The latest version of PSM magazine has revealed some details on what the expectations of the next big firmware update for the ps3 will consist of. According to the magazine, Firmware 2.00 will include XMB access from in-game, an equalizer for the Music Player, multiple chat sessions and more. So far, Sony have only commented on Firmware 1.82, expected within the next few days, so this could easily fall under the rumors category.

Check out the breakdown of the features of Firmware 2.00 below:

Music:

• Equalizer
• More visualizations

Network:

• RSS

General:

• More screensavers
• XMB access during the play
• Multiple chat sessions
• Password Protected Local login

In this month issue of PSM in France, there have been details in reference to the new PS3 controller. Of course, none of this has been confirmed by Sony so it could easily fall into the rumour catagory. According to the article, the new shock technology is cheaper to build and offers better rumbling. It can easily be integrated into the existing pad design along side the motion sensitivity. In addition to vibration, a new technology known as “Touchsense” will be included.

“Touchsense2 is a mini-revolution, since the vibrations will not emanate solely any more from the handles of the pad (as on Dualshock) but will be perceptible in various places of the controller. It will offer more powerful, more intense shocks and over short periods if the programmers wish it. Thus, the developers will be able to create a multitude of new effects.

According to the Official PlayStation Blog, Firmware 1.82 is in the works and is expected within the next few days. Eric Lempel, Director of PlayStation Network Operations made the announcement in a blog post. The new firmware update enables the playback of AVC High Profile (H.264/MPEG-4) files. Check out the official blog post below.

“Hey everyone, you told us you wanted to hear about updates a few days in advance, so here’s a quick heads up that we have a PS3 firmware update in the works. Scheduled for release in the next few days, firmware 1.82 is an update that enables the playback of AVC High Profile (H.264/MPEG-4) files. As most of you know, these are high quality files that you’ll now be able to play on your PS3. Hopefully this update is moving us closer to the audio playback features many of you commented about in my post the other week. We’re continuing to evaluate and improve things across the board, including PS2 software compatibility. I’ll chime in here quickly with an update once the firmware is live and ready. Thanks for all of your support and feedback, keep it coming!”

[Via: PlayStation.Blog]

Here is another update for Tekken fans: Tekken 6 will reportedly have the biggest character lineup in any Tekken game to date. It will also feature the debut of two more never-before seen characters. Currently, the game’s about 50 per cent complete, so more updates should surface in the near future. According to SDTekken, Tekken 6 will have a new feature called the “Rage System”. This new feature will give players a boost to their attack damage depending on how low their life bar is. The lower the life bar, the stronger the attack.

Here are more details about the game from SDTekken:

• Live Monitor panel now has touch screen functionality. You can view either the live match or view other matches recorded throughout Japan.
• In T5DR, to be broadcasted on TEKKEN-NET live monitors you had to be Fujin ranked or above. For Tekken 6 it allows lower ranked matches to be broadcasted on the live network.
• Ranking starts at Beginner.
• Rankings will now be international.
• Tekken Teams/Clans can use an original common item.
• Teams/Clans will now be assigned a rank/level.
• You can achieve medals by completing certain tasks. Much like Virtua Fighter 5. For example, get a 15 win streak, receive a 15 win streak medal/reward.
• There are 12 total stages. Some stages are connected to each other. Not all stages will have a linked stage.
• There will still be infinite stages.
• For breakable stages, there are unique combos/juggles you can perform on those stages only.
• Namco does not intend to do minor patches/tweaks to the game(like VF5 does), instead they plan on launching the game and having it as balanced as possible in November.
• The new Tekken 6 arcade board has faster read/load times than Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection.

[Via: SDTekken]

Believe it or not but technology on your Playstation is being used to help develop new national security devices. Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are using the same technology used in the new Playstation 3 to develop new video tools for national security. The research is being done on this small supercomputer [the PlayStation 3], which has about one-quarter the computing power of the lab’s 8,000 square foot supercomputer.

Researchers hope to develop new ways to manage things like security video and facial recognition technology without a human administrator.

“It places a tremendous burden on the operator of those control environments that are looking at all those video feeds coming in and not knowing how to process all that information and this is an opportunity to bring machine based processing into the video analysis environment,” said lab researcher Mark Goodwin.

PNNL is working on the research with Massachusetts based Mercury Computer Systems.

[Via: KNDO/KNDU]

The long awaited Motorstorm patch is now available to download from the PlayStation Store in both North America and Europe. The main feature of the patch is the inclusion of a new Time Attack Mode. Stability issues have also been addressed, including glitches with boost, SD text cut-off, online performance and surround sound glitches. The update also allows for up to 50 friends in the game’s buddy list.

Remember to update the game before downloading the new game mode from the Store. To update the game, simply launch Motorstorm on your PS3 system. You will be prompted to download the update.

Blu-Ray is leading the High Definition DVD war thanks to the PlayStation 3. To further boost Blu-Ray, recently, Blockbuster announced that Blu-ray disc will be the exclusive HD movie format for 1,450 of their 1,700 stores in North America. This is a big win for the Blu-ray format, as Blockbuster noted they based their decision on consumer feedback.

“The consumers are sending us a message. I can’t ignore what I’m seeing,” said Matthew Smith, senior vice president of merchandising at Blockbuster, to The Associated Press.

By mid-July , they will have over 170 Blu-ray movies in stock. You can read the official Blockbuster announcement here.

According to InnerBits, Sony has been working on a SIXAXIS controller with rumble support for a few months now, but are having difficulties with battery life. Between the rumble and the wireless support, the batteries are draining too fast to be acceptable for consumers. Officially, the company has kept a tight lid on things until the issues are resolved. Incidentally, there was no mention of the rumble having an adverse affect on the motion sensitivity.

As usual, there was no mention of a release date for the controller and it is still unclear whether Sony will make the new SIXAXIS controller the default option for new PlayStation 3s. A financially expensive, but positive PR move would be to offer all current consumers the opportunity to “upgrade” their controllers for free.

[Via: InnerBits]

Firmware 1.80 hasn’t even been around for a month yet and now Firmware 1.81 is now available to download. The update was released earlier today to fix a bug with the RGB Full Range settings under Display Settings, so hopefully this is good news to some people. The update can be downloaded using the Network Update feature of the PlayStation 3 or you can download onto a removal media via the appropriate regional website. Read more for the full change log.

Changes in Firmware 1.81:

Settings

• The method of setting [RGB Full Range (HDMI)] under [Display Settings] has been improved.

Other

• The stability of the network connection used during gameplay has been improved for some PlayStation 2 format software titles that support online gaming.