OK, here’s the PS Blog’s plan for E3, tell me what you think (suggestions are welcome): Live Blog the PlayStation Press Conference, show floor updates, previews, Q&As, more developer interviews (including folks from Insomniac Games).
We’ll start off tomorrow with: This week’s PLAYSTATION Store plan (this will answer most of the questions you’ve been asking recently) and a big update on a game we *haven’t* been talking about for a little while.
Below you’ll find the stories we found interesting over the past week. As always, feel free to share your favorite links in the comments below. Comments may take longer than usual to appear – we’re on our way to LA.
Speaking of which, I hope to meet you Tuesday!
The PS Blog weekly reading list (Week of 6/30)
- LocoRoco 2 is 75% complete, more biting confirmed – Destructoid
- Stream YouTube videos directly to your XMB – PS3 Fanboy
- Konami continues MGS4 DLC support with new music – PS3 Fanboy
- 10 Questions: Insomniac’s Ted Price – GameDaily
- LocoRoco 2 Confirmed, Detailed – 1UP
- Make Sackboy papercraft, Media Molecule shows how – PS3 Fanboy
- PS3: Sony Combines Zombies And… Google Earth – Kotaku
- Patapon 2 Announced – 1UP
- Siliconera and PSP Fanboy present the Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 charity tournament – PSP Fanboy
- Meet with PS fanboys in LA next week – PS3 Fanboy
- 2.41 Firmware Brings New PS3 Platinum Trophy – Kotaku
- Editorial: Why I Prefer Sony Controllers – PSXextreme
I can’t wait to see what you guys have in store for us this week on the PS Store. I hope there are some goodies in there and I can’t wait to download Elefunk:)
I love the thing about viewing YouTube videos straight from the XMB! I’m gonna have to try that out…
I hope that game recieving the big update is warhawk…im tired of waiting to finaly start getting me some trophies
Ooo, I wonder what game it is that you *haven’t* talked about much…
For E3, my suggestions are as follows:
-Anything from Insomniac, including footage, interviews, screenshots, etc. I just love hearing from and reading about those guys. I simply can’t get enough.
-PSN titles that we haven’t heard much or anything about. If there are any indy developers there, seeing some of their stuff would be pretty cool.
-Footage and other content related to RPGs.
-God of War III footage and/or news? :D
-Hook up with some people while you’re there to maybe post on the blog some time. Naughty Dog perhaps?
-Enjoy yourself.
Have a good E3, Jeff! :D
I think this is all do-able. Thanks for the suggestions.
Oh, and as for the links: LocoRoco 2 and Patapon 2!! Very sweet! I still haven’t even been able to get that Media Server thing to work at all for me, though I should have everything I need, but it’s nice to know that if I ever figure it out I can take YouTube videos right on to my PS3.
And PlayStation controllers seem to be really amazing for the gaming community, but I’ve not held another type in many years, so I really can’t tell. Still, it’s nice to be on top.
(And a little off topic: Jeff, could you possibly pass on to the firmware people that the Delete All (Shift+Backspace) shortcut is a very annoying one. I’ve deleted entire messages on a number of occasions. Just the ability to disable it would be appreciated.)
@ Jeff,
You are talking about Wipeout Pure? I hope that is on the way. p.s does it support trophies, that would be amazing.
hey Jeff
Greetings from Colombia.
Could you please make a video concerning in little big planet’s mechanincs and controls.
Pleasssssssssssssssse
Media Molecule will be in from the UK, so good idea.
Hey Jeff, I hope you will have HD video of PRess conferences? As well as some special exclusive limited time E3 goodies in PSN!
Can’t wait for the news and all E3 may tell us.
Those links to the other blogs are a nice touch too and I’ve got a feeling you’re going to get a lot of those suggestions you’re asking for.
Thanks for the post.
@ wotta – do you mean wipeout HD? yeah that would be really sweet if it supported trophies. alas we shall see.
its great to see that loco roco 2 and patapon 2 have been confirmed. vastly enjoyed both and hope the installments pick up where they left off and expand on their stories. sidenote i d/led the sackboy papercraft and hope to get started on that this week. also re-downloaded google desktop to play around with the streaming of youtube videos but found it almost impossible to watch them. hopefully it will get better.
E3 is just around the corner and I’m soooo excited to see what you guys got cooking for us.
peace,
Lh
@lakehigh, yeah sorry I meant Wipeout HD, dont know why I said pure, going mad lol.
Anyway, what do you reckon Jeff? Trophy support for Wipeout HD when it is released this week??? (wishful thinking or not??)
Ready for the story on the future update! Could it be about Home!?
Also, I wanted to ask if Rockstar planned anything for trophies on GTA4?
Forgot to say thanks for the Google media server.
Another great PS3 feature for sure !
Just installed it now; thanks.
“a big update on a game we *haven’t* been talking about for a little while.” -Jeff-
Love to hear more about God of War 3 thanks for the heads up lol :-)
Spill the beans jeff what game has’nt been talked about for awhile
and live E3 coverage right here on the blog would be nice
have fun E3 wise
Jeff, just one thing on the Google Media server…..TVersity has Youtube videos and since I tried Google after TVersity, maybe I’m prejudiced, but I like TVersity much better than the Google media server.
Just my own opinion, but thanks for the link anyways.
Jeff,
A lot of people on the internet that I have talked to were interested in Skype for the PS3. Is there any chance we will see Skype on the PS3?
I think it would be a great way to expand communications and the PSP already has a Skype service. I’m really keeping my fingers crossed.
@ Jeff
I am interested in starting the Syphon Filter Series, and i was wondering why only Syphon filter and Syphon Filter 3 is on the PS Store and Syphon Filter 2 is not.
google media server setup for PS3. :D
http://ps3mods.blogspot.com/2008/07/google-media-server-for-ps3.html
hi jeff i would like to see more as in terms of rpgs and jrpgs, because the console has already too many shooters. and a couple of good rpgs wouldnt hurt!
i hope this e3 will bring us more news on that front with titles like shirokishi monogatari aka white knight chronicles!
some one pls help me.
I downloaded Qore ep 2 but i can’t install it, it give me the error 80029564. i tried to redownload it but still give me the error any help?
why don’t my comments show
weird they showed now..anyways once again, i have 2 things to say.
1) A question for SONY at E3:
When will you fix the BD-player failure issue, that suddenly makes no disc readable?
2) About news links:
Why do you never mention any link regarding The Orange BOx PS3? Every single week does articles regarding the catastrophic port are written. Here are the 2 most recent ones, 2 letters addressed to VALVe:
1* http://ps3news.com/PlayStation3/the-orange-box-ps3-open-letter-from-petitioners/
2* http://n4g.com/up/28515/BlogPost-167417.aspx
This is what’s wrong with the Orange Box PS3 port: http://orangeboxpetition.com/
what the hell? now it showed..
Ok my question is:
SOny, when will you fix the BD-player failure issue, that makes no disc readable?
So let me form an educated guess here…
Firstly:In order for dev’s to implement retro-active trophy systems, first there needs to be a seperate hidden application that comes with the patch that picks apart the save file to figure out which trophies have already been earned etc… ? am I partly right?
Secondly:Most of us are looking forward to the new life being breathed into our games, so honestly devs cannot go wrong by either implementing or ignoring retro-active trophies. But if you want to feed some of the over-anxious trophy appetites in the community, my advice would be that some of the devs at least consider launching a trophy system without retro-activity, if it indeed would save any time whatsoever.
@Jeff
Wait a minute. Are you confirming God of War III to us?
@18 EvilStealth64
Because mostly Sony doesn’t care what psOne games they bring to the American PSN, I’d like to say it’s because they are only putting up the ones that sold the most, or will sell the most again, but that can’t possibly be true, due to the fact that Resident Evil, MGS, Final Fantasy 7,8,9 etc. are nowhere to be found. Wipeout 2 as well as a ton of others… The reason seems to be something to do with licensing, whether that is music or alternative contents, I’m guessing Sony needs to contact many individuals involved in the respective originals, in order to re-publish.
@ 26 loll with the reply i was thinking about the same thing.. There will be a teaser at least of god of war 3
Sounds good to me.See you at the “Taco shop”!
Hello Jeff, I’ve been wondering whats the deal with RockBand 2 being delayed for us?
It would be really cool if the playstation store received footage of e3 as it was happening. Maybe for this one time of year just forget about the wait till Thursday thing. Or you could wait till Thursday for the usual updates and just upload the e3 footage on demand.
@TheRocker
Microsoft likely moneyhatted EA for a timed exclusive.
Jeff
Was reading that some of the beta testers on Home are viewing you guys at E3.
Sure hope that’s an upcoming feature for Home when the rest of us can join.
On my wish list anyways.
Will we be getting another set up and deconstruction of the E3 set video like last year?
GO! SONY! do u have news about these games coming in E3: Final Fantasy XIII and Versus
Kingdom hearts 3
God of war 3
Afrika
Rockband 3
Resistance 2
PS HOME which i thought is gonna be in firmware 2.40(41) ow if sony will release these games at the same time, SONY WILL DOMINATE!!!!
God of War III will rule all! Kratos KICKS AZZ!! Please Sony, give us the magnificent 3rd story in this amazing series. (GOW PSP not included)
Also, please give us an update on this SuperStar Dust HD Team Expansion pack. Where is it? Can someone official tell us whats goin on?
wooooooooo gonna be a good week, keep up the great work Jeff! Make sure you let us know your favorite game of the show after the whole deal is done
Yaaay E3 starts tomorrow! Tell us a something Jeff. Come on, anything. :-p
“Off topic” Has anyone else seen the “hard drive being rebuilt screen”. After exiting out of The WALL-E demo my XMB would not load up properly.With just the “wave” showing and nothing else. After 20 seconds or so I reboot my PS3 and the “Hard drive being rebuilt” screen appears.Once you accept this feature your PS3 reboots and every thing is back to normal. Its happened twice since the 2.40 bonanza and never happened before that. The second time I was exiting out of a B.F.B.C game. I’m scared!
It’s either “Rat Race” or Wipeout HD. Hoping for the later, as well as PSN Cards.
off topic: I believe what all you guys at sony need to really do at this point in time is address a few things with the PSN. Like cross in-game chat, cross in-game invite, voice/video mail, video store, and more support for current features such as custom soundtracks and trophies.
This will of course eventually and gradually take place, and i bet all the marbles that this will start off this fall. plus a little things like LIFE with playstation, the rumored music store, and homE wouldn’t hurt to have around neither.
now i like the way sony works with its partners and doesn’t force them to do anything really, but if there is one thing sony should force its partners to start doing is forcing them to work with and add trophy support to their games now if you ask me this is crucial.
now with all the above said, i also think what sony, should really do is try to expand the psn beyond just the ps3 platform like, maybe adding the psn to the psp system. for example…first
I think sony should…..think about integrating the trophy system to the psp….i mean…
for sony to simply just integrate the current trophy system to the psp system.
imagine
checking your player profile, and as you tab and scroll through all your gains and levels, there will be a small psp/ps3 trophy level section which would detail how many trophies, in how many games have you got for both platforms on the same gamercard.
and just like you could compare your stats with others now you will be able to do the same only the difference here would be that instead of just displaying a gamers ps3 trophies and levels only. now it would also display both of your ps3 and psp trophy/levels instead. you know next to one another for bragging rights i suppose.
i mean this is just my scheme to you know help boost the psp sales as well give it a leg over the DS, as well help the ps3’s sales. this way sony can really say it has family in this industry. lol just kidding.
anyways this is just my opinion. if sony really wants to integrate the two together than there is no better way to do it than this way. thats my opinion.
personally i would keep it all simple and just integrate the current trophy system to the psp system.
you know keep the same rules just have it so that your gains on the psp would add to your overall level on the psn thats all, two platforms, two different gains/stats combined to give you an overall level on the psn. one network, one universal account. so when people look at your profile and say…
“hey how come you got more trophies and a higher level than me when we play the same ps3 games?”
well, now you can click on the tab on your gamercard and the psp totals will pop up right along with the rest of your ps3 stats as well to make up for an overall total as far as your stats are concerned, you know same as like i explained above.
sure each platform would have their share of exclusive ips, but if they can just keep it simple like i said you know two platforms, one network, one universal account. than they can just add all those individual gains and simply add it to your overall total on your gamercard stat sheet.
simple if you happen to get a platinum trophy (which means getting all other trophies in a game) on a psp exclusive, than that trophy will simply be added to your level on your psn gamercard). same with ps3 exclusives nothing changes here.
an example of this would be say…if you have a game like Uncharted for the ps3 and a game like say…FF7 crisis core for the psp, now these two are exclusives to each platform which means you wont be able to get both games on the same platform, so… what can be done? how can this all work out? simple if you happen to get platinum trophies on both games well, than those two platinum trophies would just simply be added to your level thats all. this isn’t hard to pull of only if again you keep it to one universal account, same network, two different platforms, all working for the same common goal its that simple.
in the same token they sony should integrate the playstation store to the psp system as well, and i don’t mean like a patch or something of that nature, i mean like make it part of the OS, icon on the xmb and everything. And while your at it, give gamers the ability to access the store (which should also be the same store ps3 owners visit) for content like psp demos, game videos, even blu ray videos and movies from the up and coming video store, psone games, all without even being near a ps3, the only difference here would be that your now can easily access the store from your psp as well. This will further enhance and dwell well with the name “playstation network”. And yeah a firmware update with nearly identical features like the ones found on ps3’s fw 2.41 update, would also benefit the psp greatly. I mean imagine being able to listen to your mp3’s while you play some of your favorites, or even tex-ting someone? that will just further enhance the psp as a platform thats for sure.
i mean make the PSN sell your platforms not the other way around, what i mean by this is simple. say you buy a psp but aren’t planning on getting a ps3 any time soon, well? that doesn’t/shouldn’t matter. Your psn id on the psp will/should also be your PSN ID across all games as well as your impending PSN ID on the ps3, so… should you ever decide to finally get one, which simply means no one else could ever get your PSN ID, even if you don’t have a ps3 yet, it should all work vice versa. bottom line what all this simply means is that fanboys of certain consoles or systems will now and should be rather determine by network and not so much a console, with all this in mind…
also…
interest on psp games would rise, and sales of the system itself would also increase with these schemes, you all do the math for a sec. and tell me what you all think.
personally thats what i think you guys at sony should do.
i was playin my 360 the other day with friends and i thought, wouldn’t it b cool if your friends could create profiles on your ps3 like they can on a 360 and when you and your friends play they could log in and unlock trophys to when devs start using them, just a thought
i know you can create multiple profiles but im sayin wouldnt it b cool if you could log in on all of like you can on the 360
will sony make that possible by a fw update or sumthin
Thanks for the update. I can’t wait for E3!
I’m looking forward to SOCOM Confrontation, Killzone 2, God Of War III, Resistance 2, LittleBigPlanet (YAY!), and several other PSN games.
Is that one game where you grow your own garden comnig to the US store? :D
@39 Atoms
Onna76_NL mentioned the rebuild happened on her PS3 as well.
But, she lost any text msgs from other friends when it did do this as well..
Other than the texts, she said she was ok.
Hope that helps you.
jeff can u set something up with sqaure enix or altus that all i want is to hear from them what their next ps3 game will be.
@GGCAN
Thanks! Im not the only one.
Everything sounds good Jeff, here’s a few suggestions I have
* Before the Press Conference, I know you guys will be live blogging, but I also know there will be live internet streams we can watch as well, me personally I’ll know where to find them, but I know there’s going to be readers of the blog here asking “where can I watch this” so maybe also provide a link of places that will offer live streams of your Press Conference?
* Dig up some RPG news/updates/announcements for us ;D besides Eternal Sonata =P
* Maybe see if Eric of the PS Network will come out and give us an update (yea kinda early) but on some future features to look foward too in the next update? (In game voice chat & voice messages? *nudge nudge*)
* And finally, see if you could work your magic and try to open up some more beta slots for Home and allow another wave of applications in? (D: I never got the chance to apply for the beta so I’d love as well as many other readers here a second chance to try to get into the Home beta before it’s released later this year…unless you wanna magically make it appear on my download list, I won’t tell anyone, I promise :x )
But anyways thanks for reading this and considering any of these =D
Firmware 2.40 brings the PS3 closer to a fully-fledged system, but there are still problems with the system software and features that are missing. In this article, we detail some of the problems faced by the existing system software and what additional features can make it better. While not everyone will agree with the problems and improvements features in this article, it just goes to show how many flaws the system has and how far off it is from perfect.
Don’t get me wrong here. I love my PS3 but there is always the need for criticism.
Current Problems (and possible solutions):
* The friends list takes long to load – if you have over 50 friends, your friends list can take a while to load, in addition, it takes some time for their online status to refresh. One way to solve this problem is to cache the list and reload it as needed. Currently, it seems that the list is loaded fresh every time the console is started.
* Lack of supported video and audio formats – only a limited number of video and music files are supported by the PS3. While the recently introduced DivX compatibility makes it easier for some people, there are still many formats that are missing. Currently, the PS3 cannot be classified as a “media center” without better compatibility.
* In-game XMB is slow – while the in-game XMB is a nice feature to have, it can be slow and clunky. With a whole SPU dedicated to the XMB, it’s the memory that is causing the problem, which is only 256MB for the entire system (thought there is also another 256MB in the GPU). One way to speed up the in-game XMB is to only show the features that can be accessed in-game, and hide the rest.
* In-game music playback – Firmware 2.40 introduces in-game music playback, but is only compatible with titles that support the feature. It’s up to the developers to make the feature available. Sony should allow the feature by default, and simply allow players to mute in the game’s music by changing the game settings. This will allow gamers to play their own music while also leaving the sound effects in place.
* Downloading while on power-save mode – you can only download content while the system is switched on. It would be great if there is a power-save mode (a mode between stand-by and full power) that allows you to download things while saving power.
* Screensavers – if you leave your PS3 idle, the screen simply dims down or runs folding@home if it’s configured to do so. It would be great if there were some actual screensavers or even an auto-off feature, something similar to that of the PSP.
* Better flash player – the PS3 web browser is decent, but the flash player cannot support all flash content. It would be great if the flash player was in the same league as a PC or Mac.
* Limited friends list – Firmware 2.40 upped the friends list limit from 50 to 100, but this is still very restrictive. My friend list is closely reaching this new limit and it could be months before they decide to increase it again. Why not just allow an infinite number of friends?
* Online version of Player Profile – Player’s profile has changed in Firmware 2.40, showing something similar to a “gamers card”. Why not introduce an online version of this or at least offer an API for developers to create their own? People want to share their achievements and “now playing” statuses, so why not let them.
* Better Remote Play – the PSP/PS3 cross-compatibility features are great, but there is still room for improvement. Why not let users edit their account (via Account Manager) from their PSP. Mirror the screen on both the PSP and PS3 rather than showing the “Remote Play in Progress” screen on the PS3.
* Better messaging – the messaging system is good for sending messages to offline friends, but when you want to chat to someone online, IM would be so much easier if you don’t have a mic. Adding IM to the chat room would allow gamers with no mic to still join in.
* Allowing users to change PSN Name – currently, you cannot change your PSN name. Sony should allow users to change their name if they no longer like they current name, but limit it to once every six months to stop abuse.
* Message list – prior to Firmware 2.40, clicking on a friends name would show you the message list between the two of you. It now displays the player’s profile. It should be the way it was. Now you have to press TRIANGLE and then select [Message List] to see your messages.
New features to improve the PS3:
* Cross game chat/in-game chat – for games that don’t support chat, the XMB should provide an alternative, allowing gamers to communicate. Cross-game chat would allow gamers to keep in touch with friends playing different games.
* Email to PSN (and vice versa) – allow users to send a message to your PSN account using a email address and vice versa could help keeping it touch with friends who don’t own a PS3. A personalized email address like [psn_id]@psn.playstation.com would be great.
* Message Notification – get an email sent to your registered email address when you receive a new PSN message.
* Better online Profiles – allow gamers to add more information to their profile page rather than just “About Me”. This would avoid duplicate questions like “how old are you?” and “where are you from?”, as it can all be on the profile page.
* RSS Reader – like the PSP, a RSS reader feature would allow gamers to subscribe to podcasts and photo feeds. Hell, why not also let gamers subscribe to their favorite news websites too.
* Skype – again like the PSP, a Skype client would be great. Not only can you have voice conversations with friends, if you have the PlayStation Eye or Eye Toy, you can also have a video call with friends and from around the world.
* Upscale PS3 titles – if you are playing a 720p game on a TV that supports 1080p, why not upscale games like you can upscale DVDs? Of course, this might make developers lazy.
* Friend Finder – you may not always know your friend’s PSN ID, so why not allow gamers to search for their friends using their email address. Even better is allowing gamers’ to import their address books from Hotmail, GMail and Yahoo and auto-search for people they may know.
* Login to multiple PSN accounts – you can currently only login to one PSN account at a time. Why not let gamers login to two or more accounts when playing multiplayer games. That way, both users can get points for playing games like Warhawk on split-screen.
* Password Protection – anyone can login to your Local User account when they turn on your PS3. Adding password protection would make it much more secure. For example, it would stop jealous friends from deleting your gamesaves.
* Admin User(s) – if you have younger siblings using your console, they can sometimes change settings or delete things without your knowledge. Having an “admin” account can prevent “non-admin” users from tampering with settings and deleting files. This is especially important with the System Update feature.
* “Appear Offline” – signing into the PSN means everyone can see you online. But this is necessary to access the PlayStation Store and playing games. There should be a “appear offline” feature allowing you to appear offline to friends, but giving access to all the PSN features.
* Keyboard Shortcuts – The XMB supports a keyboard, but there are no shortcut keys. Pressing “S” on the friends list should scroll down to the first name beginning with “S”. Pressing “Del” on a video/photo etc. should give you the option to delete it.
* Screenshots and Videos – gamers should be able to take in-game or even XMB screenshots and videos with the press of some key-combination. While video recording might affect system resources, image capture should be a lot easier to implement. This would allow gamers to show off their skills or easter-egg finds more easily. (Don’t you just hate shaky-cam videos and blurry screenshots.)
* Auto-download – if you subscribe to Qore, whenever a new episode is out it should automatically be added to your download list (in addition to appearing on your PlayStation Store download list). Similarly, you should be able to set “download all new demos” and let the PS3 download all new demos automatically.
* Better multi-taking – currently, you cannot do anything else while installing a game. You should at least be allowed to view photos or surf the net while you wait, or do something else that doesn’t use of system resources.
* Better “now playing” status – the PS3 only displays the names of games you are currently playing. Why not expand this to display “Playing Video” when watching a video or display the name of the Blu-Ray title you are watching (and display the appropriate icon). It may stop friends from pestering you.
* Message Attachments – you can only attach photos to PSN message. Why not let gamers attach bookmarks and gamesaves too?
* Force developers to use the PSN ID system – Metal Gear Solid 4 is the one game that doesn’t use the PSN ID system. Sony should force developers to use this system as it makes locating friends easier. The MGS4 Game ID just complicates things. Any add-ons should also be forced to appear on the PlayStation Store. Konami just screwed things up with the Konami ID and Game ID systems.
* Better Back-up/Restore system – backing up your console means all your content is backed up. Allowing user to customize their backup would make it easier for gamers. For example, gamers can select “Games” and “Savedata” to back on those two, and ignoring everything else. This should also work when restoring a system, allowing users to only restore a subset if items.
Let’s leave it there shall we? We could probably go on forever but whether any of the above feature see the light of day is Sony’s decision. It’s taken almost two years to get the PS3 this far and implementing even a few of the above features could take Sony another year. If you have any comments or suggestions, make yourself heard below.
but i was playin my 360 the other day with friends and i thought, wouldn’t it b cool if your friends could create profiles on your ps3 like they can on a 360 and when you and your friends play they could log in and unlock trophys to when devs start using them, just a thought
i know you can create multiple profiles but im sayin wouldnt it b cool if you could log in on all of like you can on the 360
will sony make that possible by a fw update or sumthin