Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition details, PSN PLAY pre-order

A post on the European PlayStation blog details the features of the upcoming SF III: Third Strike Online Edition being released through PSN on August 24.

The blog post - written by SF III:Third Strike Online Edition producer, Derek Neal - outlines the features that "make this game awesome", before going on to explain how the game can be pre-ordered - a first for a downloadable PSN title.

"In addition to upscaled graphics, we have hundreds of trials, dynamic challenges, and a huge Vault full of all kinds of unlockables," enthused Neal. "We have multiple training modes, integrated Tournament support, and 8 player lobbies (with spectator mode!). We have GGPO for near-lagless online play, a robust replay system, and the ability to upload matches straight to YouTube – from within the game! All of this, and much, much more.

"If that wasn’t enough, we are also announcing that we’ll be giving a free gift to everyone who purchases the game between now and through September 20th: a free key that unlocks the hidden boss character, Gill. This boss character is a ton of fun to play, and can be used in all of our casual game modes, such as Arcade and Player Match. (He is not available in Ranked matches or in Tournaments.)"

PSN PLAY is an incentive scheme that's set to run until September 20. It brings with it a free piece of DLC for each game featured in the promotion. In addition to this, titles under the PSN PLAY banner can be pre-ordered and pre-order grants a new PS3 theme.

Check out the blog post for full details and pics of the SF III theme.