Sony released version 2.40 for the PlayStation 3’s firmware today, but the results have not been good.  The talk online is that the update is causing major problems for some PS3 owners, who have been reporting freezing and lock-ups of their consoles.

Sony hasn’t commented on the problems, but they’ve reportedly pulled the version update off of their servers to prevent problems for those who haven’t updated yet.

The firmware update was meant to bring several updates to the PS3 console and online system, including PS3 Trophies.

Sony released an update to the PlayStation 3 firmware today.  The PS3 has been upgraded to version 2.40, and a number of updates come with it.

Most notably among them is the addition of Trophies, a new system that basically imitates the Xbox 360’s Achievement system.  Players can earn permanent awards for completing in-game challenges that are linked to their profiles.

A handful of publishers have stepped up to confirm that they’ll be incorporating trophies into their games.  Burnout Paradise and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune will both get trophies added to them in future updates.

The Xbox 360 achievement and gamerscore system has proven a great success for Microsoft.  Some players have gone to great lengths to improve their Xbox gamertag’s status, even playing games they wouldn’t have otherwise played.  King Kong is a classic example of this — the game received low reviews but has been played by an unusually high number of gamers because of the ease of earning achievements.  [See more ways to earn easy achievements and gamerscore.]

Although not all PS3 games will support Trophies, at least at first, this is the next step in the PS3’s gradual attempt to match the Xbox 360’s success in its online network.

Sony has said that it will soon launch YouTube on its PlayStation 3 console, allowing gamers to interact with the popular Google-owned video service directly from their consoles.

Players will be able to upload videos from their games directly to YouTube, allowing them to easily share in-game moments with friends.

Sony also says that older games will be able to use the YouTube integration via an update.

There was a rash of news erupting today on the matter of Grand Theft Auto: IV. Here’s a quick summary of what went down:

• EB Games reported that the PS3 version of GTA IV was outselling the Xbox 360 version on pre-orders in Australia, causing some sites to report that the same was true in North America. UK retailer Asda, however, reported the same findings. HMV reports the opposite.
• Sam Houser at Rockstar told 1UP.com that there will be some differences in the game between the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, mostly to do with the subtle differences in rendering between the consoles. (Which reminds us of the differences between Firefox and IE rendering.) Houser chooses the PS3 as his favorite in terms of visuals: “There’s a certain kind of softness without being blurry - some warmth to it - and then there’s a certain more clinical element to how the 360 looks.”
• Word has spread that a leaked copy of the game has popped up on the web, pointing to the complete impatience of some gamers. The leaked copy will supposedly run on Xbox 360 systems with the necessary mod chips. (Just — don’t plug that console into the Internet…)
• Some sites also leaked in-game footage. The complete intro was posted on YouTube, and quickly removed from the site.
• Sasha Grey, a porn actress, said she’d like to appear in a Grand Theft Auto game, “strapped with two MP5K’s and a black and grey skintight outfit”. Hype for GTA V, already?

Grand Theft Auto IV will be out on April 29.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has confirmed that Guitar Hero will expand with more instruments in future versions. The news is hardly a surprise, since Rock Band, which also features drums and vocals, has been doing quite well.

“We’ll include a lot of other instruments, vocals. It will help us expand internationally. It’s the first game we’ve had in which we can use local content and local bands.”

Activision hasn’t confirmed when they’ll be making this introduction, but a new Guitar Hero is scheduled for release at the end of 2008.

The LA Times has reported that Sony is working on a new movie download service for the PlayStation 3.  The service will further Sony’s vision of creating their uber media machine, and allowing them to compete with the Xbox 360 on yet another front.

The new system will offer not only feature films but also full-length television programming available over the PlayStaiton Network.  No official date has been given, but word is that the PS3 will introduce some of these services this summer.

EA is predicting that the Sony PlayStation 3 will beat out Microsoft’s Xbox 360 by the end of the year — in European markets, at least. The world’s largest third-party publisher is expecting that the PS3 will sell an impressive 6 million units in 2008, with the Xbox 360 falling behind.

The U.S. market will be a much closer race, according to EA. American gamers are more loyal to the Xbox 360, which is developed in the U.S.–just as Japanese customers prefer their home-grown Sony (and Nintendo) consoles. The Xbox 360 also features more Western influence in its games.

Contributing to the PS3’s success is an expected price drop for the system over the next year. The price of the PS3 has always been its biggest obstacle to sales. The system itself is technically superior to its competition, and the library of available games is expected to grow considerably in 2008. Analysts recently estimated that Sony was able to cut PS3 production costs in half with changes it has made the process, which fuels the expectation for a price drop.

Of course, EA expects the Nintendo Wii to continue to dominate in sales over both consoles — even after Microsoft invited Wii owners to graduate from casual gameplay to the more sophisticated Xbox 360.

Guitar Hero has reached a milestone: In the 26 months since the first Guitar Hero title was released for the PlayStation 2, the rock-and-roll franchise has hit the $1 billion U.S. mark in its North American sales.

Activision, the game’s publisher, was quick to point out that Guitar Hero III broke sales records by both unit volume and dollar value for a single calendar year. Michael Griffith, Activision’s president and CEO, commented on the event:

“Guitar Hero is one of the biggest brands and one of the most powerful distribution platforms in all of entertainment today. Guitar Hero’s popularity with broad audiences is a confirmation that video games have become a true mass medium.”

The first Guitar Hero title hit the PlayStation 2 console in November 2005, and since then has spawned three sequels. The collective total sales is in the neighbourhood of 14 million units.

A big help to Activision in the dollar count is that each Guitar Hero title is sold both as a stand-alone disc and in a bundle with the guitar peripheral that allows gamers to rock-out in style rather than play with a standard game pad. Most Guitar Hero players have at least one guitar, while others purchased the new peripheral with each release, driving up the average dollar value of each sale.

Activision also said that in the weeks since Guitar Hero III was released, over five million add-on songs have been downloaded for the game.

Electronic Arts is planning to pay a little more attention to the soundtracks for its games. As a part of its “Trax” initiative, which has the game publisher paying more attention to in-game audio, the company plans to offer downloadable music that can be swapped with the background tunes for its games.

How useful the service will be probably depends on what console you’re playing on. The Xbox 360 already has the feature to import audio off of CDs or stream live music from a Windows PC — and both types can be played as the background music for pretty much any Xbox 360 game. In that case, it’s probably better to buy your music online or in-store so you’re not limited to playing it in your games.