Is MX vs ATV still Alive?

As some of you may know, the latest installment of the MX vs ATV series, Alive, was released last Tuesday.  The folks over at Rainbow Studios and THQ really put their all into the marketing for this game.  They had a large presence at the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series that ended only a few days before the release of the game, they snagged the most famous athlete in the sport - James Stewart - as the cover athlete, and they stressed that this was the motocross experience in a videogame.  As any gamer knows, marketing can say what they want, that doesn't make it true.  So, how did they do?

Playstation Network Back Online in Eastern U.S., more places to follow.

Well folks, I booted up my PS3 this evening to a message asking me to update my system software to the latest version 3.61, and upon accepting and sitting through a lengthy download and install my suspicions were confirmed.  I was asked to change my account password, and after doing so was able to log in.  PSN was launched back up across the country on May 14th throughout the afternoon/evening and at the point of writing I have been able to fill and play through quite a few games of Motorstorm Apocalypse without a hitch. Parts of the North America haven't gotten Network access back quite yet(mainly middle states currently, see PS blog for map of activation) but every state will be phased in by the morning of the 15th if all goes to plan.  Sweet jesus! I think I can speak for gamers nationwide when I say about time.  Features back online include our friends list, online matchmaking/chat, trophies, Playstation Home, and the ability to access Hulu, Netflix, and other pay services linked to the XMB.  Expect to see the Playstation Store and your download lists back up and running within the next few weeks at some point.  Sony has already outlined the details of a welcome back gift for all registered users, which includes a free month of Playstation Plus for all users (an extra month for the already subscribed) and a few free games.  Which titles we will be able to select from has not been disclosed, but we will likely see more of this loyalty package within the next few days.  For more information, and a direct video apology and explanation from Sony's head honcho Kazuo Hirai, take a look at Sony's blog.  Have a good night all, I know I will sleep better knowing that this outage has finally come to a close.