault is the only website saying PSN NETWORK is done, all the other websites have been saying only the store is down.

[PS360PCROCKS]

This is the one irritating thing about the PS3, they tell you when you CAN update (I forget), it doesn't automatically update, or am I dumb and you can set it up to do that when you turn it on? I know my 360 ALWAYS updates automatically. I hate software updates though, my PS3 is running on wireless and it takes like 45 minutes to download and install. and it always happens when I go to go online and it's like "a software upgrade is needed to sign into PSN" or whatever it says.

[DJ]

We should put that next on the "Please Fix This" list for Sony. I want background downloading of firmware updates, even if I can't go online. I'm surprised at how long it takes you to download the updates though. What's your connection speed? (the updates are like 120 MB, 'cause they replace the entire OS)

[PS360PCROCKS]

8Mpbs Comcast, yeah when im in the PSN I try to do download in the background and it just doesn't DL, is that just me? and yea I wish you could DL and play a game even if it cant be online. I think it's my area though, VERY crowded neighborhood. I think everyone and their mom is running comcast cause we get deals and cable loves to CRAWL when everyone is using it.

[DJ]

Usually takes me about 12 or 15 minutes to get the updates. And yeah, that doesn't sound normal. You should be able to automatically background download anything from the PS Store. Or there should be a small button on the bottom of the screen that says "Background Download" that you should be able to press.

[PlayStation360]

bro is because of the wireless. I mean 8 is good. I got 10 down (AT&T), and like DJ, it loads up nice. As for the Background DL, like DJ said, there should be that option.

[PS360PCROCKS]

Looked into my wireless settings and it's at like 45% signal rate so that's probably the biggest thing on top of my area. I might just need to find a way to wire it. as for the background dl, I did it a few times and it just disappeared and never downloaded. I will try again.

[DJ]

T_T Guess I'll play DMC or Uncharted. =]

[Infernus]

Just rented that out and been playing through it on the harder difficulty and man that game is good! It's long too, surprising long, didn't expect that from games these days.

Got Army of Two on my rental list, getting that when I send back DMC4. Dunno if it's any good...

[Hercules]

the actual network is still into play..so you can play your COD4, Madden, UT3, etc...im just hoping its something big..and if it is Home, i will cry my heart out send an email to sony saying thank you

[BaSeBaLlKiD721]

i guess its time to finish rainbow six vegas 2 story and finally finish ratchet and clank.

[Premonition]

They know we cant survive nearly 15hrs offline, but who knows, they might reward us with a homebeta icon waiting to be seen in the store :)

[sephy 9 2 5]

just the store.

The official site says we shouldn't anticipate the entire network being down.

[LevDog]

Im not worried about the 15 hr.. Nothing a lil Road to the Show cant fix... I just hope since the PSN store wont be web based... That they make it an actual icon on the XMB instead of having it with account management... Also They should add alot more new avatars..

[eagle21]

Just download everything you might need before this time. :)

[dronde]

WHat's that in Eastern TIme?

[Ovidius]

12pm to 3am i think for eastern.

[TheExecutive]

11am-2am

[dronde]

Thanks to both of you guys

[Mikelarry]

hooooooooooo. wat i cant wait for is the secret application you will get from using the new store. cant w8

[DiLeCtioN]

i was gonna sort my new COD4 clan...guess it will have to wait...oh well ill submit some news for the day lol, TnS, cyrus and decapitator am coming ;)

[Microshaft]

EDIT: Accidental post

[Microshaft]

AHAHAHAH THIS MADE ME LAUGH...15 HOURS JUST TO UPDATEAN EMPTY STORE????????????? AAHAHAHAHAHA MAN YOU DROIDS ARE BLIND, LIKE NO ONE WILL NOTICE, PSN IS EMPTY AHAHAHAHA!!!!! HOW DO YOU LIKE IT WHEN XBOTS POST IN YOUR TOPICS HAHA!

[kalioon]

dont think i didnt notice you posted this on the gamer zone 1st. Please return here when you can operate the internet. fool.

[DrPirate]

lmfao. I don't usually post on the main site. But you deserve it Bill Gates. This made me laugh.

I love how insane this place is getting.

C4G. Comedy for Gamers

[kalioon]

for all you UK's. its 4pm on monday to 7am tuesday.

[Infernus]

okay thanks :)

[Greeny1972]

many thanks

[xplosneer]

"The PLAYSTATION®Network will be taken offline for a scheduled maintenance to our network during the following times:

Start: April 14, 2008, beginning at 8:00 a.m., Pacific Time
End: April 14, 2008, ending at 11:00 p.m., Pacific Time

During this time, the new PLAYSTATION®Store upgrade will be taking place. As a result access to the PLAYSTATION Network will be restricted, including:

No access to the PLAYSTATION®Store

For information regarding the changes to the PLAYSTATION Store, please visit the PlayStation.Blog.

IT IS NOT ANTICIPATED THAT THIS WILL AFFECT OTHER PLAYSTATION NETWORK SERVICES"
http://playstation.custhelp...

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

Can we get some bubbles up in here?

[Hellsvacancy]

wasnt xbl down for like a day or 2 at christmas

[Microshaft]

It was down for XMAS Day but just too many people were subscibing you see, there is over 10m on xbl you know!

@10.1 I know better than you fool, i just forgot i changed my prefered comment zone to gamer

[rawd]

The difference is people are suckers paying for XBL that SHOULD be free.

[Infernus]

I know they say it'll only affect access to the old store but if there are any problems I wouldn't be at all surprised if they cut the whole Network access off to fix things.

Shouldn't be any problems but you never know with the net. Better to be safe than sorry whenever updates are involved.

[thehitman]

Am I reading wrong or is the entire PSN going down so no online play???

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

Devs use their own servers...

The PSN itself is its own thing.

[Mr_Potato_]

You're reading wrong. Only the STORE will be down, as sony said.

[Deathbringer]

can anyone give me the link for the plastation store new

[xcmike]

i dont know why everyone hates the old psn store i mean its just a store its not that big of deal, i thought the consoles just battle for best games and hardware, but not the store, in my opinion i think the playstation store is great, i mean i can find everything just find with its search thing(A-Z)

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

Changing font colors would be REALLY nice also.

I want a longer description/comment about us...AND the ability to use pics as actual avatars.

In-game XMB should solve a lot of things though, including custom soundtracks.

[PSWe60]

I don't hate the old PSN store, it just has a bunch of little problems, but it's a damn good first try.
I welcome the new PSN store

[Hockey11]

Has anybody noticed anything weird with the psn. I keep getting signed out of the psn when im playing warhawk(well thats all I play) Could be this or it could be my IP address. For some reason my psp,DS,or my laptop have trouble getting the IP adress sometimes. Anybody know why?

[ASTAROTH]

I have high hopes that the PS store receives an overhaul that makes it more confortable to browse. It would be nice if you copy some things from the LIVE service; its not a bad thing. Anyway, this thing SONY is doing is really apreciated. I really apreciate SONY's commitment with consummers and the search of an overall better services. It takes MS 5 years to make LIVE what it is, and SONY in a year is pretty damn close. Best of all, its FREE!!!

Now SONY the only thing I really want from you is ingame XMB and a type of gamercard like the LIVE service one. You could implement it on the XMB. So SONY...keep listen to us and bring the great experience that would be HOME. 2008 the year of the PS3.

PD: No waggle WII motion control please. Keep this crap to the kids at NINTENDO.

[brothersimon]

If only it was as good as Xbox Live :((

[ELite_Ghost]

yea it's not as good, it's better ;)

[tehReaper]

Ghost, you're a moron. Do you think you're kidding anyone? Fanboy or not, I figured the PS3 fanboys would be smart enough to see some facts straight. Nope, they suck Sony's pole too much.

Xbox Live is better..and worth the money. PSN needs to hit puberty before it can compete with Live.