In-game XMB and Trophies confirmed for PS3

Sony has now

officially confirmed

that its latest PS3 firmware update, versions 2.40, will indeed include both access to the in-game XMB and Sony’s take on Xbox 360 Achievements – known as Trophies.

The XMB (or cross-media-bar) is essentially the PS3’s user menu. Currently, users are forced to quit out of any game they are playing to access it. However, with an in-game XMB gamers will have the option to access features such as Friends lists and MP3s whilst playing PS3 titles.

Few official details about Trophies have been made available to date. However, much like Microsoft’s successful Xbox 360 Achievements, Trophies are expected to be rewarded for accomplishing certain in-game tasks, and will likely to associated with a player’s online PSN profile.

A post on the official US PlayStation blog states:

We’re happy to officially report that the 2.40 system software update for PS3 will include XMB access in-game. The update will also include Trophies, an exciting new feature that we’ll be providing more details on soon, as well as some other new enhancements.”