It looks like Eric Lempel wasn’t kidding when he stated that Sony would “shortly” be posting part 2 of their video walkthrough of PS3 system software update v2.40. The second video was posted on the PlayStation.Blog around 8 AM EDT. Lempel starts off this five-minute segment by introducing the Trophy Collection under the Game tab of the XMB. First is a list of all the games you’ve earned Trophies in. The game title will be accompanied by a progress bar, which represents the percentage of trophies you’ve gotten in that particular game.

You can then go into each specific game, and you’ll be presented with a list of all the possible Trophies in that game. Each Trophy can be analyzed on its own; you can look at its title, level (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum), when it was earned, and its description. In conjunction with the new Trophy system, Sony has revamped PSN profiles. But this video provides confirmation of the leaked profile page images that we saw last week: new profiles will feature three pages.

The first page will show off your eight most recently earned Trophies, as well as your “level,” a progress bar showing how far you have to go until the next level, and the total number of Trophies you’ve received. Page two will show the breakdown of all your trophies by types of precious metals, and the last page contains the three fields of info from the current profile.

Even cooler is the capability to compare your Trophy Collection with a friend’s haul of digital ducats. This will line up your collections by game, and you can then go into individual games to evaluate how the two of you’re faring, Trophy-wise. As for the levels, they’re pretty self-explanatory: a Silver Trophy will add more to your progress than a Bronze one, and so on, and a Platinum Trophy is awarded only after you’ve earned all the other Trophies for a game. Also, the PSN friends list capacity has been doubled to 100.

The video ends by noting that “developers have the tools” to patch Trophies into existing games; for a list of games that’ll include them at launch or be patched, hit the jump. There, you’ll also find the official press release from Sony. Oh, by the way: firmware v2.40 will be available for download on July 2nd.

[Via PlayStation.Blog]

[Update after the jump.]

Via Destructoid

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While everybody in Japan and America have been enjoying their “last-gen” rumble, we in Europe have had to do without. Obviously, this is understandable, because just like Smash Brothers, there is simply so much translation involved. You need to change “DualShock” on the boxes to “L’DualShock,” and that takes forever!

Sony claims the DualShock 3 is the “first choice for gamers,” which is funny, because up until now we’ve not had that choice. Fear not, however, for we have now been graced with a release date, and that date is July 4th.

How amusing: it’s the only time a British person has had a reason to celebrate Independence Day.

[Update: It seems likely that the July 4 release date is for the UK & Ireland only. Europe, however, should be enjoying the DS3 as soon as July 2. Good going!]

Via Destructoid

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The time is at hand, fellow PS3 owners. First, we saw a purported list of the v2.40 update’s features, and a proposal of a release date: three weeks. The very next day, a tip arose from the murky depths of NeoGAF; it stated that we’d see an official announcement and a video walkthrough from Sony on June 30th. It’s funny just how true some rumors turn out to be. The forumite over at Le GAF was proven correct early this morning: shortly before 3 AM EDT, a five-and-a-half-minute video walkthrough of how in-game XMB will work was posted on the Official PlayStation Blog (see above). This is Part 1 of the walkthrough; the next video, which will demo the new Trophies feature, is coming “shortly.”

The walkthrough cautions that this isn’t necessarily the way it’s going to look or work in the release of the update, but the video was put up to give us “a good idea” of what to expect when the update hits. First, Lempel brings up the XMB while playing Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (an interesting note is that hitting the “Home” button to access the XMB doesn’t automatically pause the game, so you can have it running in the background). We’ll see the full XMB, as it would appear upon powering on the PS3. All the abilities — e.g., messaging/friends list, download manager, and settings — are available.

As I predicted, having the Game tab of the XMB available means that you’ll be able to launch games directly from the XMB without having to manually quit out of the game you’re currently playing. Pic thumbnails show up, but if you want to view them fullscreen (e.g., in a slideshow), the system will ask you to quit out to the XMB. The great thing about having the Settings tab accessible is the ability to set up your Bluetooth headset from within a game. Sony has also added a clock, with date, to the in-game XMB.

The last major feature is a long-awaited one: music that’s on your PS3’s hard drive can be played instead of the in-game soundtrack. The playback tool offers standard functions (change tracks, stop, repeat, shuffle, volume control). Finally, v2.40 will bring a Google Search function to the XMB’s Network tab, just as in the PSP v4.00 firmware. Curiously, Lempel says that in-game XMB will “support the majority of games available for PS3,” but frankly, I’m not worried about that right now. All I know is that seeing v2.40 in action was so beautiful that it nearly brought a tear to my eye…

[Via PlayStation.Blog]

Via Destructoid

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Saturday, EA issued a statement via the official Battlefield: Bad Company website, proclaiming that they are aware of connectivity issues that some players have been facing while trying to play on the web. The statement is written as if the tech guys live in the fictional world of Bad Company, where mercenaries carry gold bars in their pockets at all times.

We’re aware that some X360 players are having issues connecting to the Bad Company servers. We’ve been monitoring stats non-stop and are working with several partners to locate any possible flashpoints and eradicate any hostiles we encounter.

The release then went on to add the most ridiculous “fix” we have ever heard.

Until we are ready to implement a permanent fix, a possible workaround is to turn off your console for approx. 20 minutes before turning it back on and connecting again.

Turning off my console for twenty minutes? What is that going to do other than grant me to whip out another game that doesn’t force me to sign on to servers outside of the Live network? I’m all about squashing bugs and tackling server problems, but treating my console like an overheated George Foreman grill is hilarious.

Have any of you been experiencing these problems? Shall we suggest another “fix” for EA?

[Thanks, Dustin!]

Via Destructoid

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As mentioned last night, I got to play Legendary again last week. This is actually the third time I’ve previewed the game, and each time, it’s gotten better and better. The game looks nothing like when it was first revealed, as a ton of details have been put into each facet of the game.

Since Destructoid has already previewed this game a few times now, I thought I would cover just the essentials this time around. Hit the jump to read about what’s changed in Legendary.

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Nothing is worse on a red-eyed, dazed morning than realizing that the previous night’s escapades with the Rock Band drum set have yielded a broken foot pedal. The only recourse in this scenario is lie your guts out to any EA warranty representative willing to aid. The fib may be innovative and ironclad, but EA is still going to ask for a less-than-60-day-old receipt. While lying is a hilarious way to get hardware replaced, what about the honest man who may have purchased one of the defective November bundles?

For those that might have been burned by the restriction, there’s redemption coming directly from developer Hamonix. According to Gamasutra, on June 30, Harmonix is repealing the restriction for those who may have received a defective set of Rock Band hardware. Although this move was made, Harmonix still maintains that the majority of the problems are the player’s fault, not the manufacturer’s. The warranty restriction will go back into place on October 1 of this year, once the smoke has cleared.

As much as I love Rock Band and acting like an idiot while playing “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” I have to admit my launch day guitar and drum kit are not the most responsive things on this planet. When I originally purchased the game for the 360, I had to return the guitar practically immediately, and I ended up just settling with the equally crappy guitar I was sent back. I am still hopelessly bitter about it. Have any of you gotten a defective unit like I did? Superior yet, do you think Harmonix is taking care of business the right way?

Via Destructoid

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OK, I get that everyone has different tastes. Really, I do. But why, Harmonix? Why follow up the Pixies and Weezer with M

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Destructoid has checked out Spark Unlimited and Gamecock’s Legendary a few times now. In fact, I got to check out the game just last week. A small hands-on of that’ll be going up some time later in the evening.

In the mean time, here’s the first released screens of Legendary’s multiplayer. It’s not much, but it’s the first time that we’re seeing anything of it and I’m already salivating at the thought of fighting other people and werewolves at the same time.

Legendary is getting closer and closer to release, and we still haven’t heard much of what we have the ability to expect. These screenshots just give us one clue to the puzzle. The monsters, well the Werewolves at least, will definitely have a part in the multiplayer. And from the looks of it, it won’t be as sh*tty as Turok’s attempt at including Dinosaurs in the multiplayer either.

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A few weeks ago, LucasArts announced that it was laying off some internal staff as part of its restructuring plans. Yesterday, however, we were shocked to learn that those cuts included key staff that’s been working on The Force Unleashed.

Most surprising of all is that some of the employees who were let go aren’t exactly new to the company, and have worked on such games as Grim Fandango, X-Wing, and Full Throttle. Just why LucasArts decided to trim down this particular team remains unclear, but as on ex-employee pointed out to Joystiq, should fans of The Force Unleashed demand a sequel, there just aren’t enough people left on the team to make it happen at the moment.

While LucasArts could easily go on a hiring spree and make it happen, we’ve to wonder what it secretly says about the game. Is this a sign that George isn’t feeling as psyched about The Force Unleashed as we’re, or is this simply business as usual in our troubled economy?

[Via NextGen]

Via Destructoid

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I can’t wait for this fall’s release of Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice for the PlayStation 3. Each time I see or hear more about the game, I get that much more anxious. Hamza got a Prinny plush! I hate him!

While we’re here waiting, Japan is getting some awesome downloadable content packs for their version of the game. Japanese Web page Watch Impress has a big collection of screenshots from the first new pack, which adds the past game’s characters, Adell and Rosalin, as playables. Oh, and Nekomata beasts. Meow.

The ideal part is that all of these characters can be downloaded for the grand total of only 500 yen (200 yen for Adell and Rosalin, and 100 for Nekomata).

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