Sony has announced that a new update for the firmware of its PlayStation 3 gaming console has been released. The new firmware 2.40 features an in-game XMB, also known as the XrossMediaBar, and a trophy system for PS3 titles.

The trophy system is somewhat similar to the one used by Microsoft’s Xbox 360, but the main difference is that PS3’s version uses Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum designations, instead of plain numbers like Xbox 360. The main idea is that the more goals you reach in a game, the better the trophy you get.

The least valuable trophy is the Bronze one, and the most valuable is the Platinum. The last one can only be achieved if the player has managed to complete all the tasks of a game.

The first game that will enjoy the new feature will be Super Stardust HD, which will be released in June as a PS3 exclusive title. Sony has announced that other games like Buzz! Quiz TV, LittleBigPlanet, MotortorStorm Pacific Rift, NBA 09, PixelJunk Eden, Pain, Socom: US Navy SEALs Confrontation, Warhawk and Resistance 2, will benefit of the trophy system soon. Players will most probably have to download a patch in order to make the system available for the titles that have already been released.

As to what the in-game XMB is concerned, it will offer gamers the chance to send messages via the internet to their friends while still playing the game, as well as the much awaited custom music feature.

This will allow users of the PS3 console to play music from their hard drives during game play. They will also be given the possibility to repeat a certain track, play the music in shuffle mode, or skip to other tracks.

This last feature will be available only for the games whose developers want to implement it. Sony said that they expect to release a list of games that will benefit of the feature soon.