[PS3]In-game XMB and Trophies for next firmware update

[mR duDe]

A new PLAYSTATION 3 firmware update (v2.36) will be launching soon, improving system stability when playing select PlayStation format software titles. We’re also 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. We’ve talked about some of this on the blog (http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/04/15/inside-playstation-network/) previously and know that many of you can’t wait to get your hands on these features. You can expect us to share all of the official details shortly.

Bout time.

[silicon.rain]

awesome!
now all we need is Home :D

[LOKO]

Good. Maybe now the PS3's online can actually stand up to Xbox Live.

[Scruffy Dog]

Yeah I imagine the 'trophy' concept will be a blatant copy of Xbox Live's thing, but I'll take it because we need something more.

In-game XMB is referring to what exactly? I'm half asleep and full of toxins, help a brother out.

(btw, also agree with Sili. Home would be nice).

[LOKO]

XMB = Cross Media Bar

The thing that's on the PS3 dashboard.

[Scruffy Dog]

So basically chat and messages across all games?

[ToFu]

should be

they really need to revamp the chat system lol

email style messaging sux

[silicon.rain]

So basically chat and messages across all games?
you know how while you have a game loaded, you can't access the cross-media-bar? you have to exit the game.

you will now be able to use it without having to exit games.

[mR duDe]

Good. Maybe now the PS3's online can actually stand up to Xbox Live.
lol you mean that piece of **** you have to pay for?

lawlrofllawl

[Scruffy Dog]

Actually that brings me to another question. How much is Xbox Live costing you while your 360 is actually in for repairs?

[mR duDe]

aaaaaarghahahahahaha

[LOKO]

About $2.50, probably less?

[A-mak]

lol you mean that piece of **** you have to pay for?

lawlrofllawl

I think its pretty good.

People pay for Wow.. Atleast with xbox live I can play ALL my games not just one with great pings with people from around the world.

[Corsair]

lol you mean that piece of **** you have to pay for?

lawlrofllawl
I seriously don't get why this is such a bone of contention for you Dude?

So you pay once a year to use Live; like has been said, you pay money to play MMORPGS, you pay money to buy episodic games online, what's so peculiar about paying a small fee to recieve an online console gaming service which, quite frankly, absolutely ****s on everything offered by the other consoles or the PC (Steam would be the closest thing to XBL).

Completely functional voice and text-chat both in game and via the dashboard, easy invite systems, stat tracking, easy access to friends and people you played with recently, playing every multiplayer game you own with people from all around the world with essentialy no lag, and all so completely seemless and functional that my technologically inept mother managed to get her Carcassonne on.

As long as Live keeps working as smoothly as it does, and recieving the constant upgrades and support that it does, I have no problem handing over a pittance to make full use of it, and it's pretty obvious that a substantial amount of people agree.

Moving back to the topic, I think it's a very important step by Sony adding in this kind of functionality; it puts them on more of an even keel with Microsoft, but more importantly, one cannot underestimate the power of achievements.

I'm not an achievement whore by any means (hi Loki ;D), but there is something funky about the achievements that reward you with points for trying a different way of playing. If nothing else it should add a bit of life to some games that are otherwise lacking in replayability, and that can only be to the good.

[mR duDe]

All good points. Stronly exhagurated mind you.

****s on PC? What a joke, can't believe you tried to slip that in. Better than every other console? What exactly is it competing with? That's right, PS3. How much longer has the 360 been out BEFORE PS3? 2 years? 3 years? NOT TO MENTION I'D EXPECT TO HAVE A SUPERIOUR ONLINE SYSTEM IF I WAS PAYING FOR IT. How do people not seem to sink that in... you're paying for it and it's been out for years before the PS3 even launched.

You're right though, achievements are rad. We'll see how this trophy **** works out.

[A-mak]

All good points. Stronly exhagurated mind you.

****s on PC? What a joke, can't believe you tried to slip that in. Better than every other console? What exactly is it competing with? That's right, PS3. How much longer has the 360 been out BEFORE PS3? 2 years? 3 years? NOT TO MENTION I'D EXPECT TO HAVE A SUPERIOUR ONLINE SYSTEM IF I WAS PAYING FOR IT. How do people not seem to sink that in... you're paying for it and it's been out for years before the PS3 even launched.

You're right though, achievements are rad. We'll see how this trophy **** works out.

Dude.. it doesnt matter. It doesnt matter how long before the ps3 it came out.

It wouldnt be hard for sony to chuck in a coupla millions and make a 'matching' service (billions maybe??) Normally when *newer* things come out they are supposed to be better.. Not one step backwards.

About the PC, I'm sorry. Go have fun playing against other country's with a high ping. Try playing your FPS against someone in france.. Can you? I can here on my sexbox.

[mR duDe]

Please explain to me how someone connecting to someone in France would differ if they were using a 360 or a PC.

Note: I had to delete a LOT of insults that I placed before the above paragraph, so keep in mind I REALLY did exercise some control before posting this.

That all being said, if the price for the PS3 online service matched that of the 360 online service I'd expect the QUALITY to match it.

I'm not paying anything and I can at a bare minimum, play games online over a PS3. I'm content with that. Dip **** 360 fanfags seem to forget this core principle which can't be argued any which way.
The fact

[Scruffy Dog]

They'll probably start to charge us once they've fixed it Dude, wrecking your argument completely, lol.

What do 360 owners actually get when they get achievements btw? Can they use them to get demos/games/themes or something from Live? Serious question too, there's no incoming debate from it.

[ANGRY]

An increase in their E-penises? :P

[mR duDe]

In the form of forum signatures lol.

[LOKO]

Sony won't charge for online play. Not in the PS3's life span anyway. By the way your Xbox Live gamerscore is representative of your penis length in centimetres. I'm rocking a 139 meter penis at the moment.

[silicon.rain]

About the PC, I'm sorry. Go have fun playing against other country's with a high ping. Try playing your FPS against someone in france.. Can you? I can here on my sexbox.
I'm with the dude,
what the??

[Iguana]

He's making a valid point.

Last time i tried to play on a USA server for a CS or BF2 match it was unplayably laggy. I have played against USA homos in Halo 3 and Gears though and it's fine.

I understand there's been all sorts of issues with MMORPGs having these issues as well, from WOW all the way back to Diablo days. There always seems to be petitions for local servers to reduce lag in the oceania region.

So basically, the you vs the world scenario on a 360 is smooth and it feels like you're playing on an aussie server (I have nfi how live match making and server hosting works) but try to do the same thing on the pc and it's lag town (200-600 pings.)

Thus, the statement

Try playing your FPS against someone in france.. Can you? I can here on my sexbox.

is not outlandish, but true.

[Pip-Boy]

That makes no sense, unless the companies have invested in some kind of high speed pipe just for use for xbox live....

If XBOX360 can get no lag service between here and Europe, so can PC. PC is flexible, and can easily be upgraded to better net code, especially if they see how it's done on the console first...

Perhaps it's not that it's less laggy, just that you haven't tried in a long time or on a newer game with better code? XBox and PC share the same international links as everyone else... ultimately data can only move so fast..

[A-mak]

I played gta4 against players in france the other day no issues.

I played rainbow six vegas against people in usofa no issues.

I think the difference between Xbox live and the PC online is from my understanding the xbox live you connect to a main server (or servers) in australia (or capital city) and that provides a direct route with its own pipe to the other countries (or a high qos) where as PC online would take whatever route to the server it can get and that might not even be the quickest one.

I've had no issues with lag on my xbox thusfar.

I dont know why your such a consol fanboy mr dude, they don't mean much. It's not like you make money getting people to buy ps3's or xbox's. So no need to enrage yourself when there are things superior to the ps3.

While it IS possible that the pc and ps3 could do such things, I personally have never experienced them.

[Iguana]

I agree that it doesn't make sense.

But can you jump on an overseas server in whatever game, it really doesn't matter, and have an enjoyable experience? Perhaps someone who plays more & with newer games can answer that definately.

The fact remains on Xbox live I can / have. It's not uncommon to have people abusing you in chinese and crazy euro languages I can't understand.

And I'd like to say again, it doesn't make sense :P I was hoping someone might have an idea how xbox live works, because I have no idea.

[Iguana]

I played gta4 against players in france the other day no issues.

I played rainbow six vegas against people in usofa no issues.


Well there we go lol :D

[mR duDe]

Trust me, far from enraged. From my point of few I'm correcting you guys on your mis-concieved ways. That's all.

I'm not defending it because I 'feel' I have to or because I see myself as a 'fanboy', more so because I like correcting people.

When people want to mention xbox live as the only counter point to the PS3 being a superior console, they don't have much of an argument.

It's simple as that.

[Corsair]

Trust me, far from enraged. From my point of few I'm correcting you guys on your mis-concieved ways. That's all.

I'm not defending it because I 'feel' I have to or because I see myself as a 'fanboy', more so because I like correcting people.

When people want to mention xbox live as the only counter point to the PS3 being a superior console, they don't have much of an argument.

It's simple as that.
We also mention the far superior games library and better download service ;) Truthfully, I haven't seen anything that says the PS3 is better than the 360 beyond hardware specs (which, as the 32X, Mega CD, Dreamcast, N64, and Gamecube showed us, doesn't really amount to much)

This isn't to say that I dislike the PS3 because I'm some sort of 360 fanboy either; we got the 360 because it came out first, had a great library, and offered everything we wanted from a console, but there are definately things I don't like about it at all.

I'll be getting a Wii next, followed by a PS3 eventually (and claiming them on tax bwahah), in order of what I want to own and also game exclusivity for review purposes.

I think the PS3 has a fair bit of potential, but barring Drake's (which I really dug when I played it) I haven't seen too much that has impressed me (latest Meat Gear looks good as well, but haven't had the chance to play it.

The big turn-off with the PS3 for me is actually Sony themselves; they're as arrogant now as Nintendo used to be, and they aren't doing themselves any favours with it.

[silicon.rain]

if home is all it's hyped up to be, then it will probably be better than xbox live

they sure are talking their time with it :(

[mR duDe]

They are taking their freaking time. Oh well.

Corsair you're right.

When I was making the decision to get a next gen console, one thing set apart the 360 and the PS3. Sony exclusives are truely sony exclusives.

I got it primarily for god of war 3, shadow of the colossus 2, gran turismo 5, metal gear and a few other titles. These titles I won't be able to play on anything else. Look at mass effect, biohazard and other 360 exclusives, major titles get released on windows aswell. That was what swayed me.

Bluray did too actually, knowing it was a bit more future proof.

[Scruffy Dog]

Yeah, I reckon PS3 is more future proof than 360, but 360 - realistically - is a better console right now and in the past, so I understand why people own them.

Still, having said that, I don't want a 360 because of several reasons (I've never enjoyed playing original Xbox games, and was never impressed with in-store demos of 360 games either, not to mention the fact that they all break down eventually) and have zero regrets on my PS3. It helps that the game I got with it was Uncharted, and as Corsair said... it's a ****ing awesome game. (Can't wait for the inevitable sequel).

Also, LITTLEBIGPLANETOMG!

[Corsair]

See exclusivity is a funny thing.

I really couldn't care less if a game is cross-platform (like Mass Effect showing up on PC, or Oblivion being on everything), but it's one of those things that some games are going to be system exclusives, which means you need to own everything to get to play everything.

I'd rather there were less exclusive games, not more.

That way everybody could own whatever console they wanted, play the games they wanted, and I could enjoy more situations like the Devil May Cry one that involves fanboys threatening to boycott the game because more people will get to play it! :D

And yeah Scruff, Little Big Planet is one of the main reasons I would actually get a PS3; it looks amazing. Of the games Dude listed, the only one that remotely interests me is God of War (and not a huge amount), so that's probably a part of why I lean more towards the 360 (and to a lesser extent, the Wii).

[A-mak]

Trust me, far from enraged. From my point of few I'm correcting you guys on your mis-concieved ways. That's all.

more so because I like correcting people.

When people want to mention xbox live as the only counter point to the PS3 being a superior console, they don't have much of an argument.

It's simple as that.

Far from enraged yet you said

"ote: I had to delete a LOT of insults that I placed before the above paragraph"

Sounds to me like you would have been enraged ;).

I dont see any corrections from your reply's. Just asking me to prove how pings to other country's turn out to be better then on PC. To which I gave a sustainable answer alltho there is no hard proof unless we find documentations on the Xbox live service pipes.

Personally I'd be happy to own all 3 current gen consoles. But I cant justify to spend that much on a ps3.

What would be good is if all games were cross platform aswell as multiplayer (but I know alot of noobs would whinge)

[mR duDe]

Cross platform would be the way to go.

[LOKO]

Confimred 2.40 firmware update comes out tomorrow.

[Scruffy Dog]

Confimred 2.40 firmware update comes out tomorrow.

Hmm, oops.

SONY has recalled its latest PlayStation 3 console update after some systems were rendered useless by the installation.

The PS3 update firmware update version 2.4 was recalled just hours after its release, after gamers reported that the installation crashed their consoles.

Users said the problem affected all models of the PS3 and caused glitches ranging from microphones not working to games "freezing" before they loaded.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23962652-661,00.html

[LOKO]

Worked fine for me.

[Nesb0]

There's a way to fix it by removing the hard drive and formatting it as it says here http://kotaku.com/5021458/ps3-240-update-problems-and-solutions

I've downloaded the update but haven't installed it. I think I'll just wait and see what happens.

[mR duDe]

Worked fine for me.

[Scruffy Dog]

I never downloaded it, which I'm feeling fairly good about.

[LOKO]

I'm hearing that some people have had their PS3's bricked by this firmware snafu. If it's true, then oh dear oh dear.

[ToFu]

worked fine for me

[mR duDe]

Yea it's pretty ****ty how this has happened.

Bricked implies it's un-usable, you can just format (losing all saves etc...) and fix it though.

[silicon.rain]

Mother ***ers!
I wanted Uncharted Trophies so it'd make me play it again....

[A-mak]

from what I hear the XMB isnt very good?

Anyone care to write a review? mR Dude?

[mR duDe]

First off. If the firmware update didn't screw your PS3 up (I still haven't found ANYBODY that this has actually happened to, Shay stop being a pussy and update), then there's no WAY you can possibly say "it's not good". I think if somebody were to say that, what they're trying to get across is that it still hasn't provided everything they were hoping for. Even though they've offered vast improvments, there's no way it can 'not be good'. Thing is, Sony kept lines of communication open at all times and told you exactly what was being released.

Hopefully I've cleared that up and kept it simple. I mean, if something is improved upon but still isn't perfect, it's only better.

Access to friends list where you can send WRITTEN messages to friends back and forth willy nilly is a most welcome feature xbox boys would be laughing at. The fact that PS3 didn't have it before and have it now is great.
The fact that there haven't been any VOIP improvements at all leaves a LOT to be sought after.

While you have the XMB up you can go to your pictures, but you can't fullscreen view them, only their thumbnails.

You can't browse the net, which would be good. Imagine being able to look up walkthroughs while you're in a game. Would be fan-f******-tastic. I'm pretty sure it's doable, it might just take time.

You can browse through your music, and play it during CERTAIN games. I'm pretty sure this is s*** at the moment, seeing as you can't play them during any game. I'm predicting most Sony games offered from the PSN will have this fully supported.
Games like FIFA08 though won't let you play music through the in-game XMB. Perhaps it's a resource thing, if it is this won't change. If it isn't, then future games on PS3 will support this function.

Trophies. 4-6 months from now, this might matter. At this point, if you think it's comparable to the xbox achievment system, you're pissing in the wind. Give it a while, and I'm sure Sony will figure it out. So far what's offered does look good. As in well polished.

While navigating through the in-game XMB you can notice a SLIGHT FPS lag. This is lag through the XMB, NOT GAME RELATED. It's noticable so I thought I'd mention it. I'd only actually complain about it if I were the type of interwebz elitist fag hat that would complain how Jessica Alba's eyes are too slanty or some s*** like that.

CLIFF: All in all. Some very welcome features that for now I've only found use for sending messages to mates in game. Even though they were along the lines of "RE:2.4: hey 2.40... yep".

[A-mak]

It wont let me +rep ya dudeh,

Probably the most non-ps3 fanboy post you've ever made full of constructive critisism without compairing it to the xbox.

I'll hopefully see it in action tonight at my mates joint.

Personally I think even the xbox xmb could do with improvements.

[mR duDe]

They're looking at adding a 3D interface to the xbox XMB I think.

Also I think I read a headline on Kotaku how PS3 patened (sp?) a multi-touch interface.

That coupled with a Wii like mote, would mean Minority Report style interface.

[LOKO]

There are games that open up an internet browser for the online manuals, so I don't see it as being completely unreasonable to have internet browsing while playing a game somewhere down the line.

And the XMB is a great interface. Being able to use it from any application is a massive step forward for Sony in terms of being comparable to the 360 for ease of use when it comes to interface.

So far my only complaint with this update is that it still makes you exit the game you're in if you change audio settings. Probably whinging about nothing, but I'm in a situation where I only have one optical input for my sound system, and I switch it between the 360 and PS3 depending on where I want the surround sound. With the 360 if you disconnect the optical output, it automatically tells the audio to output through the HDMI (so it comes from the TV speakers). The PS3 for some reason doesn't do this, and it's a pain if it's set to output to optical, and I only realise this once I've started up a game and theres no sound, so I have to exit the ****ing thing and switch the audio settings back to HDMI output.

[Scruffy Dog]

Shay stop being a pussy and update

From what I posted there, they've said they've taken the upgrade down until they've fixed the issues, so I couldn't download it if I wanted to. (Havent actually tried though, nor have I touched the PS3 since (not because of the firmware update, just because I havent.))

[009]

I updated my ps3 the day 2.40 came out, and haven't had any problems yet. But tonight i'll back up all my save games, just in case..

Well 2.40 has been pretty good so far. In-game XMB is pretty sweet, but I don't seem to use it much.

Things I'd like to see are:
- in game xmb have the browser work
- make the in game xmb less laggy
- try and make the ps3 browser better..
- 3rd party apps? irc? msn(haha i wish)?
- update all the old games to make them compatible with trophies (is that possible, do they have plans to do that?)
- update you PSN account (online) to have what trophies u have, what games you have played, last played, how long etc
- have the ps3 come up as a network drive on my network, so I can directly send movies and mp3s to it from my PC.

[Scruffy Dog]

- update you PSN account (online) to have what trophies u have, what games you have played, last played, how long etc

Pretty sure that's a feature of Home.

[ToFu]

There are games that open up an internet browser for the online manuals, so I don't see it as being completely unreasonable to have internet browsing while playing a game somewhere down the line.

And the XMB is a great interface. Being able to use it from any application is a massive step forward for Sony in terms of being comparable to the 360 for ease of use when it comes to interface.

So far my only complaint with this update is that it still makes you exit the game you're in if you change audio settings. Probably whinging about nothing, but I'm in a situation where I only have one optical input for my sound system, and I switch it between the 360 and PS3 depending on where I want the surround sound. With the 360 if you disconnect the optical output, it automatically tells the audio to output through the HDMI (so it comes from the TV speakers). The PS3 for some reason doesn't do this, and it's a pain if it's set to output to optical, and I only realise this once I've started up a game and theres no sound, so I have to exit the ****ing thing and switch the audio settings back to HDMI output.

invest in one of these
http://search.ebay.com.au/Digital-Optical-3-Way-Switch-Toslink_W0QQdfspZ1QQfromZR40QQsatitleZDigitalQ20Op ticalQ203Q2dWayQ20SwitchQ20ToslinkQQssPageNameZRC0 022QQ_trksidZp1638Q2em120

[LOKO]

Firmware 2.41 update is out, having fixed the crashing bugs. You can stop being a pussy now Shay.

[Scruffy Dog]

I was never being a pussy. I was being lazy, and then they took it off the network so I couldn't download it if I wanted to :P

[mR duDe]

...lazy pussy.