David Reeves, President of SCEE, has revealed some new information about PlayTV, the PVR for the PlayStation 3, including details of when it will launch and what the device can do. Speaking to Eurogamer, Reeves said that PlayTV will be released in Europe on Septermber 10th 2008, and will allow gamers to record television shows even while playing games.

New Zealand and Australia will get PlayTV early next year due to differences in the digital terrestrial standards. Compatibility for the device was added in Firmware 2.41. PlayTV will retail for £99.

According to SCEE boss David Reeves, the PlayStation Home will be launched simultaneously in the United States and Europe and it will have the same specification and same support. Reeves also mentioned that an SCEE announcement on when exactly this fall it will come "very shortly." In related news, PlayStation Home’s public areas will be region locked so if you want to catch up with friends from other countries, you will have to invite them back to your Home Space.

Please check back soon for the official announcement of Home. Currently, Home is expected to be release in October or November this year, almost a year after the original launch date. The press release will hopefully put gamers’ minds at ease knowing that Home will not be delayed again. We will being you more information as it becomes available.

With two other PlayStation Store updates this week, the actual weekly update is very small for Europe and normal for the US. Both the Euro and US stores have received the new PSN Title Elefunk as well as the NARUTO: Ultimate Ninja Storm demo that was an exclusive download in Qore Episode 2. Part 2 and 3 of the Sony E3 Press Conference are now available to download from the US Store as well as some more game trailers and videos. Check out the list below.

European Additions:

• Demo
  
  • Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm
• Downloadable Games
  
  • Elefunk (£4.99)
• Video
  
  • E3 – Ragdoll Kung Fu Trailer
  • Siren Blood Curse E3 2008 Trailer
  • Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Body E3 2008 Trailer

US Additions:

• Playable Demos
  • NARUTO: Ultimate Ninja Storm Playable Demo
  • Elefunk Demo
• Downloadable Games
  • Elefunk ($4.99)
• PS One Games:
  • Rayman ($5.99)
• Game Videos
  • Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution Behind the Scenes Trailer
• PS3 Themes
  • Elefunk Theme
• E3 Videos and Trailers
  • PlayStation E3 2008 Press Conference – Part 2
  • PlayStation E3 2008 Press Conference – Part 3
  • PURE Trailer
  • Project Origin Trailer
  • Rag Doll Kung Fu Fists of Plastic Trailer
  • Brother in Arms: Hell’s Highway Tank Mayhem Trailer
  • Prince of Persia Trailer
  • Mercenaries 2: World in Flames E3 Trailer
• Movie and Blu-ray Trailers
• Starship Troopers 3: Marauder Trailer

If you are looking to buy a PS3, you may want to hold off for a little longer. SCEE has confirmed that the 80GB PlayStation 3 model will be heading to Europe on August 27th 2008, with the same specification as the current 40GB model, but with more hard disk space. David Reeves, President of SCEE, has confirmed that the new model will cost £299/€399, and will come with the DualShock 3 controller.

Stocks of the current 40GB are expected to run out just and the new model arrives. In other news, Reeves confirmed that the PS3 Platinum Games range will roll out on August 1st and will retail for £19.99/€29.99 each. Confirmed titles currently include Assassins’ Creed, Warhawk, Resistance: FoM, MotorStorm, Heavenly Sword, Ratchet and Clank: ToD and Drake’s Fortune.

On August 1st Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will get a 233MB update in Japan with improvements to the game and other features. This update will mark the start of the Pay-per-View service for GT TV too. Improvements have been made to the GT TV service, distribution of expansion data, races, rankings, vehicle physics and more. Six new background music tracks have been added and you can now see the players you have met online from the [Friends] > [Players Met] menu on the XMB. Full details below.

Changelog:

Improvement in Download Speed – Improvements in download speeds for online updates and content.

• Gran Turismo TV
  • Start of PPV (Pay Per View) service
  • It is now possible to fast forward, rewind, or move between chapters when viewing video content.
  • It is possible now to have up to 8 simultaneous background downloads running at the same time.
  • Individual downloads can now be paused or resumed.
• Distribution of Expansion Data
  • Instant distribution feature of My Page backgrounds added
• Race
  • Improvements in penalty judgments
  • Improved physics during collisions between cars in Online races.
• Time Trial
  • The tire selection in Arcade time trials changed from S2 fixed, to N1-S2
• Ranking
  • It is now possible to display top lap times in all courses in a list.
  • Improvements in the user interface
• Common Vehicle Physics
  • Improved controllability when using S1-S3, and R1-R3 tires.
  • Changed calculation rules for performance points.
• Option
  • Added [Standard Definition (SD) Display Size] in [Display Settings]
  • Moved the [Temperature] unit setting from [Network] to [Units]
  • Added Expansion Data settings and Advanced Download Option settings in [Network]
• Sound
  • 6 BGM tracks added
• Online race network specifications changed
  • Added port 5658 to the ports used in Online races.
• Other
  • Players matched in Online races now added to the [Friends] ? [Players Met] menu within Playstation 3.
  • The time and score from replays of time trials, drift trials, and distributed demo replays are now displayed after their replay. For distributed demo s, the Online ID is also displayed here.
  • Manual updated

Another update to the PlayStation Store this week with more goodies from E3. The second update to the PlayStation Store this week includes part one (of three) of Sony’s press conference and well as a new downloadable game, a selection of game trailers and new themes and wallpaper. Check out the list below.

US Additions:

• Downloadable Games
  • Fantasy Football: Draft Day Application
• Videos
  • SONY E3 Press Conference (Part 1 of 3)
  • PS3 Compilation Video
  • PSN :30 Second Sizzle
  • PSN Sizzle Video
  • PlayStation Family Video
  • PS3 Sizzle Video
  • DC Universe Trailer
  • Mirror’s Edge E3 Trailer
  • Dead Spece E3 Network Trailer
  • Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa E3 Trailer
  • Valhalla Knights 2 E3 Trailer
• Themes and Wallpapers
  • Resistance 2 PS3 Theme
  • LittleBigPlanet PS3 Theme
  • PixelJunk Eden Wallpaper
  • MotorStorm Pacific Rift Wallpapers
  • Siren Wallpapers (x4)
  • Resistance: Retribution PSP Wallpapers

Back in June at Sony’s Strategic meeting in Tokyo, a new service for the PlayStation 3 was announced: Life with PlayStation; a service that brings you live news, live webcam feeds and weather among other things. At E3 2008, Jack Tretton, CEO of SCEA announced that the service will be available for the PS3 at the end of July – most likely through a firmware update.

Tretton also mentioned the ability to upload gameplay videos directly to YouTube is on the horizon, allowing gamers to view and vote for videos on a dedicated PlayStation 3 Channel. It is speculated that it is up to the developer to include this in games, and so only certain games will support video uploading.

With all the games being shown off at E3 2008 in California, the PlayStation Store has been updated to give gamers around the world a chance to get a piece of the action. The new Super Stardust HD add-on pack, Team Mode, is now available to purchase, and lots of new tracks for Rock Band have also been added to the store. The update also includes over 15 videos from E3 2008.

European Additions:

• Playable Demo
  • Fatal Inertia EX
• Downloadable Games
  • Fatal Inertia EX Full Game (£14.99)
  • Super Stardust Updated game file (£4.99)
• Game add-on content:
  
  • Super Stardust HD Team (£2.99)
• Videos
  
  • Gran Turismo TV E3 2008 Trailer
  • LittleBigPlanet E3 2008 Trailer
  • Pain E3 2008 Trailer
  • PixelJunk Eden E3 Trailer
  • Resistance 2 E3 2008 Trailer
  • MotorStorm Pacific Rift E3 Trailer
  • Buzz TV Ad (Sofa VS Sofa)
  • Buzz Quiz TV Ad (Brand)
  • Munich: Engine Trouble
  • Movement – Munich: Sausages?
  • Munich: Hot in the Park
  • In Vain: Wake Me Up
  • In Vain: Not Enough
  • In Vain: Interview
  • Black Diamond: Ride My Pony
  • Black Diamond: Can’t Take…
  • Black Diamond Interview
  • Black Diamond: I want You…

US Additions:

• Game add-on content
  • Super Stardust HD Team Mode Add-on ($4.99)
  • Rock Band
• Rock Band The Best of the Who Rock Band Edition Track Pack ($19.99), individual songs ($1.99/ea)
  • Amazing Journey
    
  • Baba O’Riley
    
  • Behind Blue Eyes
    
  • Eminence Front
    
  • Going Mobile
    
  • Leaving Here
    
  • My Generation
    
  • Good Looking Boy
    
  • Sea & Sand
    
  • Summertime Blues
    
  • Who Are You?
    
  • Young Man Blues
• Videos
  • God of War III
  • Motorstorm Pacific Rift
  • Xam’d Lost Memories
  • Buzz PSP
  • Resistance: Retribution
  • Ratchet & Clank Quest for Booty
  • PixelJunk Eden
  • Siren Blood Curse
  • PAIN Amusement Park
  • Gran Turismo TV
  • MKU vs DCU
  • Blitz The League II
  • Valkyria Chronicles
  • Resident Evil 5
  • This is Vegas
  • TNA Impact! Wrestling

The PlayStation 3 Video Store is now live in the US. The Store will allow gamers to purchase and download movies and TV shows in SD or HD quality. SD content has no expiry period but renting HD content gives you only 14 days to watch it and a 24 hour period after the video is played for the first time. So far, there are over 300 movies already available for download and over 1,200 TV shows. You can download videos for the PSP via the PlayStation Store for PC.

Rentals are $2.99 to $3.99 in SD and can be upscaled using the latest 2.41 firmware. HD rentals are $5.99. SD copies can be purchased for $9.99 to $14.99. You can transfer purchases from the PS3 to the PSP, so you can take your movies with you but the same restrictions will apply. In addition, remote playing rented videos on the PSP via the PS3 is not allowed. Shows must be downloaded to the internal PS3 hard drive and cannot be copied over to an external device.

The Video Store will be available in Europe and Japan later this year.