Sony just announced that the PSN, down since April in the wake of an attack by hackers, will be fully restored (for most regions) by the end of the week.

The only regions where it won't be 100% back will be Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea.

For everyone else, that means the following suite of PSN services should be back up and running by Friday:

- Full functionality on PlayStation®Store
- In-game commerce
- Ability to redeem vouchers and codes
- Full functionality on Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity for PS3, PSP, VAIO and other PCs
- Full functionality on Media Go

PlayStation boss Kaz Hirai says in a statement "We have been conducting additional testing and further security verification of our commerce functions in order to bring the PlayStation Network completely back online so that our fans can again enjoy the first class entertainment experience they have come to love."

"We appreciate the patience and support shown during this time."

Call of Duty, as has long been predicted/expected, is set to introduce a monthly subscription fee for its multiplayer users.

Launching as an online service, rather than a standalone product, Call of Duty Elite will be part of Modern Warfare 3 (and future titles) when its released in November, and will include the option of charging multiplayer gamers for access to stuff not available to regular consumers who only pay once for the game disc.

What's important to note is that this is not a pay wall. You're not being forced to pay a monthly subscription fee to access the game's multiplayer. Nor will Call of Duty Elite itself cost anything. Instead, the idea is that extra content will be offered to paying subscribers, for an undisclosed fee.

Some of that will come in the way of tools allowing players to analyse their behaviour and records. Another will be the fact subscribers will be given access to map packs.

That information can all be found in a report on the Wall Street Journal. For a lot more, including the specifics you're probably racing to the comments section to wonder about, check back with us at 9am EST Tuesday morning.

'Call of Duty' Sets Sights on a Fee [WSJ]

Developer Housemarque was supposed to release multiplatform title Outland on the PSN in late April, but the network was hacked. The game's release was pushed back.

Outland is a unique digital title that's been getting rave reviews. In the wake of the PSN hack, the game might be getting something else: lost in the shuffle.

The game's developer Housemarque tells Kotaku Japan that it's somewhat worried how Sony's Welcome Back campaign is going to impact its PSN sales—with free games being handed out, who wants to pony up for a PSN game right now?

It is a real concern, but Sony's must do something to smooth over things with players. Then again, it could entice gun shy players back to the PSN, ultimately creating potential Outland players.

Whoever hacked the PSN didn't only stick it to Sony, he or she also stuck it to game developers like Housemarque.

PSN障害はどれほどの痛手？ ダウンロード専門のゲーム開発会社に訊いてみた [Kotaku Japan]

Digital delivery services for video games have completely changed the way many of us buy video games. There are several to choose from, but ShockedFish is a new webapp that lets you price compare the most popular ones to see which has the best price on the game you want to buy.

To find a deal, all you have to do is visit ShockedFish and browse the listings for the games you want to play. You'll see the price you pay on the far right, complete with the discount off list you'll get if you buy it.

That can amount to huge savings for someone who's trying to catch up on games they've been meaning to play however: if you haven't gotten around to Borderlands, according to ShockedFIsh your best bet is to snag it from Games for Windows Live, half-off for $9.99. If you're looking for a deal on The Witcher 2 – which only came out last week – you can get 20% off by purchasing and downloading it directly from Amazon.

If your favorite game isn't listed, you can search for it by keyword, or toggle the price or popularity filters to find it. Many of the games are up to 75% off or more. The only catch is that most of the games listed are indie titles or games that have been out for a long time: which explains why most distribution services have them on sale. Regardless, if you're shopping for a new game, ShockedFish is worth a look.

ShockedFish | via BrowserScene

---

You can follow Alan Henry, the author of this post, on Twitter.

In case you forget, GameStop adds it to your shopping cart. The US$3.95 download insurance is a back up copy for future digital game download. That future is a short one, because the insurance expires after 18 months.

Know the best download insurance? Steam.

What is this crap Gamestop? [Reddit via Boing Boing]

Japan is getting a new custom PS3, a limited Tales of Xillia one. This isn't the first limited PS3 for Japan. There have been others.

For example, Metal Gear Solid 4 got a "Gun Metal" PS3, while Yakuza got a yakuza-y one. Final Fantasy XIII got a white and pink job, and Gran Turismo 5 pulled up in a blue PS3.

There was even a "Cloud Black" PS3 to promote the Blu-ray release of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

Which one do you like best?

PS3の限定版本体の中でどれが一番好き？ [神羅＠ゲーム速報]

Director David O. Russell dropped out of Uncharted. He's taking his goofy-sounding script and Mark Wahlberg with him.

Wahlberg was slated to star in Russell's cinematic take on Uncharted, which was about "a crime family that metes out justice in the world of art and antiquities" and which didn't sound like Uncharted.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Russell's Uncharted script was so long and so ambitious that it was partly responsible for the filmmaker and Sony parting ways.

While the game centers on hero Nathan Drake, Russell added a whole host of supporting characters and hoped to have Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro co-star in the film.

Sony still wants to make the picture and is searching for a new director and new writer to work off an earlier script draft written by written by the writers responsible for the upcoming Conan the Barbarian.

Russell is a talented filmmaker and probably could've made something interesting and entertaining. But would it have been Uncharted?

Why couldn't David O. Russell and Sony make it work on 'Uncharted'? [latimes.com via /Film]

Or not, since these aren't real conditions. But the Game Arthritis series of kind of makes us wish they were real. After all, scars tell a story, and it's about time video gaming gave us more impressive ones than just a calloused thumb.

Game Arthritis is a gallery by Matteo Bittanti and IOCOSE. There's some highlights above, but the full thing is at the link below.

Game Arthritis [IOCOSE, thanks Ben!]

Some Jedi are unnervingly good. Others are evil to their very core. And others, well, they're just bros, hangin' out, bein' assholes.

If the humour and special effects seem a little better than your standard YouTube fare, this is another Facerocker joint. In this case, a sequel to last year's just as awesome Jedi A-Holes.

Dragon's Dogma sounds rotten. It doesn't roll off the tongue, and it's ridiculous. It sounds like a title created by someone who just got a Thesaurus. If these screenshots are anything to go by, though, the game looks stunning.

The game, a role-playing title, is from the Devil May Cry team. Read Kotaku's eyes-on impressions here and see some gameplay footage here.

Dragon's Dogma is kind of like Monster Hunter meets Dragon Age. It will be out next year.

Not only is Dragon's Dogma the biggest game Capcom has ever made, it's rumored to be the most expensive. Shame about the title.