- Here is a post to catch up on a bunch of PS3 news.
- First, there have been some firmware updates. v240 was taken down, but v241 quickly followed up. v242 is out now too.
- For those interested in Trophies, info has come out about the Little Big Planet additions. Apparently Sony may mandate some unique trophies for their titles, (in other words, challenges that are different to Xbox 360 achievements.)
- Qore have continued to put out new episodes.
- Logitech released a steering wheel.
- There is now a Greatest Hits line of games for PS3. Find out which are worth buying. In other cheap games news, Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty is only $15.
- Sony cut the price of the 80GB PS3 down to $400. EU/Australia will get it in August. The FCC got in on the action and showed off some details of the new model.
- Your PSN account will work cross platform.
- Then there is the PSN video store. It is open now, but not in the PAL regions. However, the EU will get PlayTV in September.
- Certain areas of Home will be region locked. A couple of game specific areas were revealed for Warhawk and Uncharted.
- Some more lifestyle apps, "Life with PlayStation" is coming this month.
- Sony love their XMB interface, of PSP and PS3 fame. So much so that the XMB is coming to Vaio laptops.
- And PS3 homebrew is kicking off and we now have the inevitable Pong for PS3.

- Firmware v241 is now out to fix the problems in v240 from earlier this week.
- Now that the issues are all fixed, here is a closer look at some of the things you get with it:

• Cleaned up PSN Store Interface


• Platinum Trophy image changed already

- The Official Sony Blog has news on the firmware issues:

"As has been reported on many gaming blogs and websites, we have temporarily taken Firmware v2.40 offline. We've received a limited number of calls from consumers experiencing an issue with installing the system software update on their PS3. While our consumer services department has seen a low volume of calls on this topic, we are committed to providing the PS3 community with XMB access features delivered in the v2.40 update. We are working diligently to isolate the problem for those few consumers and to identify a solution before we put the firmware back up.

We'll provide further information as necessary here on the Blog."

- PS3 Fanboy got word from Sony Europe that the DualShock 3 will launch in continental Europe tomorrow and in the UK on the 4th for £40.

- Develop Magazine lets us know that Sony have finally spilled the beans to consumers on firmware v2.40, due this Wednesday:

"After having filled developers in on the details two weeks ago at its DevStation events, Sony has today revealed the features of its 2.40 PS3 firmware to consumers.

The new firmware includes support for in-game Trophies, Sony’s take on Xbox Live-style achievements, with 'many online games' set to feature platinum, gold, silver and bronze trophies. UK-developed games set to feature Trophy support include Buzz! Quiz TV, LittleBigPlanet and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift.

The other main addition to firmware 2.40 is the in-game cross media bar (XMB), which allows people to check their friends list to see who's online and send messages while inside the game. The Friends list will also double in size, now supporting up to 100 entries."

- See the in-game XMB in the video below:

- Joystiq show us the official PS3 Bluetooth Headset, (and it's about time Sony!)

"SOCOM Confrontation's retail release will include a Bluetooth headset, Sony reconfirmed today -- this time with pictures. While similar to the Jabra headset packaged inside Warhawk's box (and later removed), SOCOM's offering actually appears to be well-designed and, in fact, PlayStation-branded. Features include a prominent Mute button, USB charging cradle, and extended battery life. Sony has neither finalized the design nor priced a standalone model, but the SOCOM bundle is rumored to fetch $80."

- PS3 Fanboy gets wind of a News and Weather channel for the PS3 which will be something to compete with the Wii:

"A weather and news service was also revealed as part of a new Life With PlayStation brand. This will feature an interactive globe showing real time weather reports and headlines from all over the world. This feature will also support geo-tagged photos (awesome) and other features which will be released over time. Again, we'll probably hear more about this whole Life With PlayStation brand at E3."

- See some images at Engadget.

- Joystiq mentions the upcoming PS3 movie download service:

"Sony PlayStation executive Kaz Hirai has announced a movie download service is coming to the PS3 this summer for the US, with similar service for Europe and Japan at a later date. Hirai told reporters (via TMC) that more details will be announced month, presumably at E3. The first images of the program were found via Hirai's presentation on the Sony's corporate site (PDF file via PS Beyond)."

- PS3 Fanboy has some leaked images of the Sony Trophy system.
- They basically show a similar setup to the gamercard you get on Xbox 360.
- I can tell you now that those are real, but mock-ups. Expect things to change for the final release.

- A free peice of software, Metal Gear Solid 4 Database, will be going up on the European PSN Store on Thursday, (26th June.)
- It's an interactive encyclopedia meant to guide players through the epic saga, stuffed with facts. It will even check your MGS4 progress so as not to reveal spoilers.

- Firmware v2.36 is out now with some stability fixes for certain PS1 titles.
- More interestingly, Sony also let us know that v2.40 will finally add in-game XMB and trophy support, (similar to Xbox achievements.)

- PlayStation Blog have stated PS3 firmware v2.35 improves game stability, but is not related to GTAIV issues.
- For help with GTAIV Sony have put up a support page. They basically say there is a solution, but you should call the helpdesk.
- You can download firmware v2.35 now.