At E3 2011, Sony revealed CinemaNow would be coming to the PlayStation Network. It was finally released yesterday as part of the weekly PlayStation Store update. CinemaNow is just another option for renting and buying movies and television shows on the PS3. It’s a free download that’s only 17MB. You don’t have to sign up to browse the store, but purchases do require registration and activation.

GameFly is expanding its services. We already know the company is famous for allowing people to rent 3DS, DS, GameCube, GBA, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360 through the mail and buy games. Next, it’s heading into digital distribution and rentals. The new service is going to be called Unlimited PC Play, with a beta beginning September 8, 2011. This news comes three months after GameFly’s acquisition of the Direct2Drive direct download retailer.

The basic Unlimited Play client will be free, allowing users to purchase Windows and Mac games and interact with other GameFly Unlimited Play users. If someone is a GameFly member, that’s when more options come into play…

The way we rent games may undergo a major shift in the future. It wouldn’t be too surprising either. We’ve witnessed how web-based content encouraged users to cancel cable service and how the mobile gaming market changed the way the industry looks at game development. As the demand for digital media increases, gamers will require an alternative way to try out full games without traveling to the last remaining rental store on the block. To achieve this vision, services such as Xbox Live may step up to the challenge.

VUDU is a streaming video service that lets you rent and buy movies on the PS3. It was released yesterday (November 23, 2010) on the PlayStation Network. We did a video tour of the service and learned that it works just as well as Hulu Plus or Netflix. Using the $5.99 credit VUDU gave me for signing up, I rented The Expendables in HD. These are my impressions of VUDU from a technical and monetary perspective.

The PS3 has another video service that fits right in with Hulu Plus, Netflix and the PSN video store. VUDU was released today on the PlayStation Store. It is a free download that doesn’t require a subscription. VUDU is a HD movie streaming service that lets you either rent or purchase movies. Unlike Netflix, VUDU has brand new movies available just as they’re released on DVD.

A couple days ago (October 14, 2010) we told you about Sony’s Midnight Movies promotion on PSN. Starting today, you can download Bram Stoker’s Dracula for free between 5pm PDT through 3am PDT. We weren’t sure if this was a one shot deal, but now we know it isn’t. There will be three Midnight Movie screenings before November 1.

This week’s store features The Punisher: No Mercy by Zen Studios available exclusively on the PlayStation Network for $9.99. Frank Castle is back and ready to dish out a whole new kind of punishment to his enemies in this first person shooter game with online multi-player capabilities inspired by the comic book series.

Also new this week, the PlayStation Store has created a separate category for all things Street Fighter from games, game bonus content and movies like the newest movie download Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li which explores the origins of the games most popular character Chun Li. This movie is rated PG-13 and is available for rent at $3.99 for SD version, $5.99 for HD version or own the SD version for $14.99.

This week’s PlayStation Store highlights include two PlayStation 1 classics, Ford Racing and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six , each for $5.99. There is also the new movie Paul Blart Mall Cop staring Kevin James as a mall security officer who takes his job way too seriously (rated PG).

Another movie to hit the PlayStation store is Valkyrie staring Tom Cruise, a film based on true events about senior Nazi officials attempt to assassinate Hitler and end the war, this film is rated PG-13 and both are available now in SD (standard definition) format for $14.99.

As E3 2009 gets closer more news is coming out that makes the PSP appear more viable to consumers than ever before.

Besides rumored hardware redesign, rumors are also circulating about a possible game rental and music download service coming to the handheld.

The PSP already supports the ability to watch movies and play games that are purchased online via PSN so music seems like a natural move for the PSP. Sony has apparently been talking to record companies about bringing a music service to the PSP but no deals have been made just yet. Sony already has numerous music labels under it’s belt including Columbia Records, Epic Records and the RCA Music Group so it’s more than capable of providing its own music content to set a precedent for other labels.