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.

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

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.

In a Press Release today, SCEE has confirmed that the new PlayStation Store will launch on Tuesday, 15th April 2008. Firmware 2.30 will be available to download which will allow you to gain access to the new store. In addition, new content will be available from April 17th 2008, including the Metal Gear Online Premiere Beta. The Warhawk add-on pack Operation Broken Mirror will also be available to download next week. Press release and new screenshots below.

Screenshots:

Press Release:

"On 15th April, the new look PLAYSTATION Store, the online content store on PLAYSTATION Network launches; bring with it improved navigation, more functionality and a whole raft of new content.

The revamp comes in response to a survey last year which showed that many PLAYSTATION Store users wanted a better interface and easier navigation. The new design will deliver a hugely improved navigation system, much greater scope for categorisation and a dynamic new user interface.

To accompany the launch, the PLAYSTATION Store will see an exciting selection of content available from 17th April, consisting of the launch of the Metal Gear Online Premiere Beta, building up to the launch of the next chapter in one of PlayStation’s most loved franchises, Metal gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots. Also available will be Warhawk: Operation Broken Mirror, a great new addition to the hugely popular Warhawk experience and Lair: Diabolical Dragons Pack and Skyguard Upgrade pack, offering new and exciting features and functions. There will also be a collection of trailers including the latest for GTA IV, as well as a Sega Superstars tennis demo.

The PLAYSTATION Store revamp will not affect PLAYSTATION Network accounts or the virtual wallet system."

An anonymous user has just emailed us a link to the Home Beta (v0.8.3) which was available to download from the PlayStation Home servers until Sony took the link down. Although the current version of the beta is v0.8.6, this version will still install (via the F@H exploit or using PlayStation Home “hack”) but is still unplayable. For those who would like to “fake” their participation in the beta, the download link is included below.

We have tested the download and we can confirm that it is able to start, but an update to Home prevents you from accessing the servers. At least you can start it and have “PlayStation Home” under your PSN ID to make your friends jealous.

[Download Home Beta 0.8.3]

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According to the Japanese PlayStation website, the PlayStation store revamp will occur on April 15th 2008, which is a Tuesday. Firmware 2.30 will be released allowing access to the new store. The firmware update will be released in the Evening (Japanese time). There has been no announcement of when the new store will be available in North America or Europe other than in mid-April. It is likely that the new firmware will be available in Europe and US on Tuesday too.

Rough Japanese Translation:

Sony PlayStation 3 online service will be renewed on April 15th, 2008 (Tuesday) evening. This will renew and expand the store by adding functionality described below:

• New interface and navigation improvements
• Preview video content using still images
• New download categories added

After the update, PS3 System Software 2.30 will be available.

To promote the new store, SCEJ will be offering a "PS treasure hunt" running from April 15th to May 12 2008. This will allow every 50th user to the store to download a "hidden" application or game, most likely for free. Maybe this is the suprise SCEE/SCEA mentioned upon release of the new store.

[Via: SCEJ]

When PlayStation Home finally goes live, a new icon will automatically appear under the [Network] category, without the need to update your firmware. Upon booting your PS3, the console does a simple check on two XML files to see if the service is active in your country. If it is active, the new icon appears and click on it will download the Home package to your PS3. After a bit of "hacking" using PS3 Proxy Server, we managed to get the icon showing on our console and even downloaded the Home beta file. Unfortunately, since the service isn’t yet active, we were unable to play. See the video below.

Video:

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

How to download the Beta yourself (unplayable):

1. Download PS3 Proxy Server and install it on a Windows Machine (.NET v1.1 required)
2. Download the following two files:
   • http://select.ww.home.playstation.net/home/ww/product-select.xml
3. Edit the two above files so that all occurences of "off" are replaced with "on"
4. Use PS3 Proxy Server to redirect the locations below to the local file on your hard drive:
   • http://select.ww.home.playstation.net/home/ww/product-select.xml » x:/path-to/product-select.xml
   • » x:/path-to/country-select.xml
5. Configure your PS3 to use your Windows Machine as the proxy server. This can be done by setting the PS3 Proxy Settings to point to your PC IP Address (usually something like 192.168.x.x).
6. Start the server and then restart your console
7. If all goes well, the Home icon should appear under [Network] (between [Account Settings] and [PlayStation Store])
8. Click the icon to download PlayStation Home

UPDATE:

The above download method no longer works since Sony have taken the download link offline. As a result, you will be unable to try and download the beta yourself. We can confirm that Home was available to download yesterday but was unplayable (even though the video doesn’t show this part).

Basically, you can download and install home and can even connect to the Home server. However, once connected you are prompted to download an update before you can play. If you download and install the update, you receive a DRM related error and cannot start Home.

PSP Firmware 3.95 is now available to download, which makes a few minor changes to the system software. The changes include the ability to customise the controls when playing PS1 games, and the Remote Play quitting procedure has changes slightly allowing you to exit remote play mode by either shutting down the PS3 or leaving it on. See the changelog below:

Changelog:

• While playing PSone games on your PSP, you can now customize how the buttons are assigned by going to [Controller Settings] > [Assign Buttons] and select [Custom].
• You can now quit Remote Play and choose to turn off your PS3 or leave it on after quitting. This is useful if you are performing a download and want to quit Remote Play, but still want your download to continue on the PS3. Select [Quit and Turn Off the PS3 System] or [Quit Without Turning Off the PS3 System] from [Quit Remote Play] when you press the HOME button on the PSP system.