Cologne 2009: Firmware 3.0 Announced
Andrew House has just announced PS3 Firmware 3.0 at GamesCom. It’ll feature animated themes, a What’s New section and some other great interface changes.
There will also be direct links to various TV services on the XMB — for example, iPlayer in the UK. For those interested, the battery meter has been moved in Firmware 3.0, and about time too!
PSN cards are also coming, we will see 50 euro and 20 euro versions in September.
A full run-down of the features and some screenshots follow after the jump.
PS Blog has given a run-down of all the new features
Additional highlights from update 3.00 include:
- “What’s New” – The “Information Board” will be replaced with a “What’s New” section, which allows you to enjoy interactive PlayStation news every time you start the PS3 system. Located under the PlayStation Network icon, “What’s New” displays the latest and greatest game, video, PlayStation Network and PlayStation news and releases, as well as your recently played games, in a sleek, new animated format.
- Status Indicator – In the top right corner we’ve added an indicator bar, which displays your user icon, friend icon, the number of friends you have online and a small message icon to let you know if you have any new messages. The indicator also includes a scrolling ticker that features the latest news from PlayStation Network. In addition, when you press the PS button, the battery life indicator will no longer cover up the clock.
- Friends List – Now your PlayStation Network friends will appear in a slightly redesigned format on your Friends List. Also, messages will now be viewable from each of your friends’ respective profiles.
- PlayStation Store Shortcuts – We’ve added a handy shortcut icon to the PlayStation Store under both the Game and Video categories so you can access the latest content quickly and easily.
- Personalization – Personalize your PS3 with new dynamic custom themes and avatars. Dynamic themes as well as free and premium avatars will be available through PlayStation Store. A dynamic theme takes your screen to a whole new level as it incorporates animated objects into the background.
- Trophies – Showcasing your hard earned trophies just got better. Update 3.00 gives game developers the ability to modify how they display trophies for add-on content. Base and add-on game trophies will continue to be combined into a single list so you can see where you stand in a game as a whole. Within that list, trophies will be broken out into subcategories—base trophies and add-on trophies—that way, you can easily view the percentage of your base game trophy collection, and separately track your trophy progress in add-on packs. Look for this enhancement to be included in upcoming games.
August 18, 2009 at 9:15 pm
What – no PS2 software emulation ;(
A PS2 store and full software emulation was – besides the ps3 slim – top most on the wish list… oh well, maybe next time…
August 18, 2009 at 9:17 pm
It’ll be hard for the emulation to be implemented until the Graphics Synthesiser is nailed, as it’s not been emulated so far.
Yes, there have been patents, but it’s skipped around the issue of how they’ll actually do it.
August 19, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Awesomeness
September 2, 2009 at 9:41 am
I figured they would release a slimmer version eventually. Good thing I waited for it. Totally sweet.