PS3 Fanboy

Looks like the software engineers at Sony have finished tweaking firmware 2.40. The much-anticipated firmware update included crucial features, like in-game XMB and trophies, but was pulled shortly after its release due to reports of bricked systems. Now, a few days after the controversial removal of firmware 2.40 from Sony's servers, firmware 2.41 is now available to download worldwide.

Hopefully, all goes smoothly with this update. Those lucky enough to have 2.40 working on their systems know that in-game XMB works incredibly well, and trophy support is absolutely addictive. Now, PS3 owners en masse will be able to enjoy these features.

[Thanks, Seth C.!]

Wow, where to begin. We've just received an email detailing a huge update to the Home beta next week. The update will bring the version number to 0.8.3 (taking us ever closer to its release at v1.0.0) and the information comes from the beta message board on the official PlayStation site, so we're certain it's legit. There's a lot of stuff to go over, so we'll pick out the most interesting bits and paste the full patchlist after the break.

Improvements to the UI and graphics engine mean that Home will look much prettier and be more functional from here on out. You will be able to check who's online from your friends list as well as who is in Home right now. A bubble machine has been made available to all beta testers, to test the new "Home Items" system. Video streaming is now made possible too, so you don't have to wait for a video to download completely before watching it.

The most exciting part of the update is the unveiling of the Marketplace in the main square. The Marketplace is stocked with clothes and furniture as well as other, undisclosed, content. We can't wait to see what's there. Game launching is also now available, though it is currently limited. Games can be started within Home, however the party will not be automatically generated within the game. Also, players with different versions of a game (such as American or European) won't be able to start a game together. The patch notes clearly state, however, that this is only temporary and will be fixed before launch.

There's so much more included in the update, but we're running out of room! Check after the break to see the full patch list.

[Thanks John!]

Firmware 2.10 has paved the way for an update to the Folding@Home client. which will arrive soon. The improvements are definitely quite interesting in that they are actually very useful. No longer will you need to worry about leaving your PS3 on all the time - F@H will be able to shut down your console after either the current work unit has completed, or after a certain amount of time.

Not only that, but we can confirm that Folding@Home will receive custom soundtracks. No longer will you have an attack of conscience when using the PS3 to play music - no more will you think to yourself "I'm really enjoying this music, but I feel so guilty that I'm not curing cancer ... ", for now you can do both at the same time. Astonishing!

In all seriousness, though - this is a very handy update and we'll certainly be running our music through Folding@Home over the holidays. No word on exactly when the updated version will be available, but it should be pretty soon, all things considered.

[UPDATE] The update is now available to download. Simply start Folding@Home and you will prompted to upgrade.

We hope you like themes, because there's not a lot else available today, apart from a couple of add ons and a demo. In fact, today's update is even lacking trailers - not to mention a huge hole where the Guitar Hero 3 downloadable content should be. Here's the full release list:

• Kane & Lynch demo (free)
• Motorstorm "Domino & Adventure" vehicle pack (£1.49)
• Folklore "The Origin of Belae" add-on pack (£1.49)
• Blazing Angels 2 Multiplayer trailer (free)
• Mesmerize theme (free)
• Tori Emaki theme (free)
• Heavenly Sword theme (free)
• Snakeball theme (free)
• Lemmings theme (free)
• Killzone 2 theme (free)
• Singstar theme (free)

Themes are all well and good, but where are the downloadable titles Europe has been promised for ages now? Puzzle Fighter, Everyday Shooter - even Blast Factor: Advanced Research hasn't been made available to us yet. As for the Guitar Hero 3 downloadable content, the least said about that, the better. You were doing so well SCEE. What went wrong?

It turns out that, while the content is all finished, tested and ready to go, SCEA is stalling in order to make sure the global servers are "locked in and ready." So if you're angry and want to start blaming someone then blame Sony, not Insomniac. It's disappointing, we know, but a week isn't all that long to wait. It's probably for the best that they get everything completely ready, rather than unveiling new servers which break within the first hour.

June 7th is the day to keep in mind for the release. Remember to tell your loved ones not to get worried if they don't see you for a day or two. We know you'll want to hide yourself away and show off your Chimera fragging prowess to people all over the world, now that you're able. Or Human fragging prowess, if you're that way inclined. Actually, we thought that a nice way to celebrate the new global servers might be to have you guys come kick our asses. Add our PSN ID to your friendslist - PSFanboy - and look out for us on Saturday the 9th of June from 1PM EST onwards.

One of the regular posters on the official PlayStation Boards recently posted a supposed leak of the full list of updates for the PlayStation 3 release of firmware 2.00. The poster has a pretty high-level of 'forum street cred,' having released information on previous firmware releases that turned out to be valid, but we're still a little skeptical. After the initial posting, she and SCEA edited her post to nothingness - but SCEA has allowed the quoted firmware update features to stay up in the replies. The source of the list was suppose to have come from a Sony Press Site which required credentials - info not there anymore. Unfortunately, no time frame given for release of the update, but it's implied that it's soon.

Major updates:

• XMB™ (XrossMediaBar) is now accessible during gameplay. [No further information given.]
• Wallpaper feature has been added.
• Additional visualizations have been added. [Nice!]
  

A ton of little tweaks are also included, listed in the standard obtuse terminology Sony always uses for their firmware update lists. Hit the jump for the full rumored release of updates.

Thanks everybody that sent this in!

[Via Digg]

IGN have revealed that everyone's favourite PS3 off-road racer, Motorstorm, will be getting a new downloadable patch on the 7th of June. What will this include, you ask? Read on.

The main attraction of the patch is an all new Time Attack mode, which allows you to race against your best times. Not only that, but the very fastest times will be put on the online leaderboard for others to download and race against. In fact, it has been said that you will be able to race against up to seven of these best-time-ghosts. Is this the first proper implementation of Harrison's hilariously dubbed Game 3.0?

Other updates and fixes include improved online stability, a fix for the boost exploit and an upgraded buddy list that now has room for up to 50 friends. If you've got them. For a full list of fixes, check out the breakdown over at IGN.