Over at Sony’s GamesCom press conference today, Sony announced that Firmware 3.0 will be arriving on September 1st 2009. It’ll be packing animated themes, a “What’s New” section and more, according to Director of PlayStation Network Operations Eric Lempel on the PlayStation Blog. The latest update incorporates changes that improve navigation on your PS3. According to Lempel, “you’ll notice some cosmetic changes to the design of the XMB. We’ve enhanced the look and feel of the XMB so that it’s easier and even more intuitive to use. We’ve also added network improvements and personalization options to help enhance your PS3 experience.”

Additional highlights from update 3.00 include:

• “What’s New” – The “Information Board” will be replaced with a “What’s New” section, which allows you to enjoy interactive PlayStation news every time you start the PS3 system. Located under the PlayStation Network icon, “What’s New” displays the latest and greatest game, video, PlayStation Network and PlayStation news and releases, as well as your recently played games, in a sleek, new animated format.
• Status Indicator – In the top right corner we’ve added an indicator bar, which displays your user icon, friend icon, the number of friends you have online and a small message icon to let you know if you have any new messages. The indicator also includes a scrolling ticker that features the latest news from PlayStation Network. In addition, when you press the PS button, the battery life indicator will no longer cover up the clock.
• Friends List – Now your PlayStation Network friends will appear in a slightly redesigned format on your Friends List. Also, messages will now be viewable from each of your friends’ respective profiles.
• PlayStation Store Shortcuts – We’ve added a handy shortcut icon to the PlayStation Store under both the Game and Video categories so you can access the latest content quickly and easily.
• Personalization – Personalize your PS3 with new dynamic custom themes and avatars. Dynamic themes as well as free and premium avatars will be available through PlayStation Store. A dynamic theme takes your screen to a whole new level as it incorporates animated objects into the background.
• Trophies – Showcasing your hard earned trophies just got better. Update 3.00 gives game developers the ability to modify how they display trophies for add-on content. Base and add-on game trophies will continue to be combined into a single list so you can see where you stand in a game as a whole. Within that list, trophies will be broken out into subcategories—base trophies and add-on trophies—that way, you can easily view the percentage of your base game trophy collection, and separately track your trophy progress in add-on packs. Look for this enhancement to be included in upcoming games.

Preview Video:

Press Release:

Concurrently with the release of new PS3, system software will be upgraded to version 3.00 on September 1.  The update adds various user-friendly features such as the “What’s New” screen, where users can quickly browse the new items available in PlayStation Store as well as their recently played games directly on the XMB™ (XrossMediaBar), with short cuts to each piece of content.  PS3 will evolve continuously with the system software updates, further improving the operability and enhancing the user experience available through the network.  PS3 owners will be able to enjoy new features by simply updating the PS3 system software to version 3.00 via the “System Update” function on the XMB^*3.

*3 Users will need to connect their PS3 to the network to use the function.