In just a few short hours, PAX 2008 will be but a distant, awesome memory. Next week, we’ll be posting the interviews we shot (featuring the questions you asked) with Insomniac, Sucker Punch, and Hothead Games. We’ll also shed a little more light on the gameplay of Resistance Retribution for PSP, and recap today’s Blog Reader Meet-up (spoiler: it was awesome).

PAX isn’t really a “news generator” in the way E3 and Leipzig were, but if you read anything you’d like to share with the class, link out below.

In the meantime, I hope you have a good, relaxing Labor Day (if applicable). See you Tuesday.

The PS Blog weekly reading list (Week of 8/25)

• Ferrari Challenge out now, Trophy patch in September - PS3 Fanboy
• Sony likes keeping things free: We like things being kept free, incidentally - Destructoid
• Jenova Chen recognized as top young innovator by Technology Review - PS3 Fanboy
• Guillerrmo Del Toro calls Team Ico’s games masterpieces - Destructoid
• PSP breaks 10 million sold mark in Japan - Destructoid
• Games Convention 2008: Here’s How Heavy Rain’s Controls Work - Kotaku
• Athlete proves fanboyism, brings PSP to Olympics - PSP Fanboy
• Pick the Cover for Resistance 2: Collector’s Edition - IGN
• Joystiq hands-on: Killzone 2 multiplayer - Joystiq
• Red Baron Arcade brings air combat to PSN in September - PS3 Fanboy
• Games Convention 2008: Wipeout HD One-Year Anniversary Impressions - Kotaku
• Ratchet & Clank Quest for Booty review - Destructoid
• MTV Multiplayer » Inside The Biggest Small Game Of The Year
• Warhawk Fallen Star expansion Aug. 28, $7.99 - Joystiq
• ‘Best of Leipzig’ looks a lot like ‘Best of E3′ - PS3 Fanboy
• IGN: GC 2008: Sony Booth Report
• Three Speech » 160GB PS3 coming to Europe…
• LittleBigPlanet confirmed region free by SCEE rep - PS3 Fanboy
• Heavy Rain: You’re Soaking In it - Kotaku
• Unlock two new weapons with latest MGS4 passwords - PS3 Fanboy
• The Last Guy Priced for U.S. - Game | Life
• PSP 2000 vs PSP 3000: new screen kicks ass - Destructoid
• Killzone 2 Multiplayer Hands On - Five Good Things - Kotaku

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is an explosive open-world action game set in a massive, highly reactive, war-torn world. A power-hungry tyrant messes with Venezuela's oil supply, sparking an invasion that turns the country into a warzone. Mercenaries 2 features the latest and most dangerous in civilian and military tech, everything from shiny new sports cars, to the future-tech satellite-guided bunker-busting mini-nuke. Tanks, APCs, boats, luxury automobiles – you name it, you can have it delivered to you in real time. And if you run out of cash you can always 'acquire' the gear you need in the field If you see it, you can buy it, steal it, or blow the living crap out of it. Play your own way, or play with the help of a friend in the new cooperative multiplayer mode.

Release Date:Sun, 31 Aug 2008

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is an explosive open-world action game set in a massive, highly reactive, war-torn world. A power-hungry tyrant messes with Venezuela's oil supply, sparking an invasion that turns the country into a warzone. Mercenaries 2 features the latest and most dangerous in civilian and military tech, everything from shiny new sports cars, to the future-tech satellite-guided bunker-busting mini-nuke. Tanks, APCs, boats, luxury automobiles – you name it, you can have it delivered to you in real time. And if you run out of cash you can always 'acquire' the gear you need in the field If you see it, you can buy it, steal it, or blow the living crap out of it. Play your own way, or play with the help of a friend in the new cooperative multiplayer mode.

Release Date:Sun, 31 Aug 2008

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is an explosive open-world action game set in a massive, highly reactive, war-torn world. A power-hungry tyrant messes with Venezuela's oil supply, sparking an invasion that turns the country into a warzone. Mercenaries 2 features the latest and most dangerous in civilian and military tech, everything from shiny new sports cars, to the future-tech satellite-guided bunker-busting mini-nuke. Tanks, APCs, boats, luxury automobiles – you name it, you can have it delivered to you in real time. And if you run out of cash you can always 'acquire' the gear you need in the field If you see it, you can buy it, steal it, or blow the living crap out of it. Play your own way, or play with the help of a friend in the new cooperative multiplayer mode.

Release Date:Sun, 31 Aug 2008

Help Lex build words to battle monsters in a spelling sensation of epic proportions! Spell words from a set of letter tiles as you travel through three storybooks to save your friend Cassandra from an unknown kidnapper. Vanquish villains, whomp foes, and annihilate over 150 enemies¿ the bigger the word, the better the damage. Increase your word power with fantastic gems, potions and magical treasures. Master exciting mini-games and brilliant bonus modes, and you¿ll see why Bookworm Adventures is the ultimate test of vocabularic valor!

Release Date:Sun, 31 Aug 2008

I’ve been busy with shooting interviews at PAX today, but now that I’ve got the chance to catch up, I just wanted to share an update on the SOCOM Confrontation public beta that was posted earlier today on SOCOM.com. Here’s the word straight from SCEA’s Seth Luisi:

Hi folks,

Well, I’ve got some good and not so good news. The good news is that we are still on track to delivering a kick-ass experience come October. The bad news is that because we are working so hard to ensure the final product is fantastic, we’ve decided to push back the Public Beta date just a few days in order to bump up the experience even more. So, the new launch date for the Public Beta is now Friday, September 5th (QORE members will start the following Friday, September 12).

The other good news is that we are not cutting down the length of the Public Beta one bit. It will still run for a full month - from 9/5 to 10/5 - so you and your clanmates can still practice as long as you want and then be ready to go for the full game later in October.

Myself, my team and Slant Six are burning the midnight oil to ensure this game is the best it can possibly be for you guys. We completely understand it’s hard to wait when you haven’t had a chance to play it yet but, rest assured, the wait will be worth it. If you haven’t done it already, you can pre-order the game from GameStop® in the US to get into the Public Beta (EB Games™ for our brethren to the North). Make sure to bring along 2 extra friends once you register and get the email promo code from us; that code will let them in too. You’re not going to get another Public Beta out there that will give you and your squad-mates so much access.

Best,
Seth

For the latest updates on the public beta, and everything SOCOM, keep an eye on SOCOM.com.

• Warhawk Operation: Fallen Star - While I’m ecstatic to be at PAX - it’s a bit bittersweet that I can’t be playing this right now…
• Savage Moon – Coming this Fall to PSN - Go hands on at PAX, if you can make it.
• Set Your Alarm: PAX PlayStation.Blog Meet-up Details - This just wrapped up, actually - look for an update soon.
• The Last Guy, Coming To a City Near You - An IGN Editor’s Choice winner.
• PlayStation @ PAX - Our guide to what we’re doing, and when.
• Penny Arcade Adventures: PSN, PAX details - Thanks for supplying us with questions to ask the devs. Interview on the blog next week.
• PlayStation Store Update - featuring The Last Guy and Warhawk Operation: Fallen Star.
• Day and Night Gameplay for Burnout Paradise - The final update coming next week. Thanks, Criterion!
• Life with PlayStation is on its way - Stay tuned for further updates on the blog.
• PLAYSTATION Store Video Content Update - Perhaps our biggest update since launch.
• Penny Arcade Expo 08: See our booth - Hopefully, you’ll be able to see it for yourself. If not… this’ll have to do!

Courtesy of David “Point Man” Brothers

• Seven Days to Go - No, it’s not a curse– there’s just seven days until the beta.
  SOCOM: Confrontation @ PAX - Come by and see us at PAX.
• Gun of the Week: Mark 23 - This week we’re looking at another gun in SOCOM.
• Feedback Post: Trash Talk - How blue does the air get around you when you play?
• Sneak Peek: Little Things - I find something else cool about SOCOM: Confrontation.

Courtesy of Victor Zuylen – Editor, Killzone Community

• Leipzig Journal – For his latest blog entry, QA Manager Seb ‘MotherH’ Downie kept a journal of all his activities at the Games Convention.
• Leipzig Games Convention Wrap-Up – We’ve created a quick overview of the press coverage of our Killzone 2 multiplayer hands-on demo. Read ‘em and weep (with joy).

I hope you’re reading this from a Seattle-area hotel room, or on your iPhone on the way to the Washington State Convention & Trade Center. I really do. Penny Arcade Expo 2008 is now underway, and tens of thousands of you will finally be able to get their hands on games that have been for Press Hands Only at E3 and Games Convention Leipzig.

The PlayStation PAX booth improves upon our awesome Comic-Con setup by adding twelve Resistance 2 stations, playable WipEout HD, Savage Moon, Crash Commando and a number of Resistance Retribution-equipped PSPs. Take a look as I give you the quick tour:

Now I know that many (well, most) of you can’t make it to Seattle by Sunday - so here’s how you can get involved in the PAX action. Tomorrow I’ll be talking with the development teams on Resistance 2 and inFamous. What should I ask them? Comment below.

I conducted an interview with Joel DeYoung of Hothead Games (Penny Arcade Adventures) earlier today using only your questions, and you’ll see the results of that next week.

Oh, and here’s the link to enter to win a free PS3 that I mentioned in the video. Good luck!

Hi again! The weekend’s here – time for your weekly update of new movie & TV shows on the PLAYSTATION Store.

This week we’ve added new video content from the following television series:

• American Dad, Season 1
• Ben 10: Alien Force, Season 1
• Burn Notice, Season 1 & 2
• Crime 360, Season 1
• Futurama, Season 1 & 2
• Galaxy Railways, Season 1
• MADtv, Season 13
• Rescue Me, Season 4
• The First 48, Season 7
• The Unit, Season 2
• Til Death, Season 2
• Xam’d: Lost Memories, Season 1

We’ve also added the following feature films to the Store:

• Alien 3
• Be Cool
• Blade Runner - Director’s Cut
• Broken Arrow
• First Sunday
• From Hell
• Garden State
• Garfield
• Hide And Seek
• I Heart Huckabees
• Independence Day
• Just Married
• Kinsey
• Memento
• Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow
• Pee-wee’s Big Adventure
• Planet Of The Apes
• Police Academy 7: Mission to Moscow
• Predator 2
• Prom Night
• Robots
• Rocky II
• Romeo + Juliet
• Saw
• Sideways
• Sphere
• Superman III
• Swimfan
• Taxi
• The List
• The Ninth Gate
• The Other Boleyn Girl
• Thirteen
• Toy Soldiers
• Uptown Girls
• Vegas Vacation
• Vertical Limit
• Woman On Top

And, finally, here are our top 20 movie and top 20 TV downloads for the week:

I’ve got some good news and some okay news. We’ll start with the okay part. We’re still pushing some paperwork on Life with PlayStation — so hold tight just a bit longer. Now on to the good news, the Life with PlayStation application is looking great and to quench some of the curiosity around what it’s all about, here’s what I can share today.

We’re going to offer this as a free service that will be easily accessible directly from the XMB. Life with PlayStation will feed live content to your PS3 with updates on news and weather on a visually stunning and interactive global map. Imagine being able to wake up to your PS3 to see if you need to pack an umbrella for the day. Or just relax as you listen to your favorite tunes while reading up on top news from around the world.

We’re also very excited to share that Life with PlayStation will be combined with our Folding@home project. What does this mean? While you’re tuned into Life with PlayStation, you’ll also be helping Stanford researchers cure diseases like Alzheimer’s and various types of cancer while Folding@home is running in the background.

We know you’re eager to check it out for yourself, so we’re working hard to get it in your hands. Stay tuned.