Sony’s Mid-Term Corporate Strategy Meeting today, the first screenshots of the new Video Store for the PlayStation Network were revealed. Although not the best quality, it gives you some idea of what to expect. The PlayStation Network update that took place this week was to prepare the network for the Video Store. The exact release date for the Video Store is still unknown, but it is expected to hit the PlayStation 3 before the end of the Summer, and then the PSP in the future.

Before the PlayStation Network update this week, the following screen was not part of the activation process. This new screen suggests that a new option will be available to activate video content, and possibly other services in the future.

During the Sony Strategic Meeting in Tokyo today, Sony announced a service that will allow PS3 owners to view daily world news interactively. The system, billed under their Life with PlayStation brand, allows you to zoom around a virtual globe and gain world news from various cities. The service will allow geo-tagged pictures to be viewed on the globe in the future, and is part of a whole slew of non-game services Sony are planning for the future.

The idea is a simple one. Since many people switch on their TVs in the morning to get news of what is going on, Sony want you to switch on your PS3 as well and use that to deliver the information you require, whilst playing music in the background and linking into other services to be announced in the future. Since this new Life with PlayStation brand has been announced in a Strategic Meeting that concentrated on services that will be launched before March 2009, I think we can assume these new features will appear within the next eight months.

[Via: PS3Attitude]

More details on PS3 Firmware 2.40 have been revealed, which is due for release in around three weeks’ time, which coincidently is around the time of E3 2008. According to CVG, the firmware will feature four types of trophies: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The Platinum trophy will only be awarded when you connect all other trophies in the game. As for in-game XMB, we now have a list of features that can be accessed (see below). It is currently unclear whether you are able to play your own tunes in-game in all games or only games that support it.

In-game access is limited to:

• Friend category
• View, send, receive messages
• Manage downloads
• Set the vibration feature of the controller
• Sign in to PlayStation Network
• Register friends
• Manage Bluetooth devices
• Terminate the game
• Music category
• Use the system BGM
• Work the system BGM operation panel
• Settings category
• Assign controllers
• View profiles
• Game category
• Set audio devices
• Use the voice changer

Sony has not confirmed or denied the in-game access list above, but CVG confirm that these features were accessible during their run through of Firmware 2.40.

[Via: CVG]

Following the release of PSP Firmware 4.00, Sony has release a minor update to the firmware brining the firmware version to 4.01. This minor update improves the new features introduces in Firmware 4.00. This includes improved search results for certain languages when using Google Search from the XMB, and improved playback of video content for certain file types. The new update is available to download now using the PSP’s Network Update feature.

Changelog:

• Display of search results under Internet Search has been improved for certain languages.
• Playback of video content under Video has been improved for certain file types.

This new update should not hinder the development of Custom Firmware 4.00 M33 so you can still expect that soon.

­

PlayStation 3 Firmware v4.00 scheduled for release soon brings with it trophy support. A few images of trophy support have emerged on the Internet, but maybe fakes. Needless to say, we though some of you might be interested in what this new feature may look like. Sony has not made any announcements regarding this feature in particular so please take this as a rumor for now.

"Compare Card"

"Gamers Card"

Also, with regards to in-game XMB, you can do most things from in-game, including comparing trophies and playing music. Some things will require you to leave the game, however, which could possibly include playing videos and changing some settings. Pressing the PS button once will bring up the XMB in-game, and holding the PS button will show you the same menu you see pre-2.40. That means that no features are being removed.

[Via: PS3Fanboy]

­UPDATE:

New screenshots of the Trophies feature have emerged:

The PlayStation Network is going offline for a few hours today, for what could preparation for the upcoming Firmware v4.00 for the PlayStation 3. The network will go down between 8:00am until 2:00pm PST (3:00pm to 9:00pm GMT, 4:00pm to 10:00pm BST), during which time you will not be able to access the PlayStation Store or play online games that use the PlayStation Network.

The Official statement from the US PlayStation Website reads:

The PLAYSTATION Network will be taken offline during the following times for a scheduled maintenance:

Starting on June 24, 2008, at 8:00 a.m., Pacific Time
Ending on June 24, 2008, at 2:00 p.m., Pacific Time

During this time, access to the PLAYSTATION Network will be restricted, including:

* No access to the PLAYSTATION Store
* No access to play online games on the PLAYSTATION Network

?

A new patch for Grand Theft Auto IV is now available to download for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The new patch mainly deals with online bug fixes and improvements, and also improves the reliability of the online leaderboard, as well as increasing the frequency of updates. You can download the patch by booting the game and selecting "Yes" at the prompt. You can find a full list of changes below.

1. Fixed an issue where players were unable to enter or exit vehicles in GTA Race.
2. Fixed an issue where scripted vehicles were causing games to unexpectedly crash.
3. Improved reliability and frequency of PS3 online leaderboard updates.
4. Fixed a rare hang some players encountered when moving from a Race or GTA Race lobby into gameplay.
5. Fixed a hang that would occur when players were switching teams during the countdown in the lobby.
6. Fixed an issue where players were able to get ridiculously high scores from Cops ‘n Crooks matches.
7. Changed GTA Race and Race so that the last player remaining always receives a reward of 250 dollars.
8. Fixed an issue where spectating players would prevent the game from finishing.
9. Fixed an issue where players were unable to spectate in Round 2 of Cops ‘n Crooks games.
10. Changed countdown timer in lobby so that it no longer resets when new players join a game.
11. Changed the kick option so that kicked players are no longer brought back to single player.

The Metal Gear Solid database is already available as a free download from the PlayStation Store in the US and Japan. Konami has announced that the database will be available to download in Europe as part of this weeks PlayStation Store update. The Metal Gear Solid 4 database is a comprehensive archive detailing characters, weapons and plot elements from 1987’s original Metal Gear title right through to the most recent title.

The database allows users to search via three central hubs: GENE (a glossary), MEME (which maps the relationships between characters in the series), and SCENE (a timeline for the series). Users can jump from page to page using specific keywords, with the relevant information appearing instantly. All information relating to Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, however, can only be accessed when the software detects a save data file created when the game has been completed, as to avoid spoiling the final adventure.

Now that Firmware 4.00 is available for the PSP, it’s only a matter of time before a new custom firmware is available too. Homebrew developer Mathieulh recently revealed some of the new features that will be added into the upcoming custom firmware that Dark_AleX and team M33 are working on. One of these new features is an in-XMB recovery mode that will allow users to change settings directly from the XMB, so users will no longer need to boot into recovery mode in order to change settings.

Another new feature is savestate support for UMD games. Users will now be able to save their progress at any given time during gameplay and be able to load their game at that point after restarting. It has not yet been confirmed if the savestate feature will be integrated directly into the firmware or will be released as a separate plugin.

[Via: QJ.net]