Attempting to connect to the PSN results in failure with an “8001050F” error message, meaning all forms of online functionality are wholly unavailable.

The new PlayStation Slim is unaffected, according to Sony social media manager Jeff Rubenstein on the PlayStation.Blog, but it seems all other models are vulnerable–including the debug consoles used by developers, which Develop reports “have been thrown into a rebooting cycle, due to an endlessly-looping error message.”

Rubenstein writes, “know that we have narrowed down the issue and have engineers working to restore service even as you read this,” without giving any insight into what is responsible. “We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you, and genuinely appreciate your patience while we work to resolve this.”

“We were targeting three to five months for the beta, we’re really at a three month period of time for the beta at this point. We are still targeting the first half of this year… [for release],” Sigaty said during the podcast. Their original time-span for the beta would have put the release of StarCraft 2 into the second half of the year at the earliest, but with three months (counting February, perhaps, as the first month), that would have it ending by around April, and leave May and June to institute any tweaks, balancing, or bug-fixing and have the game out on store shelves.

The other big title of the global shows, Metroid: Other M, was not given a date for Europe at the presentation. However, the publisher did say that Samus’s Team Ninja-developed adventure, which has been confirmed for a June 27 release in the US, would hit Europe at some point before the end of September. Capcom’s Monster Hunter Tri was confirmed for a Europe-wide release on April 23 (three days after its US release) with free online multiplayer.

WarioWare: D.I.Y. is scheduled for EU release on April 30, just over a month after it becomes available in the US. The DSiWare title Photo Dojo was also confirmed for European release at the event, but no release date was given for the territory. The game is due to be released in the US sometime this spring.

In one bright spot for European gamers, Nintendo confirmed that Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies will arrive on the continent a full month before it is due to come out in the US, under the title Sin and Punishment: Star Successor, on May 7. Nintendo also confirmed that it is to publish Dragon Quest IX: Sentinel of the Starry Skies in Europe, as well as the US this summer, but no date was given.

Now those games–as well as Cyberball 2072, Robotron: 2084, Defender, Paperboy, Rootbeer Tapper, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3–have been pulled from the Xbox Live Marketplace. A Microsoft representative said the group of games was removed from the service late last week “due to evolving rights and permissions.”

Those problems don’t seem to have affected the publisher’s PlayStation Network titles, as games like Mortal Kombat II were still available on the PlayStation 3 downloadable storefront this morning.

While that prevents gamers from adding those titles to their library for the first time, they aren’t gone from the service entirely. As the Microsoft representative said, “Xbox Live members will always be able to play and re-download any titles they have already purchased.”

Capcom is not accepting any loss of the console game’s beloved art direction in the iPhone edition. It has taken assets straight from the current-gen code, so the new art style that won universal accolades is faithfully recreated on the iPhone’s smaller, but crisp screen.

Capcom promises that fan-favorite fighters beyond Ryu and Ken (the first two Capcom is willing to confirm) will round out a large roster. While names are not yet spoken, Capcom has confirmed that the iPhone cast features both classic brawlers and new characters created for Street Fighter IV. So, there is an excellent chance your personal favorite will end up in the mix.

Now, hardcore gamers coming into Street Fighter IV with lofty expectations are understandably concerned about whether or not Capcom’s virtual pad will offer the same, precise controls needed to truly master the game. That’s fair because to competitive players, Street Fighter is a contest of exactness and finesse. To alleviate worries, Capcom offers a number of control configurations so players can find their favorite position, button transparency, and set-up.

Multiplayer? Street Fighter IV allows two players to trade blows over Bluetooth, just like the arcade or console edition. So, spending a little time in Dojo Mode isn’t such a bad idea, especially if you want to answer your iPhone and tell whoever is calling that you just hammered your friend flat into the ground.

Sporting an impulse-friendly $2.99 price point, the mobile version includes the same fifty levels, twenty-six zombie types, and forty-nine perennial varieties as the PC version.

The Xbox 360 version is scheduled to release later this year.

The beta will allow players to test out the multiplayer gameplay and the new, improved Battle.net. In addition, it will allow Blizzard to gauge whether there are still improvements to be made to the title (it’s Blizzard, so yeah, they’ll find plenty, I’m sure, they always do) and it will allow the game to generate extra buzz as the forums begin filling with discussions about the gameplay.

The beta will be offered in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and South Korea.

As far as we’re aware, gamers can still register and hope that they will be selected to participate in the beta. Details can be found at Blizzard’s StarCraft 2 site.

“There has been a lot of excitement around the next installment of [the] Assassin’s Creed franchise,” Ubisoft CEO Yves Guilletmot told investors. “What we can say today is that it marks the return of the now legendary Ezio, but this time he will strike directly at the heart of the Templars order in Rome. In addition to this full new adventure, players will also be able to challenge their friends in a very innovative assassination multiplayer.”

It was also stated that all of the company’s currently announced games should be released before Christmas 2010, suggesting a holiday release at the latest.

You can register for the event on this page, but at this point only day passes for Friday and Sunday remain.

However, it seems Nintendo has nabbed a pirate, today reaching a settlement against an individual in Australia for illegally copying and uploading New Super Mario Bros. Wii in November last year. Queenslander James Burt has been ordered to pay a damages bill to Nintendo of A$1.5 million ($1.3 million). Nintendo says this fee is to compensate the company for the loss of sales revenue caused by Burt’s actions.

A Nintendo Australia spokesperson reported that apart from the loss of revenue caused by piracy of the game, the fact that an Australian was the first to illegally upload the game could jeopardise the release timings of future Nintendo titles. Typically, Australians have had to wait days and sometimes months after other regions for Nintendo games to be released locally. New Super Mario Bros. Wii was a rare occurrence where Australia received the game earlier than any other territory.

“Nintendo Australia is always pushing for games to be released here at the same time as the rest of the world, so we were pleased to get New Super Mario Bros. Wii before anyone else,” the spokesperson said. “Unfortunately, due to the actions of this individual, future release dates may be affected for Australia, which is disappointing for us.”