Date set for next major PS3 firmware release

The next major firmware update for the PS3 goes live within two weeks, it's been claimed. The new system software gives gamers access to the much-hyped in-game messaging and video chat facility. According to a report on Dutch news site PS Only, an anonymous source has confirmed that firmware 2.4 will be made available by Sony …

[Steven Hewittt]

WTF?!

The PS3 doesn't have these features already...?! WTF?! Jesus, I just thought the lack of rumble and decent games were a bad omisison when you think it's twice the price of the 360 Core / Wii but it doesn't have in-game messaging or achievements?! Bloody hell, any other key features it doesn't have that the competition have since launch?

[Anonymous Coward]

Last bastion for Xbots.

These points were the last bastion for the Xbots, there is nothing left. Once Sony delivers this, the PS3 will do everything the 360 can (and more), without the adverts and monthly cost of XboxLive.

[Anonymous Coward]

Playing catch up

Looks like Sony is slowly playing catch up with Microsoft. Still a very long way to go though.

[Shaun]

Finally!

Some of these features were supposed to be there at launch!

[Anonymous Hero]

Sony spam

Would be nice if they could let us turn off the useless spam marquee on the top right of the screen. Too small to be useful but big enough to be annoying.

Paris, 'cos she enjoys a good firmware release.

[Jens]

Danish?

The PSOnly site is Dutch not Danish. Perhaps the .nl domain should have been a tip? .nl = NetherLands .dk = DenmarK

Apparently, it can be hard for Brits to differentiate between Danish and Dutch. My Wife (Brit) still often calls me (Dane) Dutch which really annoys me :)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Danish?

Umm - they're both flat, aren't they?

Story corrected, thanks for the catch

Drew

[Anonymous Coward]

Erm? We already have video... and re: spam marquee

Hmm, my PS3 already has video chat between 6 people using either the new Eye camera for PS3, or the old EyeToy (or any other USB camera in fact)... maybe you mean it'll be in-game?

As for turning off the useless spam marquee, you've been able to do that since it appeared too. Hit 'triangle' on the Information Board (or whatever they call it) on the XMB and select the 'do not display' option. Job done.

The new features are an API to access the XMB friends list in-game (already done by some games, but this is a generic API) and the addition of the to be frank pointless "trophies" (much like the pointless 360 achievements)

Would be nice if the person writing this article actually had the console so they could get their facts straight... And I'm not a Sony fanbot before you start - I've got a 360, Wii and PS3 thanks very much...

[Nestor]

Most every firmware update is a

BUST !

Wonder what this update will screw up ????

[Anonymous Coward]

Calm down dear, it's just a games console

@Steven Hewittt..

I think it's quite sweet that people who clearly know the specs intimately can fake childish apoplexy at such minor things. Yes, the PS3 doesn't have 'achievments' currently. But it's ok.. because I'm not 7. I don't need my ego massaged while playing my games, I'm quite happy to just play games.

And yes, yawn, a PS3 is more expensive than a bog-standard 360. Everyone in the world knows this. But that's ok too, because we can play proper modern films on them too. 12s, 15s, even *whisper it* 18 certificates! I know!

Don't tell mum.

[Scott]

Yes achievements are important

Yes achievements are important. For eg Tom Clancy Rainbow Six Vegas 2 picks up that you have completed the previous game by detecting achievements on your Xbox 360. You then get certain ingame rewards and rank increases due to this. Plus its also a cool way to prove to people how well you scored in a game or how many games you completed.

Also why do i care if my console can play proper modern films (Steve Hewitt). I bought my console for games not watching movies on (The way it should be). My PC / Media Centre deals with that side of things and would do it a damm site better then a PS3 would.

[Greg]

@Steven Hewittt

You might want to ask how many features it's had for ages that the X-box still doesn't have, and isn't going to have...

[Pondlife]

Z0mg!

I'm telling mum...

[Rolf Harris]

@AC; "calm down dear"

Thanks for that mate, you gave me a chuckle on a grey tuesday morning. And besides, you're spot on; my teenage son loves his Gamerscore, and that's fine, but I would find it rather pathetic if an adult was that needy.

It's weird, he uses the 360 way more than the PS3, and I use the PS3 almost exclusively - perhaps it's a maturity thing. My only complaint is that I have giganto-hands and so the 360 controllers are the right size and the PS3 ones too small..

[Anonymous Coward]

@Sony Spam

Ermm... You *can* turn off the scrolling marquee - I turned it off as soon as the feature was added as it was of no use to me. Can't remember off the top of my head exactly where the option was but I'm pretty sure it was fairly obvious - probably just a question of scrolling across to it, perhaps pressing X on it, and then pressing the appropriate button as indicated on the right side of the screen to get to the options.

[Anonymous Coward]

@ AC

"These points were the last bastion for the Xbots, there is nothing left. Once Sony delivers this, the PS3 will do everything the 360 can (and more), without the adverts and monthly cost of XboxLive."

Yeah except erm, Games.

That's kinda a bad thing for a games console to be lacking y'know?

Over 18months since release and still has less games worth playing than you can count on the fingers of a single hand whilst the 360 has more blockbusters than most people can even afford guaranteeing them a choice of absolutely top notch content.

Sony can add all the features it wants, whilst it doesn't have any games worth buying the console for over the 360 it's going to continue firmly in last place. Even in regions where it's gaining on the 360's sales figures it's not doing so fast enough to be able to catch up within the next 5 years leaving it no hope of coming anywhere other than last place this console round.

[jai]

re: Erm? We already have video...

yes i think they're refering to the video chat being available in the middle of a game

i'm not sure video chat is important while playing a game - but being able to send a text to someone to say you're online and do they want to give you a helping hand in a team deathmatch or something, that will be cool

[Alistair James]

WTF

Have any of you actually properly compared the PS3 to the 360? I mean Same game on the same setup? The PS3 is lacking, there is nothing that puts the PS3 over the 360 fact. Until someone designs a game that will fully utilise the PS3 it will continue to be lacking. Everything so far has been poor even the 'Exclusive' games for the PS3 Haze for example, GT5 is no where near as good as Forza 2. As for most of the ported games they are piss poor in comparison. The only reason I have both is for MGS, I pray they have done a decent job on that.

[Neil]

General off the chest moment

As already mentioned, the In game friends list feature is useful, some games already have it to a certain degree but it's not that vital, saying that, having it hanging off the PS button would be a nice addition. For me, PlayTV is what I'm hankering for, now that is a nice to have. 250gb HD already installed and ready but I do wonder how much I'll have left as every game seems to require an install.

Choose the thumbs up, shame I can't pick Paris as well as I'm sure she'd enjoy a thumbs up.

[Frank Bough]

Scott

Two things: being able "to prove to people how well you scored in a game or how many games you completed" is definitely NOT cool (beyond the age of 15, anyway) and the word "than" should be added to your vocabulary as soon as possible.

[Iain]

Achievements

Achievements on their own are OK I suppose, but what makes them actually useful is their integration with the friends system - in these modern days of games that don't really have "scores" any more, they're a handy way to see how you're doing on a game in comparison to your friends.

The aggregate score is just a guide to how many hours of gaming you've done since you bought the machine, really, but for individual games I quite like being able to see if I can beat the same challenges that mates have. So the way Sony implement them is more important than the mere fact that they are doing it at all.

[Mark]

@Alistair James @AC

You clearly don't own a PS3, or have even played one, and it sounds like you just spew your Microsoft programmed tripe over any internet forum that will allow it.

GT5:P makes Forza2 and PGR looks like a joke. Grid on PS3 looks and plays better (360 version has serious problems apparently).

As for not being able to count the number of good games on one hand, well lets try. infact I will go one further, and only count PS3 exclusives on one hand...

Metal Gear Solid 4

Resistance Fall Of Man

Motorstorm

Unreal Torunement 3

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Warhawk

SuperstardustHD

Ninja Gaiden Sigma

Obviously this does not include the top notce multi-platform titles like COD4 and GTA IV...

Infact, if you look at Metascores on a site like MetaCritic,

http://www.metacritic.com/games/ps3/scores/

It shows that PS3 actually has less crap than both the 360 and Wii (the Wii in particular has more crap games than all the other systems).

[Tom]

FFS

Cross platform games will always be much of a muchness, taylored games will always look better than ports. Now when will you 360 bois just accept the fact you hw is old, and maybe you should've held out for a PS3, maybe check your facts before you all start ranting over quality of rendering. And in anyone's opinion, GT5 pisses over ANYTHING the xbox can run.

[Jimster71]

Achievements and stuff

Achievements on the 360 have changed what it means to 'complete' a game.

Even when the story has been finished with, there are often other things you can do to gain achievements which helps extend the life of the game.

There are some stupid achievements about, but on the whole it has been getting better as developers become more used to the concept.

It's fun to compare achievements with friends or to try and get the last few for a game. Games are about fun, so achievements are a good thing in my opinion.

Lets hope Sony do a decent job of it.

As regards the usual console flame war - I own an Xbox 360 and have yet to see any games on the PS3 that would make me want one of those instead. However, if I was recommending a console to someone who was new to 'next-gen' gaming then I would have to recommend the PS3. Some of the more current multiple format games like CoD4 and Burnout have been identical on both systems plus you get blu-ray and wifi straight out of the box with PS3.

[Liam]

@ Scott

"My PC / Media Centre deals with that side of things and would do it a daNm site better thAn a PS3 would"

erm... I dont think so matey - ps3 HDMI upscaling whips a pc upscaling outputting via a VGA cable.. also most people dont want a bloody great pc in their lounge, having mice and keyboards etc to control everything. my media center is attached to the ps3 (usb 1/2 tb drive) i can control this very quickly with the neat bluetooth controller (works outside so when im getting hammered in the garden i can still change tracks). i have always found DVDs on a PC look crap compared to a dedicated player... never knew why but even my 8800GTS doesnt compare to the ps3s quality!

i do think achievements might be a good idea - so i can look back and see whats ive done over x time for example... but im not fussed with online chat etc - you just get more numpties shouting down their mics like on an x-box...

wtf is all this shite about the ps3 not having games? we have everything you have apart from a couple of games (halo - yawn - FPS are for PC - who wants to play 8v8 on a joypad ffs!) etc... plus a host of games you dont get to have (MGS, gran turismo, drakes fortune etc) this is all very childish 'my dads bigger than your dad' etc... (my dad is only 5'7" so its not one i could ever use lol)

now, lets just accept that some of us prefer PS3 to xbox and lets roll with it shall we?

mines the one with a CND badge on the back and lethal skunk in the pocket :)

[Alex]

@ "Not enough good games"

... Have both Xbox and PS3.

With the number of games the Xbox has, and the PS3, it's all relative. Yes, there are 100s of Xbox games, but there are also 100s of CRAP xbox games. yes there is over 100 PS3 games, but there are quite a few CRAP games there too. I suppose if I was a geek (like some of you XBOX Sooth-Sayers seem to be - picked you lot out as you're trolling a PS3 article) I would tot up the good games and the bad games and make a % for each machine. I'll wager a wad of money that the 5s would be very near each other, and not have a chasm of difference.

I like my XBOX, and my PS3. I use the PS3 more, because... well, it's does more for me. The XBOX still has Project Gotham, and for that alone, it has a special place in my heart (You can keep Halo and Gears of War.. they are all just average!).

[Anonymous Coward]

Funny how the Xbox owners...

Seem to spend all their time commenting on stories about the PS3... we know you don't like the PS3, that's why you didn't buy one.

So you can f*ck off now, your opinion is worthless to me.

[Abe]

@ Liam

"erm... I dont think so matey - ps3 HDMI upscaling whips a pc upscaling outputting via a VGA cable.. also most people dont want a bloody great pc in their lounge, having mice and keyboards etc to control everything. my media center is attached to the ps3 (usb 1/2 tb drive) i can control this very quickly with the neat bluetooth controller (works outside so when im getting hammered in the garden i can still change tracks). i have always found DVDs on a PC look crap compared to a dedicated player... never knew why but even my 8800GTS doesnt compare to the ps3s quality!"

Mate you are talking nonsense.

My silent custom built Media Center currently sitting in a cupboard hidden in the living room with over 2 terabytes of data running HD-output and all conrolled by a remote through the tv.

Shits on any PS3 media setup.

[Anonymous Coward]

re: WTF?

"Have any of you actually properly compared the PS3 to the 360? I mean Same game on the same setup?"

Yes, I compared the following, and they are all better on PS3.

GTA IV

Oblivion

Devil May Cry 4

COD4

Grid

Burnout Paradise

The sad fact it, for multiplatform titles, the 360's limitations are crossing over onto the PS3. Many of the multi-platform games don't even use the 7x SPE's on the Cell (each one a full blown 3.2Ghz CPU), and do all their processing on the main PPE and RSX., yet still they manage to match and in some cases exceed what the 360 can do on 3x conventional CPU cores.

If you really want to see what either console is capable of, you don't look at compromised multi-platform titles, you compare the platform exclusives, and the PS3 exclusives blow the 360 exclusives away, despite the 18month 360 headstart. For example Unchartered Drakes Fortune, I doubt that would be remotely possible on 360.

[Liam]

@ Abe

ok, so your fancy gfx card can do 24fps pulldown then can it? dont think so... also i doubt you can output lossless HD audio (via some creative'esque soundcard?) and are you running 1080p resolution? also what audio connections are you using? optical?. and i guess your PC isnt hdmi 1.3 spec is it? that means i get MILLIONS more colours than you running via (i guess) component rather than hdmi 1.3. for £300 you cannot do better than a ps3 for all this. coupled with a mid end yammie 7.1 amp and mordaunt short 7.1 speakers (not shitty sattelites) i doubt your media centre sounds a patch on mine to be honest mate!

plus when YOU want to watch a movie you have to go to the cupboard etc... not really user friendly is it? and dont tell me your movies are all on that 2tb drive as that wouldnt cope with 10% of my dvd collection. what HD drive are you running? blueray or HDDVD?

[Iain]

@Mark, as per usual.

The PS3 has many wonderful things about it. But your pitiful fanboy whining really does exaggerate things too much to retain credibility:

1) "GT5:P makes Forza2 and PGR looks like a joke." Graphically, it's seriously difficult to tell GT5:P and PGR4 apart a lot of the time, unless PGR4 is playing around with its OTT weather effects again, or your screen is big enough to quickly spot GT5:P's native 1080p resolution (not easy, since the antialiasing on PGR4 is better). In terms of handling, GT5:P and Forza 2 are very close; in fact I'd give the edge to Forza unless you're using wheels. And that's possibly more due to Logitech's offering being comfortably better than Microsoft's.

Up until a collision happens, obviously; at that point Forza 2's excellent damage model gets a chance to show how it can affect the handling as a result. Supposedly this is something coming to the 'full' GT5, but then cynical GT veterans can probably remember some of the long list of missing features we've been promised in the past.

Re: Grid, I've not experienced any issues with the 360 one yet. But I've not played it a hell of a lot (still, any play is more than you, I suspect).

Re: "good games", Ninja Gaiden Sigma is really pushing to call an exclusive when it's just XBox Ninja Gaiden with a few bonus bits. Not like the true sequel (which is, oh! 360 exclusive). Still, my friend who has already completed MGS4 twice (perk of being a journo) says it's completely amazing. Not amazing enough to avoid the wrath of hordes of whiny teenagers demaning he be visciously slaughtered for the heresy of not rating it a full 10/10, but still one of the best games he's played this year.

[Abe]

@Liam

Firstly maybe its just me but I thought the whole point of a media center was so that I didnt have to constantly keeping putting discs screw that. All on Disk mate.

Now lets move on to your silly claims.

My 9800 GX2 actually has hdmi 1.3a out. So that kills that one dead.

My audio card is only the creative elite pro so your right on that one however it is hooked up to my above mid end yamaha amp and daddy speaker set.

So mate lets not play I have a bigger cock than you as its not going to end well.

Oh for the Record I also have a 360,ps3 and a wii. I also have a giant bouncy castle, a huge rubber mallet a big set Tits and my own mammoth that I brought back to life with the use of a kinder egg.

[Liam]

@ abe...

shite... someone with an actually decent spec'd media centre lol... fair enough... most ive seen have been pretty piss poor to be honest. in fact most people who have had them have sacked them off and gone back to seperates etc... i know the ps3 cannot handle some filetypes (OGG and FLAC for the time being but to be honest i can convert them anyway)

i would love to have all my movies on HD too but storage isnt THAT cheap yet :) 1000+ dvds = lots of petabytes lol. plus my media centre plays ps3 games :) so i need access to it...

fair play on the 9800 - not sure if my 8800 has 1.3 on it... never liked the output of movies from PCs.. although my tv does make a nice big monitor when hooked up... does the 9800 have hdmi out or via a convertor... hdmi on gfx cards would be cool :)

above mid end yammie... hmmm £500 was my limit :) not sure i would spend into the thousands on an amp (when i say mid range i mean in the 400 - 1000 bracket - not the cheapo £250 ones)

mann, can i borrow your bouncy castle? :) its the only thing i missing (apart from the mammoth but my elephant is good enough :))

you still fail to answer some of my HD related questions but i think we have had enough on this one :) lets put our toys away now :)

[Monkey]

I thought...

The article was about a firmware update...

Or do you have to read it backwards to find the hidden message about the cock waving contest?

[Rolf Harris]

@Monkey

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA - thanks for that, how appropriate.

But seriously though, mine's bigger than yours.

[Abe]

@ Liam

I'll Give you my mammoth if you give me your speakers :)

I'm guessing your day at work was going as slow as mine :)

[Monkey]

Rolf

Well yeah, but then someone mentioned "PS3 firmware update" and I just got this massive chubby cause my 360 is better....

Oh wait, I thought my PS3 was better because it hasn't blown up.

No, no, my Wii was better cause my mom likes it.

Sorry I was wrong, my PC is better cause the volume goes up to 11 and it can make cups of tea (if the drivers worked properly for the kettle).

I'm confused now. There was me thinking I was meant to be enjoying all the machines when in actual fact they are just about another excuse to brawl and fight about something else. I apologise people for being so wrong...

Yeah yours is bigger Rolf. Must be all that firmware......!

[M]

@"Not enough good games for PS3"

Er...2007 called and wants its opinions back.