PS Store
Latest
GC 2008: PS3 getting free 'VidZone' music service in Europe
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has announced that VidZone, "the online destination for music videos" that we've never heard of, will be offering a free, streaming music video service for the PlayStation 3. The "trial service" is expected to launch in early 2009 in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Featuring a "full playlist of videos from hip-hop to punk and heavy metal to classics," VidZone will allow PS3 owners to build playlists and download songs, music videos (!!!) and ringtones "for a small charge." The best part is that the service will support remote play via the PSP, ideal for those awkward situations when you're out in public and simply must subject yourself and those around you to Kylie Minogue.
DragonForce to debut new single in Guitar Hero III track pack
British power metal squealers DragonForce will debut a new and inevitably over-the-top single in a Guitar Hero III track pack later this week. Taken from their new album, Ultra Beatdown, "Heroes of Our Time" will no doubt challenge serious shredders with a never-ending string of shifting notes and finger-knot solos when it arrives on Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store on August 21.The DragonForce Track Pack will also provide two other overwrought songs, namely "Revolution Deathsquad" and "Operation Ground and Pound," from the album dubbed Inhuman Rampage. Expect this one to go for the usual 500 MS Points ($6.25).[Via press release]
Video Store update for the week ending August 16th
Another week goes by, another video store update. This week's new content is quite a large offering with new episodes for ten TV shows and over 22 new films to choose from. Listed below are the television programs with new episodes. You'll find the movies list after the break. American Chopper Criss Angel Mindfreak Lost in Space Miami Ink Most Shocking Paranormal State The Riches Top Tens The Unit Xam'd: Lost Memories If you're interested in checking out the top-twenty downloads for the week, be sure to check out the PlayStation Blog post.
Euro PS store getting A-Z search function
The European PlayStation Store is in for a real technological treat this Thursday, according to a moderator on the Official PlayStation Community forums. Customers scoping the virtual aisles for something more specific than a genre will be able to -- get this -- perform an A-Z search for any games, demos or add-on content. So, you type in a name and the computer will automagically find it for you!Boy, that sort of utility would be awfully helpful here on the internet. If anyone out there comes up with something vaguely like it, just give us a shout.[Via PS3 Fanboy]
PS Store video content updated
Need something to watch tonight or over the weekend? Then don't forget the video service option on the PS Store. You see, the store is updated as it comes in and not every Thursday like the games side. So, to make things easier for all of you to keep up on what's new, PlayStation.Blog has listed all the new television shows and featured films added to the shop. You can view that list after the break.
More Crefest and SoaD for next week's Rock Band DLC
Next week's Rock Band tracks come courtesy of Crüefest yet again and will feature bands from the music festival. More tracks from System of a Down will also be available and songs from that band are always tons of fun to play -- especially Toxicity (embedded vid). Here's the breakdown of the songs and their respective price: Crüefest 3-Pack 02 ($2.99 -- price for all three tracks) Buckcherry - Rescue Me ($0.99) Mötley Crüe - Face Down In The Dirt ($0.99) Sixx AM - Life Is Beautiful ($0.99) Other singles System of a Down - B.Y.O.B. ($1.99) System of a Down - Toxicity ($1.99) You all should know by now that these tracks will be available next Thursday (August 7) along with the PS Store update.
PS Store video service in Japan priced and dated
Unlike the PAL regions, it appears those of you in Japan will be getting the PS Store video service fairly soon. Sony has announced they will launching the new PS Store video service for the Japanese market in September. The main shining star of the service will be something we Americans already enjoy -- the new exclusive anime from the renowned studio Bones, Xam'd: Lost Memories, which will be known as Bounen no Zamudo in Japan. A "three-day" rental in Japan of this anime in HD will cost you 400 yen, which is about the same as the US price of $3.99 ... except you only have twenty-four hours in the US. The SD download is 300 yen. No word yet again on any other regions.
A photographic ride through the new PlayStation Store
Those of you who didn't stay up late last night and check out the new PlayStation Store on your own now have nowhere to go. Stuck inside your cube with no early lunch, no way to slip out at 3:00 -- nada. Thankfully, the crew over at PS3 Fanboy has the goods to satisfy your appetite until you get home. Tap the read link for a gallery of hands-on shots, and chime in below with your likes / dislikes once you've had a chance to meander around yourself.
We take the brand spankin' new PS Store video service for a spin
Announced yesterday at E3, the PS Store video service was ready for us the same night. We tried it out, and chronicled our experiences with it. Will you be using this instead of buying/renting a DVD, or even a Blu-ray?We tried a both a SD and HD download, as well as watched a video on the PSP. We also played with different options, and even took a note of download and transfer speeds. Hopefully this will help out you guys who are on the fence about all of this.So what cha' waiting for? Took a look here.
North American PS Store special E3 Update
As previously stated before, the PlayStation Store would be updated all week. With today's Sony conference now wrapped up, all the goods from the presser are now up for download on the store. Well, the keynote itself is not up ... yet, but you'll still be able to download tons of trailers of hot, upcoming titles. Also, Rock Band DLC (after the break) hits today. Hurray!Downloadable Content Super Stardust HD Team Mode Add-on ($4.99) Videos God of War III Killzone 2 MotorStorm Pacific Rift Xam'd Lost Memories Buzz PSP Resistance: Retribution Ratchet & Clank Quest for Booty PixelJunk Eden Siren Blood Curse PAIN Amusement Park Gran Turismo TV MKU vs DCU Blitz The League II Valkyria Chronicles Resident Evil 5 This is Vegas TNA Impact! Wrestling
No movie studios have signed with PS3 download service... yet
Variety's video games reporter Ben Fritz looked into Sony's announcement yesterday about their video download service; turns out Sony has been in talks with all the major movie studios, but none have signed onto the PS3 download service just yet. It seems that Sony is looking to compete with Xbox Live Video Marketplace by adding extra features, such as allowing the owner of the download to transfer a copy of the movie to their PSPs, similar to their plans for Blu-ray. However, more features means more complicated contracts with studios, possibly leading to less content for the video download service on launch date. Fritz feels that if the PS3 download service has the same or better features as Xbox Live, it won't have problems getting major studios to participate. Sony does have at least one studio backing it up though, and that is Sony Pictures. If they can convince just one other studio to sign on, they will have the same amount of studios Xbox Live Video market place had when it begin at the end of 2006. What do you guys think? Should Sony opt for more features, but have less content at launch? Or should they forget about the features and get as many studios to sign on as possible?
SingStore updates their song selection yet again
If your vocal chords simply can't get enough exercise from singing stuff on SingStar, you might love to know what's new on their SingStore. We'll list the songs in English below, but if you're interested in other languages, we'll add those after the cut. This is a good update for those who love ... uh ... Avril Lavigne? It's a fairly varied batch of choices, so watch your wallets carefully. Avril Lavigne - Complicated Peabo Bryson & Roberta Flack - Tonight I Celebrate My Love Good Charlotte - I Just Wanna Live The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations Shocking Blue - Venus Golden Earring - Radar Love The Hives - Hate To Say I Told You So Hard-Fi - Hard To Beat Avril Lavigne - My Happy Ending Erik Faber - Not Over Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died In Your Arms R.E.M. - Everybody Hurts Wilson Phillips - Hold On Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You shouldn't've)? Alphabeat - Fantastic 6 The Vines - Get Free Roy Orbison - Only The Lonely (Know The Way I Feel) Westlife - Queen Of My Heart The Hoosiers - Cops N Robbers Coldplay - Shiver Coldplay - The Scientist Duran Duran - The Reflex Moloko - Sing It Back Aslan - This Is As we said before, songs from other lands or in other languages are after the cut. It would probably be fun to try them out at least once ... of course, it would be an easier choice to make if they were free.
Sony charging Hong Kong PS3 owners to download themes
It's starting. Maybe. What we thought was a marvelous adventure of free online courtesy of Sony may start to end up slapping price tags on more or what was initially free. The first offender is this screenshot taken from the Hong Kong PS Store -- when you try to download a PS3 theme for the upcoming title Dark Mist, you're asked to pay $7.00HK -- roughly $1 in the US. It's not much, but it's infinitely more expensive than free.Xbox 360 owners will be familiar with this practice, as many dashboard themes and gamerpics will cost a dollar or two. Will this new idea bleed onto the other PS Stores? Would you pay for a theme on your PS3?[Thanks, Colin!]
Five things PSN must address to remain relevant
There's an interesting article over at BlogCritics -- they recently did a similar post on the Xbox Live service, so it's not like they're being one-sided. Basically, what are the five things the PSN has to address to remain relevant? We'll list their ideas below, but if you want to read more, check out their site. It's a pretty good read. More content -- both original and classic titles: basically, more PSN releases and definitely start beefing up the PS One collection in stores outside of Japan. Unified updates and stop delaying releases: The Japan PS Store, US PS Store, and EU PS Store all update at different times with different content. It's weird. Delaying releases (new Rock Band tracks released on a Tuesday, but aren't available on the PSN until Thursday) is also an irritation to be fixed. Release Home: this is pretty self-explanatory. Home needs to release -- with it will be trophies, accomplishments, in-game XMB (allegedly), and launching games via Home. Releasing it would be nice, but we have to wait a bit longer. Video and music should be here by now: Sony has its paws in tons of music and movie studios. Why is it taking so long to create and release video and music on the PS Store? It should come and soon, but who knows. In-Game XMB: You know everything they have to say about this feature, probably. It's been cried for since the console's launch. It'll happen eventually. But it should've happened long ago. Of course, our explanations of the choices aren't the same as those used by BlogCritics -- they go much more in-depth with their reasoning. It's a cool read and their choices aren't bad or too demanding at all. What do you guys think? What would you add to the PlayStation Network, given the chance?
Canada to get new prices on the PS Store
This Thursday update will surprise our Canadian friends. SCEA has announced that it will adjust prices on content available on the PLAYSTATION Store for Canadian customers. According to the press release, "the adjustment comes as a result of the strengthening Canadian currency and SCEA's ability to localize pricing within the PLAYSTATION Store." The prices will be adjusted during a window of time prior to Thursday's content update. As a result, we recommend all our Canadian readers to wait until tomorrow's content has gone live before purchasing anything this week. You'll most likely save a few bucks."We are continually looking for ways to enhance the player experience on the PLAYSTATION®Network, and downloadable content through the PLAYSTATION Store is just one of our areas of focus," said Grace Chen, Senior Manager for the PLAYSTATION Store. "We anticipate that this price adjustment will meet the expectations of our Canadian consumers and provide them with a better PLAYSTATION Network experience."[Photo credit: Amy Talk]
PS3 firmware v2.30 is out: new PS Store and DTS-HD MA now yours for the taking
It's April 15th which means one thing: taxes PS3 firmware 2.30 is due. Right on cue, Sony made good on the new PlayStation Store and DTS-HD Master Audio sound reproduction sure to make audiophile-types lean in for a listen. The Store is acting a bit sluggish at the moment, something that's likely to get sorted once the rolling update is completed. Nevertheless, users are claiming easier navigation and richer experience. So whatcha looking at -- get out of here kid, there's on-line updating to be done.[Thanks, Paul R., Nathan, and everyone who sent this in]
Sony unleashes Toro mascot figurine upon the world
Are you looking for something to put next to your alarm clock, MP3 charge station, PS3, or other eclectic figurine collections? Perhaps Sony's new Japanese mascot, Toro, will fit nicely amongst your other strange goods from the land of the rising sun. Toro's friends are also available for your collecting urges.If you've ever ventured onto the Japanese PS Store, you've probably seen this cat in a bunch of different places. It was the first game to feature customizable soundtracks, if we remember correctly. Anyway, the figure comes with detachable faces that can represent how you feel that day. Or how you wish you felt. Enjoy![Via Kotaku]
PS3 firmware v2.30 walkthrough: DTS-HD MA support / new PS Store included
Oh sweet mercy, what have we here? A sneak peek (on video) of the looming PlayStation Store revamp and a confirmation of DTS-HD Master Audio output in the next PS3 firmware update, that's what. Over on the PlayStation Blog, we're casually walked through the impending v2.30 update, and just as we had heard, Blu-ray fans can shout in unison as the inclusion of their favorite audio codec (as well as DTS-HD High Resolution Audio) is just days away. Word on the street has v2.30 headed down the pipes on April 15th, and if you're eager to catch a glimpse of some more stills from the made-over PS Store, head on over to Joystiq. Read - PlayStation 3 firmware v2.30 walkthrough video Read - Revamped PlayStation Store images Read - DTS' own confirmation of the good news (Thanks, sTeViO!)
PlayStation Store redesign unwrapped, weekly updates suspended
click to enlarge SCEE has unveiled its PlayStation Store redesign, which is scheduled to launch in "mid-April." Weekly content updates will cease for the next two weeks until the redesign goes live, but "users can look forward to a special update in mid-April," Sony Europe teased in a press release. In addition, users will continue to have access to the store's back catalog as they await the mid-April relaunch. The redesign will not affect existing PlayStation Network accounts or the virtual wallet.The store redesign has been previously confirmed for North America and will release sometime in April. SCEA has yet to announce the exact release date, which may or may not coincide with the European update. Update: SCEA has announced the North American "revamp" will arrive via firmware update in "mid-April" (presumably day and date with the European update). Sony clarified that beginning April 3, no new content will be added to the store until the redesign is launched. Gallery: PLAYSTATION Store redesign
SCEA's Hight: PlayStation Store overhaul, Warhawk expansion coming in April
A redesign of Sony's PlayStation Store is coming in April, according SCEA's Director of Product Development John Hight. In an interview with Gamasutra, Hight said, "I think you will see a pretty big change in the PlayStation Network in the early part of April, where we roll out some new interface stuff largely based on customer feedback."The changes, according to Hight, amount to simplifying the system and "cutting down on the number of mouse clicks, making it easier to find stuff that you want to find."High also said in page four of the full interview that another Warhawk expansion is due out also in April. Said Hight, "We just released an expansion on Warhawk in September, and we'll release another one in April."[Via PS3 Fanboy]
