The European PlayStation Store has been updated and Europe and now download the Metal Gear Online Beta, which was released in the US a day early. Unlike the US, anyone can access the online beta. US games will have to preorder Metal Gear Solid 4 in order to receive a beta key to gain access to the game. Konami require you to register for a Konami ID in order to play the beta. The download weighs in at 741MB.
US PlayStation Store vs. Euro PlayStation Store
With the release of the new PlayStation Store, we took a look at now the two stores now compare. While the interface and navigation has certainly improved, there are till major differences between the US and European PlayStation Stores. The US store is better organized and as we all know, they get better updates then the Euro PSN Store. Here is what we found out.
First off, the PlayStation Store loads a lot quicker though the icons do take a while to load up. Navigating is a lot easier too, and works much like a menu. You press to select items and to move up one level. The categories are only visible on the top level but there is a button on the top left of the screen that will take you straight there. The new Store looks the same on both SD and HD resolutions, unlike the old store layout.
There are more categories available so it makes finding what you want a lot easier. But this is where the US and Euro stores are different. The US store is much better organized with content much easier to find. For example, Demos can be found in the "Demos" category, but for Europe, you will have to first look in "Latest" and then "All Games" if you can’t find it. There is no "Demos" category in the European Store. And what’s with the "Family Games" category? The "Other Media" category contains Themes and Wallpapers to why not name it that (like the US store)?
US Store Categories | European Store Categories |
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After the icons have loaded, the store is much quicker to navigate. You can easily see information about an item without clicking on the item itself. A smaller icon within the item icon indicates whether the item is in your basket (basket icon) or if you have already downloaded (shown by a red PlayStation Bag icon). Some games have a "Preview" button which launches a video player so you can watch a video related to the item. SCEE states that the slow loading of icons is a temporary issue and should be resolved within a few days (see below).
The store is much better that the previous version and Sony have done a good job in improving the interface and navigation. The interface is still blue but looks cool. We were a bit disappointed with the poor categorization of the European store but hopefully Sony listens to the feedback and improves this. We’re now looking forward to the new store additions coming this Thursday (Metal Gear Online Beta, Warhawk: Operation Broken Mirror and Gran Turismo 5: Prologue).
Lestrade, Community Team Leader at the SCEE PlayStation Forums wrote:
"We are aware that many of you have experienced delays whilst the PS Store’s thumbnail icons are being downloaded. This is a temporary consequence of a new system implementation and high global traffic levels, and will be resolved within the next few days."
PlayStation Store updates for April 15th 2008
As you all know, the new PlayStation Store was launched today and along with some new content. There will be two updates this week, with the second one being on Thursday where the US can look forward to Gran Turismo 5: Prologue and everyone can look forward to Metal Gear Online Beta. Today’s update for Europe includes a new playale demo, some new add-on content and trailers. The US has received some add-on content and trailers too. See the list below.
European Additions:
- Playable Demos
- SEGA Superstars Tennis
- Game Add-on Content
- Super Stardust HD Solo Add-on Pack (£2.99)
- Guitar Hero III Dropkick Murphys pack
- Videos
- Bionic Commando Rearmed trailer
- Lost Planet trailer 2
- SEGA Superstars Tennis trailer
US Additions:
- Game Add-on Content
- Super Stardust HD Solo Add-on Pack ($4.99)
- Lair Dragons and Control Pack
- Videos
- Gran Turismo 5 Prologue "Beyond the Apex" trailer
- Gran Turismo 5 Prologue "Friendly Fires” video
System Software Ver. 2.30
PlayStation Network
- Redesigned PlaySation Store.
Video
- Blu-ray Disc playback now supports DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio output.
- The PS3 system does not support playback of DTS-ES and DTS 96/24 for DVD-Video or DTS-ES Matrix for Blu-ray Discs
PS3 Firmware 2.30
PlayStation 3 firmware 2.30 is now available to download, as promised by Sony last week. The firmware update gives you access to the new revamped PlayStation Store and also adds DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio features for Blu-ray movies. We’re still waiting for the official changelog but from looking at the Japanese PlayStation website, nothing else has been added. See Japenese changelog below. Unfortunately, PlayStation Home was not included with the update.
Japanese Changelog:
- PlayStation Network
- PlayStation Store has been renewed. New features have been added.
- Video
- DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio is now supported.
Japan getting Matte Bronze PSP
Japan is getting the is in yet another new color, this time it’s Matte Bronze. The new color PSP will be available to buy in Japan from April 24th 2008 at a price of 23,800 yen (approx. $236) for the value pack. The value pack will come with all the usual accessories including pouch, strap, cloth, 32MB Memory Stick Duo, TV-Out cable (component D), battery and charger.
UPDATE: PlayStation Home v1.00 Proof
Earlier this week we managed to get access to PlayStation Home by “hacking” a few files on the Sony server. Our video shows that we managed to download Home from the Sony servers, but we weren’t able to access the online world.
Read MorePlayStation Network downtime today
The PlayStation Network will go offline for several hours today in order to prepare the launch of the new PlayStation Store for tomorrow. The store will be offline from 8:00 AM PST (4:00 PM BST) until 11:00 PM PST tonight (7:00AM BST tomorrow). The announcement notes that other PlayStation Network services will not be affected. Before you can access the new store tomorrow, you will need to download firmware 2.30 when it is released tomorrow.
We will bring you more information on firmware 2.30 and the new store tomorrow. Sony has already confirmed that firmware 2.30 will include DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio features for Blu-ray movies, but other changes in the system software are still to be determined.
Wallpaper Gallery Update
First off we would like to apologize for the Wallpaper Gallery downtime today. During the downtime we updated the gallery section by adding over 600 new HD Wallpapers for you to use on your PS3. We’ve been working hard over the past few days to being some much needed changes to the website, and more wallpapers is phase 2 of our planned update. You now have access to over 1500 high-definition wallpapers – you can get full access to the gallery section by becoming a member for free.
We’ve added 656 new wallpapers to the gallery which include:
- 150 new abstract wallpapers
- 40 new animal wallpapers
- 20 anime wallpapers
- 120 babe wallpapers
- 40 game wallpapers
- 90 landscape wallpapers
- 10 movie wallpapers
- 70 nature wallpapers
- 30 space wallpapers
Website Update
We’ve updated the XTREME PS3 website today, with some interface and usability improvements. You will notice Tool Tips around the site now giving you some information about the various sections of the website. The News section has also been updated to provide a better and more robust commenting system. Any feedback on the new features would help us make further changes.
You can test the tool tips by simply hovering over one a link from the left or top navigation menus. The news commenting system now checks to see if your submission is valid before redirecting you – this should save you time. We will be looking to make some more improvements over this weekend. Any suggestions are welcome. The new functionality is JavaScript based so a supported browser will be required.