Busy Gamer News

The big surprise from Sony this week was the introduction of a new subscription content service called Qore on the PlayStation Store. While online play is free on the PlayStation Network (unlike Xbox Live's $50/year pay-to-play service), this appears to be a first attempt to subsidize by a "monthly digital magazine." The first issue (also available for $3 a month) requires 1.5GB and delivers "exclusive content" (presumably videos) for Afro Samurai, Secret Agent Clank, SOCOM: Confrontation, Soul Calibur 4 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, plus a theme and invitation to the SOCOM: Confrontation beta, art galleries, and Blu-ray ads.

Actually, apart from the beta invite and maybe the theme, everything here is promotional - so you're essentially paying for ads. This also means we'll start seeing some of the better content withheld from the free Store to favor paying subscribers.

Fortunately, that's not the case this week - here's what you'll find new in the PlayStation Store:

• PS3 Games: Novastrike ($10) and Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 ($10)
• PSP Game: SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 2 ($16)
• Guitar Hero III track “The End Begins (to Rock)” from God of War II (free) and Motorhead Track Pack ($6.25) with “Motorhead,” "Stay Clean,” and “(We Are) The Road Crew”
• Rock Band Disturbed Pack 1 ($3, or $1 each) with “Indestructible,” "Inside the Fire” and “Perfect Insanity” and Jimmy Buffett Pack 01 ($5.50, or $2 each) with “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “Margaritaville” and "Volcano"
• Demos: Battlefield: Bad Company multiplayer, Civilization Revolution and NASCAR 09
• Game Videos: Dead Space, Fracture, Guitar Hero III God Of War II music video, Hail to the Chimp, Lego Indiana Jones, Resident Evil 5 and Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3
• Theme: Retro
• Music: God Of War II “The End Begins (to Rock)” audio track (free)