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Firmware Alert: PS3 2.50 and PSP 5.0 Due Up Soon.

Ryan Fulton — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:09:06 -0500

Today is a momentous occasion for those of you who were waiting on baited breath for the newest firmware releases on Sony's systems. For today, marks the day, when most of the features for the new updates were announced. While there is no hard release date given, we can assume that the PS3 update, at least, will be sometime this week due to the inclusion of the PS3 headset with SOCOM which releases this week.

For a list of notable features for both systems, hit the jump.

PS3:

Support for the new PS3 Bluetooth Headset.
The ability to take your stalking to a new level and spy on your friends playing habits, or at least see when they last played.
Trophy improvements, for the 3 games that you have which support trophies.
A more upfront manner for redeeming PSN codes to coincide with the advent of PSN cards being available at more retailers.
A welcome sleep-mode for both the PS3 and controllers.
A screenshot function. Allow me to be the first to thank Sony for this awesome feature. I don't know how this is the first time that it has been introduced to a system.

PSP:

You can now access the PlayStation Network and PSN Store by way of your PSP.
I suppose I didn't need a bullet list.

PlayStation 3 Firmware 2.40 Available

Tim Grube — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:28:10 -0500

Sony Computer Entertainment America has promised over the past few weeks that we would see the next firmware very soon for the PlayStation 3 console. Today, the company introduced firmware 2.4. Many features include customized soundtracks, the in-game XMB, on-screen clock, a quick shutdown icon, and a shortcut to Google.

The trophies system unfortunately isn't supported in all games as of yet.

Sony does say their biggest titles,Burnout Paradise and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune will soon get the trophie treatment. To obtain this update, turn on your PlayStation 3 and check for updates! We will keep you updated on further developments regarding the new XMB interface and trophie system

Sony Delays Skype for PSP in Japan, Cites Microphone Issues

Shiva Stella — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:20:00 -0600

News is now hitting the Web that Sony has delayed its Skype PSP update announced earlier this month at CES 2008. The company is citing compatibility issues as cause for the delay in Japan, claiming that the feature is on-hold until the microphones Sony designed for its use earn Skype's approval.

You can view the full press release (it's a quickie) at the jump.

SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT JAPAN TO POSTPONE THE RELEASE OF MICROPHONE PRODUCTS FOR PSP® (PLAYSTATION®PORTABLE)

Tokyo, January 23, 2008 Sony Computer Entertainment Japan (SCEJ), a division of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) responsible for business operations in Japan, today announced that it would postpone the release of two microphone products for PSP® (PlayStation®Portable), SINGLE PACK (with one microphone, PSPJ-15010) and TWIN PACK (with two microphones, PSPJ-15011), scheduled to be released in Japan on Thursday, January 24th, 2008.

SCEJ planned to release the microphone along with the introduction of Skype features for the new slim and light PSP (PSP-2000). However, it was found that the microphone did not meet the Skype specifications in part to obtain certification and SCEJ has determined to postpone the release of the microphone. New release date will be announced as soon as decided.

With this, SCEJ has also reached a decision to postpone the introduction of the Skype features and services in Japan, scheduled in late January as part of the system software update for PSP. Solutions to enable users to start using Skype features and services on their PSP are being sought for and will be announced in due course.

Skype Comes To PSP

Tim Grube — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 21:15:18 -0600

Are you a fan of Skype? Personally, I've used Skype a couple of times back in the day, but it seems as if more and more of my close friends are using this new technology. To jump aboard the train, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. unveiled today that it would integrate Skype into the PSP later this month.

The features include:

Free voice calls between Skype users
Skype contact list management (view existing contacts, add new ones)
Skype presence (see which friends are online and available to talk)
SkypeOut(TM) calls to make calls to landlines and mobile phone anywhere in the world (requires the purchase of Skype credit)
Optional SkypeIn(TM) number that lets users receive calls on Skype from landlines and mobiles anywhere in the world (requires the purchase of Skype credit)
View and modify Skype settings and account details (including username creation, SkypeOut settings, voicemail settings and call forwarding)

Skype has more than 246 million members and will be free of charge. The software update will occur at the end of January.

Sony Updates Folding@Home for PS3 Folks Trying to Save the World

Shiva Stella — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:00:00 -0600

PlayStation 3 owners who enjoy knowing that they're doing good deeds by allowing their unit to run Folding@Home when they're not playing games will be pleased to know that Sony has provided some FAH updates in the new firmware v2.1 update.

Nota bene: you'll have to download the FAH update via its icon from the XMB.

The new features include a music player able to run in the background as well as the ability to leave the unit running FAH for a period of time and then having it automatically shut down. Click the jump for step-by-step instructions straight from the Sony camp.

To have the unit shut down after running FAH for a limited time:

Go to Settings menu, select Automatic Shutdown and then After Current. You will see a little clock appearing on the top right hand corner of the screen. When this clock reaches zero, the machine will power off completely so you can sleep quietly through the night. In this option the machine will power off after sending the data back to Stanford University so your contribution to the project is maximized.
You may also choose to shut down after a limited period of time (for example, 3 or 4 hours). To do that choose the Automatic Shutdown option and click on the In 01h:00m timer. You will now be able to change the timer settings. After rotating the timer to a new time, you should now see your selected timer appear at the top right corner of the screen. This timer will count all the way down to 0 and then power off the system.
To disable active timer at any time, go to Settings, choose Automatic Shutdown and then Disable.

And to have your PS3 play music while you're running FAH:

To activate the music player select Music and then a channel. The channels are automatically populated with songs you have stored on your Hard Disk Drive! For holiday music I prefer to choose Dramatic (yeah!) and voila - music is playing.
If you wish to skip to another track, just use a combination of X + left or right arrow. You can also change the channel by choosing X + up or down arrow. Happy listening!
To stop music from playing, select Music again from the main menu and choose disable.
Your music playback selection will be saved between consecutive runs of Folding@home.

PSP Firmware v3.80 Now Live and Internet Radio Ready

Shiva Stella — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:26:43 -0600

Sony has launched its firmware v3.80 for the PSP today, with the prized update featuring Internet Radio that enables PSP owners to listen to their favorite radio stations through the PSP via wi-fi. Simple instructions follow:

Download and install firmware update 3.80.
Ensure you are in a Wi-Fi environment before attempting use
With Memory Stick Duo containing firmware update 3.80 inserted into PSP, select Internet Radio icon under Network, and then About Internet Radio.
Select Adding the player to the Memory Stick Duo and press the X button.
When you have added the Internet Radio player, the player icon will appear under the About Internet Radio icon.
Select Internet Radio player icon.
Choose a genre and select a station.

Now you can Stalk the Friends of your Friends: New Live Feature

Shiva Stella — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 12:20:00 -0600

True to the company's word, Microsoft has announced one of the new features to be available on Xbox Live following the December 4 update. Xbox 360 owners who install the firmware update will be able to view not only their friends list, but the friends list of their friends. I'll give you a moment to re-read the sentence.

Here's the scoop from Microsoft:

Members will now be able to check out the friends lists of fellow Xbox LIVE members right from the Dashboard. With this new feature, members can find old friends or connect with new ones within the community of more than 8 million people on Xbox LIVE around the globe and send messages and game invites, as well as compare games and Achievements.

With the prevalence of social media websites such as MySpace and FaceBook, this type of capability has largely come to be expected from consumers as a means to relate in an online community. Xbox LIVE continually seeks new ways to better serve the expectations of its members, which often result in enhancements made available for free through the bi-annual Dashboard updates.

When the Fall Dashboard update is distributed on December 4th, the new default setting on Xbox LIVE will be active enabling members to see the Friends lists of other Xbox LIVE members.

For those of you who'd rather keep all your gamer buddies to yourself (selfish bastards), Microsoft recommends you head over here and select an option for your gamertag:

Everyone (only available to members 18 and older)
Friends only (available to members 13 and older)
Blocked (available to all members, and automatic for anyone under the age of 13)

Remember, children. Share.

Sony Launches PlayStation 3 v2.01 Firmware Update

Shiva Stella — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:36:47 -0600

A mere 13 days after Sony released the PlayStation 3's v2.00 firmware update the company has pushed out another one, v2.01, which has the following fixes:

Stability during playing some PLAYSTATION 3 format software has been improved.
Stability of System Software including Internet Browser and Information Board has been improved.
Stability of the upscaler for PlayStation 2 format software has been improved. (Playability of PlayStation 2 depends on model)
[Remote Start] feature is changed to avoid unintended power on.

No official word is given as to which games have been giving PS3 owners problems, though you can scour the comments section for concerns raised over Assassin's Creed, Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction, and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (the latter of which released yesterday, November 19).

PlayStation 3 Free Theme Site Live

Shiva Stella — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 14:20:00 -0600

Thought I'd post on this little PlayStation 3 gem. A new site dedicated to providing free PlayStation 3 themes following the unit's 2.00 firmware update is now live and already claims to have more than 5,000 members. You can check out the site and download its themes at the link. Now you can have Mario on your PlayStation 3 - who would have thought?

Update: Don't be surprised if the site is down temporarily due to an unexpectedly high demand.

Xbox Originals Interview Up, How's $15 for Fable Sound?

Shiva Stella — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:56:56 -0600

GameSpot has posted an interesting interview of XBL group marketing manager Aaron Greenberg regarding the new Xbox Originals program set to launch for the Xbox 360 on December 4, alongside the console's next firmware update.

The Xbox Originals program enables gamers to download Xbox hits for a flat fee of $15 (1200 Microsoft points), with the first available titles including Fable, Halo, and Psychonauts. Hit the jump for some excerpts and a link or hit the link below.

Excerpt:

GameSpot: Why offer downloadable Xbox games when they're already backwards compatible?

Aaron Greenberg: We've always said we felt like online and digital distribution was the future of this business and I think this is the next step in that evolution, to be able for the first time ever to allow people to digitally download and own full retail games. We've never done that before. Frankly, I think with the exception of Halo, almost all these titles are next to impossible to find at retail anymore, so we're making them very available to consumers who would like to purchase them.

GS: So the work you've done on backwards compatibility is the basis for the Xbox Original releases?

AG: Exactly. You basically download the bits of the game and they have to have passed all our backward compatibility certification and testing. We're only going to make available the ones that we know perform extremely well and have a high quality, if that gives you an idea of some of the titles you may see. To start, I think we have a good lineup. To be able to download them, own them, and if you delete them you can download them again, it's very similar to how Live Arcade games work.

GS: So there won't be enhanced content or added online play in Xbox Originals?

AG: No. What we're basically doing is taking the games as they were originally created and maintaining that. We want to preserve the integrity of what that original game experience was like. If they have online multiplayer, it's there. Whatever functionality was built into that original game is what people will get.

GS: We know about Xbox Originals and the Family timer controls. What else will be included in the December 4 update?

AG: At this point we haven't gotten into any of the other details. Just like any other update, there will be changes to the dashboard and the blades, cosmetic stuff. We always have fine-tuning of playback of movies and music. But at this point, we're going to wait closer until that date, probably the last week of November is when we'll do a lot of show-and-tell with everyone in the media so people can see what they're getting. The reason why we do that mainly is because the team is still finalizing and testing a lot of the functionality. There are always a couple of things that are on the bubble.

Update on PS3 v.2.00, aka Are PS3 Owners Whiny Bitches or Right?

Shiva Stella — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:30:45 -0600

While admittedly the PlayStation 3 v.2.00 firmware udpate isn't the most encouraging (fans have been weeping and cursing like children on the blog forums since I posted on the story this morning), the ability to implement themes and mess around with a few of the other changes is better than nothing.

Granted there is no "in-game xmb access" (ie, the ability to adjust your friend list and send messages to friends [or chat] while playing a game) and the fans are still waiting on a feature that enables them to listen to their own soundtracks while playing (something with really bad music, I assume), but here's hoping that we're getting there.

If you're curious, GamesRadar has posted a video of the adjusted XMB (the menu system) so gamers can get an early look at some of the fixes. You can view it at the jump. You can also hit the link below to take a peek at the fan response to the firmware update; I am typing in full sarcastic mode when I say that the majority of these people make me proud to be a gamer. Yet they might have a point about the console's features paling in comparison to the 360's - considering the cost of each.

Check it out: it's a theme.

Info on PlayStation 3 v.2.00 Firmware Update, Now With Themes

Shiva Stella — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 10:54:08 -0600

With the impending release of the next PlayStation 3 firmware v.2.00 update we figured you might like a run-down of the new features.

The update includes an information board (a news/update ticker, essentially), the ability to set themes, some enhancements for remote play and organizing media (you can create custom playlists for photos and music), and some other tweaks that haven't been announced yet (however I didn't spot any additional info in the SCEE announcement). We'll keep an eye out for you, though. Hit the link for additional details straight from Sony.

I'm withholding judgment on 2.0 until I get the full features list, but as is I'll say it's mildly disappointing.