PlayStation Home, Sony's virtual world for gamers accessible through the PS3, turns two years old today. To mark the occasion, Sony shared the following graphic (you can see it in full after the jump) that highlights the evolution of the service over that time. By their accounting, Home now sees 17 million users worldwide who have access to 236 ready-to-play games and 7,000 virtual items. As for other things to do in Home, over 600 community events have been held over the two year span.

Home's director, Jack Buser, said of the changes, "The experience of PlayStation Home itself has radically improved over the years, with faster load times, zero-wait game access, intuitive navigation, and the addition of features such as group-based voice chat and robust inventory management. We are seeing incredible momentum and can't wait to deliver even more games and content to PlayStation Home's 17 million worldwide users."

Tuesday's PlayStation Store update brought with it a horde of undead and a one wacky rodent. Developer Housemarque's shoot-em-up Dead Nation is now available, priced at $14.99 (or $11.99 for PlayStation Plus Members). The Move-enabled puzzle title, Funky Lab Rat from developer Hydravision is also available, at a cost of $9.99 for all PSN users.

PlayStation Plus members can grab the PSone classic Twisted Metal 2 and the not-so-classic Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation for 50% this month, along with a few other specialty priced items. The only available free game for Plus users this month is the PS Mini, Vector TD. Read more »

This week's PlayStation Store Update is heavy on the discounted items, which shouldn't surprise you since some of those deals were revealed earlier this week. A number of other games have also dropped in price.

Atlus is permanently slashing prices on a select number of its titles, including standouts like Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days for $19.99 and Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero? for $9.99. Other than the previously announced "Stock Up For Winter Sale," a number of other PlayStation Minis and PSN titles are on sale, including Gold Fever for $2.99 and Bomberman Ultra for $4.99. Read more »

Tuesday's PlayStation Store update added the (just announced) HD-revamp of Ubisoft Montreal's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time for $14.99. Also new to the store is the Dreamcast favorite Crazy Taxi for a limited-discounted price of $7.99 (reg. $9.99), along with 3D Ultra Mini Golf Adventures 2 and SkyFighter for $9.99 each.

PlayStation Plus users can grab free copies of Shatter (grab it if only to listen to the game's amazing soundtrack), the PSone Classic Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus, and the PSP Mini Dynogems. Read more »

Tuesday's PlayStation Store update was an all-out Kratos love-fest. Alongside the new PSP-exclusive Kratos title, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, the store now offers the God of War Collection for sale. PSN+ users can download each game in the collection for $14.99, while Non-PSN+ users can purchase the complete package for $29.99. When purchased separately, each game includes a special bonus Kratos "skin" for God of War 3.

The store also added a handful of new, premium skins for Kratos' latest PS3 adventure--including the bonus skins available to PSN+ users--for $0.99 each or in a bundle for $2.99. There is also the Challenge of Exile Arena available, for those who have completed God of War 3 and need something new to beat into a bloody pulp. Read more »

Though access to the forthcoming Duke Nukem Forever demo was originally planned to be included for those that purchased the Borderlands Game of the Year Edition, users are finding demo keys linked to their Steam accounts if they had purchased the game before October 12.

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Tuesday's PlayStation Store update added the prequel "game" Dead Space Ignition, the first episode in Sonic the Hedgehog 4, and a slew of discounts for select downloadable titles and add-on content, including Resident Evil 5 DLC.

Dead Space Ignition is part motion comic, part mini-game collection. The bulk of the experience will be based on watching the prequel to Dead Space 2 unfold with a few mini-games thrown in for good measure. Although the game is priced at $4.99, it is available for free to those who pre-order Dead Space 2. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode One is available for $14.99 and attempts to bring Sega's, once powerful, mascot back to his glory days. Demos for both titles are available for download. Read more »

The Castlevania: Lords of Shadow demo will undoubtedly be the highlight of this week's PlayStation Store update for many, which also brings assorted sales, trials, downloadable content and themes, plus more imported Japanese PS One titles.

You might also want to note the 50% sale on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 DLC map packs that brings them down to $7.49 apiece, following similar sales on Xbox 360 and PC. The full listing for this week's update follows below. Read more »

2K Games and Gearbox have revealed that purchasing the Game of the Year edition of Borderlands will give players exclusive access to the "Duke Nukem Forever First Access Club," in addition to some exclusive in-game items...in other words, early access to the DNF demo.

As expected, the Borderlands Game of the Year Edition will include the all four downloadable episodes from the "extravasplosive Borderlands catalog," but will also come with a "free membership certificate for the Duke Nukem Forever First Access Club." In addition to the playable demo of Duke Nukem Forever, the First Access Club membership will also give players access to an as-of-yet-undisclosed "wealth of goodies." Read more »

A round of "regular scheduled maintenance" will bring the PlayStation Network down tomorrow from "just after" 8am PST through to around 5pm PST, Sony has announced on its PlayStation.Blog.

"Users won't be able to access the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Home or Account Management, and may encounter difficulty while signing in to PSN," Sony explains. Read more »

Shacknews founder Steve Gibson spent plenty of time covering Duke Nukem Forever over the years. His move to Gearbox Software now puts him working for the very developer that hopes to finally finish the game. Seeing both sides firsthand gives him a unique perspective on the story. So I sat down with him at PAX to see how he feels about becoming part of the game's saga and how Gearbox plans to make Duke Nukem Forever a success.

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Gearbox Software has announced that as well as being the developer helming the revival of Duke Nukem Forever, it is also the proud owner of the testosterone-gushing property.

The Borderlands developer explains that it "has acquired the full intellectual property rights of the 'Duke Nukem' brand including Duke Nukem Forever and all future projects in a cooperative deal made with 3D Realms." Read more »

I can't believe I just wrote that headline. I have played Duke Nukem Forever. Announced (again) here at PAX 2010, development will be finished by Gearbox. The game will be released on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 sometime in 2011. Let's just right into things.

First off, the good news. This game is Duke. The action is fast-paced, the one-liners are great, and Jon St. John sounds great. In true Duke fashion, the humor is very self-aware, with Duke even joking about the game's legendary development time in game. The weapons all feel great--especially the shotgun--and a sprint button helps bring the gameplay into this decade. Read more »

Here's your official confirmation for that thing you already knew to be true: Duke Nuke Forever, lives!

Today at PAX 2010, 2K Games revealed that Duke Nukem Forever is currently in development at Gearbox Software for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. Read more »

[Update: 12:09pm] It's official! Read all about it, here!

[Update: 11:45am] Images from the PAX 2010 show floor have appeared online [via Pikimal] revealing Duke Nukem Forever, branded with 2K and Gearbox logos. Duke Nukem Forever, it is! Read more »