Hi again! It’s great to see the positive reaction to the unveiling of system software update v2.40. We can’t wait for you to finally go hands-on with XMB access in-game and the Trophy system – and it’s less than 2 days away. Not surprisingly, a number of you have posed questions both here and on other forums. Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions.
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Will voice-messaging/private chat be featured in 2.40 as well? If not, can we expect to see this feature added in the future?
We are evaluating the opportunity to offer voice chat, but for this update, we wanted to focus on text messaging as the key priority for communications that our users have asked for.
Can you use the web browser in game?
No, you must exit the game before browsing the internet.
Will In-Game XMB come up during playback of PS2 games, Blu-Ray discs, and DVDs?
The XMB is an exclusive feature for PS3 game titles. Accessing the XMB during gameplay was the top request from our users, which we focused on for this update. However, we continually engage PS3 owners for feedback and will evaluate the opportunity to offer XMB access during movie playback in the future.
Can we go to the display settings and change anything there in-game (resolution, input, etc)?
No, you must exit the game before changing these settings.
Will it be possible to change in-game the sound output?
Yes, sound output changes are supported.
Will we be able to access the PLAYSTATION Store while in-game?
No, but you can view your downloads in progress.
Will we be able to stream music (either via media server or USB drive) for custom soundtracks or is it relegated to music stored on the HDD?
Currently only music stored on the HDD is accessible in games that support this feature. We’d also like to reiterate that Firmware v2.40 merely enables custom soundtracks. It’s up to developers to include this feature in upcoming games (or to patch existing ones).
Does 2.4 enable cross game invites? Will it down the line?
No, cross-game invites are not available in this system software update. We are evaluating opportunities to expand on the new features delivered in 2.40.
Will trophies be mandatory for all games release here on out?
We are working with developers to ensure that Trophies are supported across the board in the future.
Where is each player’s trophy stat info held? I am going to upgrade my hard drive and I don’t know if the trophies will still be on my account if I earn some and then get a new hard drive.
Trophies will be attached to users’ PSN ID. Trophy data needs to be synchronized to the online account on PSN to be transferred to the new PS3 system.
Will the patch automatically allocate unlocked trophies according to your saved files or would you have to do it again?
No, Trophies aren’t retroactive.
Can we view PSN profiles/Trophies from a PC using a Web browser? Will there be an API for web developers to access the PSN data, so online profiles can be created?
We’re evaluating these opportunities to expand where Trophies can be experienced.
Can you only compare trophies with friends that are online?
As long as a friend has a PSN account, you can compare trophies with them regardless of their online status.
Is there a limit to how many trophies the devs can put set by Sony?
There’s not a limit on number of trophies, but there’s a value assigned to each trophy. Developers must balance out the trophies that are available to stay within an overall value based on whether the game is considered large-scope or small-scope. Essentially, a user that has unlocked every trophy in one game would have the same level as a user that unlocked every trophy in another title, all titles (depending on scope) have the same overall impact on a users’ level.
Will new games have a cool little icon on the back saying “trophy compatible?”
We’re currently working on how Trophy support will be messaged to the consumer on our software packaging.
When you get a trophy, does it make a noise?
Currently, no.How quickly things can change – there *will* be a sound effect when you unlock a Trophy.
What is Eric’s favorite cheese?
Mozzarella
Once again, we will continue to evaluate opportunities to enhance the PLAYSTATION 3’s system software throughout the console’s life cycle. Consumer feedback has contributed greatly to the contents of Firmware v2.40, and continues to be appreciated. Don’t forget, this Firmware will be available for download on July 2nd.
Wow! 1500 + comments. I cant wait to download this firmware update. Been waiting along time for alot of these features. Thanks.
@Catastro, giving critics is one thing but aren’t you really exaggerating? Giving up Sony Playstation for only “1” feature… a feature I find *personally* almost unnecessary, but some probably almost give their lives for.
@1547 – Wndrtwn1
Ability to delete multiple messages.
Yes! I could not agree with you more on this one. Something simple, but an annoyance nonetheless.
Are you still listening after 1500+ posts Eric / Sony?
@Onna76_NL
Im not giving up on Playstation i have too many playstation games. But really what is this update good for offline. Ive really waited for music to be an accessible and usuable option in the xmb for in game use. Just so when friends come over we’ll have some real music to listen to while we are playing games like virtua fighter, tekken, motorstorm and etc. If you dont care about the feature and you’re fine with the little music already on the game then thats YOU ok?
THE TROPHY SYSTEM SHOULD BE RETROACTIVE !!!
WHO AGREES WITH ME ON THIS? HOW MANY OF US HAVE A GOOD NUMBER OF SAVE GAMES ON OUR SYSTEM? HOW MANY OF US WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING HOW MANY TROPHIES WE UNLOCKED BASED ON OUR PROGRESS IN THOSE GAMES? MOST IMPORTANTLY, DOES SCEA EXPECTED ME AND THE REST OF YOU GUYS TO GO BACK AND BUY ALL THOSE GAMES AND REPLAY THEM JUST TO UNLOCK TROPHIES. I THINK THIS IS UNFAIR! IF YOU AGREE WITH ME PLEASE POST SOMETHING.
See, here you go, the co-founder and technical director over at Media Molecule has just had an interview with Eurogamer (link at the bottom) and, as one would expect, the question:
“Will the in-game music feature from 2.40 be implemented into LittleBigPlanet?”
and the answer, you guessed it,
David Smith: “We haven’t finalised (sp) our decision on that.”
Now granted, it’s not a “no” however, it’s not a, “yeah, it’s easy to do, so why not ?” either.
So there you have it, and from basically like a second party studio no less… this BS “custom soundtrack” thing is no different than the current model where developers can incorporate it in, like PAIN, if THEY choose to, like Burnout Paradise, now we just do it from the XMB instead of a nice player inside the game. It’s almost like a hack to give less functionality. I’m still confused on why they just didn’t keep the current model, since a) it does the same thing, and b) it’s still up to developer discretion
This is what you can all expect to see all around the board. I seriously doubt most publishers/developers are going to include this, they spend far too much money on their “licensed” music (licensed music mind you, that is apparently keeping some of the classic PSOne games off of the PSN, apparently :/) and they wouldn’t want you to listen to the music you enjoy, nope can’t have that.
Custom Soundtracks in Final Fantasy 13… you can bet that’s not going to happen. I’m thinking maybe some sports games, maybe Tony Hawk… I’d bet dollars to doughnuts that pretty much every RPG upcoming will ignore this feature.
However, I’ll be proud of Media Molecule if they choose “Yes” on Proposition 241 :)
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=164853
I can’t believe you’ve sent down half an update, it’s a step in the right direction but that’s all it is, and it’s a step that microsoft took on the day that they released their 360. I own both consoles, and i’m constantly trying to back the underdog (the PS3), but you keep failing the consumer. You are ultimately supposed to be better then the 360 but we’re still waiting. By the time you’re on the same level, microsoft will be releasing a new model leaving you far behind. Why don’t you give us all what we want, sooner rather than later and be done with it!!
P.S. you’re a huge firm, why don’t you make you’re own official headsets? Voice chat isn’t the future, it’s now..catch-up!!
Ooops, didn’t read the info properly. I tried NHL2K8 but it didn’t work. So games will need patching…
Trophies look cool, I was planning to play Uncharted again so perfect timing.
I got my 60 gig ps3 last year, its been working great until I downloaded firmware update 2.40, after downloading it it reset, when it reset my user names did not come up and I could not get into my XMB.
HELP!!!!!!!!
The only games that dont work are from EA, ea didnt design the games for the PS3, they desigened it for the 360, and ported it without even trying.
I just want trophy support.
@ Gandark
A possible fix… and you’re probably not going to like it… is to remove the hard disk drive completely from system then reformat it, reinsert it, and reformat it again. Then after it completes, add yourself as a user and download your content again.
Sucks, I know, but there you have it. 2.40 is a god send !
http://kotaku.com/5021458/ps3-240-update-problems-and-solutions
Don’t know if it helps, but there ya go.
Man I live in a world with a bunch of whiners. Wah!!!!!!!! I believe Sony has put in the biggest thing that was demanded the most XMB in-game messaging not in-game music. Granted I understand where some of you are coming from when it comes to the music. But if you read the more on the internet there is a sayin that Microsoft has a patent for in-game music thru the OS. Being true or not is another issue but, that is why Sony lets the developers decide to implement it their own way which is cool with me. Its not a real big issue for me but it is a nice feature. SSHD did their own way and I love it. So it is totally up to the developers not Sony, Sony has left it in their hands. Goto the developers and ask them to implement into their games stop pressing Sony. Sony gives the developers more freedom than Microsoft and to be honest I think its a smart move. There are so many possiblilties that can come from the developers. Look at the bigger picture.
Its great that you guys are continually updating the ps3.
I have two things for the wish list. mkv file support and support for other filesystems on the external drives
You guys should give all gamming companies a support for 2.40
my ps3 keeps freezing on MGO and keeps kicking me off the PSN and it never did that before
FIX IT SONY!!!!!
In Game XMB is useless when u can just use the friends list. I want it to have custom soundtracks for all games. I would only use it for sport games. I bet EA will patch it. They do custom soundtracks on the psp for EA. Especially EA Sports.
How will trophies work in Rainbow Six Vegas 2? The save data is locked and the online rewards isn’t linked to online nor the rank. So does that mean…I have to start all over again? I’m Elite
i really want mgs4 to have trophies come on sony please ask konami pleaseee
I have updated my system today and experience heavy noises in gameplay sounds. Mainly noises in Call of Duty 4 and the sound device seams to crash when a shooting helicopter passes by.
It start repeating over and over the heli sound like a broken vinyl disc…
Is there any space for these problems?
OOooops sorry I forget to tell you that the heli sound crash is in Battlefield Bad Company…
Anybody else with the same or similar problems?
Any chance of getting Trophies for the downloadable PS1 games? Now that’d breathe new life into an old game!
If this is posted twice, sorry.
1511 (Murcerial) I bought my PS3 for the free online gaming.
As well why should the PS3 have the exact XMB as the 360 does.
The guys on the 360 already are complaining Sony is stealing the XBOX idea.
I like the custom in game music the way Sony has it set up.
Who’s to say Sony won’t change their ideas. I’ve had my system less than a year and can’t believe how much it’s changed in that time and all for the better.
There’s still a long way to go and Sony is at least listening to us.
Not only that, they please some people and some they don’t.
You can’t please everyone all the time.
I like my PS3 and I’m sticking out the wait. Who knows, they said other things are coming later this month and in August of this year. Other games depend on the developers. So lets get on those guys case instead of Sony
One thing I forgot to mention. I keep the PS3 on most of the time with Folding @ Home and never has it overheated unlike the 360. Another reason I made my decision to come to Sony and not purchase an XBOX. If they had that problem fixed, I may have been on their side, but that and the paying for online gaming made me look elsewhere.
@yodav, obviously this is up to the developer. It seems a lot of people can’t separate “Sony” and “game developer who made a PS3 game” when they talk. Its not Sony’s problem to implement trophies in the games, that’s up to the devs. If they want (and it looks like it will for Warhawk), the dev can make trophies retroactive, but if they don’t want to then they won’t be.
I’ve personally beaten Super Stardust a dozen times over and enjoyed it every time, so doing it again for the trophies won’t be a pain, but beating Uncharted again on hard might take some more effort.
ive just seen pics of the official ps3 headset anyone no when its being released i love the ps3 i just wish yhey would sought voice chat and game invites and i would be a happy bunny .
Alright, why did they take the 2.40 update down? It seems it is no longer available. People who haven’t updated yet are being told there are no new updates, and the PC download link is dead (404 error).
Is there no longer a sound effect that plays when a trophy is unlocked?
Hi, does anyone know if there is any problem with the firmware 2.40?
I am trying to update it and it’s saying that I have the last version of the firmware. And I do not have it.
It’s the first time I am experiencing it.
Thanks
1577…Sony’s new headset (PSXExtreme.com) has the rumour about it.
‘it’s scheduled to launch some time later this summer (July or August), and the upcoming SOCOM: Confrontation bundle will feature this headset. The bundle will go for $60 while the headset will also retail individually with a price tag of $50. Of course, Sony isn’t about to comment on the situation, giving their typical reply- “we have currently made no announcements for a new PS3 headset so any information is speculation and rumor.” ‘.
there is. It’s just that SSDHD is a bit noisy and covers it at times.
Sorry comment for Sony’s new headset was meant for 1578 not 1577.
@rustter, read my post 2 up from yours. The update is no longer available for some reason. I know Sony’s main PS site was hacked, so it could have something to do with that. Hopefully it’s not because of problems with 2.40 (my PS3 seems to be working fine with 2.40 so far).
With nearly 2000 comments just in this one post, it may be that the Sony servers are going crazy with everyone downloading. I know a lot of people in North America have this week off and with everyone downloading, wouldn’t doubt there’s some glitches going to happen along the way.
Supposedly, 2.40 has been pulled from the network. People are trying to update that already havent, and its saying their firmware is current. Check out Joystiq.com
Will there be a patch to have multiple users log on at the same time, each user having there own save files and profiles?
Pulled from network *CONFIRMED*, go try to download it from the playstation website, its been pulled not only in USA, but also Asia, and Europe. People trying to update through the PS3 havent been able to as well
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1) How can I turn the annoying clock off on the XMB?
2) Despite my date/time settings being set as DD/MM/YY it only displays the date as “2/7” and although my time format is set as 24hr it displayed this a “5:48” etc. I would prefer this to be displayed as “02/07/08” and “05:48”.
3) I would prefer it if the clock could be configured to just come on when bringing up the in-game XMB (useful for late night sessions).
4) When bringing up the XMB in game the clock is right under the battery charge meter which means you can’t read the meter very well and you have to wait for the meter to fade away before you can read the clock.
So basically where are the options to position the clock, choose the display format (if you want date only, time only, date and time etc) and choose when you want it displayed.
Unless I missed something, this seems like a half hearted effort.
5) Still can’t switch users in-game.
Sorry for the complaining, but please add the option to hide the clock if you’re not going to make it configurable.
It’s not known if it was pulled or just unavailable due to server problems. They could just be working on the servers because of the hack on the main site.
FW 2.40 PULLED FROM PS SERVERS
Sony has confirmed they have pulled it from the Network. Check out Joystiq.com for more info….i wonder whats wrong with 2.4
No, geek god, its been confirmed from Sony PR.
this is gay
I wonder what the issue is that they had to pull? It cant be the GOW or Singstar hack because thats already been addressed, and you still cant download the FW from the PS3….something is wrong i fear
Thanks GeekGod!
It seems even the direct link is not available anymore.
I hope they fix that soon.
THIS IS BAD, ITS ALL OVER KOTAKU AND EVERY OTHER GAMING SITE….SOMEONES GUNNA GET FIRED!!!!
so any solution sony ?
1600
Kotaku says that they pulled the firmware 2.40 and that they are redistrubiting 2.36…. this can’t be as i’m signed online and it says they were promted to reinstall 2.36… so why am i on 2.40 with no problems? hmm
@ Sancho45
Same here
omg like wtf is goin on lol