It’s been a long time coming, but the Playstation store is finally back. Awaiting you is a huge lineup of new downloadable games, demos, add-on content, themes, avatars and videos. Also, PlayStation Plus has been updated with new full game trials, free games and DLC, free avatars and more discounts.

I know. You want to know about your free games from the Welcome Back program. Well, they aren’t ready yet. But I, like you, am waiting. Can’t be long now.

The number of Xbox 360 users who download games is on the rise. 55 per cent of all Xbox 360 users bought at least one downloadable game last year. That number is up from 43 per cent in 2009. Also according to data from market research firm EEDAR, 50 per cent of PlayStation 3 users and 43 per cent of Wii users are down loading games.

Those PS3 numbers are up from 42 per cent in 2009, with the Wii numbers up from 37 per cent. So yes, it looks like downloading digitally is on the rise. Should Gamestop be worried? Probably not yet, but they must be keeping a sharp eye on these figures.

Sony’s next PlayStation Portable is codenamed NGP and will be based on five key concepts: Revolutionary User Interface, Social Connectivity, Location-based Entertainment, Converging Real and Virtual (augmented) Reality. It will be compatible with the PlayStation Suite and is backwards-compatible with downloadable PSP games and content.

It has a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, 5-inch touchscreen OLED display with 960 x 544 resolution, dual analog sticks, 3G, WiFi, GPS, a rear-mounted touchpad, accelerometer / gyroscope motion sensing, an electronic compass, and cameras on the front and back. Expect it to be available this holiday season.

Right now, Xbox Live releases content like new downloadable games on Tuesdays while PSN doesn’t offer content until Thursday. But in May, Sony will now move weekly updates to Tuesdays to compete with Microsoft.

Now you’ll be able to get content as soon as your Xbox friends so you can stick your tongue out at them and act all superior. Or if not superior at least equal. Take that Microsoft.

Here’s some bad news for PSP owners who want to upgrade to the PSP Go when it’s released. Sony has killed the UMD conversion plan. The idea was that PSP owners who had original UMD copies of their games would be entitled to free PSN downloads of the title, so that they can play it on the PSP Go when they upgrade.

But sadly “legal and technical reasons” put the axe on this plan. Which really sucks for PSP owners who have games they absolutely love. It sure doesn’t encourage PSP owners to upgrade and must feel like a slap in the face.

Nintendo has been offering its slick new DSi portable game console for a while now and it has proven to be popular with mobile gamers. One of the deals that Nintendo is offering to sweeten the DSi pot is free points that can be redeemed for a downloadable game title for the console.

Nintendo is reminding shoppers today that anyone who purchases a DSi before October 5 2009 at 12 p.m. Pacific time and signs onto the Nintendo DSi shop will be given 1000 free Nintendo DSi points. That is about a $10 value, 2,000 DSi points cost $19.99.

Here’s some more Microsoft news, in a day filled with Microsoft news. How does full Xbox Live games on demand sound? Awesome? I know. You, and me, can now download Mass Effect, Bioshock and others. And you can do so like a big boy, using a real credit card, not Xbox Live points. They will be coming in August.

It would be great if you could get every game, but sadly you can’t. It’s a mix of third-party stuff like Sonic, call of Duty 2, Crackdown, Bioshock Mass Effect and others. Whether games will be downloadable the day they’re released to retail is unclear. Also don’t expect to use your credit card direct just yet: “We’re not getting rid of the point system.”

We’ll here it is. Photos of the new PSP have arrived. The PSP Go improves upon it’s predecessor by making games available via wireless download or on Memory Stick Micro cards. No more UMD!

The device will feature 16GB of on-board flash memory for storage of downloadable games, movies and music from the Playstation Network. The controller slides out from under the screen to maximize screen size while keeping the console light and small. There’s Bluetooth and WiFi as well.

Sure, Amazon makes most of it’s hard earned dough by selling and shipping physical items, but they don’t need a crystal ball to know that digital content is the future and they are positioning themselves accordingly. The company is expanding its downloadable video game catalog to include Xbox Live Arcade games today.

The process will no doubt be streamlined in the days to come, but for the moment you buy a code from Amazon that you have to enter into your Xbox. Amazon charges you real money instead of Xbox Live points. The service is live now if you want to take a gander. Does that make the digital content taxable? So many questions. Might as well just get shopping.

The Wii has a Virtual Console that lets you download games from the NES, SNES, etc. But there are no Game Boy games. That could be because they were saving them for the Nintendo DSi.

A rumour on game site Kombo seems to confirm that thinking. Apparently at a recent event for Club Nintendo members, it was announced that the DSi would be getting its own Virtual Console. Where you could buy Game Boy & Game Boy Advance titles. The games would be saved to an SD card and would at first be limited to first-party Nintendo titles.

Music games are huge today with Guitar Hero and Rock Band among the best selling games for the major game consoles. Music games have also been a big hit for the music industry with digital playable tracks often outselling the normal tracks.

The next big version of Guitar Hero is coming soon from Activision and the demo for Guitar Hero Metallica is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The downloadable demo offers gamers a sneak peek at what the full game will offer when it debuts.

One of the biggest game launches this year was Grand Theft Auto IV. The game has been out for a while now, but will still probably be one of the most popular titles for holiday giving. Shortly after the game launched Rockstar announced that it would be bringing downloadable content to the platform.

The catch for many gamers is that the DLC will be for Xbox 360 players only. Rockstar has now announced the release date for the first DLC pack. The download content will be called The Lost and Damned.

Last week we told you about Zeebo, a new 3G network-based gaming console that’s launching in Brazil soon. At the time there wasn’t a ton of detail, but now more info has come to light. Tectoy will be partnering with cellular carrier Claro, whose 3G network will carry the free-of-charge connection, and also Qualcomm, who owns 43 percent of the company.

The Zeebo will apparently run on a BREW-based OS, with an ARM CPU running at 528MHz, a Qualcomm Adreno 130 graphics core, 1GB NAND flash memory, 160MB RAM, 128MB DDR SDRAM and 32MB stacked DDR SDRAM. Who are they setting their sights on? The “growing middle class” of developing countries. The Zeebo will launch in Brazil and developers think that the downloadable-content format should help combat piracy. The cost of the system should be about $264 US and games will cost betwee $3-13 US.

Sony has been busy. There’s the new PSP and PS3 wireless keyboard, and Sony also announced a 160GB PS3 today at the Leipzig Games Convention. Here in the U.S. it will come bundled with a Dual-Shock SIXAXIS and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. It will arrive in November just in time for under the Xmas tree at $499.

The console itself looks like it’s the same as previous PS3s. The U.S. version will also come with a voucher for the PS Network game PAIN, while the European version includes €70 of free downloadable content vouchers. No word on whether it will be released seperate from the bundle. We’ll just have to wait and see.

For many people prepaid mobile phones are ideal. This type of phone is great for people who don’t want be stuck in a contract or for those with poor credit. Many parents also use prepaid phones as a way to keep the amount of minutes kids use in check.

Virgin Mobile announced today that it has added a new Kyocera handset to its prepaid line that carries a very low price. The handset is called the TNT and is a clamshell style phone with basic features. The best feature of the TNT is the price — which is only $20.