Don’t be alarmed if you can’t access your PlayStation Network account today starting from 8am until 9pm PST.  This is not part of the SOPA Blackout that happened yesterday, they’re just having a routine scheduled maintenance.

During the maintenance, PlayStation Store on PS3, PSP, and Media Go, PlayStation Network Account Management, PlayStation Network Account Registration, PlayStation Home, and Music Unlimited & Video Unlimited services cannot be accessed.

According to a post by  Patrick Seybold, Sony PlayStation Sr. Director for Corporate Communications & Social Media, “Users who are already signed into their account on PlayStation Network before the start of the maintenance should be able to stay signed in to their online session, but will not be able to access any of the services listed above. Users who attempt to sign-in to their PlayStation Network account after the start of the maintenance may be presented with the site maintenance notification page if they haven’t signed in recently.” Seybold also added that Trophies collected during the maintenance will be updated on the user’s profile once PlayStation Network is back up and running.

Since we’re already talking about the gaming realm, let’s take things further.  Alienware, the company known for creating desktop PCs that looks like alien battleships for they are big, bulky and has neon lights on them, introduced a new line of compact gaming desktops, yes you read that right, compact – meaning small, space-saver.  The Alienware X51, whose price starts at $699 and looks like the Xbox 360 as it can be used either standing or lyihng on its side, offers the Core i3, i5, and i7 variants of Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors, up to 8GB of RAM, and Nvidia GeForce GTX 545 or 555 graphics card, and 1TB of hard drive space. The slot-loading DVD-burner can be upgraded to a Blu-Ray drive, but 802.11n WiFi is built in to all models.

Gamers are anticipating the unveiling of the next Xbox console and rumor has it, there will be two versions coming out: one dedicated to gaming and the other one to gaming and entertainment.  And to fan the flames of an entertainment-focused Xbox, Microsoft confirmed that Dave Cutler, the person behind Windows NT, is now working with the Xbox team.

As for games, fans of Mass Effect can try out Mass Effect 3 on February 14 when EA and Bioware releases the free demo online to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles, as well as the PC.  The game will be out in the market on March 6.  So what does Mass Effect 3 offer?  Gamers can play the game by giving out commands, like in a real setting, you can tell your men what to do just by saying a few words.  This voice control feature is available only to Xbox 360 and Kinect users.

Capcom unveiled that their upcoming Resident Evil: Racoon City has pre-order bonuses in the form of additional heavy weaponry.  The pre-order bonuses comes in three basic packages: The Elite weapons package which comes with some fine military grade offerings like the Perforator shotgun and Tactical Combat Sub-machine gun; The Power weapons package which consists of the hard-hitting combat shotgun and the rather tasty looking long-barrelled anti-material rifle; and the Renegade weapons load-out which boasts a rather attractive flame-emblazoned machine pistol and a chunky Cowboy shotgun.  The additional ammos are available as long as you placed your orders before March 23 – when the game officially sells in the UK market.

And finally, Irrational Games announced that their upcoming project BioShock Infinite will have a “1999 Mode” which will inject a higher degree of difficulty into the game and will require “substantial commitment and skill development.”

“We want to give our oldest and most committed fans an option to go back to our roots,” said Irrational Games creative director Ken Levine in a statement. “In ‘1999 Mode,’ gamers face more of the permanent consequences of their gameplay decisions. In BioShock Infinite, gamers will have to sweat out the results of their actions. In addition, ‘1999 Mode’ will demand that players pick specializations, and focus on them.