This morning, SCEA announced that the PLAYSTATION Store will be revamped with a new look in mid-April. We’ve heard your calls for a more fluid Store interface, and we think you’ll be pleased with the results.
As some of the most passionate and knowledgeable PLAYSTATION 3 fans out there, here’s some additional information on the revamped PLAYSTATION Store.
As you can see in the above screenshot, the new interface allows customers to browse through eight primary categories, rather than four, making it easier to locate games, demos, game add-ons and other content. It also enables us to put up to twice as many items per page, significantly cutting down the time it takes to browse through content.
Customers will be able to access, browse, shop and download content as usual prior to the store’s re-opening. However, no additional downloadable content will be posted prior to then, including this Thursday, April 3rd, and next Thursday, April 10th. Regularly scheduled content updates will resume with the Store’s re-opening, at which time additional games and game-related items will be added, including the downloadable version of the highly-anticipated exclusive PS3 title Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.
When the PLAYSTATION Store is set to re-open with the new interface, PS3 users will be prompted to download a firmware update which will enable entry to the new store.
We’ll continue to update readers of the PlayStation.Blog on the status of the PLAYSTATION Store upgrade – including a video walkthrough – in the coming days.
WoW looks very pretty!
Cool, an all new way to browse the same exact content.
No updates for two weeks because of a UI change?
Scary. You probably needed the two weeks to actually find new content. Good luck with that.
looks great! about the firmware is there any other details to be known? or is it only about the store? And could someone tell me when the playstation cards will arrive germany? I still dont have a creditcard and want to buy stuff… isnt there any other solutions!!! pls recommened thanks
Awesome. Firmware update suggests to me that maybe this won’t be HTML based? That would be awfully nice. The old UI was just too slow and cumbersome.
sounds great :)
hope that the ingame xmb will also arrive soon and a 100+ friendlist… my 50 player friendlist is always full :(
so please ingame xmb, bigger friendlist and a headset chat that exists in alle online games. just like in xbl.
and please more better demos… like haze….
thx
Omg, YES! Thank god. This is something I’ve been looking forward to since day one.
Thanks for the heads up.
this is GREAT! Something I have personally been waiting for. ’08 year of the PS3 confirmed!
Shut down any new content for two weeks because of an interface redesign? You guys make everything look so hard its really embarrassing. Also of note; Sony owns Sony Pictures, and Sony BMG Music and TO THIS DAY WE CANNOT DOWNLOAD MOVIES OR MUSIC!!!!!! When is that glaring problem going to be fixed or does Sony like to walk around in a permanent embarrassed dolt stupor? Meanwhile competitors (yes even ones who don’t OWN THIER OWN STUDIOS) have been selling movies and music forever. Get with the program Sony and stop making everything look so damn hard :) Don’t even get me started on the In-Game messaging and music that should have came out with the system. Later.
I like the new design. Will it actually be a downloadable application versus an actual web interface?
It looks slick and intuitive. Nice change. Thanks for the update
PS: try to throw in the in-game XMB in this upcoming firmware update and I will be super happy :)
Out of all the excitement I forgot to ask one very important question. Is the new store still a web page or is it going to be installed somewhere in the PS3’s system?
The new Store will no longer be browser based in the same way the current Store is, making things A LOT faster and smoother; hence the required firmware update.
On the back end, this switch in systems means having to port all of the current code over to the new Store, and, since the new Store is less \”texty\” and more \”visual\”, it also means having to create a whole bunch of new art assets just for this Store.
We appreciate everyone understanding that these things take time, and appreciate everyone\’s patience. We\’re just as excited about the new Store as you are!
Hope this helped to answer your question!