Well, after a long day at the office (and a few needed rounds of COD 4), I logged on to check out the latest version of the PSN Store. To sum it up – it looks awesome but still has a few rough edges.

First, the highlights. No longer do you have to wade through a page of 20 new downloadable Guitar Hero songs to get to what you want to see (since you’ve already downloaded and mastered all of the aforementioned songs), be it the latest demos or add ons to your favorite shooter. Right awat, you can scroll up and down to see the high level categories. The layout is in a better grid like pattern so trying to figure out how to get to a new portion of the store doesn’t require using the Pythagorean Theorem (yeah, how many other PS3 sites use geometry humor…my gosh I’m a geek) or using the thumbstick as a crude mouse.

Also, the overall look of the store just feels better. The old store had more information on the screen at once but this isn’t a normal browser with a normal mouse – users want to do just a few things and do them quickly with a limited control set. So while PS3 purists may say it moved a step closer to the XBox Live Store, this gamer likes the new look and feel.

OK, now the “not ready for prime time” features. Really, there’s only one that I came across in my admittedly quick browsing. Icons can take 10-15 seconds to load (presumably for the first time only) and even then, dozens came up with “image missing” error icons. I’m sure Sony will get this taken care of pronto but it’s a shame this wasn’t discovered in testing. But if that’s the worst glitch, I’d say this transition was done very well indeed.

So what do you think fellow frag friendly fellows? Post your thoughts on the store below once you’ve had a chance to play around. What features do you love, hate, or wish had made it to the store?

Filed under: Firmware Updates, Game Download, Playstation Network, Playstation Store