PSN Store Gets A Makeover
A new interface? Fresh content to see how it all works (in just a few more days)? Well, if you insist!
Published: May 13, 2008
It's been a pretty excruciating few weeks ever since the PSN store stopped coughing up content for us as we've come to expect, but we think it's safe to say that it was worth the wait. Now that the dust has settled from this morning's maintenance, we can finally get our hands on the revamped PSN store. The new store is integrated directly into the PS3 XMB, replacing the cumbersome website that debuted with the system (and until now, was never changed).
We can't help but wonder why Sony decided to push out such a haphazard store when the system launched; time constraints are the most likely culprit. It's taken a bit longer than we would have liked, but now that things are up and running (after yet another firmware update), all is forgiven.
April 17 will usher in the demolition of the proverbial dam sealing off gamers from new PSN content, which will soon flood the network with the Warhawk: Broken Mirror expansion, the Metal Gear Online Beta and tons of other goodies. The new content shouldn't be hard to find, either: the new interface boasts a much more intelligent design (purchased content no longer disappears but rather displays a red icon in the bottom right corner, for example), with several additional categories to sort content by.
Luckily, Sony has thrown us a bone to hold us over until Thursday: the new Super Stardust HD expansion and Lair control updates have been released in North America alongside this update. Those who are a bit reluctant to shell out dough on such things can now preview new content in the form of embedded video clips -- and if they decide to take the plunge on a new game, it will now install itself after the download is completed.
Things seem a bit rocky right now: those who open the store are greeted with a screen full of missing images, but we're gonna chalk that one up to the massive influx of downloads currently going on. If it's not sorted out by the end of the day, well, then we'll start to worry.
For a more detailed look at what's included in Firmware 2.30, click here.
We can't help but wonder why Sony decided to push out such a haphazard store when the system launched; time constraints are the most likely culprit. It's taken a bit longer than we would have liked, but now that things are up and running (after yet another firmware update), all is forgiven.
April 17 will usher in the demolition of the proverbial dam sealing off gamers from new PSN content, which will soon flood the network with the Warhawk: Broken Mirror expansion, the Metal Gear Online Beta and tons of other goodies. The new content shouldn't be hard to find, either: the new interface boasts a much more intelligent design (purchased content no longer disappears but rather displays a red icon in the bottom right corner, for example), with several additional categories to sort content by.
Luckily, Sony has thrown us a bone to hold us over until Thursday: the new Super Stardust HD expansion and Lair control updates have been released in North America alongside this update. Those who are a bit reluctant to shell out dough on such things can now preview new content in the form of embedded video clips -- and if they decide to take the plunge on a new game, it will now install itself after the download is completed.
Things seem a bit rocky right now: those who open the store are greeted with a screen full of missing images, but we're gonna chalk that one up to the massive influx of downloads currently going on. If it's not sorted out by the end of the day, well, then we'll start to worry.
For a more detailed look at what's included in Firmware 2.30, click here.