Finally, a year and a half after PlayStation3 launched in some bits of the world, Sony is adding the in-game messaging features its fans have been gagging and pleading for every single day since PS3 first flopped into big, unwanted piles on shop shelves.

Confirmation was given on the Official PlayStation Blog, where Sony Network top-cheese Eric Lempel said “We’re happy to officially report that the 2.40 system software update for PS3 will include XMB access in-game.”

Lempel then went on to confirm another addition – the arrival of Sony’s clone of the much-loved Xbox 360 point-scoring Achievements system…