Apr 05 2009

PlayStation Around the Web: What We Read

+ Posted by Chris Morell // Senior Social Media Specialist

Silly me. I thought it was going to be a slow week following the craziness of GDC, but this one was packed full of great PlayStation news. As you probably know, PS3 Firmware 2.70 was the highlight of the week, adding Text Chat, Friends List enhancements and more. Hopefully you’ve had the chance to download it and take the new FW for a spin, and if you have, let us know what you think. It’s your feedback that helps make the PS3 better and better.

Also this week, Insomniac Games dropped by for an hour of live Q&A Thursday afternoon for some very initial chatting about Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time and the new weapons contest.

But alas, life doesn’t completely revolve around us, and there is a ton of other great PlayStation news and coverage around the Web for you to peep on this gorgeous Sunday (68 degrees in San Francisco is a hot summer day for us). LittleBigPlanet’s community is over two million strong, inFamous gets great preview coverage, and Square Enix says Final Fantasy XIII uses nearly all of the PS3′s bulging muscle. Those and other links are below. But this ain’t one-sided, so share your links and we’ll see you tomorrow.

The PS Blog weekly reading list (Week of March 30, 2009)

//Add Your Own

125 Comments 4 Replies

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+ triple_lei on April 5th, 2009 at 12:01 pm said:

PS3 Firmware 2.70 was the highlight of MY week!

+ Chris Morell on April 5th, 2009 at 12:38 pm said:

Sweet!

+ TheInfectedBy590 on April 5th, 2009 at 12:04 pm said:

I hope that a release date is mentioned soon for Tales of Vesperia and not go into the same limbo that White Knight Chronicles and Demon’s Souls are in… :(

+ TheInfectedBy590 on April 5th, 2009 at 12:04 pm said:

*stateside, I mean.

+ GGCAN on April 5th, 2009 at 12:12 pm said:

I liked what 2.70 gave us and hoping for more fw updates in the near future.

I agree with a few others though that the friends list would be nice to have a third option to sort the way we used to have our friends….by status and Alphabetically all at the same time.

Many didn’t seem to appreciate only text chat and want voice chat, so I think you’re asking for trouble Chris by asking for their thoughts again.

+ BiezulbubBill69 on April 5th, 2009 at 12:15 pm said:

I’m sure a lot of people are going to say what I’m about to say…………….

WE NEED VOICE CHAT, NOT TEXT CHAT!

I know voice chat (AND video chat as well) is already available from just the XMB but why not allow it to be used DURING a game as well?

+ Griffins22 on April 5th, 2009 at 12:16 pm said:

Hey guys. I don’t want to be one of those people who whines for a feature in every post, but I would like to request something in the next update. I have an 80 GB PS3 that plays PS2 game. I’m playing Ratchet and Clank right now. It’s fun, but it was much better on the PS2. It lags like crazy on the PS3. Is there some way of improving upon PS2 comapatibility in an update?

+ BiezulbubBill69 on April 5th, 2009 at 12:16 pm said:

Also, your very first link (PS3 is lead platform for MW2) is not working. I get this when I click on it………….. “Error 404 – Page Not Found”

+ ProwlingFox on April 5th, 2009 at 12:19 pm said:

Definitely wanting some more info on MAG. Think you could convince Zipper to make a new trailer, Chris?

+ Chris Morell on April 5th, 2009 at 12:39 pm said:

Well, I don\’t have that kind of power, but you\’ll definitely be hearing more on MAG soon.

+ jakinov on April 5th, 2009 at 12:20 pm said:

The first link is false, it was just a rumor.

+ Chris Morell on April 5th, 2009 at 12:42 pm said:

Looks like you are correct. The link is down now. Thanks for the heads-up!

+ Tr3p1dat10n on April 5th, 2009 at 12:26 pm said:

Hey guys, EB games is also having their Game Day sales. Guitar Hero Aerosmith (game only) is for 10 bucks, and Valkyria Chronicles is on sale for $30 (half off).

And a feature I’d like for the next firmware update would be the ability to use the In Game XMB for PS1,PS2, DVD and Blu Ray titles. Not sure how possible it is, but I still play a lot of PS2 games and would like to still be able to message my friends. Thanks :)

+ Chris Morell on April 5th, 2009 at 12:42 pm said:

Nice tips!

+ Dave18901 on April 5th, 2009 at 12:34 pm said:

v2.70 is great, all the new features are pretty cool and I use them often, though we could use a bit more writing space on the text chat screen. But like many people I really want cross game voice chatting and cross game invites. And perhaps improve and expand the player cards to show more stuff like our Home avatars and have more connectivity between games and Home. Thanks.

+ Bastard11 on April 5th, 2009 at 12:40 pm said:

Things people want.. apparently more than in-game text chat.

-Controller battery indicator not covering the clock.
-New Avatars.. we have enough lame and wacky ones.. how about some cool ones.
-Global music playback.. continue to use other X-media bar features without losing music playback. Eventually tie this
into in-game music playback.
-Minimized video playback.. watch a floating video while using other features of the X-media bar.
-Cross game invites.
-Global and in-game voice chat.
-Transparencies in wallpapers. (View the “wave” behind the wallpaper image.)
e.g. Cut out the sky in an image of a skyline using an alpha channel to view the wave in the sky above the city.
-Grouping friends (clans etc..)
-New, more energetic music visualizer.
-Cursor for mouse use in media bar.
-PS2 emulation

Hmm, wonder if acknowledging any of these desires would make people stop spamming hate on Eric everytime you release a new firmware.

+ Bastard11 on April 5th, 2009 at 12:41 pm said:

PS Personally I like the firmware.. and thanks!

+ inevercheckthis on April 5th, 2009 at 12:42 pm said:

In regards to 2.70, I feel that if you want feed back on this, you should read at all the blog posts attached to it’s playstation blog entry.

Personally, I would like to see the playback function of videos fixed, and have MKV support in the next update.

I’d also like a blog entry to see what you’re planning for the next update. I fell that it would eliminate a lot of the “anger” that came from this update. Rumors cause commotion, and when rumors aren’t fulfilled, people get angry.

+ YODA798907 on April 5th, 2009 at 12:49 pm said:

v2.70 is a start.

in came chat where you can highlight people in your friends list (in case you don’t want to talk to everyone only a selected few) where they are added to something like a playlist and you can talk to those individuals would be great. you could also talk to those friends no matter if there in home, the same game or another game and its all through your headset (not through the tv, the stupid way socom does it)!!

+ GamerMoney on April 5th, 2009 at 12:56 pm said:

2.7

prtty good, i like it. Have a friend in chicago n she is usually messaging people and it taks her a while to respond to a message since the message thing iss one at a time…that goes for me to, sometimes it’s a pain chattin with 4 or 5 different people at once with the message thing so the text chat is a great feature…we can all talk at once now, would like an option to be able to send video and audio clips

+ remanutd5 on April 5th, 2009 at 12:57 pm said:

hey Chris you think its possible to implement in movie xmb , i’d like to able to send and receive messages while im watching a blu ray movie and i could use in game xmb for ps2 titles too lol , only if its possible , if not then no biggie , and im with #8 , a new trailer or gameplay video from MAG would be kool

+ TheWretched on April 5th, 2009 at 12:58 pm said:

Don’t forget our special article about the heat comparison of both the 40GB and the 60GB PAL PS3s over at PS Insider!

http://psinsider.e-mpire.com/index.php?categoryid=3&m_articles_articleid=1160

+ XxDeathDoctorxX on April 5th, 2009 at 12:59 pm said:

2.70 was ok i like the text chat but please add voice chat thats all i want just add that and if you can answer this ? are they working on voice chat if so please reply yes or no i just wanna know they are working on it just reply back please everyone wants to know if they are working on it

+ hife on April 5th, 2009 at 12:59 pm said:

Did 2.70 improve on the predictive word function? I use album folders a lot and I swear it’s predicting my next word much better than it used to.

I was a little disappointed in the KZ2 ad. I thought it was going to be more interactive. :( Oh well though. It was still neat.

+ katsuo7171 on April 5th, 2009 at 1:01 pm said:

More MAG info soon… You better be right Chris. We’re long over due. Also can you tell us if those pictures are real or not.

+ GUINNESSS on April 5th, 2009 at 1:01 pm said:

Text chat is a function simply not needed!! Should use pop outs and should not be censored

+ Arion87 on April 5th, 2009 at 1:11 pm said:

I wanna know if the bugs found in fw 2.7 are being worked on? (bugs like loss of AAC support and some ppl have been saying somthing about DLNA streaming having problems). perhaps fixed in 2.71?

Oh, and greetings from South Africa!

+ nokedimyo on April 5th, 2009 at 1:15 pm said:

All of the features in the new firmware are pretty cool, but there are a few slight issues with it (both dealing with the text chat). First, the line length is relatively short (though this is understandable since the length is enough for you to be able to see what people type via the popup) Second, though I understand the desire for censorship on chat, there should be a way to disable it. Also, some of the censored things don’t make sense eg. “con” and “cona” are both censored (is cona even a word?).

+ YODA798907 on April 5th, 2009 at 1:27 pm said:

Please read and let me know if any of this is possible or even taken into consideration for the next firmware update:

1). The ability to use the In Game XMB for PS1,PS2, DVD and Blu Ray titles!

2). The ability to own not just rent HD movies on the Playstation Store!

3). The ability to have more options to choose from on the Visual Player not just the current 3!

4). In Game Chat with a highlight option to select which friend or friends you want to talk to and be able to talk to them no matter if there in Home or another game (through the headset)!

Thanx

+ Thrasher20 on April 5th, 2009 at 1:31 pm said:

Thanks for the links Chris. Tell Jeff I said hi!

+ BalramRules on April 5th, 2009 at 1:34 pm said:

PS3 is MERKING the Wii in Asia I guess but in US and EU, I guess it’s another story

+ DaxMontana on April 5th, 2009 at 1:35 pm said:

Chris, I think the 1000+ plus entries in the Firmware announcement thread can provide you with all the feedback you need.

And although you say you’re interested in our feedback, it’s pretty damn clear that Sony continues to ignore its customers.

Who asked for text-chat? It’s 2009. Not 1997.

Who asked to have our friends list sorted by the last time our friends were online (which just makes it difficult to find any particular friend when you have lots of friends and no idea when they were last on)?

As for 2.7: A great many people are pretty upset with the “features” included in the update. Even text chat (which nobody asked for) is gimped, restrictive, and practically useless for anything but four or five word grunts.

I think of the text-chat more as a random asterisk display.

So, instead of giving everyone lip-service, why not prove that you’re listing to our feedback and actually produce features that are requested?

+ Thrasher20 on April 5th, 2009 at 1:40 pm said:

PlayStation 3 – Lead platform for Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2. Let’s hope more developers take advantage of the potential the triple has to offer!

http://www.gamercenteronline.net/2009/04/04/gdc-09-ps3-lead-platform-for-modern-warfare-2/

+ BlindMango on April 5th, 2009 at 1:46 pm said:

Spyro in #5, I downloaded that myself and enjoyed it. any chance of the other PS1 Spyro’s coming to the store soon?

+ Thrasher20 on April 5th, 2009 at 1:47 pm said:

I guess the link I provided is false. Was that the one that you posted Chris? About Modern Warfare 2?

+ mastrofallz on April 5th, 2009 at 1:49 pm said:

You guys seriously need to take penny arcade off of the Playstation store. They really do tick me off so much, because they always make fun of the Playstation, but they gain profits from us anyways.

+ themacstewie on April 5th, 2009 at 1:50 pm said:

all this non-sense about voice chat, what a bunch of sad technophobes are u!

if you don’t understand how something works, don’t cry about it..

+ lcmnick on April 5th, 2009 at 1:52 pm said:

Sorry Chris, but “ain’t” is not a word.

+ SmogItUp on April 5th, 2009 at 1:59 pm said:

Socom Blog had their best post since 1.3 but yet no mention of it on here. You guys are a joke. Stop neglecting one of your pillar franchises

+ BigBoss124 on April 5th, 2009 at 2:12 pm said:

at #9, which link is false, the 1 about MW2 being lead platform? i hope that isnt false

+ EternalMovement on April 5th, 2009 at 2:17 pm said:

I have nothing against you personally Chris but your comment about our feedback being important is hard for anyone to believe.

We never get any feedback back from the smaller things to the larger ones.

Just a few examples here.

Take the battery icon, its still in the way of clock.

Global voice chat, not once had a reply from anyone anywhere to say yes its on the way.
Just more silence.

The same applys to the avatars.

New ones should really be added regularly in this day and age. Surely adding new ones is not that difficult?

Instead people ask for months on end with no reply from anyone ever.

Just more silence.

MusterBuster the Community Team Leader of the Eu ps3 forums has submitted a list to the relevant parties and I hope you read and submit it as well.

http://community.eu.playstation.com/playstationeu/board/message?board.id=62&message.id=1342146#M1342146

Thank you.

+ IIIKAGEIII on April 5th, 2009 at 2:24 pm said:

we want skype so we can take voice calls in game.

+ mixedkidbx on April 5th, 2009 at 2:36 pm said:

Firmware 2.70 is ok but needs some tweaking. first the text thing isnt that bad but…. we need way more space to type out a sentence or more. the friends list thing needs working on too. we need to be able to “group” our friends (ex. game they play or where they are from or whatever).

+ JordanBlack68 on April 5th, 2009 at 2:43 pm said:

PS3 is Lead Platform for Modern Warfare 2 – PlayStation Lifestyle

________________________________________

It got proved wrong

+ KSPRAYDAD on April 5th, 2009 at 3:02 pm said:

playstationlifestyle.net took a forum post about MW2 being lead on PS3 and turned it into a NEWS story (rather than a RUMOUR story). They were called to task in the comments section of the story and their reaction was to remove the story full-stop rather than update it with an admittance of their poor editorial control.

Speaking of editorial control Chris…I tend to think that you would only link to factual news stories…the fact that you attempted to link to this one calls into question your editorial judgement as well.

Are we to understand that the ‘what we read’ section will now include false information about the PS family of products?

+ JKar275 on April 5th, 2009 at 3:29 pm said:

@Chris: I’m glad to read that we’ll be hearing more about MAG very soon because I can hardly wait. Any chance that annual Qore subscribers will get picked first for a beta (if their is one) just like for Resistance 2?

Also, I would like to seee more options in the music visualizer – especially one that shows dolphins and giant manta rays swimming in the ocean. I’m currently enjoying the visualizer that shows the Earth from space but I’d like to have a few more options.

+ Rude_Sparthan on April 5th, 2009 at 3:31 pm said:

..seriously.. I’m sorry, we everybody know that your are working for us.. and it’s an hard job.. and thank’s.. we’re still Sony supporter, otherwise we didn’t write here.. but you can’t say:

“..Hopefully you’ve had the chance to download it and take the new FW for a spin, and if you have, let us know what you think. It’s your feedback that helps make the PS3 better and better.”

and than the last two fw.. photogallery and text private chat…. who asked? who only tink these features are useful?

the only thing that everybody is asking since launch it’s a private voice chat in-game.. and in 2009 not even a word by you about this

first disappointment.. now resignation

+ ExcelKnight on April 5th, 2009 at 3:47 pm said:

What’s that about Tales of Vesperia? It would be good to know if it’s even confirmed to be coming in North America at any time in the future. Make it happen, SCEA. Make it happen and get the devs on PS.Blog to talk about it.

+ SmogItUp on April 5th, 2009 at 3:51 pm said:

Wow Chris you are horrible at checking facts before posting. Readers come to the PS Blog for accurate news information, and you are inversely contributing to that effort.

MAG has been confirmed NOT to be an iteration of Socom. Confirmation came from another SCEA Employee, Cindy “Abigale” Bowens. A good journalist always triple checks his “stories”

+ Jeigh on April 5th, 2009 at 3:52 pm said:

Sorry, but Squeenix has yet to release a single title on the PS3 and I’m supposed to believe that they have the development process for the system wrapped up tight? I’m not buying it.

@ Rude_Sparthan

Appropriate name, I must say. Speak for yourself. I’m not whining like some child about a rumor that I took to heart. Last year it was the same story: “We want in-game XMB! Why don’t you listen!? Sony clearly hates us! Waaaagh!” Put away the rattle and join the rest of the adult world. I realize the response I’ll receive from this is more justification for complaining, but I just had to say it.

+ Nick212004 on April 5th, 2009 at 3:57 pm said:

Personally, PS3 FW 2.70 was a let down to me because the chat application is useless. It seems that Sony is beating around the bush by releasing these firmwares instead of releasing features that would be vital to the experience like Cross-game chat, integrated party system, etc. Please add these features and the PSN just might be up to par with Xbox Live once everything is running smoothly on PSN.

+ jBat17 on April 5th, 2009 at 4:02 pm said:

thanks, chris..

infamous is looking better with each preview.. you guys should get sucker punch for a live chat

also, it seems that MAG is slated to be out this year.. and it’s a FPS.. will it top MW2?

+ lakaiHIGH on April 5th, 2009 at 4:03 pm said:

downloaded the free episode of Qore (thank you guys!) and am loving the soundtrack to inFamous. it sounds amazing and i love that game companies are able to utilize the power of the PS3 to create such amazing pieces of work. my hat is off to you sucker punch!

peace,
Lh