Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) have announced that the expansion of PlayStation Home closed beta will begin at the end of the month, and are now accepting applications. Users can apply by downloading the Home XMB Theme from the PlayStation Store. In Europe, SCEE is also beginning their expanded closed beta, directly targeting consumers who have been most active on PlayStation Network and PlayStation Store. SCEE will be in email contact with their PSN audience very shortly.

SCEA will be using a variety of criteria including activity on the PlayStation Network to determine eligibility for the Beta community. Existing beta testers will automatically qualified to be part of the expanded beta. Japan has also started accepting applications in the same way as the US.

The first PlayStation Store update for August is disappointing for European gamers as only four new items make it to the store. The US, however, has received a big update with Episode 3 of Qore now available to download, lots of new game add-on content and videos. If you are looking to get into the Home Closed Beta, be sure to download the Home XMB Theme from the US store – downloading the theme is part of the registration process.

European Additions:

• PSP Playable Demos
  • Secret Agent Clank Demo
• Game add-on Content
  • Guitar Hero III: Interscope Track Pack, £3.99
  • Civilization Revolution – Wonders & Artefact Pack #1: The Mythic, £0.69
• Video
  • Dead Space – Loved Ones Trailer

US Additions:

• Qore Digital Magazine
  • Qore Episode 03: August, 2008 ($2.99 Issue, $24.99 Annual Subscription)
• Game add-on content
  • Snakeball Team Mode ($1.99)
  • NASCAR 09 Montreal Track ($3.99)
  • NASCAR 09 Skin Pack 1 ($2.49)
  • NASCAR 09 Skin Pack 2 ($2.49)
  • NASCAR 09 Skin Pack 3 ($2.49)
  • Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Interscope Track Pack ($6.25)
  • Rock Band
    • “Toxicity” – System of a Down ($1.99)
    • “B.Y.O.B” – System of a Down ($1.99)
    • “Rescue Me” – Buckcherry ($0.99)
    • “Face Down in the Dirt”- M?y Cr?$0.99)
    • “Life is Beautiful” – Sixx:A.M. ($0.99)
    • Cr?est Pack 2 ($2.99) – includes “Rescue Me” – Buckcherry, “Face Down in the Dirt” – M?y Cr?and “Life is Beautiful” – Sixx:A.M.
• Game Videos
  • PlayStation Home E3 Video
  • The Last Guy Behind The Scenes
  • Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
  • Tomb Raider: Underworld Trailer
  • Madden NFL 09 E3 Trailer
  • Madden NFL 20th Anniversary Video
  • Madden NFL 09 Adaptability Trailer
  • TNA iMPACT! Head to Head Trailer
  • Dead Space Dev Diary #5: Creating Horror
  • Dead Space Animated Comic Issue #4 PG-13
  • AST Dew Tour – Greg Lutzka’s Road to Finals
  • AST Dew Tour – One on one with James Foster
  • AST Dew Tour – PlayStation Pro Moments – 2
  • AST Dew Tour – Spinner looks to ‘08
• PS3 Themes
  • PlayStation Home Theme
• PS3 Wallpaper
  • Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice Wallpaper (x3)
  • Tomb Raider: Underworld Mediterranean Shark Attack Wallpaper

Episode 3 of Qore hits the US PlayStation Store later today and it’s packed full of great content, including premier access to the Resistance 2 public beta. Episode 3 goes behind the scenes at SOE to bring you DC Universe Online; Audrey Cleo, the new "Qorespondent", brings you NBA ’09: The Inside; Veronica Belmont checks out Lego Batman; and a look at Baja: Edge of Control.

If you are a annual subscriber, the new episode should automatically appear in your purchase list on the PlayStation Store. New subscribers will be able to download past content and get Calling All Cars, the full game, for free. New downloadable content in this issue includes:

• Premier Resistance 2 Public Beta access
• Qore XMB Theme

Qore FAQ’s:

Q: Will I be able to re-watch episodes? How will back issues or previous months content be handled?
A: Yes. When you purchase an Episode of Qore, it becomes available in your Download List. You can then download it to your PS3’s HDD and view it as often as you like. In addition, should you decide to delete an Episode of Qore from your HDD, you can always go back to your Download List and download it again. This, however, may not apply to downloadable content that is associated with a particular Episode, as that content may have its own restrictions (i.e.: beta invitations and timed exclusives). As a side note – when you purchase multiple Episodes of Qore they all download to your HDD separately. So, it is possible to have as many Episodes of Qore on your HDD as space will allow – the latest Episode does not overwrite previous Episodes.

Q: Will Qore be compatible with PSP via remote play?
A: We are currently evaluating the PSP as a platform for Qore delivery.

Q: Does this mean that some older PSN titles will become available to download for Qore subscribers?
A: While we have no announcements to make at this time, we are evaluating other PSN titles as possible bonuses for new annual subscribers.

Q:Do we have to watch advertisements during the Episodes, or will we be able to skip them?
A: Currently, Qore’s advertising model is to allow our advertising partners 15 seconds of interstitial advertising (forced-run) in each individual advertisement before our users are given control and allowed to skip the advertising, should they so desire. Should you want more information on an advertised product, you can then go to the Sponsor’s page and watch a longer version/view additional content from that sponsor. In addition, the forced-run advertising is only active once per session – it will not reset until you exit Qore. This does not apply to advertisements that are delivered as banners or that frame editorial content.

Towards the end of this month, Warhawk patch v1.5 will be available download bringing with it Trophy Support. The game will have 56 unlockable trophies including the Platinum trophy, and 10 trophies will be awarded retroactively based on server statistics. 34 of the trophies are based on core gameplay elements, and the remaining 12 trophies can only be unlocked through booster packs, with four trophies per pack (two booster packs are already available to download). The full trophy list can be found below.

Warhawk patch v1.5 is also expected to bring in-game music playback and a rumored Jet Pack, though both are unconfirmed at time of writing. The update is expected to be released on August 27th 2008.

Trophies:

• Bronze Trophies
  • Secret Anti-Camper — Kill an enemy in a Missile or Flak Turret after that enemy has achieved at least five kills in that type of turret.
  • Secret Daredevil — Get 100 feet off the ground in a ground vehicle. Does not count if the vehicle is being carried by a Dropship.
  • Secret Hit List — Kill every member of the opposing team at least once during a round.
  • Secret Minesweeper — Get killed by Proximity Mines five times in a single round.
  • Secret Reckless — Pilot Commit suicide in a Warhawk by running into your own Aerial Mine.
  • Secret Vengeance — Kill an enemy within 60 seconds of that enemy killing you.
  • Secret What’s That Green Line? — Get killed by a Binoculars strike while piloting an aircraft.
  • Anti-Air Ninja — Shoot down a Warhawk with any infantry weapon other than a Rocket Launcher.
  • Bandit Award — Earn all in-game badges at Bandit level.
  • Chief Sergeant — Achieve a rank of Chief Sergeant.
  • Collector — Capture four cores at once in Collection mode.
  • Combat Driver — Complete Vehicle Combat Training.
  • Cowboy — Play a perfect Team Deathmatch (top player, no deaths).
  • Dead-Eye — Achieve a sniper kill from more than 2,500 feet away.
  • Dumbfire — Destroy an enemy aircraft with a dumbfired Swarm or Homing Missile.
  • Emergency Evasion — Break at least 6 simultaneous missile locks using Chaff.
  • Enlistee — Join a clan.
  • Ground Pounder — Complete Ground Combat Training.
  • Hat Trick — Get three flag captures in a single round of CTF.
  • How Did You Do That? — Destroy an enemy aircraft with a Cluster Bomb.
  • Invincible — While on foot, take at least 250 damage within 10 seconds without dying.
  • Irony — Kill an enemy with his own Proximity Mine.
  • Lone Wolf — Play a perfect Deathmatch (top player, no deaths).
  • One In A Million — Shoot down an enemy aircraft using the tank’s main cannon.
  • Overkill — Destroy an enemy aircraft with a volley of 8 Swarm Missiles.
  • Pilot’s License — Complete Warhawk Combat Training.
  • Recognition of Merit — Earn any five in-game medals
  • Remote Pilot — Destroy an enemy aircraft with a TOW Missile.
  • Resourceful Driver — Achieve a road kill and a .50 cal kill using the same 4×4, without dismounting.
  • Rivalry — Win a clan match (red server) as either clan leader or a regular member.
  • Saboteur — Destroy an enemy vehicle with the Field Wrench.
  • Survivalist — Survive for one minute as the hero in Hero mode.
  • Tail Shaker — Destroy an enemy aircraft with an Aerial Mine within 5 seconds of deploying it.
  • Taxi Driver — Help a teammate capture the flag (in CTF) or cogs (in Collection) by transporting him back to the base, using any vehicle.
  • Warlord — Create a clan and get nine other members to join. (Awarded at ten members while you are the clan leader.)
  • World Victory — Control all capturable bases in a Zones match, and reduce the enemy’s home base to level 1.
• Silver Trophies
  • Secret Canyon — Run Using a Warhawk, shoot down an enemy Warhawk in the central gorge in Vaporfield Glacier.
  • Secret King of the Jungle Gym — Retrieve the Proximity Mines from the top of the dome on the Omega Factory Rumble Dome layout.
  • Secret Safety Violation — Kill a distant enemy from on top of the salvage crane in Tau Crater.
  • Aerial Ballet — While flying a jetpack, kill an enemy (who is also flying a jetpack) with any weapon other than the Rocket Launcher.
  • Are You Aim-Botting? — Snipe an enemy who is flying a jetpack.
  • Behind Enemy Lines — Drive an APC into the enemy’s home base, then have at least one teammate spawn into that APC.
  • Commander — Achieve a rank of Commander.
  • Decorated Soldier — Earn any 15 in-game medals.
  • Flying Fortress — Awarded to the driver and all six passengers of a fully-loaded Dropship.
  • Giant Killer — Shoot down an enemy Dropship while using a Warhawk.
  • Lt. Colonel — Achieve a rank of Lt. Colonel.
  • Master Award — Earn all in-game badges at Master level.
  • Shield Breaker — Break an enemy E-POD shield using the Lightning Shell.
• Gold Trophies
  • Bandwidth Donor — Host a ranked dedicated server for four consecutive hours.
  • Executive Honor — Earn all in-game medals.
  • General — Achieve a rank of General.
  • Porcupine — Destroy an enemy Warhawk with the APC’s E-POD shield.
  • Surgical Strike — Shoot down a Dropship with a Binoculars strike.
  • That Was Some Bug — Kill an enemy who is flying a jetpack by hitting him with any vehicle or aircraft.
  • Warhawk Award — Earn all in-game badges at Warhawk level.
• Platinum Trophy
  • Warhawk Supreme Achievement — All your base trophies are belong to platinum.

After PlayStation Home was delayed for the second time back in April, Sony promised that the closed beta will be extended to allow more people to participate and generate feedback to improve the service. Sony has revealed that the US expansion the closed beta will begin soon, though no exact date has been given. Japan is also prepping to expand the beta later this month, adding 10,000 new users to the service. Japanese users can apply via the PlayStation Store.

If you want to apply for the Japanese Beta, head over to the Japanese PlayStation Store and simply download the 277KB file. You have until August 11th 2008 to apply, after which registrations will be closed. Unfortunately, we do not know Japanese so we cannot translate the text is the screenshots above and below. You can learn how to create a Japanese PSN Account here.

[Guide: How to Create a Japanese PlayStation Network Account]

The trophy patch for Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune has officially been released in Europe and North America. The game will feature a total of 48 trophies including the Platinum Trophy, which can be obtained once all other trophies have been unlocked. Currently, Uncharted is the only game currently available where the Platinum trophy can be unlocked. The trophies have been built into the game’s Medal system, so if you have already unlocked all the medals you will have no problem in unlocking the trophies.

Please note that trophies are not retroactive so you will have to play the game again in order to unlock them. If you have’t got a copy of Uncharted yet, what better time to pick one up, even more so as it is a PS3 Platinum Title. The following trophies can be unlocked:

• Bronze Trophies:
  • First Treasure – Find 1 treasure
  • Beginner Fortune Hunter – Find 5 treasures
  • Novice Fortune Hunter – Find 10 treasures
  • Enthusiast Fortune Hunter – Find 15 treasures
  • Intermediate Fortune Hunter – Find 20 treasures
  • Skilled Fortune Hunter – Find 25 treasures
  • Proficient Fortune Hunter – Find 30 treasures
  • Advanced Fortune Hunter – Find 35 treasures
  • Professional Fortune Hunter – Find 40 treasures
  • Senior Fortune Hunter – Find 45 treasures
  • Expert Fortune Hunter – Find 50 treasures
  • Crack Fortune Hunter – Find 55 treasures
  • Relic Finder – Find the strange relic
  • Brutal Brawler – Kill five enemies with a brutal combo
  • Steel Fist – Kill five enemies with a single punch, after softening them up with gunfire
  • Headshot Expert – Kill five enemies in a row with headshots
  • 10 Headshots – Kill 10 enemies with headshots
  • 30 Headshots – Kill 30 enemies with headshots
  • Dyno-Might! – Kill 3 enemies with a single explosion
  • Expert Dyno-Might – Kill 3 enemies with a single explosion 5 times
  • Run-and-Gunner – Kill 20 enemies using firearms without aiming with L1
  • Hangman – Kill 10 enemies by aiming while hanging from a ledge
  • Grenade Hangman – Kill 10 enemies with grenades by aiming while hanging from a ledge
  • 50 Kills: PM – 9mm – Kill 50 enemies with the PM – 9m
  • 50 Kills: 92FS – 9mm – Kill 50 enemies with the 92FS – 9mm
  • 50 Kills: Micro – 9mm – Kill 50 enemies with the Micro – 9mm
  • 20 Kills: Wes – 44 – Kill 20 enemies with the Wes – 44
  • 20 Kills: Desert – 5 – Kill 20 enemies with the Desert – 5
  • 30 Kills: MP40 – Kill 30 enemies with the MP40
  • 50 Kills: AK-47 – Kill 50 enemies with the AK-47
  • 50 Kills: M4 – Kill 50 enemies with the M4
  • 30 Kills: Dragon Sniper – Kill 30 enemies with the Dragon Sniper
  • 50 Kills: Moss – 12 – Kill 50 enemies with the Moss – 12
  • 50 Kills: SAS – 12 – Kill 50 enemies with the SAS – 12
  • 30 Kills: M79 – Kill 30 enemies with the M79
  • 20 Kills: Mk-NDI – Kill 20 enemies with Mk-NDI grenades
  • Charted! – Easy – Finish the game in Easy Mode
• Silver Trophies
  
  • Master Fortune Hunter – Find 60 treasures
  • Brutal Slugger – Kill 20 enemies with a brutal combo
  • Brutal Expert – Kill five enemies in a row with a brutal combo
  • Stealth Attacker – Kill 20 enemies melee-attacking from behind
  • Steel Fist Expert – Kill 5 enemies in a row with a single punch after weakening them with gunfire
  • 100 Headshots – Kill 100 enemies with headshots
  • Survivor – Kill 50 enemies in a row without dying
  • Charted! – Normal – Finish the game in Normal Mode
• Gold Trophies:
  • Charted! – Hard – Finish the game in Hard Mode
  • Charted! – Crushing – Finish the game in Crushing Mode

As you are aware, the PSP scene has really died down in the last few months. We less and less things for us to report on, we have decided to delay the next issue of the XTREME PSP Magazine until we have enough content to report on. There is plenty of PlayStation 3 content for us to report on but as the magazine is mainly a PSP mag, we want to ensure there is enough PSP content covered for readers who don’t own a PS3.

We don’t have a ETA on when the next issue will be out but we will keep you posted on our website. As for PSP M4M Mag, it’s still on schedule for launch later this month. We’ve got great content in the upcoming issue including the Red Bull Air Race London and the British International Motor Show.

The PlayStation Video Store doesn’t have a fixed weekly update slot so you should really be checking the store everyday for new content. Grace Chen, Senior Manager of the PlayStation Store, has posted a PlayStation.Blog post detailing the new content available. The first update for August adds a number of new TV series downloads as feature films. Since the launch of the video store last month, hundreds of videos have been uploaded to the store for purchase and rental. You can check out what’s new below.

TV:

• Everest: Beyond the Limit
• Family Guy
• Gene Simmons: Family Jewels
• How I Met Your Mother
• It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
• LA Ink
• Land Of The Giants
• Miami Ink
• My Name is Earl
• Mythbusters
• Prison Break
• The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack
• Trinity Blood
• Weaponology
• Xam’d: Lost Memories (There’s a brand new episode every Tuesday!)

Movies:

• Fool’s Gold
• King Arthur
• Reign of Fire
• Stay Alive
• The Eye
• The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
• Unforgiven

As you may already be aware, the Video Store is currently only available to the US.

Life with PlayStation is a service that brings you live news, live webcam feeds and weather among other things on your PS3, originally announced at Sony’s Strategic meeting in Tokyo back in June. Earlier last month at E3 Jack Tretton, CEO of SCEA, announced that the service would be available for the PS3 at the end of July. Noam Rimon, Senior Development Manager for SCEA, has announced on the PlayStation.Blog that the service will now be available in August.

The delay in deploying the service is "due to a few procedural matters," according to Rimon. The complete blog post is included below.

PlayStation.Blog post by Noam Rimon:

"We’d like to provide a quick update on Life with PlayStation for PLAYSTATION 3. We know many of you are eager to try out the new service for yourself, but you’ll have to hold tight. Due to a few procedural matters, the new service will make its way to PlayStation fans in August.

Rest assured, Life with PlayStation will be a service that introduces a new way to interact with your PS3. By bringing information from around the world into your living room, Life with PlayStation will offer a variety of interactive content and channels on a visually stunning worldwide map interface.

We’re focused on continuously expanding the world of PS3 through new services and hope to do just that with the upcoming launch of Life with PlayStation."

A big update for the US PlayStation Store this week as the last update for July goes live. The US have received three new playable demos and a range of new game add-on content. PixelJunk Eden is now available to purchase from both store (£4.99/$9.99). Both stores have also received a range of videos and wallpaper. The US store has also received Killzone 2 and PixelJunk Eden XMB themes and a music pack for Soul Calibur IV.

European Additions:

• Demos
  
  • PixelJunk Eden
• Downloadable games
  
  • PixelJunk Eden (£4.99)
• Videos
  
  • E3 – PSP Compilation Trailer
  • Prince Of Persia E3 Gameplay
  • The Last Guy Trailer
  • Linger in Shadows Trailer
• Wallpapers
  
  • Bionic Commando Rearmed wallpaper (15)

US Additions:

• Demos
  • LEGO Indiana Jones The Original Adventures
  • Madden NFL 09
  • FaceBreaker
• Downloadable games
  
  • PixelJunk Eden ($9.99)
• Game add-on Content
  
  • Soul Calibur IV: Customization Equipment 1 ($1.49)
  • Rock Band:
    • Yomp by thenewno2 ($0.99)
    • This is It by Staind ($ 1.99)
    • TheySay by Scars on Broadway ($1.99)
    • Electric Crown by Testament ($1.99).
• Videos
  
  • The Last Guy Trailer
  • Vampire Rain Altered Species Trailer 3
  • Beijing 2008 Track Trailer
  • Beijing 2008 Swimming Trailer
  • Bionic Commando Rearmed: The Making Of – Part 2
  • AST Dew Tour – BMX Progression
  • AST Dew Tour – BMX Rewind
  • AST Dew Tour – FMX Unleashed
  • AST Dew Tour – Skate Highlights
• Themes
  
  • Killzone 2 Theme
  • PixelJunk Eden Theme
• Wallpapers
  
  • Siren: Blood Curse Wallpaper (2)
  • Soul Calibur IV Wallpaper (2)
  • Street Fighter IV: Summer 08 Wallpaper
• Music
  
  • Soul Calibur IV: Downloadable Music (17 individual tracks at $0.99 each, full set $14.99)