Sony has decided to lay to rest the PlayStation Underground, which hosted part of its online community features on PlayStation.com.

The area hosted personal game libraries, wish lists, and similar community features which will be rolled into an upgraded PlayStation.com launching next week.

The new website will integrate PlayStation Network accounts, the same ones used to download content from the PlayStation Store for the PS3 and PSP.

Using their PSN accounts, gamers will be able to make profiles, rate games, assemble game libraries, make wish lists, and chat with friends.

The new features launch "early next week," with further improvements promised by the end of the year.

The new Los Angeles studio of Japanese publisher Square Enix will start by focusing its efforts on downloadable games, according to Square Enix US president John Yamamoto.

"We started the in-house development team a couple of months ago and we're starting with downloadable content because the team is still small," Yamamoto told GamesIndustry. "All formats--Xbox Live, WiiWare, PlayStation Network--are all viable formats for us," he added.

The Los Angeles development team is very small, with "a skeleton crew of only three members." The publisher reportedly wants to boost that team up to 30 inside the next year.

Square Enix's newest studio will also be charged with researching middleware following the commercial and critical success of The Last Remnant... Read more

Today is the PlayStation 3's second birthday, and in typical Sony fashion the company is celebrating by way of its PR department, as the company has declared that there are 14 million online PlayStation Network accounts to go with "nearly 17 million" PlayStation 3 systems.

"With 14 million active accounts and 273 million pieces of content downloaded, we know that you're thirsting for ... digital entertainment," wrote Sony marketer John Koller on Sony's official PlayStation Blog.

Sony announced in late October that it had sold 16.84 million consoles worldwide, but today's announcement of 14 million PSN accounts implies--assuming one online account per console--that over 80 percent of PlayStation 3 owners go online, which if true would be a staggeringly high rate.

How many consoles have actually gone online remains unclear... Read more

Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Capcom's fighter with featuring Marvel comic characters and a cult following, has been rated by the ESRB for release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The internet detectives at NeoGAF picked up the rating in the ESRB ratings database. The rating has since been pulled, but the sleuths kept some photographic evidence.

To add to that evidence, industry veteran "john tv" posted a picture taken with a mobile phone showing Marvel vs. Capcom 2 appearing in the Xbox Live Marketplace on a development console, suggesting that the re-releases will be in online marketplaces like several versions of Street Fighter II.

Originally released in 2000, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 has kept a small but lively community of followers that were teased with a new entry in the series back at this year's San Diego Comic Con.

Further detective work also revealed ESRB ratings for Street Fighter Alpha 2 and 3 for PlayStation 3 and PSP, suggesting that the PlayStation 1 versions will get ports to the new systems.

SCE Liverpool's downloadable hovercraft racer Wipeout HD will cost $19.99 when it arrives on PlayStation 3 later this year, producer Daimion Pinnock has confirmed.

"It's going to be $19.99," he told Shacknews in an interview published today. Essentially a "best-of," the game features 16 tracks culled from the franchise's various titles.

Pinnock also spoke on title's recent delay, rumored to be triggered by epilepsy concerns. While he did not address the supposed epilepsy issue, the producer stressed the importance of smooth online play and trophy support.

"We wanted to make sure that this one kind of made a statement, and was something that we could be really proud of, and we absolutely are," said Pinnock. "Having eight players in there, and make sure they're running at 60 frames with no lag, is really important."

In honor of its weekly tradition, Sony has updated the PlayStation Store with another week's worth of content. Of note this week are the downloadable answer-in-the-form-of-a-question game show Jeopardy! and a demo for Motorstorm: Pacific Rift--assuming you've purchased the latest episode of Sony's digital video magazine Qore.

Courtesy the PlayStation Blog, this week brings the following:

Downloadable Games

JEOPARDY! ($14.99)
Test your knowledge on America's Favorite Quiz Show! Available for the first time on the PLAYSTATION Network, players can experience the fast-paced fun of JEOPARDY! Featuring a photorealistic 3D set and clues from the producers of the T.V. show, players can compete in solo mode or challenge a friend to a battle of the brains... Read more

Q Entertainment is continuing to share the cross-platform love by announcing a PlayStation 3 version of its musically-inclined puzzle game Lumines.

Following up on the recent announcement of its other puzzler Meteos coming to Xbox 360, this time around Q is updating the fast-paced, square-making Lumines--now adding the Supernova moniker--to play online on the PlayStation 3. Custom soundtracks are among the additions to the new edition.

The free-to-play PC version of Lumines

Lumines Supernova does not have an announced price or release date, but it will launch on Sony's online store on the PlayStation Network in Japan this fall.

Reversing the trend of Xbox 360-exclusive downloadable content in multi-platform games, Sony has revealed that EA DICE's parkour-inspired first-person action game Mirror's Edge (PC, PS3, 360) will sport some PlayStation 3-only DLC.

"Exclusive downloadable content will be offered on the PlayStation Network," Sony Computer Entertainment informed Eurogamer. "PlayStation has an exclusive marketing agreement with EA regarding the title."

No details were offered as to what that content will be. DICE previously told Shacknews that the PS3 version of the Unreal Engine 3-powered game was leading development.

The title now opposes Bethesda's Fallout 3 and Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto IV in the brewing DLC conflict of 2008, with GTA4 receiving exclusive DLC on the Xbox 360 and Fallout 3 getting PC and 360-only downloadable content.

The Last Guy, SCE Japan Studio's people-herding zombie-avoiding top-down action game, will hit North American PlayStation 3 systems tomorrow at a price of $9.99.

A player-controlled Himalayan zombie, the titular last guy is on a mission to rescue the citizens of major world cities including Tokyo, London, and Los Angeles from monsters. Using actual high-resolution satellite imagery of the cities, players run through streets and allies, collecting humans who follow their hurried savior.

The downloadable game will sell for $9.99 in the online PlayStation Store, with a free one-level demo currently available.

Publisher Sierra Online has announced that Red Baron Arcade, Stainless Studios' action-heavy re-imagining of Dynamix's classic PC flight simulator Red Baron, will be released as a downloadable PlayStation 3 game on September 18.

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Previously released on the PC, Red Baron Arcade will sport 36 single-player missions and support eight-person online battles in its PS3 incarnation. A price point was not provided, though a free demo will be available at launch.

Sony Computer Entertainment has fired the latest volley in today's barrage of new screenshots, offering glimpses of three downloadable PlayStation 3 efforts.

Fat Princess - Darkstar Industries / Arcade Action

Crash Commando - EPOS Game Studios / Action... Read more

Criterion Games' open-world racer Burnout Paradise (PS3, 360) will hit the PlayStation 3's online PlayStation Network this coming fall as a downloadable title, publisher Electronic Arts announced today.

Priced at $29.99, Burnout Paradise's downloadable incarnation will include all of the features and content available in its Blu-ray retail release, which hit store shelves in January of this year. The game marks the first PlayStation 3 title to make the leap as a downloadable game following a traditional retail release.

Since its debut, Criterion has provided several content updates for the racer. The latest update, codenamed "Cagney," brought three new online game modes upon its release last month. The forthcoming "Davis" update, which will offer motorcycles, dynamic weather and night and day day cycles, was recently delayed to September.

Naughty Dog designer Richard Lemarchand believes that new social networking and connectivity features in the works for the PlayStation 3's online PlayStation Network may give the service an advantage over competitor Microsoft's Xbox Live.

Speaking with IGN, the Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3) lead developer said that the PlayStation 3's trophies build off of groundwork laid by the Xbox 360's Achievements, adding that the social aspects offered by the system could "become the norm across all gaming systems."

"I like the fact that you can pull them up and look at them in-game anywhere you are on the PS3 interface," Lemarchand continued. "I think there's going to be other things coming down the pipe that's going to give PSN as a whole a competitive edge."

Lemarchard declined to offer specific details on the upcoming additions, but stated that he was excited by the internet connectivity and user-oriented content... Read more

Sony announced today that the PlayStation 3 will tonight begin offering video downloads of television shows and movies from studios such as Sony Pictures, Fox Film, Lionsgate, Disney, Paramount, Turner, and Funimation.

The video store will offer both rental and digital sales of television shows and movies. SD and HD versions of television shows will sell for $1.99.

Movie rentals will run from $2.99 to $5.99, with movie purchases going up to $14.99. AS one would expect, HD version of the movies will be available as well.

Sony explained that it would take about an hour to download a regular SD movie, but playback is available beginning a minute after the download begins.

The videos will also be viewable on the PSP via a USB data transfer or a download from the PC version of the PlayStation Store.

A new program, titled Life with PlayStation, to deliver live video and news from around the world will be available to PlayStation 3 users by the end of the month.

The PlayStation 3's free 3D social networking application Home will feature content from Nike, EA, LucasArts, Activision and more when it arrives in open beta this fall.

"I absolutely assure you...your patience will be more than rewarded," SCEA CEO Jack Tretton promised.

The PlayStation Network will soon gain an interface to enable web-based viewing of friends list, SCEA CEO Jack Tretton revealed at today's press event.

The PlayStation 3 utilize the PlayStation Store to track friends and achievements and allow online multiplayer. However, non-PlayStation 3 owners can still register on the site, a move Tretton hopes will make the transition to PS3 easier.

Capcom and Inti Create's downloadable revival of Mega Man will, as previously rumored, arrive on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in addition to the Wii, IGN has confirmed.

Featuring a pixel-based art style and optional protection against one-hit kills, Mega Man 9 marks the first downloadable game to be announced for the online stores--PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Marketplace, Wii Shop Channel--of all three systems.

North American release details are not yet available, though the title is slated to hit Japan's WiiWare store in September for 1000 Wii Points ($10).

In addition, Capcom revealed that the NES classics Mega Man 1 and 2 will soon be released in the Wii's online Virtual Console storefront. Once again, no pricing or release details were specified, though the games are expected to carry the store's usual 500 Wii Point ($5) price for NES games.

Mega Man 9 is slated to appear as a downloadable title on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in addition to Wii, reports Ars Technica.

Last week, Capcom confirmed the sprite-based side scrolling sequel would arrive as a downloadable WiiWare title, and is being developed by Mega Man Zero and ZX veterans Inti Creates.

Ars claims that Capcom's E3 roster lists PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 editions, but curiously, does not mention the Wii. The site chalks up the Wii exclusion to Nintendo Power's recent revelation, though it is also possible that the platform text is placeholder.

When reached for comment, a Capcom representative told Shacknews that the company "has not officially announced our complete E3 lineup at this time," and added that "Mega Man 9 is one of the best, most challenging games you'll ever play!"

If the title really does come out on all three systems, Mega Man 9 will be the first game to hit all three online marketplaces. Capcom's recent PC support indicates a PC version is feasible as well, though the company has yet to make an official statement.

This week's PlayStation Store update features new content for Harmonix's Rock Band (X360, PS3), a new demo and the final update of Game Republic's Folklore (PS3).

As announced earlier this week, PS3 Rock Band owners can look forward jamming out with "Siva" by the Smashing Pumpkins, "Working Man" by Rush, and a cover of Coheed and Cambria's "Ten Speed (of God's Blood...)" priced at $1.99 per download.

Folklore fans can savor the title's final downloadable content update with two new add-on packs. "Nightmares" and "Visions of the Tower" each include four additional side quests, an extra Folk to capture and an alternative costume for your heroes. The packs are priced at $3.99 individually, or $5.99 for a bundle.

Finally, a demo for Pivotal Games' Conflict: Denied Ops (PC, PS3, X360) is now on the PlayStation Network for free download. A PC version of the demo was released late last week and is available for download at FileShack.