Sony has to be thrilled about the reasons that its PlayStation is in the news as of late. In the past few days the gaming community has been focusing on the future of the console, which has to be a welcome change from the months of PR hell following the crippling hack of the PlayStation Network.

It looks like the PlayStation Network may be getting a huge facelift.

According to The Register, a massive redesign is being “quietly tested” by Sony. The new PSN would have an entirely different layout, in that it would be more “image-driven.” This means that the interface would look more like the Xbox Live menus that have proved successful for Microsoft. Apparently PS3 gamers feel like the PSN is way too text-heavy in its current form.

Apparently, the redesign would “de-clutter” the screen by using “logically marked sections and rolodex lists.”

Here are some more elements of the new design –

• Live search feature, with results appearing as users search
• Scrapping the blue background and opting for brighter colors on a black background
• More detailed information when browsing movies with an “IMDB-style database”
• New “deals” section for games and other content

The hush-hush testing of a dramatic new interface should spawn discussion about their motivations. Does Sony just feel it’s time for a new look? Have they heard the complaints of users about the text-happy menus and feel they need to change?

Could they be updating the PSN for the upcoming release of a new console?

DigiTimes reported on Monday that Sony will begin production on the PS4 near the end of 2011. According to “component makers,” the new console will have full motion-control integration. This would make sense considering the massive success of Microsoft’s Kinect.

This DigiTimes report has already drawn skepticism, however, with many inside the gaming circle wondering why Sony would rush out a next-gen console considering the PS3 just became truly profitable recently.

Any discussion about the future of the PlayStation console is great for Sony considering the nightmare of the past few months.

Yesterday, for a brief period, the PlayStation Network went down for scheduled maintenance.