The Blu-Ray Profile 2.0 (BD-Live) update for the PlayStation 3 will arrive as early as May or June, according to an announcement by Sony. For those who aren’t familiar with the features of BD-Live, the new update will allow Profile 2.0 compatible movies to have extended features by going online and looking for related content appropriate to your Blu-ray title. The firmware update will be available once the first BD Live stand alone players hit the market this Summer.

Sony mentioned this little piece of information to Home Cinema Choice Magazine. Most likely, the company was referring to the Panasonic DMP-BD50, which is believed to be the first Blu-ray player to feature BD-Live. In any case, we’ll just have to wait and see if Sony decides to release any more information on this in the few months.

Several rumors have been circling the Internet this week with regards to the PlayStation Home Open Beta, so we thought we would share them with you. According to a countdown on an unknown website, the PlayStation Home Open Beta is scheduled tobegin on March 20th 2008, which is also a Thursday (the day when the PlayStation Network Store is updated with new content). Also, a somewhat reliable Japanese news source has revealed that the Home Open Beta will begin on March 24th in Japan.

Jonnyram, as he is known on the Neogaf Forums, says in carefully chosen words "Home open beta starts 24 March in Japan. Sorry if old." Both these statements are currently rumors, and we await official word from Sony regarding this matter. Just as a warning, don’t get your hopes up!

The DualShock 3 release date for the US has finally been revealed. If you haven’t already imported one from Japan, look out for the new controller in stores from April 15th 2008, just prior to the Gran Turismo 5: Prologue release. The controller will be released in Europe around the same time but there has been no official word from Sony. The controller will be priced at US$54.99.

According to reports on the Internet and sources at Destination PlayStation, the PlayStation Store is finally getting a graphical user interface makeover. The store makeover is planned to arrive alongside Gran Turismo 5 Prologue on April 15. The revamp of the PlayStation Store is said to give it a look more in tune with the SingStore (pictured below) which is already accessible from the PlayStation 3 version of SingStar. The exact details of the change has not been revealed but it is said that navigation would change to a series of icons running along the bottom of the interface. We don’t have official confirmation on this one yet, so consider it rumor for now.

PlayStation Home nears completion as another update is rolled out. Recent reports suggest that there will be a big update next week, which will take the beta to 0.8.3 and will include many improvements. Improvements to the UI and graphics engine mean that Home will look much prettier and be more functional from here on out. You will be able to check who’s online from your friends list as well as who is in Home right now. A bubble machine has been made available to all beta testers, to test the new "Home Items" system. Video streaming is now made possible too, so you don’t have to wait for a video to download completely before watching it.

The Marketplace will also be opened to test the clothes and furniture which can be purchased there. This should also give us a hint of how Home’s economy will play out. Look out for more details on the improvements next week, when the update is complete.

It comes as no surprise this week, as once again the European PlayStation store is updated with little new content compared to the US store. Europeans can enjoy a new playable demo (which was already available from the US store for a few weeks now), or some of the new videos, wallpapers and a new theme. The US have also received a new playable demo as well as a new PSOne title and more Rock Band add-on content. Also included in the US update are several new videos and trailers, and a new XMB theme.

European Update:

• Playable Demos
• Lost Planet
• Video and Trailers
• Conflict: Denied Ops Launch Trailer
• Conflict: Denied Ops Diary 3: Co-Operative Gameplay
• Assassin s Creed Dev Diary: Altair
• Wallpapers
• Devil May Cry 4 Wallpapers (7)
• Themes
• Sports

US Update:

• Playable Demos
  • PixelJunk Monsters Demo
• PS one Classics for PS3 / PSP
  
  • Jet Moto 3 ($5.99)
• Add-on Game Content
  • Rock Band
    • Why Do You Love Me – Garbage. ($1.99)
    • Sex Type Thing – Stone Temple Pilots ($1.99)
    • El Scorcho – Weezer ($1.99)
• Videos and Trailers
  • MLB 08 The Show Stolen Base Video
  • MLB 08 The Show Replay Vault Tutorial
  • MLB 08 The Show Pitcher/Batter Analysis Tutorial
  • Conflict: Denied Ops Overview Dev Diary 4
  • Bionic Commando: Rearmed Trailer
  • We Own The Night Blu-ray Disc Trailer
  • Kung Fu Panda Teaser Trailer
• PS3 Themes
  • Lair: Asylian Theme

It comes as no suprise that Universal Studios are switching to Blu-Ray, following Toshiba’s announcement. Universal will be discontinuing HD DVD production by this March and will launch all new titles, and catalogue titles, in the Blu-Ray format. Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s president Craig Kornblau has released a statement indicating that it will be launching new and catalog titles on the Blu-Ray format.

"While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray. The path for widespread adoption of the next-generation platform has finally become clear.

Universal will continue its aggressive efforts to broaden awareness for hi-def’s unparalleled offerings in interactivity and connectivity, at an increasingly affordable price. The emergence of a single, high-definition format is cause for consumers, as well as the entire entertainment industry, to celebrate."

The remaining companies still backing HD DVD are expected to switch to Blu-Ray in the coming weeks.

Toshiba has announced that it will stop making its high definition DVDs, ending the battle with rival format Blu-Ray. Following a review of its business, Toshiba said it would stop production of HD DVD players and recorders. Toshiba president Atsutoshi Nishida said "We made a quick decision, judging that there is no way of winning the competition." Toshiba said the tipping point came last month when Warner Bros’ followed a number of other film studios in deciding to release its movies only in the Blu-Ray format.

Is it expected that PS3 sales will rise following the announcement by Toshiba. Also, it is speculated that Microsoft may release a Blu-Ray Drive for the XBox 360. In the UK, DSGI, which owns the Currys chain, said it would stop selling HD DVD players after Toshiba’s announcement. Last week, Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, announced it would sell high-definition discs only in the Blu-ray format at its 4,000 US stores.

Universal, Paramount and DreamWorks studios signed up to produce movies in HD DVD, but Toshiba’s withdrawal is expected to significantly reduce the number of films available in the format.

The XTREME PSP Magazine has been around for over two years now, and it looks like it may come to an end very soon. The number of readers have declined over the past few months and the PSP is loosing ground to the PlayStation 3 and other consoles. As a result, you may or may not see another issue of the XTREME PSP Magazine. However, your thoughts on the matter may convince us to continue publication.

The new issue of the XTREME PSP Magazine is scheduled to be released towards the end of this month, but we are lacking enough PSP-related content to provide a decent issue. Any help or donations you could provide will help us in more ways than one. We are looking to hire writers to cover the homebrew scene as this is still going strong.

The number of new PSP releases have steadily dropped, and we don’t have a lot of content to cover. The PS3 is still new so there is a lot of content for us to cover, but the magazine was primarily for the PSP. PSP M4M: Magazine 4 Men is likely to continue, but we may also discontinue that in the future.

One option we have is it to discontinue the PSP magazine and instead work on a PS3-only magazine. This will most likely be viewable on the PS3/PC only since we will use a larger layout for the magazine. Please use the comment section below to tell us what you think. Alternatively, you can contact us here.

It has been reported by several sources that Toshiba may be giving up its support for the HD DVD format, and conceding to Blu-Ray. A report from Reuters reveals that the company will indeed be giving up the format and draw and early close to the high-definition DVD war. Toshiba is reported to lose tens of billions of yen (or hundreds of millions of dollars) when they eventually drop the format. In addition, they will lose their production line of HD DVD players, recorders, and other devices that support the format.

Reuters’ source continues on to say that Toshiba is planning the final stages of dropping the HD DVD format. On NHK, Japanese TV, a reporter for the channel has made the announcement that Toshiba will halt production of HD-DVD players and conceding a loss to the Blu-ray group. He said that Toshiba will be making the formal announcement within a few days.

With Blu-ray commanding the lead over HD-DVD worldwide, the choice was beyond obvious. It’s estimated that Blu-ray commands 90% of the high-definition market, and with over 10 million PlayStation 3s out there, it’s certainly a big boost for the format. Additionally, with retailers and studio support dropping left, right and center, HD-DVD had no ground to stand on anymore. Toshiba will continue to liquidate HD-DVD stock, but production has already officially ended.