New PLAYSTATION Store interface coming in mid-April

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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.

The New 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.

Comments are closed.

358 Comments

  • Yeah this is nice….but when is Home comming out. I’ve been waiting for it for a while

  • Looks fantastic, exactly what the PSN store needed. Good job.

    As a PAL user, my only request is that we get content at a similar time frame as US users and please add more PS1 titles, especially 3rd party games (Metal Gear, Silent Hill, Square Enix games, Resident Evil etc.)

    Thank you.

  • It’s unfortunate about the lack of new content for a few weeks…I so look forward to “PSN Thursday”! However, the new interface looks fantastic; I can’t wait to interact with it!

  • Across-the-board, In-game Friends List first, please.

  • Whilst an update for the store is hugely welcome – I really hope the media functionality is improved with 2.30.

    Currently the 4 gig file limit on MP4 files both locally and over DLNA is extremely restrictive. I can understand the external HDD limits due to FAT32 – but whats the issue streaming?

    Hate to do the old “but the other console does it” – but filesize isn’t an issue whilst streaming for the other console.

    Ideally, 5.1 level would be good for 264. I’m sure the PS3 can handle it, so why not just allow it and make it more complete.

    Fingers crossed suggestions get taken seriously.

    Thanks

  • Thanks once again Sony. I’m happy to hear that the store will no longer function as a browser and that all of the content will be up to date once it is released. Though it is likely that this won’t be answered, will there be additional features that will be added in this firmware as well? Can we expect additional info regarding this firmware update to be posted in the coming weeks?

  • @Noel Silvia

    Hey Noel thanks for the info. Do you happen to know as well if we still are going to be required to install every download that we get or is the PSN store going to function more like the PSP store and xboxlive. I know this is sort of trivial but i think that if the PSP/PC store does everything and so does the xbox wouldn’t it make sense that the PS3 which is a more powerful device include that function. Thanks.

  • So no new content for two Thursdays straight? Does that mean the new store launch is set for the 3rd Thursday from now? Or could it possibly launch anytime between the 2nd and 3rd Thursday?

    Nice job guys, can’t wait to see the video walkthrough. It’s looking really slick.

    By the way, can we get a heads up on what the upcoming firmware update will bring, besides new store access? I think you know what I’m getting at :)

  • Very cool I cant wait to try out the new version. It looks much better.

  • Never had a problem with the old store. :p
    Is this new store goes down will it effect my online gaming?

    • If there\’s a case where the PS Store goes down (and PS Network is still up), that should not affect online gaming.

  • I have a guestion will this redesign allow the PS Store to be updated more then one time a week. Because I like on Xbox Live when ever new content is ready it can go out on live. More then one time a week.

    Because I hate when I see Xbox Live get new Rock band music you can buy but you have to wait a few days on PSN before you can buy it.

    So please allow updates more then one time a Week Please.

  • now only if you could download things faster too.

  • I want to see it in action first before I start praising it. Looks nice though. I like that deep blue. Hopefully we’ll see massive content x3 on April 17. If not then I don’t care. Just as long as GT5P is there for ppl to dl.

    Happy Birthday to me (15th). I wanted Home, but a store redesign and GT5P will do for now.

  • wrong week to do this, i cant get Still Alive for Rock Band!

    • As an avid Rock Band player (drums all the way!), I share your frustration, but am looking forward to the extra large amount of new Rock Band songs coming for the re-launch on the Store.
      Trust me, you\’ll look back and think \”This was a triumph\”… ;)

  • Something I REALLY hope you guys can answer is, will this make it so that the region of the PS3 decide what PS Store you can access or will it be like it is now?

  • Something I REALLY hope you guys can answer is, will this make it so that the region the PS3 is from decide what PS Store you can access or will it be like now depending on the address of the user account?

  • Sorry another question I would like to add will this mean there will be more content coming out on PSN now. Like PS1 games will start flying onto PSN so people can buy. Also any chance of PS2 games also coming on PSN so you can buy.

    Plus with this update will movies be able to be downloaded.

    Plus if so does this mean the rumor of Netflixs working with Sony to offer downloadable movies is true.

  • Something I REALLY hope you guys can answer is, will this make it so that the region the PS3 is from decide what PS Store you can access or will it be like now depending on the adress of the user account?

  • Damn sorry for all triple post! It did not show the first time I posted like it always do so I thought it didn’t post.

    Sorry about that!

  • This is nice. I can’t wait for a new look. Have you folks thought about having a dynamic colour scheme? You know with the border changing colour every time you log into it. Can’t wait and just in time for Broken Mirror! YIPPEEEE!!

    • You\’ll see some dynamic changes each time you log in to the new Store, but the background will not change…for now.
      Hope this helps answer your question!

  • Major props for finally getting this done. :)

  • Looks fantastic! Especially excited to hear that this will be a ‘native’ feature and not an external site that will open up.

    I’m fine with no downloads for a couple of weeks. :)

  • @17 RoAcH2285

    do you have any problems with your online games/video chat with firmware 2.20?. I ask you because I had the opposite situation here, since firmware 2.20, now my NAT is detected as type 2 (before it was a type 3), but previously I never had a problem with any game (every voice chat feature of the games worked). and the PNP feature of my router is now detected.

    Why do not you try upgrading your firewall firmware to test if that fix it

  • Great news about a store update, but two weeks of NO UPDATES ? Not sure what to say about that; maybe we should expect 3 weeks of updates on April 17th ? I’m not too optimistic about that.

  • Nice already heard about it last week though (some one in UK told me). But any I was wanting to know if the Playstion Store will be part of HOME or will HOME replace it to?

  • It’d be cool if with the new design you brought new functionality. It’d be nice to pre-order games/add-ons from the PS3 or PC store and have them download and possibly install automatically without having to manually do it. I think this would help increase sales of games like GT5: Prologue.

  • new interface looks really slick – nice one Sony!! – as said above – i know that the communication between different sony departements is not always great (or any HUGE business for that matter – cough cough microsoft support/repair) but it would be cool if we could start downloading the latest nd greatest sony pictures movies and some music aswell? – that would be awesome – and i know that the movies would probably eat a little bit away from Blu-ray sales but come on – in the end people still like having disks – i know i do – its just nice to be able to watch it first without having to pay crazy cinema prices…

    anyways – thanks for the update and i look forward to using this new PS store :D

  • Looks really good! Will we be able to play music in the background like we can with the internet browser?

  • So this will be available only for the UK PSN STORE or it will be available on the US PSN STORE?

    • Both the SCEE and SCEA Stores will be seeing a remodeling around the same time.
      The picture you see above is for the new SCEA Store.
      Hope that helps to answer your question!

  • Nice, I kinda heard about this lwast week (someone in UK told me). I was wondering if The new Store was going to be part of Home? Or does HOME need it?

  • I know this is kind of stupid to complain about, but I think the store color should be red…instead of that boring blue color.

    • There are no stupid questions.
      There is actually a reason why blue was chosen over red, or other colours.
      Without getting too technical, the frequency at which TVs produce blue light causes less shimmer in televisions.
      Red tends to have the most and red images tend to \”bleed\” and cause other problems.
      Greens are a bit tricky and can cause navigational problems with some people who have one of the many different forms of colour-blindness.
      Those are some of the reasons why blue was chosen. That, and blue has become associated with the PlayStation branding since the PS2 era.
      See – no stupid questions; only lengthy answers!

  • @Noel Silvia replied on March 31, 2008 at 10:04 am

    Oh boy. Non-text based means even slower updates due to the manual creation of art assets for new content.

    Can we get a store more similar to the Xbox Marketplace? It may look ugly but it’s updated almost everyday…

    • If the new Store was still web based, you\’d be correct in thinking that it the browsing experience would be slower because of the amount of images in the Store.
      However, shifting to a native based Store really makes a difference and speeds up the whole process.
      As for the speed of content, I can guarantee that frequency of updates will not be delayed due to art. They never have, and they never will be, I guarantee it.
      Hope this helps to answer your concerns!

  • This sounds great. Can we get more avatars too? Maybe start throwing some free ones in the store per week like the themes.

  • Looks pretty slick. Is it CSS?

  • Go PSN!!!! Looks super cool! Good luck. And don’t even try to postpone it!!!!!

  • That screen shot looks sooooo much better than the current store.Thank you for listening to your customers sony

    • To echo Grace and Susan, the new Store is partially the result of feedback we\’ve gotten directly through the constructive criticism we\’ve heard from people like all of you here on the blog, on the boards, and our every day experience and interaction with it.
      As the saying goes, \”Rome wasn\’t built in a day, but it was built\”.
      We\’re all just as excited as you are for the brand new Store and appreciate everyone\’s patience.

  • No new content for two weeks? I think this is because there isn’t any actual content to put up on the store anyway.

  • I don’t see a search function. Is that planned for the future?

  • I am so sorry I really think this is my last question.

    Will this new store be world wide. Because in the past there was talks about bringing the store to work for every one.

    So if you wanted some content from Japan you could buy it without making a Japanese account.

    • Due to regional licensing, legal logistics, language, and localization, a true \”global Store\” isn\’t logistically possible.
      However, that isn\’t to say that games found in one region won\’t make their way to others. Titles such as PixelJunkMonsters is a great example of a title from one region making its way to all of the others.
      Hope this answered your question!

  • I have one question. Maybe someone from Sony can answer it. Will we be able to listen to music from our PS3’s hard drive while browsing/downloading from the new PS Store?

  • No In Game XMB not impressed.
    Jesus at least allow me to read and reply to a message while in game.

  • Sir Howard Stringer and earlier Jack Tretton were both suggesting that we would see music/movie/TV series downloads on the PSN Store soon, and the time frames they gave would seem to point to the new PSN Store. While it looks very nice (and I suspect it’ll be fantastic in motion), I’m not seeing much in the way of media categories.

    Are we going to see multimedia (beyond free trailers) on the PSN store, or is it being held off for Home?

  • Very cool news here guys. Thanks for keeping up with the updates and especially the new look to the PSN. Very exciting times for Sony and us users. Thanks again!

  • @26 get lost troll. I own both console and I don’t need those features (which will be coming to the PS3 too).

  • One thing I want to make you guys aware of, the information board hasn’t displayed any information since FW 2.20, and I’m not the only one having this issue. I just wanted to make Sony aware, I like and use the Info board, so it sucks that it’s not functioning…

    • You should find the InfoBoard has now been updated with some fresh posts about SOCOM, latest PlayStation Store updates, and new titles in stores this week.
      Thanks for the heads up, Submish, and please let us know if you have any continued problems with it.

  • I love the new look, I just wish we could get it now LOL

  • Anyone from Sony comment if the MP4 struttering will be fixed in firmware 2.3? I sincerely hope so….

  • wow, now this looks like a STORE, hopefully you will also start giving gamers a lot more ps1 games and psp games

  • Looks… AWESOME!

    Fantastic work, Sony! Congratulations!

  • @91

    you know in-game XMB is coming with firmware 2.40 this summer. give it up man!

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