PS3 Firmware rumor

[RageProphetXIII]

Check this out. Let me know what you think.


Rumor: PS3 FW 2.7 details leaked, to be out on Q2 of '09
Posted Feb 18, 2009 at 06:32PM by Mabie A. Listed in: PlayStation 3 Tags: XMB, Sony, SYNC, PlayStation Store, Playstation Home
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45 QJ

PlayStation 3 - Image 1Neobara of the GT Forums has decided to throw them (and by offshoot, us) a bone in the form of some insider information pertaining to the details for PS3 Firmware 2.7. According to a friend of his who works in an R&D department at Sony, there are some heavy whoppers coming our way for FW 2.7.

Here are the bits:

Friends List:

* Voice Messaging is now available as an alternative to text after selecting a user on the friends list. Voice message recordings are capped at 30 seconds.
* Home Integration: Saved Playstation Home avatar photos can be selected as photo ID for Gamer Card/Friends List.
* Trophy number and Gamer Level are listed under Friend names for quick reference.

Gamer Card & Trophies:

* Gamer Card layout has been changed to more closely resemble the Playstation Store aesthetic.
* Past Trophy information can be viewed in detail by selecting "Recent Trophy History" option.
* Newly aquired trophies auto-sync in the background
* Server infrastructure for Trophies has been optimized. Resulting in faster retrieval time for Gamer Card and Trophy information.

In-Game XMB:

* Loading time for In-Game XMB has been drastically reduced, resulting in a more seemless in-game experience.
* "Theme settings" options while in-game is now available, allowing custom themes to be applied to the In-Game XMB.
* Internet Browser can now be accessed while in-game.
* Voice messaging and voice chat options can be used while in-game.
* Options that cannot be used in the XMB during game sessions are grayed out (but still selectable) to eliminate user accessibility confusion.

Misc:

* Other slight UI tweaks and enhancements.

All in all, it's sounding pretty good, don't you think? If this list is as accurate as Neobara claims, then we're definitely in for a freakin' good time. He does, say however, that there are still some very crucial and heavily requested features that are missing. There's still no word on cross-game invites, for one.

Personally, I think the Voice Messaging feature is a good plus. The Internet Browser being accessible while in-game, while some might find it innovative, I don't find that necessary, though. But that's just me. What about you guys?

Oh, and I'll be tagging this as a rumor for now, until we get official word from Sony, or until FW 2.7 pops up on our PS3s. They say it's gonna land sometime Q2 of 2009. *Da-duuunnnn!!!*

[Brocman]

That sounds like a lot of pretty cool stuff, hopefully that is not just a rumor.

And the PS3 DOES have cross-game invites. The people who make the game have to allow it.

Rainbow six:Vegas 2 and Resistance 2 are games that let you do that. There are some others, I just don't remember.

[MajinTony]

I'm sure that voice mesg will have an effect on Socom. If you're last don't camp :D

[Brocman]

Yeah, thats the one thing I don't like about the in game voice messaging system. And that they show you the person who killed you. That I never like.

[MajinTony]

The whole camera following the guy that killed you is to show you where the guy was. I think it's a learning tool. However, when my friends and I weren't so nice back in the socom 1 and 2 days; we would play 4 guys back to back and have 2 on each team. First to die started ratting people out. We would use that fixed camera angle to yell out locations if we were on the same team.

One time, I was tracking a guy on my team for my friend and I'm like "Hey toss a nade at the top of the stairs (actually the desert glory stairs coming up from the tunnel) right now!" So the guy on my team runs up the stairs only to step over a nade waiting for him on the ground. He comes on the mic furious "How the FUCK did that guy know I was going to be there WTF!!?!!" I had to hold back my chuckle as I told him "must have a been a lucky toss."

[Brocman]

Thats what I am talking about. It's supposed to be a learning tool, but it ends up as being a dead man's way of helping the team even though he can't play. They don't let you talk to the dead so why do the dead need intel about enemy locations.

IMO, they give you enough info when they tell you who killed you and with what weapon. I would be in favor of removing the camera following the guy to something else, maybe next to the information about who killed you and with what weapon it could give you something like how far away they were. That would let you know you got sniped or whatever and maybe that persons likely wereabouts.

[thedooku]

I like the camera telling you where your killer was, but I don't think it should continue to follow him. IMO, you should get a one second glimpse and then you're just spectating.

As for the XMB messages/voice-chat during game....Sony/developers have the ability to disable certain XMB options during gameplay. i.e. Metal Gear Online does not allow XMB usage while in-game, if you hit the PS button you get the option to quit game, that's it. If Slant 6 was capable, they could do the same while in game, and leave the XMB fully accessible in the lobby/front-end.

I saw this firmware rumor on a couple sites today, I hope it's more than a rumor.

[RageProphetXIII]

Yeah that all can be tricky when it comes to playing and assisting. I'm not much for helping the ones that are still alive but then again being able to tell your team how severe your last position is, can be very useful in a hectic game such as Warhawk.

If you think about it though people are gonna do it no matter what, I've heard people talking on their cellphones with team players after they are dead, so there really isn't much you can do about it.

I really like that they are speeding up the ingame XMB. It's ridiculous that the PS3 has so much power but you can't even tap into it. Seriously, that's what drove me to Hack my PSP in the first place.

I made the mistake of purchasing it when it first came out, and I spent so much money on it. I didn't even use it for like 3 years. But then I realized I had the best version of the console...more durable, lots of homebrew capabilities, easy to MOD. That I just hacked it and now I used it more than ever.

I'm not gonna lie I do have copied some games in the past. But I've also bought a lot of games paid full price and beat them in a day or two and they were crap. So now I don't even bother buying them or coping them. I really just like the homebrew stuff.

Sony's got nothing but time and they are gonna milk the crap out of the PS3. It's a great machine. I can't wait till they allow Yellow Dog Linux access to the 3d chipset. so you can run games right off of linux.

[RageProphetXIII]

the dooku
I saw this firmware rumor on a couple sites today, I hope it's more than a rumor.

From what I understand this comes from someone with in the Sony DEV team, who has leaked some of this stuff and seems to be reliable. I hope so too.