THE PS3 NATION

Sony officially announced a redesign of the Playstation Network’s Store today. The changes will become visible to users in the middle of April, according to the press release. The interface, which will be added in a Playstation 3 firmware update, will be integrated into the XMB. The stand-alone website will still be available to PC users on the web. Sony says that the updating process will require the current store to be in active for the next two weeks. So no downloadable content will be available until this change has been implemented. Have a look at the pictures below for an idea of how the new Playstation Store will look.

Unconfirmed rumors and possible screens from Resistance 2 for the Playstation 3 seem to be swirling around the net. Details seem unbelievable here’s a summary:

* One campaign focusing on Nathan Hale across USA, 1 player
* One separate story based campaign supporting 2 players offline, 8 players Online
* Online Multiplayer (dedicated servers) supporting 60 people, lobbies for individual squads
* Classes for online, templates include Heavy, Special Ops, Medic
* New vehicles including Chameleon (Stalker with cloak)
* Partial randomized geometry in level spots
* Insane stat tracking coupled with MyResistance.net

And here’s some images found floating about…not sure where they come from or if they are real.

Thanks to NeoGAF for some of the info!

A new year has begun, and with it the wait for new games, features and announcements. Sony has made many promises for what the Playstation 3 can deliver. This year, with any luck, they can make good and deliver on those promises. The annual consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, Nevada has already generated some interesting news.

Sony recently announced that the PS3 will soon be capable of loading a portable version of any purchased Blu-Ray movies onto the PSP. This development promises to give gamers on the go added incentive to buy into the growing high-definition movie format. With film industry giants like Warner Bros. and Disney signing exclusive rights over to Blu-Ray, this news is the icing on the digital media cake.

Of course, the Playstation 3 wouldn’t be much of a gaming console without games. So developers are doing their best to keep the pipeline full of fantastic titles. This past holiday, we saw a surge of quality on the PS3. Games like Unreal Tournament offered gamers the first ever access to user-made gaming content on a console, as well as keyboard and mouse support for an FPS. These luxuries have been standard in PC gaming for a long time. So it’s about time we get them on a console. We PS3 gamers also got wireless guitar controllers to rock out with Guitar Hero III and Rock Band. We saw some impressive downloadable gaming like Pain and Stardust HD. Additional downloadable content for games like Warhawk and Motorstorm hit the PSN. There were amazing console exclusives too, like Uncharted: Drakes Fortune.

This year promises to be even better. Games like WipeOut HD, LittleBigPlanet, Metal Gear Solid 4, Tekken 6, Final Fantasy XIII, Singstar, and Killzone 2 are sure to attract even more gamers. Improvements in online interaction like Sony’s HOME should help bring them all together. In sort, we can look forward to some amazing content and an ever-expanding Playstation experience.

I was one of the first to own a PS3 when it launched and I endured a long while of people doubting my purchase. However, I enjoy my PS3 every chance I get. It continues to amaze me with its flexibility, solid hardware design, engaging games line-up and growing functionality. It can only get better from here.

Competition is good! Just last week I was admiring how awesome the addition of Divx playback to the Xbox 360 was. It allowed me to view downloaded content easily on a large screen, instead of my PC monitor. As a result of all the positive feedback, it seems that Sony has decided to follow suit with their console as well.

The new firmware revision 2.10 for the Playstation 3 will feature, among other things, full Divx playback functionality. This is a great step in the right direction and gives costumers even more reason to own the PS3.

Firmware 2.10 will also include some other interesting features. Among them, is Blu-ray 1.1 functionality, a voice-changer for video and audio chat, and BD Data support. I’ve copy and pasted the relevent info from the official site below.

The PLAYSTATION 3 system software version 2.10 update includes the following:

Voice Changer
The Voice Changer feature has been added to voice / video chat. Visit the Voice Changer guide in Help & Support under PS3 at eu.playstation.com for more details.

Using this feature, you can change the tone of a voice that is input from an audio device such as a microphone. High and low-pitched tones can each be adjusted to five preset levels. You can vary the tone when using voice / video chat under Friends.

Music
You can now select [Type 3] as an option under Settings > [Music Settings] > [Bitmapping]. This bitmapping process was developed specifically for the PS3TM system to enhance audio playback.

Video
DivX and VC-1 (WMV) have been added to the types of files that can be played. *
Blu-ray Disc Profile 1.1 is now supported. **
[BD Data Utility] has been added. ***

*- To play VC-1 (WMV) format files, you must go to Settings > [System Settings] and set [Enable WMA Playback].
- Copyright-protected files or files that were encoded by using DivX 3.11 cannot be played. - Files that are 2GB or more cannot be played.
** You may now be able to use several additional features such as playback of two videos at the same time with Profile 1.1-compatible Blu-ray Discs. The available features vary depending on the disc.
*** The management data that is used by the Blu-ray Disc is saved.

Come and discuss these update on our forums and let us know what you think of the Playstation 3.

Nearly a year since the release of the Playstation 3, firmware 2.0 has finally been release. With it come some significant updates. The ability to wake the PS3 from sleep mode via a WAN connection with the Playstation Portable is key among these. Now, you can connect to your PS3 from anywhere in the world and access your friends lists, stream media, play games, queue up content for download from the Playstation Store, et cetera.

Another significant change is the ability to customize your XMB menu with your own icons, colors and effects. Compared with Xbox Live’s “pay for new themes” strategy, this seems like a terrific value for Playstation owners. The XMB has a few more new tricks in store with this update. Play lists can finally be created for photos and music. Video and game content can be grouped into folders. Videos downloading from the Playstation Store can now stream as they are downloading. There’s no need to wait until they are done anymore.

A new video chat interface has been added to take advantage of the “Playstation Eye” with even higher quality image and sound. The built-in web browser has been tweaked to load faster, as has the PSN Store interface.

All in all, a good list of improvements has been made. Unfortunately, we’re still waiting for in-game custom soundtracks and XMB access to be fully integrated. More on that when info becomes available.

It seems that there’s a new use for the PS3 being discovered every week. The latest news suggest that it can also be used to drive a car. According to eMediaWire, one of the teams competing in this year’s DARPA Urban Challenge will attempt to use the processing power of a Playstation 3 running Linux to pilot their vehicle.

When asked about the reason behind this decision to go with a PS3 for their computing needs, Axion Racing’s Team Leader Bill Kehaly said, “We like to think out of the box, using the latest publicly available computer boxes, and we only use boxes that help raise us above our competition.”

For the whole story, check out eMediaWire.com and check back here for further info about the PS3.

We’re getting ever closer to the magic Firmware 2.0 that Playstation 3 owners are psyched about. In the meantime, Sony is adding functionality with the latest addition of firmware 1.9. Those who upgrade can look forward to using custom wallpaper backgrounds, similar to how it works on Playstation Portable. They will also be able to sort games listed on the XMB in whatever order they like.

Read on for more details and additional functionality that hasn’t yet been listed in other web updates.
Read the rest of this entry »

It’s just been made public that Sony is slashing the price of the 60gb Playstation 3 by $100. The high-end model which includes built-in wifi and a card reader will now retail for $499. They are also releasing a higher SKU with 20 extra Gigabytes of storage space which will sell for $599 and include MotorStorm. The package is displayed below. Stay tuned for more exciting news from E3.

The Playstation 3 has enjoyed some amazing advancements in the short time since it launched last November. Now, with the downscaled E3 looming on the horizon, we are about to begin a flurry of activity in the video game world. The top three gaming companies will compete for our attention and dollars by unveiling new products and promises for the future. Read on to see how far we’ve come and get an example of where we’re going.
Read the rest of this entry »

There are a number of new improvements and changes coming to the Playstation 3. The most significant of which included custom wallpaper, XMB access from within games, custom avatars and multiple chat sessions. No word on exactly when this will be made available. However, the folks at the Blu-ray.com forums seem to think it will soon be out. Click on the link below for further details.

Read the rest of this entry »