Hacking collective Lulz Security says that it is about to launch a new campaign against Sony. The timeframe is “within the next day.” This follows attacks on Sony Music Japan and elsewhere. Of course, the group didn’t name its specific targets other than some Sony websites.

It doesn’t look like Lulz is responsible for the PSN hack that took down the network for three weeks. So why all the hate against Sony? Well, many don’t like it’s approach to trying to fight PS3 jailbreaking, including getting data on anyone who had even so much as visited hacker George Hotz’ website or commented on his YouTube videos.

Sonys new wireless headset looks good. This new official PS3 Wireless Stereo Headset features 7.1 virtual surround sound, a retractable, mutable microphone, and standard embedded volume controls. You’ll be coordinating your attacks and talking smack to your enemies in style.

These headset connects via a USB dongle, and will push headset status updates like your battery life, directly to your TV screen. This Sony-approved headset will cost you $100 when they arrive in September.

Good news for PS3 owners in Asia. The PlayStation Network is finally coming back online. Sony has announced that it will restore the gaming network across the continent, after over a month of downtime. The company’s PSN services are already up and running in other parts of the world and tomorrow it will be back in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Japan.

Those in South Korea and Hong Kong still have to wait. Hopefully they get everyone gaming online again soon.

Let’s face it, Sony needs all the help it can get right now, with all of the hacks it has been suffering. That’s probably why Sony is teasing this limited edition PS3 bundle that gets you Call of Duty: Black Ops with a 160GB console.

The price is $299 and Sony’s also throwing in the First Strike content pack. It will be available next week, starting on May 31. If you are just getting a PS3 this is the one to get. This game will have you playing for months.

Splitfish is bringing its PC and PS3 mouse controller to the Xbox. However this version needs a wired Xbox 360 gamepad to act as an intermediary between itself and the console. Seems an odd design choice. The wired controller plugs into the Shark’s wireless USB dongle, while the “fragchuck” and mouse are completely free of wires.

It doesn’t sound like a setup that I would want to deal with but if you want to give it a try, it will be available in late August.

As cool as the PSP is, it is starting to look a bit dated. So Sony is introducing the PSP Remaster series for PlayStation 3, where Sony will port select portable game titles to the PS3 in high-def Blu-ray. Some of those titles may even have new add-on content and stereoscopic 3D support.

Another new bonus is that gamers will be able to share game save data between the two platforms. The key to the success of this will be what price they charge for these games that you have already played. The first PSP Remaster title announced is Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, which is Japan only and arriving at an unknown date.

The PSN is finally back up and we’ve been playing our butts off, messaging and just celebrating in general. And now Hyperkin has unveiled their Remotext for PS3 which is a remote, a controller and a keypad. There’s a slide-out Blu-ray remote panel, QWERTY keypad and two analog nubs with and gaming controls.

It doesn’t look like there are rear triggers though, and no Bluetooth connectivity, but it does come with a wireless USB receiver and rechargeable battery. Maybe not great for serious gaming, but it will do for those who watch a bunch of movies. The Remotext will be shown off at E3. Nothing on pricing or availability yet.

There is a great disturbance in the force. As if a million geeks suddenly sighed in relief. After about 26 days, Sony has finally announced that the PlayStation Network is slowing being restored in the U.S., starting in certain regions. A new PS3 system software update is required to change your password once the PlayStation Network is restored. The update (v3.61) is mandatory and is available now.

After the U.S. they will still have to get the service going worldwide. Find a map here to see if it has been restored in your area.

This is not good news for Sony. Retail sources have indicated that PS3 console trade-ins have dramatically risen as the controversial PSN outage drags on. Apparently during the first week of downtime there was not any major change in sales or trades according to one store manager ‘at a major UK retailer’.

However, starting on the second week onwards, there has been an increase of over 200 per cent on PS3 consoles being traded in, split almost 50/50 down the middle between those trading for cash and those taking a 360 in it’s place. Ouch! Sony had better get it’s act together before things get ugly.

Well we already suspected as much, but Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot mentioned that his teams will be able to use a lot of the work done on titles for the current HD consoles when developing for Nintendo’s new platform. Guillemot says, “So we will not have to redo completely the games that we create. We’ll be able to use all the capacity the console is giving but also use all the work we do for the other platforms.”

Good news for them and it’s not a surprise, but it does confirm that Nintendo’s next console will be as powerful or more powerful than the current generation of HD consoles. Yes, it should be a great console. Then again these are the same people who released the Wii with only 480p, so who knows.

We know that you’ve been waiting for the highly anticipated Escalation DLC for the Call Of Duty : Black Ops game and now we have some good news. It is here and available on the Xbox 360 for 1200 Microsoft Points or $15.

There is a new zombie level called ”Call of the Dead” which stars George Romero the horror director. But it’s not just him. There is also Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy), Robert England (Freddy Kreuger), Danny Trejo & Michael Rooker who plays Merle Dixon in The Walking Dead. Other maps include Hotel, Convoy, Zoo and Stockpile.

Sony wants to apologize for the recent outage of the PSN network, and so during a press conference in Tokyo, Sony said that it will reward PlayStation Network users when the service is turned back on next week.

The “Welcome Back” program gives all existing PlayStation Network users 30 days of PlayStation Plus for free. Current PlayStation Plus members will receive 30 days of additional service at no extra cost. Sony will also provide “selected PlayStation entertainment content” for free to download. Details for each region will be announced later. Music Unlimited subscribers will also receive 30 days of free service. Not bad. At least they are trying to soothe gamers who have been affected by this.

Redbox has announced today that it will expand to videogames and offer videogames nationwide starting June 17th. The game rentals will be $2 a day and include titles for PS3, Xbox 360 and the Wii. So they have your gaming rentals covered.

The company has been testing the service at about 5,000 locations for some time now and that will be expanded to 21,000+ other locations now. Not a bad price to try before you buy and anyway some of these games are so short, you can complete them in an evening, so it’s a good deal.

Regarding the hacked PSN network, Sony now says that there is “no evidence” that credit card information had been taken and that the data itself had been encrypted. They can’t rule it entirely, but the security code for credit cards wasn’t compromised since it wasn’t in the system.

However, a password change will now be mandatory for everyone as soon as PSN comes back online and that is just good sense. A firmware update will address the issue when they are ready. Sony promises more details to come soon.

We’ve had the same PS3 consoles on the market for a while now. The only significant change came with the new slim format. But now a pair of new PS3 consoles has hit the FCC recently. All we really know is that they have Bluetooth and WiFi and that we could have guessed ourselves.

The new consoles go by model numbers CECH-3001A and CECH-3001B. The letter seems to denote different HDD sizes. So what are the changes? Maybe a new update to the chipset? Maybe some updates to keep them safe from hackers too. Then again, maybe this is just adding a new HDD capacity option. Thoughts?