# Sony Implements All-New PlayStation Network News Notification System [UPDATE]



## Ares (Nov 23, 2009)

*Sony Implements All-New PlayStation Network News Notification System [UPDATE]*
08/06/2010 Written by Mike Hartnett










While relaxing early this morning, I found myself cruising around the XMB when I received a message regarding the Earthworm Jim HD full-game unlock from a user with the PSN id: [PSN]. Turns out this wasn’t an actual user, but apparently a new method Sony has implemented to communicate with the PlayStation Network at large. Do we have a hidden, new firmware addition on our hands? It appears so.
Yes, it looks like this notification did indeed come from the head honchos on the PlayStation Network, as a way to now communicate with the community directly, instead of relying on hear-say, websites and the PlayStation Blog. The message read as follows:_*The issue related to the full game unlock for Earthworm Jim HD demo has been fixed. You can now purchase the full game from the demo.*_​Not only did I find this message, but an attachment. Normally, it is only possible to attach images in messages on the PSN, but this message contained an attachment that actually took me straight to the Earthworm Jim HD section in the PlayStation Store, pretty cool eh? We’ve gone ahead and included pics below for your viewing enjoyment.



















You can see that the ability to add [PSN] as a friend or check it’s profile makes this legit. Also, I am not a PlayStation Plus member, which makes this even more interesting. Apparently, not everyone has received this message, so you may have to have downloaded the Earthworm Jim HD demo in order to receive said message. Additionally, users are also reporting that similar messages have been tied to titles in the ‘Sam and Max’ series, which leads us to believe that, yep, PSN in-box advertisements, which some may consider spam, have arrived. For better or for worse? You decide.
*
[UPDATE]* There have been reports that these messages are commonplace on the Hong Kong PSN. We’ll be fact-checking to substantiate these claims, as this does seem to be the case. 

Source: PSLS


----------



## Moonfly (Aug 1, 2008)

Sounds quite an interesting feature. On XBL, any game you download automatically updates when you load it, if there is one available, and t takes just a few seconds to do. It sounds as though PSN is now notifying members of available updates via a message upon release, instead of doing it in game. This could be good for drawing interest back to titles that users have perhaps stopped using, but I guess some might consider it as spam. I dont think t will be an issue for anyone, just so long as you dont end up with a couple messages a day, especially with very limited inbox sizes.

On the whole though, sounds a good feature :T


----------



## Ares (Nov 23, 2009)

PS+ has Automatic download for game patches, system updates, and recommend video items. I believe this is geared to those who didn't subscribe to PS+ or for those who didn't turn the Automatic download feature on.


----------

