Just one day after the Sony next-gen console celebrates it’s third birthday, the PlayStation 3 gets firmware update v3.10, a perfect compliment to half eaten ice cream cake.

The latest update contains the features we reported on just a few days ago, most notably the addition of Facebook and a new gamercard customization option. Feel free to examine the full press release below.

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. to Offer Richer Online Social Experience to PlayStation(R)3 Computer Entertainment System Owners with Facebook Integration

Next Firmware Update (v3.10) Enables PlayStation 3 system Gamers to Share Their Experiences with Friends on Facebook, Including Trophies Won In-Game, PlayStation(R)Network Game Purchases, and Game Events

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Nov. 18 – Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (”SCEA”) today announced an integration with Facebook to deliver the first phase of a variety of new features to further connect and enhance the online social experiences of PlayStation®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system owners. Starting on November 18, as part of the system software update, version 3.10, users can easily showcase their game accomplishments to friends and family, and post information about the PS3 games they purchase from PlayStation®Network to Facebook. With the new Facebook integration, PS3 system owners now have access to a truly social and seamless user experience.

With Firmware 3.10, PS3 system owners can now not only brag to friends about their domination as a gamer, but also back it up by sharing unlocked trophies with their friends on Facebook every time they sync their Trophies. Additionally, the system update enables PS3 system owners to share information on games they just purchased with a click of a button. The new system update also enables game developers to set up trigger points in their games that provide PS3 system users the option to quickly and easily publish game related information from their favorite titles to Facebook.

“Launching Facebook for the PlayStation community is a natural fit for our goal of delivering unparalleled connected experiences – from connecting our community to each other to connecting our customers to great entertainment downloaded from the PlayStation Store,” said Susan Panico, senior director, PlayStation Network, SCEA. “As we pass the third anniversary of PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Network, we’re excited to deepen the social experiences of PlayStation Network and kick-off the first phase of our integration with Facebook.”

“We’re excited to connect Facebook’s 300 million active users with the PlayStation 3, enabling players to connect and share their game experiences with friends,” said Ethan Beard, director, Facebook Developer Network.

Key Facebook Features:

Showcase Trophies: Instantly share trophies you earn in PS3 games in your Facebook stream. Simply sync your PS3 system and easily show off your accomplishments to friends and family.

PlayStation Store Purchase Log Publishing: Let friends and family on Facebook instantly know which PlayStation 3 games you’ve purchased. The PlayStation Store, available to PS3 and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system owners through PlayStation Network, features over 200 downloadable games, many of which are exclusive to PS3 or PSP system owners, in addition to over 4,000 pieces of add-on game content.

Game Event: With a few quick clicks of the controller sharing select game events, progress and statistics is now easier than ever with the Facebook integration.

Additional New Firmware 3.10 Features (not related to Facebook):

Photos: Photos will now be displayed in a grid format for simplified access and viewing.
Friends List: The PlayStation Network Friends List has an enhanced design that enables users to customize the background color of their PlayStation Network Profile.

Several leaked interface images surfaced one the web a few days ago depicting new gamercard customization and Facebook integration for the PlayStation 3 console. Without official word from Sony, it was easy to believe that they were nothing more than well done Photoshop job. Well, that official word came today. As part of an announcement on their Official PlayStation blog, Sony confirmed that the features listed above will be a part of their upcoming v3.10 update.

Feature fanatics may be a tad upset to find that the Facebook integration won’t have all the bells and whistles out the gate, as the blog explains that its initial push will allow PlayStation owners to share trophy achievements as well as their recent PlayStation Network purchases with other Facebook friends, with future updates allowing for a more complete Facebook experience down the road.

No release date information has been announced for the v3.10 update, but we’ll keep you posted as soon as we know more. In the mean time, check out the walkthrough video below for a first look at these new features.

The 2.70 update for the PS3 is now available, and includes a host of new features. The update features in-game text chat for up to 16 people at one time, and allows three text chat boxes per PS3, for use with the wireless keypad, the on-screen keyboard, or any keyboard peripheral you might have that works.

Finally, Sony. Sending single message after single message to my friends when trying to set up a game with them was tedious and stupid. See the rest of the new features after the jump (and a demo from Eric Lempel).

Friends list on the XMB (XrossMediaBar)

* Sort your friends via their online status
* Attach larger files to the messages you send to your friends (file size will increase from 1MB to 3MB)

Video delivery service on PlayStation Store

* Video files you’ve purchased from the PlayStation Store can be backed up to an external storage device and then restored to PS3’s internal hard drive for playback – so you can clear up space on your hard drive and then restore the video anytime in the future
* Videos you’ve purchased for PSP (PlayStation Portable) system can now be transferred to PS3 for playback

It appears that the on again off again love affair between PS3 owners and their 2.40 firmware update is back on again — in the form of 2.41. Hopefully, this time it will last.

According a post by Eric Lempel, Director of PlayStation Network Operations, on the Official PlayStation blog, the 2.40 firmware update issues have been resolved and the update will be back online “shortly”.

“Hi, everyone. As many of you know, we released PS3 firmware update v2.40 last week, but had to take it offline temporarily because, for a limited number of users, the XMB wouldn’t display after the update was installed. We’ve been able to fix the problem, and I’m happy to report that firmware update v2.41 will be released shortly.

We want to extend our apologies to the PlayStation community for any inconvenience. Now we’ll be looking forward to seeing everyone online and racking up those trophies!”

We believed that the update would occur sometime this week, and wile I have not personally downloaded it yet, I have received several email tips from readers confirming that it is back online. Thanks to all who emailed.

Source: blog.us.playstation.com

Less than a day old, Sony has reportedly taken down PS3’s 2.4 Update. Users on the Official Playstation Message Boards have claimed that after installing the update, their PS3 would fail to boot up.

Looks like the rejoicing over all the new features was a bit premature in this case. We’re sure everything will be sorted out quickly– after all, this doesn’t exactly look good for Sony going into E3 in two weeks.

Update: Sony has responded to the issue at hand via their official PlayStation blog, confirming that the update has in fact been taken down and that they’re working to determine what went wrong in order to quickly rectify the situation. [ Thanks Bruce ]

Source: Joystiq

The exact file is called “np9660.prx”, and that means nothing to you well then you are in good company. What is this all about? Well, the speculation is pointing to a future of “gaming on demand” with the PSP. Can that be confirmed at the moment? Nope.

Sony Computer Entertainment’s CTO Kawanishi and Audio Video Manager Kanehide both stated they believe there is still room for improvement by an additional 30 to 40 percent in terms of the visual upscale and overall audio quality. On top of that they added that they can foresee a fanless PS3 as well.

“We have gotten feedback from them (critics) regarding several failure patters for upconverting, but we are getting closer to the goal. I think we can improve another 30 to 40%,” said Kawanishi.

He then added, “Nothing yet comes close to the load that Folding@Home applies. And I can see the possibility of a fan-less PS3 in the future, just like there was for the PS2,”

If the idea of a fanless PS3 alone doesn’t shock you then you should probably check for a pulse. Just ask Xbox 360 owners around the world how painful an overheated unit can be.