The current PlayStation Store is a bit of a clunker. It's functionally sound, but a bit rough around the edges from a usability standpoint. Compared to the rest of the PlayStation 3's visual design, it's certainly lacking—but that's reportedly going to change come Springtime, as the Store is said to get a new coat of paint. One aspect of the Store that's been hinted about by reliable publications, like the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal, is Sony's download service, one that president Howard Stringer may be talking about when he refers to the "expansion" of the PlayStation Network.

It may be Sony's best bet in fending off Apple's iTunes for movie and television distribution. And it may be closer than we thought.

While Metal Gear Solid 4, DualShock 3 and God of War news may have dominated our Destination PlayStation coverage, one other interesting leak came out of the retailer conference. According to sources there, the PlayStation Store is finally getting a graphical user interface overhaul, one planned to arrive alongside Gran Turismo 5 Prologue on April 15. The revamp of the PlayStation Store is said to give it a look more in tune with the SingStore, pictured above, which is already accessible from the PlayStation 3 version of SingStar.

Details were light on the change, but beyond a coat of paint, word was that navigation would change to a series of icons running along the bottom of the interface. We don't have official confirmation on this one yet, so consider it rumor for now.

That hasty Photoshop job of the God of War: Chains of Olympus PSP? Not official. But this one is and it looks far more gorgeous than the "Deep Red" PSP that Japanese gamers got. As we said earlier, the God of War Entertainment Pack comes with a bloody good PSP color swap, a copy of Chains of Olympus, a UMD with Judd Apatow's comedy blockbuster Superbad and a voucher to download Syphon Filter: Combat Ops from the PlayStation Store, free. Not a bad deal (and one that may make me bite, as I'm in the market for everything offered).

The bundle ships, as we said earlier, in June for $199.99. For a look at the reverse side, with a lovely Kratos silkscreen, keep on clickin'.

Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 Bundle Announced

DualShock 3 Dated For US

We have more word from retailer conference Destination PlayStation: the DualShock 3—you know, that DualShock we've been waiting for since the PS3's launch—has gotten a US release date.

Set to launch April 15th for $54.99, it's slated to coincide with the release of GT5 Prologue. Oh yes, feel those engines roar through your controller and make your SIXAXIS-wielding friends envious...like they're just playing a video game or something.

UPDATE: Sony has confirmed all of this information. Press release on the jump.

Word from Destination PlayStation, a retailers-only conference for all things PlayStation related, is that Metal Gear Solid 4 is coming to the PlayStation 3 on June 12, 2008. According to sources there now, the release of Kojima Productions action-stealth game will arrive on a Thursday, oddly enough. Even more interesting is that we're hearing word that Sony will be offering a hardware bundle that features MGS4, an 80GB PlayStation 3 and a DualShock 3 packed-in.

We're checking with Konami for official word on the matter and will update with additional information soon.

Update: It's official, hit the jump for the full release, plus tons of other confirmations of news we broke.