Sony's plan to unveil a new PlayStation Store isn't going exactly as they intended. Rather than further confirm the redesign will meet its October 23rd launch, Sony has instead announced the launch will be delayed to a later date.
While, as Sony points out, the new Store is operating smoothly in Australia, New Zealand, and several countries in Europe, it wasn't at launch. Gamers who gained access to the new PSN Store were met with a number of problems including an inability to deposit funds and hanging/freezing between menus.
Freezing menus ostensibly renders the entire store useless, as the changes to it were purely cosmetic in nature. This wasn't going to be an update on the scale of an Xbox Live dashboard or PSN update, but it was going to put a fresh new coat of paint on an antiquated system.
Obviously Sony isn't going to come out and say the test run of the PlayStation Store launch didn't go as planned, but that's essentially what has happened. Moreover, Sony isn't committing to a new release date, only to the fact that they want to provide an "exceptional experience" to gamers.
Unfortunately, an exceptional experience hasn't always been easy to come by as far as the PSN is concerned, especially considering the massive hack that occurred last year. Essentially, this one devastating incident has put Sony on watch, and forced them to tread carefully whenever their online service is involved.
More importantly, though, it has forced them to re-evaluate services like PlayStation Plus and make them more tantalizing to the consumer. The promise of free games like inFAMOUS 2, Borderlands, and Starhawk has made the service's $50 price tag more than agreeable, it's actually helped Sony compete in the online space.
This store was intended to be the next phase of that advancement, but like any global unveiling it wasn't without hiccups. Hopefully Sony can work all of the issues out quickly, and get the new PlayStation Store online sooner rather than later.
Are you disappointed to learn the new PlayStation Store will be delayed, or would you rather Sony take all the time they need to get it right? What element of the store are you most excited about checking out?
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Source: PlayStation Blog