UPDATE: The Firmware 1.90 update is available now; I’ve also included an update below that addresses some of your comments here.
Firmware 1.90 brings with it several new features, many of which readers of this blog have requested – I’m happy to report.
Customization is one new feature: you can now personalize the wallpaper on your XMB with a photo. This was one of the top three requests we received via the blog’s contact form. When viewing a photo, simply bring up the options screen by pressing the triangle button and selecting “set as wallpaper” from the options displayed. Additionally, you can now change the order of the games displayed under the game icon on the XMB.
Another new feature focuses on added communication elements: When you’re sending messages to friends on PLAYSTATION Network, you can now use emoticons. We’ve added a bunch of emoticons that can be easily accessed from the virtual keyboard. Also, another cool addition is, when an avatar is displayed during voice/video chat, the avatar will move in response to audio.
Finally, on the more technical side, you can now play AVCHD videos saved on a Memory Stick or digital video camera, and we’ve added the ability to upscale audio CD output from your PS3. Now, there are two requirements for this feature: the device you’re outputting to must support a sampling frequency of 88.2 kHz or 176.4 kHz, and your PS3 must be connected to that device with an HDMI cable or digital optical cable.
Oh, and one more thing: you can now eject discs using your controller by selecting “Eject Disc” in the options menu after you push the PS button.
Several other minor options will be included in 1.90 including a few new display options that will allow you to adjust your display while playing PlayStation, PlayStation2 and Blu-ray movies.
We’re working on additional features for our next update that will incorporate more of your feedback, so as always thanks for all of your support, and please keep those suggestions coming!
[UPDATE]
The link on the SCEA website is now live, you can get the full info on firmware 1.90 here. Also, I noticed a lot of your comments were directly related to accessing XMB features in-game. We understand this is something you want and we are working on it. For the sake of keeping all the comments below on topic, please understand that we hear this request and are working toward a solution. When I have some more info to share on this, know that I will do so here on this blog.Now, with all of that said, thanks for the feedback. I decided to address some of the consistent comments in the body of this post instead of within the comments. One thing you have noticed is that under sorting your games, when you sort by creation date, it sorts by the date you downloaded the content. Sorting videos is done by the date that the videos were added to your hard drive. You can also ‘go-to’ a specific time in any of the videos on your HDD, by hitting triangle and then selecting the specific time from the clock at the bottom.
Something a few of you have noticed as well is that you don’t need to have the SIXAXIS controller connected to PS3 through the USB cable anymore to complete the update, which I know is something some of you were asking for.
@GAME-HERO
Wish we had more people like you….
Though custom music and in-game access to the XMB would be nice, I would like sometime very minor, that is when you’re only playing a PS3 or an arcade game that the name of the game you’re playing is shown under yout avatar, I would like something like the music symbol to show when you’re playing music, the movie symbol when you’re watching a trailer or DVD or BLU-RAY.
You get my drift, I don’t know if a minor feature like that would be possible, I hope some SCEA official reads this and looks into it~
so typical people get one small update and they praise sony but when the people that complain wich imo have the right to complain after paying 600 plus dollars for a console were suppose to be grateful for getting an update well incase u didnt reliaze this we paid for the console its there job to provide us with things for the console and sony not commenting and ignoring are neeeds like ingame xmb proves my point.
oh yeah! besided the In-Game Custom Music, it’d be also good to have like
folders.
i’m happy to see the eject cd feature
but as everyone else
i also want in game xmb or the ability to read messages in game.
wouldn’t it be good if sony actually implemented the features in the fake version 2.00 feature list.
hopefull sony will add these features in the next update
h901
@thechosenfew88
“Sony realizes that one of the most wanted features is that.”
really now???…really???…sooooooo…then you work on the team resposible for performing this task???
when i hear straight from the horses mouth which in this case would be Eric Lempel that they are currently working on in-game xmb for the next update…then and ONLY then will i keep asking for in-game xmb….so for those that keep talkin sh*t…just accept the fact that im not going anywhere and no matter what you tell me to do or not do is going to change that.
SO DEAL WITH IT…i deal with you…and that shall conclude my posts…i unfortunately dont have the priviledge of sitting in front of my computer all day typing on a BLOG..or the office job where i do nothing all day but IM and download music
All these people just taking up space with saying the same thing over again should just get the “ban hammer”. We don’t need that on here. Anyways can’t wait for the updates was really hoping for in game messages and invites but this will do. Hopefully v2.0 will deliver all the goods.
Next thing should also be support for more video formats (wmv, avi, DivX, Xvid, etc.)
Great job on the wallpaper thing.
The updates that we all like to see next time are:
1) In-Game XMB access.
2) An instant-messeging program, for MSN, Yahoo etc. Most people forget to post about this but everyone wants it.
3) Macromedia Flash Player.
4) Customized soundtracks.
5) A better web browser (no more “ran out of memory”).
I am looking forward to this update
Capri86 quoted
I though when watching a movie (blu-ray or dvd) that it signed you out of PSN and then you signed back on when you hit the XMB… the music though you are still signed in… it would be nice to say you are busy though and not really logged off when watching movies.
I hope we get this tomorrow~
Wow just like me EVERYONE wants that in game XMB lol hope that comes sooner rather then later
I though when watching a movie (blu-ray or dvd) that it signed you out of PSN and then you signed back on when you hit the XMB… the music though you are still signed in… it would be nice to say you are busy though and not really logged off when watching movies.
I don’t think it signs you off when you’re watching a movie….to be honest I’m not really sure~
Great that you guys are adding custom wallpapers finally but here’s my TOP 6 features to be added.
6. Custom videos as background like the wallpapers but the videos move.
5. More video codecs support like Divx, Xivd, ect.
4. Where’s the love for the Yellow Dog Linux that you guys talked bout before the launch of the PS3?
3. More Demos and PS1 games, dont get me wrong I’m glad you guys came out with a new PS1 game “Best PS1 game” but lets face it the box with the x in front of it they call an xbox 360 has more demos out than the Wii and the PS3 put together so hopefully this will change before than.
2. Access to the XMB and play custom music WHILE PLAYING PS3 games would truely give mircosoft some worries.
AND FINALLY 1. This feature is actually for BOTH the PS3 and the PSP because………my major problem is that I like being able to access all my things from the PS3 to the PSP through ANY WIFI signal including all my stuff inside my PC with the PS3 but the problem is that I dont want to have to go to the PS3 and set the remote play on WHILE my PS3 remains on…….instead why not have it to where all you have to do is go to remote play on the PSP and the PS3 goes to remote play BUT INSTEAD OF BEING ON IT GOES TO STANDBY MODE AND YOU CAN STILL GET TO ALL YOUR STUFF. Does this make any sense to anyone?
Sorry this is such a long list but i just hope i got the point across and that everybody likes this list Thanks Sony for creating this blog for the people like us.
capri86 I don’t think it signs you off when you’re watching a movie….to be honest I’m not really sure~
The only reason i really thinks it signs you off is because when I get done watching a movie it says that I’m signing back in.
Hi all ingame message is what we all really want and need please guys lets have this asap …please o and thanks for the updates ….
@ gregblog | July 23rd, 2007 at 7:59 am
No, you’re not. I live in NYC and PS3’s are getting no love from the stores out here. EB Games and Game Stop never seems to have the PS3s on to showcase to people. Once I start to ask questions. They claim that there’s something wrong with the PS3, LCDs or the plugs etc… There’s always a clever excuse. Instead, they just tell you why don’t you just get a 360. There’s nothing good on PS3 yet.
I’ve post about this before. Someone from Sony really needs to get on these issues. These store are constantly twisting the customers arms to buy the 360 over PS3.
@Dexter48 They’ve had plenty of time to come up with an update to play more videos, but they keep wasting time on things like changing the XMB background. Im glad that they’re adding functionality, but they’re adding the wrong functionality. DLNA was a complete waste of time. You cant even fast forward and it hangs up half of the time. When did it become OK for consumers to pay top dollar for expensive equipment, only to receive half the advertised functionality, and then be expected to give praise and have patience for the slow to come updates that may or may not give us the functionality we paid for in the first place. This is not a good business practice and we must not let Sony think that it is. So im calling it how it is. CRAP!
Here’s hoping that the Heavenly Sword demo hits US shores on Thursday.
XMB In-Game with friend list, please.
@Deathsknight Bravo!! I agree.
im a mac user so i was wondering if i would ever be able to install mac OSX on my ps3
the new version of the operating system is comeing out soon and if i can install it on the ps3 ill buy the version were you can install the os multiple times
@ Deathsknight
If some praise Sony for these minor updates, then thats on them. I see it as Sony taking the steps and getting closer and closer to all the features people want. I for example will praise Sony for such updates like 1.90, because of the steps they are taking compared to Microsoft with their 360. Yes, the 360 has most of the features most in here are asking for, but Sony is taking the necessary steps throughout time and they are figuring out how to implement these new ideas to the PS3.(Although some are already on PSP, so in a way they aren’t new).
@ Louscifer
By Sony stating that one of the “three” most wanted features was the XMB custom backgrounds, I’m pretty sure in game XMB access falls in at 1st or 2nd. You wouldn’t even have to be working for the team to think that, seeing how many people post that feature on t his blog a lone. Leaving of course all the other blogs around the internet, and playstation related websites. I understand your frustration, its ok though, your name on this blog says it all. What is your purpose in life? To aggravate Sony into making in game XMB access a feature? Probably is….. Your comments will easily be ignored once people see who the comment was written by.
We really want the Custom Music option which was actually shown to be possible on the PS3 a long time ago
Great update!
I would have to agree with most that
1.) in game xmb
2.)in game music
3.) More video and audio codex
4.) I also like the PSP remote play suggestion Phdfatty.
I see our reqeusts are being heard so just a matter of time!
It’s probably been posted over 300 times already, but everyone wants in-game xmb access. now.
I’d really like to see more video formats supported. How about the same wide .mp4 comaptibility that my 360 has. I’d love to play my huge .mp4 collection on my PS3 instead of my 360, but I would have to do massive conversions plus my file size would grow. XviD and DivX support would be great too.
Also, changing the night colors would be great.
Custom avatars, please. That list of avatars is weak.
Sony: To get us to shutup, make a post on here today about how you are working on in-game XMB and when it should be out.
@Eric Lempel
Definitely good job keeping up on some of the things that we’ve all been asking for. These features are further proof that good things are bound to come with the PS3.
@Everyone on the blog
Like Eric said, let’s keep those suggestions coming! They really are listening to us, and to make 2.0 or even 1.95 interesting, let’s start brainstorming some ideas of things we’d like to see, while keeping in mind reasonability and let’s also try to create some new ideas that will help the PS3 really get some cred, just for it’s operating system alone! There are a few features that we would obviously all love to see, and at this rate, I can guarantee that we will see them soon enough, so we will do this in a bullet style, going from most abstract, or in other words things we would like, but are easy for them to pull off right away, then we will remind them of the things we have been asking for. Sound good? I’ll start off the sound!
*New PlayStation 3 Firmware Requests*
– Folder labeling and organization options.
This one really applies to the idea of being able to label, and organize your music/video/photo folders the way you would on a PC, allowing us, the users to constructively create our own individual PS3 media setup. i.e., being able to have a “User Icons” folder under [Photo] on the XMB.
– User Preference Settings Save Options
One of the things currently kind of buggin me right now, and I’m sure it irks others as well, is that the system does not have the ability to save it’s file sorting options that it provides. I have a large collection of music on my PS3, which because of the lack of customizable folders (SEE ABOVE) the XMB implements a “Sort By” feature. This feature, while useful, always resets when you go play a game, or turn off the system. There is easily enough HDD space to address this. Each user should be able to put in their own sorting style, and have it be remembered by the system.
– In-Game Screenshots
Now, this one may be a ways off in terms of usability and functionality, but wouldn’t it be neat to take screenshots in a game, like a PC can? This idea would more than likely be issued alongside the In-Game XMB option that it bound to happen soon enough. I would just find it neat if when you press the PS button in a game, it would have an option saying [Take Screenshot] or something of the sort. And it would take a picture in full 1080p (or whatever native resolution the game supports) and adds it to a folder under [Photo] leaving you will a nice HD still of the game you’re playing! It’s a stretch, but it could be considered!
– Multiple User Login/Profile Assignment
This one is just a personal preference, and a definite way to court some new consumers into buying a PS3. The Xbox 360 has the feature to assign controllers to profiles, allowing for the person using the second controller to utilize their own game saves while still playing against their friends, on their own profiles. This feature I would direly LOVE to see the PS3 implement. It would definitely shine some light on the PS3’s multiplayer aspect, and bring a lot more interest into the idea of gaming with your friends, on your PS3.
– More Music Visualizer Styles
Now, this one is bound to happen, and I wouldn’t be surprised if 2.0 came with a whole slew of new ones, but I thought it was worth mentioning anyways. The standard music visualizer on the PS3 is extremely stimulating, and is not like anything I have ever seen before. Now with that said, it still would be nice to see more options, or even, the ability to manipulate what you see when you listen to music on it. Such as being able to play with the color scheme, or visualizer style with the analog sticks, breeding the innovative idea of turning your music, into a game! Ok, so maybe that sounds a bit abstract, but you can’t say it wouldn’t be neat!
– Refine the PlayStation Storefront
This one people have been clamoring for, and I’m sure that it will get smoother and smoother all the time, but for focus to be put on it, would make a lot of gamers, and consumers happy for the time being. Our ability to purchase content from the PlayStation Store is a key bit of success for this generation. Downloadable content is key, and while I’m pretty happy with the current content, the accessibility is a bit, well, shoddy. This just needs to be refined, made easier to look at on a console. I’m sure this will all change very much when HOME is launched, but until then, maybe a little work?
– In-Game XMB
Yeah, yeah, I had to mention it. This I am absolutely freakin positive you guys are working on, but I feel it’s always worth mentioning. This feature will be extremely satisfying when released and will give us, the gamers, something to really be excited for. The ability to access our music and things are extremely important to us, for custom soundtracks are something that the PlayStation brand has never had. But now you have the power guys, do it up!
Feel free to continue this list for features YOU would like to see come sometime soon! If we all do this up in a clean noticable way, it will be easier for them to wade through it, and find common ideas, and get to work on them fast! Have fun, be creative, and let’s make the PS3 the system to own!!
Thanks for the update.
Now please give us in-game XMB (with the ability to use the Internet Browser so we can go to GameBattles.com to accept clan battles and also allow us to listen to our own music)
My list
1)Supersonic loading…its like the Load screen being there…but NOT!
2) for my PS3 to sprout out legs and sit next to me and encourage me while i’m playing games
3) PS3 cupholder, kind of like the PS3 commercials where the PS3 floats in mid air…well if it can do that…I imagine it can create a cupholder from thin air
4) Downloadable PRON! something that Nintendo would NEVER do and 360…meh who knows but wouldve been funny to see Peter Moore with a Jenna Jameson tattoo on his arm eh?
5) PS3 transforms into Barricade!!!…scratch #3 XD
6) For the PS3 to suck the energy out from all non sony products mwuahuahua. Which in turn the PS3 is nicknamed PSMK3
THEY WONT EVEN TELL US WHY IN-GAME XMB CANT BE DONE!!!
WHY WASNT IT IN AT LAUNCH? WHY WASNT IT IN 1.80 OR 1.70?????????
Gesh whats the hold up?
I buy a car and a feature is missing I wanna know why i dont have it!
wow sony is really giving us the cold shoulder today not even one reply to let its consumers know whats going on.
why are you guys not answering any question?????????
355 p and still………..what the hell
Step by step your guys improving the ps3 to be the ultimate console!
Nice job and keep it going, we cant have enough =D
@Madness3120
They won’t tell you why it “cannot” be done because you have to demonstrate an understanding of how programming works for them to try to explain it to you. It CAN be done, and I bet you good money it IS being done, it just takes a while to work out all the bugs on a substantial system update like that. Making sure EVERY GAME will work flawlessly with it, and making sure it doesn’t have the ability to corrupt the system is what’s taking it so long to get out. The way that they have been releasing FW updates is a sign that 2.0 will more than likely have it, so chill your bones man! 2.0 will implement it, and 3.0 will fully blossom it as a usable feature through HOME. Do you think they would really listen to all these people asking for it and NOT DO IT?
Good stuff. But why can’t the rest of the world get the same firmware update at the same time as Japan? Isn’t it essentially the same, just a differend default language?
In-game XMB – we’re still waiting for it.
I have a request, albeit a small one, for a future update. Have you considered allowing users to upload custom avatars? I think that would be a great addition to the PSN’s already great service.
Very cool. I cant wait haha, even though the wallpaper right now is kinda cool, messing around with it be pretty awesome. In-game music would be alright for some games, but there are games that the background ambience is just right.
I agree with phDFatty(Even though I posted this earlier in the comments) that there whould be a merge between remote play-folding or that the PS3 should go to standby. I have Solar so I pay less but still that’s just weak.
Ok. you want our suggestions here it comes…
1) XMB access in-game with internet browser
2) custom soundtrack for games
3) .avi playback
4) an alert that inform you that you miss a new message . Not only 1 alert when it just came.
5) music and video downloads
6) new visualization for music playback
7) be able to navigate with our hands in the XMB with the new eyetoy (like the minority report thing)
8) full java and flash support for internet browser
9) more ps1 games on PSN (why it take so long and more good games please…FF7 + GT + RPG)
10) PS2 games on PSN
PS: when the new eyetoy will be release?
I recently bought a PS3 over the weekend and when I created a User and registered on the Playstation Network and connected to the store, the store was from the UK. I live in the USA, all my details such as address on the PSN account are related to the USA and the PS3 was bought in the USA on July 19. I cannot change the region via the Account Management option from the PS3. I contacted Live Support which told me to contact SCEA directly. I contacted them a few minutes ago and was told that noone on Tech Support was aware that users had this problem and could not change their region via the PS3 and they had no idea how to do it from their end. I am a member of the G.A.P. and registered my PS3 with that account which is also correct as in the USA. The region is stated as the United Kingdom instead of the correct region which should be United States. This blog would appear to be my last resort if live chat and tech support were both unaware of the problem and unable to assist me in anyway.
Hopefully someone can help me with this so I can access the PSN store correctly with the Online ID I want to have. If your only responses are to create a new account, that would mean I lose a bit of my individuality having to change what is already registered.
I also tried to email someone on the blog directly using the email us link however I kept getting “ERROR: Your remarks is invalid.” with no further explanation.
we need to not have to press the PS button to connect the controller to PS1 PS2 games
man in my eyes another worthless update….only this worth it in this 1 is backgrounds……WHEN ARE WE GONNA GET IN GAME XMB!!!!!!!!!!!!
In-game xmb has to be coming in 2.00
What is the big deal with in game XMB? Why on earth do you need access to the XMB while playing games so badly? Just play the damn games online and have fun.
I can’t wait to change my PS3 wallpaper. Thanks a lot for update SCE and I’m definitely looking forward to it.
@TheHeartlessHero
Sadly, you are right man. The only way I know to be able to register right is to create another User and then log in. It will prompt you to sign in at PS Store.