Hi everyone. Here’s a preview of the next PLAYSTATION 3 firmware update (2.00) scheduled to release within the next few days. This update contains features that will allow you to receive news directly from us on everything PlayStation, enhance the way you access and organize your media, and allow you to customize your XMB in new ways.
Here’s a closer look at the new features:
You’ll notice this icon in the Network category of the XMB. This is the Information Board.
Once activated, you’ll notice scrolling headlines in the upper right-hand corner of your screen. We’ll be delivering the latest news on new games, PLAYSTATION Store updates, hardware, accessories and lots more through the Information Board. Click on the Information Board icon and you’ll be able to see all of the headlines and click through for more detail. The headlines and associated stories will be updated on a regular basis. You can choose not to display the Information Board, but you never know what you might miss, so I’d recommend keeping it on.
We’ve added a nice enhancement to Remote Play called Remote Start, to use Remote Play locally or from a Wi-Fi hotspot, you needed to make sure that your PS3 was on. With Remote Start this is no longer necessary. As long as your PS3 is in standby mode, you’ll be able to turn your PS3 on remotely via the PSP. You can then use Remote Play to access media on your PS3, and when you’re finished you can put your PS3 back into standby mode.
Another feature we’ve added with this update is the ability to set themes on your PS3. Themes will change the whole look of your XMB; the background, icons, and in some cases sounds on your XMB will completely change. We will be providing themes on PlayStation.com and through the PLAYSTATION Store. Once you have downloaded a theme, under Settings go to Theme Settings, select Theme and then choose a theme to display or install a new theme. We are also providing the ability for you to get creative and make your own original themes.
We’ve also added a new way to organize your photos and music on the PS3 – you can now create custom playlists for all of your music and photos.
Finally, regular readers of this blog may have noticed that I’m using a new avatar. You will see that logo above on your XMB representing the new PLAYSTATION Network category. You’ll find the PLAYSTATION Store and Account Management in this category.
We’ve added several other features in this update. I’ll soon be back with more details with a quick video demo of some of the new features.
As always thanks for all of your support and feedback.
Why don’t you guys relax about the in game XMB. Yes, it would be great but we have survived this long without one. Also, I would not want to wait any longer for an update. I love getting the once a month even if it is just to update compatibility with titles. I’m sure the in game XMB is coming soon. This update is great. Let’s enjoy.
HOLY FUDGE, this is awesome.
Getting there, improve PSN and give me access to the XMB while in game(at least some items) and I’ll be the happiest gamer ever.
And for the people that don’t have a PS3 yet, I recommend you (SONY) bundle an HDMI cable and a headset. (NOTE: THEY DON’T HAVE TO BE THE MOST EXPENSIVE)
“I’m a successful videogame forum psoter”
that sounds like “I’m idiot” in some way.
@326
I don’t think Sony has ever said one way or another that they don’t have the hardware in place to do it. I could be wrong about that. I just want them to give us a little information. Can they do it? Are they planning to have a global update to support it? This was a big deal last November and they made mention of taking care of it and then just stopped talking about it.
I am not angry or going to take my PS3 back or anything, I would just like some response. Not neccisarily from Eric but someone at Sony. This does affect many of us.
Remote start is totally awesome. I have a projector and don’t need to turn that on for just a few minutes to check if a download is done or somebody messaged me. So I really appreciate using the PSP screen for that. But if you couldn’t turn the PS3 on and off it wasn’t as useful as it will be now.
Your face is idiot, so it’s all even… I’m the smash hit forum/blog poster. I’m GAMESBLOW… king of trolls, jimmy jack cat scratch.
CAN THE AMOUNT OF RAM IN THE PS3 HANDLE IN-GAME XMB!!!! Be honest sony. This is not dissappointing because of the rumor about 2.0 leaked on the internet. This is dissappointing because everyone from gamers to critics have been asking for this since the release of the ps3. Also, did you really need a survey to the G.A.P. to tell you that all we want is in-game xmb? Doesnt seem like your listening even though you swear you are.
In short you could have left out every feature you just announced and released a 2.0 update with ONLY in-game XMB and gotten better comments in your blog than this.
“king of trolls,”
Well now we’re getting somewhere.
Admitting you’re a troll is the first step.
The next step is GTFO.
LMAO! without even bothering to read anyone elses comments already…i decided to scrol to the very bottom because as great of an update this is…someone is gonna whine about “NO IN GAME XMB?!? WTF! I HATE YOU SONY!!!” lol and a few posts above mine…”where the hell is in game xmb???” Seriously…wait til Home is released…I can almost sacrifice my soul that, that will be when the in game xmb will be announced officially or implemented. For now…hey maybe they’re trying to do little bits at a time so they can do it without f’ing up everything in the process? Who knows! God we’re getting all these great games which hardly give me any time to even care about whats going on in the menu! Except Thursdays ;-P besides that…i’m really into my Folklore, Skate, Tony Hawk, soon to be Smackdown Vs Raw 08, Assassins Creed, CoD…but yeah…lets keep whining about in game xmb….
Seems to me that the people mad about in-game XMB are the ones who have Xboxes. Well, take your negative attitudes and go play your 360s, then!
It’s a nice feature, along with custom soundtracks, but not vital. My guess is that in-game invites and chat will be a large part of Home as opposed to any firmware updates.
Custom soundtracks, when added will still be at the whim of the software developers, since they pay a lot for the music in a game and may not just let users change this.
Sony has some really cool features in this update that I can’t wait to try out, with custom XMB modifications. I hope Sony makes a Mac version of the XMB modification tool…
As a owner of a PSP, Remote Play is amazing. This new Remote Start feature is important, as who really wants to leave their PS3s on all day.
Video and Game classification folders, additional video codecs along with video file upsampling are the most important features Sony should add in the to the PS3 in the next 6 months.
Please, don’t be coy with me… I’ve ran a tight ship on my blog for almost a year now. I’ve spoke the sony gospel over and over and theyv’e offered us nothing but lousy software, lousy firmware, lousy features… Just lousy, man. I’m glad you like to support dying things, but I’m more interested in the here and now. Right now, it’s bleak.
Hey Eric,
I noticed something in the Video of the new firmware..
Underneath the PLAYSTATION Network Icon, at the bottom there is a “Store Previews” Folder instead of the usual PS Store Bag.
Does this mean You’ve intergrated the PS Store directly into the XMB?
A response would be really cool. Appreciate it.
lol @ ass kissers.
The update sounds good but im disappointed that we have to wait for the in game xmb.
Wasn’t it about the games? How come we’re only caring about communication all of a sudden? I remember a couple of months ago “where are all the demos?!?” now we get the demos…god…i don’t even wanna bother its gonna make me wanna buy a 360 and leave it on all night so my house sets on fire…err..oops XD
Anyway..
HEY ERIC! Great info! I was just wondering, can we download stuff from our PSP’s and also see the progress through our PSP’s? Cuz that would be awesome, I have classes Thursday nights so not being able to turn off my PS3 til a couple of hours later is a bit…scary lol I know my PS3 can stand being on for that long…but I guess my PS3 is like my baby, I’d want to be there for it when its doing stuff for example, its first steps, learning to walk,etc etc…oh and take those examples as you will…but I think you get the idea :-D
@ XxBigP123xX
Post of the century!
Sony’s @ss has it’s own line of fanboy chapstick.
Puckers… the new chapstick from Sony!
@ gamesblow.
You’re a joke.
/end transmission.
I wonder if that’d be successful for sony, since nothing else seems to be at the moment.
@359 LiQuiFiEdArT
What video? Eric didn’t give us the link yet, did he?
if he did, I I didn’t see it, please post the link for us….
All i have to say are that these features are cool….
BUT, BUT, BUT….
WE NEED IN-GAME XMB, I wanna be able to send a message in the middle of a game to my friend, not exit the game to read the message, it ruins the gaming experience!!!
Bring back the gaming experience!!!
Thanks for the clarification Eric Lempel! I am excited to hear what else you have in store for the v2.0 Firmware Update!
To everyone complaining:
I can assure you that Sony and it’s employees constantly strive to satisfy its customers. They listen, trust me! I agree that the XMB isn’t perfect but it’s disrespectful to whine people.
Be thankful that Sony gives you the opportunity to share your thoughts and ideas with them. I understand that you’re very hungry gamers looking for a better experience but you must be patient. . . we don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes so it’s not our place to judge.
if its the ram that is the problem then sony why not make code for in-game XMB and then get Developers to add it to their games then it becomes part of the game and if you SONY create it developers wont moan as much about having to dedicate man hours to it just a thought
i have heard about 6 months ago that it is a ram issue because the game is using all the ram and cant spare any to jump to XMB without SLOWING the whole system to a STOP
Holy dear god. Who let the kids online? should you guys be @ school or something, instead of [DELETED] and moaning?
XMB in game would be cool and will help things along but I doubt we will see that till we get near home, so till then, expect to be desapointed.
Having said that, this is actually a very nice update. Its growing what the XMB is and really allowing for some awesome creativeness so I for one am excited.
Even more so, I love that I can tap into my PS3 while im @ work now because I got alot of spare time (Sorry Sony, I work for Apple) But hey, maybe one day ill switch sides, till then, loving the new update.
Remember, people will always bitch about something. First it was “MORE DEMOS” before it was “UPCONVERSION”, now its “XMB in GAME!!!”
the minute you give them that, it will be something else, “NO 4D? WTF!”
Having said that, keep to your community too, you need them more then ever.
Dear Sony business people who are out of touch with your targeted consumer market,
Hey it’s me… your target consumer market.
You know, the 18-25 year old, intelligent male buyer with no kids, not many bills, moderate amount of disposable income, bought more than 40 PS2 games last generation… You know… THAT guy. Looks like you aren’t doing so hot at the moment. I like you guys, but you’re making me look dumb for supporting you all the time. I told you to listen, but you just keep ignoring me. *Sigh* Oh well, I guess you prefer doing things the hard way; the hard way being to lose money until you can no longer afford to ignore further mistakes, then desperately scrambling to try and half-implement features and fixes that should have been put in months earlier or at the very start.
Tell you what. Like I said, I like you guys. So, here’s 5 steps you need to take to make me look smart again:
1. Use your built-in upscaler chip to… oh, I don’t know UPSCALE ALL graphics to 1080p. I mean I know it’s hard, but if you’re not sure how, just take a look at how you have the PS3 do it for DVDs and uh… well, actually why not just use that?
2. Rip a bunch of GOOD and / or RARE PS1 games to the store and charge us 5 to 10 bucks to download them on our PS3 / PSP. Liiiike maybe, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VII, Xenogears, Tomba, Einhander. You did surprise me with Castlevania : Symphony of the Night though (Seriously. AWESOME choice.) I hate Spyro and Coolboarders though. I mean, there’s illegal versions of all sorts of PS1 games all over the internet that can be found every day, so it can’t be that hard to give us a legal way of getting them! Just get those guys to give them to you!
3. While you’re at it, how about something like GOOD / Rare PS2 games to download and play on the PS3 and if possible PSP! Oh wait… you… got rid of PS2 backward compatibility… *Pbthh* Scratch that one.
4. iPod compatibility. This thing called the Xbox 360 (which I bought back in April after getting tired of waiting for PS3 games) does something like that… which is weird because of that whole Zune thing. I mean, they frikkin’ COMPETE with the iPod but were smart enough to implement fairly robust compatibility with it.
5. Full in-game XMB access… You know; custom soundtracks, standardized voice / video-chatting across all games, internet browsing (which should be standardized into something like Firefox by the way), store access, that sort of stuff. I just figured I’d mention that one because it seems no one else is talking about it.
Well, that’s 4 things I guess, but hey! I decided to take one away after saying I’d give you 5. I know it won’t bother you guys though, because you do that kind of stuff all the time to us!
Here’s to you Sony! Thanks for listening to us! Now excuse me while I go wait in my tiny corner of hope for DualShock 3 with improved SixAxis motion control response time and no bluetooth dropped connections, LittleBigPlanet, and MGS4… and maybe Final Fantasy XIII (all versions; Cristal, Fabulosa Mimosa, and Extra-Barbeque flavor).
Anyone who disagrees with me is just jelly of my fame and success as a video game forum poster/blogger. That’s all their is to it. I bring the grind and twist and that’s just that. Deal with it…
Heres a suggestion. When if you get messages, sometimes later on you will forget you have a message so it would be useful if the information bar told you if there any unread messages outstanding. How about when you press the HOME button, it cycles through the different options/displays.
Another idea is when in-game XMB is available, you can get to it by press the home button once, however if you hold the home button for 3 seconds, it will land you into the current screen we are getting right now (Quit Game, the controller stuff etc)
And finally, you can use your right anologue stick to control the famous PS3 wave in the background.
Gamesblow, give me a break. Cory Balrog leaving is a sign of Sony’s impending doom? Sure, but Peter Moore leaving Microsoft is a sign of it’s continued dominance…somehow. You want compensation for your purchases? Play the games you buy, that’s your compensation. Microsoft and Nintendo have a bigger holiday lineup? All you mentioned was Mass Effect for 360, and Mario for Wii. Sony has Uncharted, which you talk about, but fail to mention Haze. Or the fact that next year’s announced lineup looks awesome for Playstation owners and pretty desolate for everyone else: LBP, Killzone 2, and MGS 4 – All PS3 exclusives. Your arguments are too onesided for you to be considered anything but a fanboy.
Everything 371 said is spot on! That’s me. Right there… nuff said.
@371 and 375. Your iPod does work with your PS3….
I didn’t say him leaving was a sign of doom… I said it was “bad news” big difference…
Remote start will be nice, if it works. I can connect my PSP to my PS3 through my access point but whenever I try to connect from a different access point, even if I’ve put the PS3 in the DMZ, I get a timeout error. Hopefully they’ll make the connection more reliable.
Hey Eric,
I noticed something in the Video of the new firmware..
Underneath the PLAYSTATION Network Icon, at the bottom there is a “Store Previews” Folder instead of the usual PS Store Bag.
***************
Does this mean You’ve intergrated the PS Store directly into the XMB?
***************
A response would be really cool. Appreciate it.
Video HERE: http://www.gamesradar.com/us/ps3/game/news/article.jsp?sectionId=1006&articleId=20071107152123607099&releaseId=20060314115917309058
Fire Eric,
If he’s responsible for this part of PS3 to be successful, well perhaps it’s time to give the responsibility to someone else.
http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=21559422
@380
BAM! That one has went out of the park…
gamesblow you suck at life and everything, now, gtfo!
“Anyone who disagrees with me is just jelly of my fame and success as a video game forum poster/blogger. That’s all their is to it. I bring the grind and twist and that’s just that. Deal with it…”
Just curious…how do you be jelly?
Pretty disappointing gentlemen.
Oops, I meant Barlog, not Balrog. And another thing, if Jaffe left because he sensed Sony was on the chopping block why is his new company only working on Sony exclusives at the moment?
Also people, let’s remember Sony’s track record. We unanimously wanted backround downloading – we got it. We wanted more demos on the PSN – we got them. We want in-game XMB – we’ll get it.
Someone definately needs to be fired.
Well, gamesblow, you were gone long enough that I could actually watch your pathetic videoblog on myspace.
Anyway, at least there you have the guts to come out and admit you are “leaning toward the other side” i.e. M$.
I challenge you to admit, in public, on THIS BLOG, that you are a ****ing M$ fanboy..
That is my challange…
Your “successful career as a videogame blog poster” hangs in the balance…..
I recommend all of you who are complaining to read the article at innerbits.com, because it explains the current problems with the PS3 RAM (the XMB uses too much and there just isn’t enough available to do a full in-game XMB just yet. It’s like trying to fit a large elephant into a tiny box, just can’t happen).
Anyway, I’m glad I can turn on my PS3 remotely now with my PSP (well, I have two of them now. :D ). I also think the themes look really cool and I like the new network section. Can’t wait. :D
For the peopl that say, i don’t use it, you dont ned In-Game XMB to play or enjoy your game. For many quitting a game to answer and respond ruins the online experience.
When we talk features, this is what make a good system or a Great system. Hell we don’t ahve to have any thsi stuff to play games on it, but what value do you have in that?
This is what happens when you all get lathered up on rumors of impending firmwares…look around. Some of you are snarling, foaming at the mouth naysayers who threaten to leave but stay here and refresh the blog.
Fact is, these sony guys aren’t ever going to get it right by you. Theres always going to be some feature you’ll focus your existance on – then when it is available you’ll use it then find it was easier the old way. Put the gun down and play a game.
If you don’t think that blog “providing you listen to the right one” wasn’t logical, you’re the fanboy. Not me… and that’s sad, cause I’m a pretty big fanboy.
@ gamesblow:
and i quote you saying “Sony has lost themselves and they’ve lost me as a consumer. Bye.” if you’re saying bye, then LEAVE, take Lucifer with you and go give each other reacharounds all day long. cry cry cry, if you want more from something else go there…join a same$ex bar with ur M$ buddies, im sure u’ll fit in fine until then mean what you say, just as you expect sony to and when you say BYE, get out!
I can’t believe I’m saying this but….Microsoft listens to their customers better than you do Sony. Looks like I’ll be trading in my PS3 this christmas for a 360. Mass Effect here I come.
What is this M$ buddies stuff? I’m the most well known Sony fanboy on the internet… I get over 30,000 hits a week on my blog because I am such a loyalist. What is this M$ fanboy junk? please..
How hard can it be to be able to read my messages and see who is online anytime