The PlayStation Network is set for a little downtime later on today.

The service will be unavailable between 8pm (BST) and 1am tomorrow (October 15th). The reason, as stated, is "essential maintenance work".

SPOnG can't help but wonder if this has anything to do with the impending release of LittleBigPlanet. The game could well be the PS3s biggest ever title (online or off). It will also be the most technically demanding on the network with all the content sharing that's going to be happening. All that uploading of crazy Little Big Computers and suchlike is bound to take its toll.

Alternatively, the downtime could be in preparation for the next firmware update, although taking down the PSN isn't usually necessary. For the long-awaited, Home, however, network upgrading would be a good idea.

Whichever of these is the case - and remember that just plain old, pre-the 'The Holidays' maintenance is certainly on the cards - it's comforting to know that PSN will be more stable. After all, updating the online component of your gaming (sorry, entertainment) offering didn't do Microsoft any harm last month.

^{Source: PlayStation.com}