(2.5/5)
The new PS3 Playstation store is a much needed improvement over the older store.
The Old Playstation Store:
The old store (pictured to the left) booted slowly, was unresponsive, had tiny print and was almost unusable. It relied on a ‘mouse’ like interface with a pointer that needed to be moved around the screen with the PS3 controller’s analogue stick. It was very difficult to use and imprecise.
The New Playstation Store:
The new store boots up faster- Thankfully, the mouse-pointer interface is gone
- The main menu now presents a grouped items column on the left
- Selecting an item group brings up a much easier to read sub-menu (see the “New Releases” submenu below).
- The submenu has a navigable list of possible selections on the right
- Selection details show up in a big, easier to read, panel on the left.
- Everything is faster and crisper (more pics on joystiq here).
No Points Required
I must give Sony kudos for not following Microsoft down the ‘points’ payment system road. Thank you Sony for allowing me to pay for my downloads in dollars. What a concept.
[April 18, 2008 Update: Sony is announcing that the new Playstation Store will soon provide a movie/TV show on-demand service (see here, here and here). Sony will also be selling pending Playstation cards, to be denominated in local currency, for purchases through the Playstation Store (see here).]
Downloading Needs Work:
While downloading is easier than before (the whole mouse navigation paradigm has been replaced), the interface still requires you to press too many buttons to download your selection. One click on a selection ‘should’ be enough. But no … on the PS3 you must:
- select the item you want to download
- select download (sometimes you have to select it twice)
- choose where you want to download – why ask when all that is attached is a hard drive?
- choose if you want to download in the background or not. Why would I want anything else? It should just download in the most optimal way.
- When complete you can’t access the newly downloaded demo or video from the download screen (as you can on the 360). You have to leave the Playstation Store and find the download in the PS3 ribbon.
Still, compared with the old store, I’m happier with the new Playstation Store – but, as with virtually every other PS3 online ‘feature’ – it still needs work.
