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SCEE’s just confirmed that there will be no in-game messaging included in version 2.20 of PS3’s firmware, just announced and to be released before the end of March.
“No,” a rep told videogaming247 when asked if the functionality would make the update. “Otherwise it would have been included in the press release.”
You can take it as read, then, that in-game XMB access is also off the menu for now.
The big news for the firmware upgrade is the inclusion of BD-LIVE options, which allow users to access extra content and features through Blu-Ray movies.
System updates include the ability to play DivX and WMV files over 2Gb and a “resume play” feature that plays Blu-rays and DVDs at the point they were stopped, even after the disc has been removed.
More here.
Viewing 31 responses
morriss said:
oh dear. How long do they need?
Blerk said:
People get really worked up about this, don’t they? It’s very amusing.
patlike said:
I don’t really understand the fuss. Surely the only way in-game stuff really works is via a headset?
morriss said:
Eh? Maybe I misreading the news post but the ability for someone to want to talk to me/message me whilst I’m playing a game without having to quit out to the dash every damn time is bloody annoying.
I mean, it could be a game invite or it could simply be someone telling me they love me. Have to quit to dash just to read a message is ridiculous and should’ve been sorted pre-release.
patlike said:
Ah, I see. I thought it was just actually sending messages to each other. I didn’t realise you had to quit out to do all that. I’ve been spoiled with Live, obviously
Syrok said:
You don’t if the sender is smart enough to write everything they want to tell you in tht headline of the message. There is enough room for “UT now?”, “MS now! and “I love u!”
patlike said:
Heh
Blimey, that is it a bit rubbish. I’m sure they’ll fix it soon enough, though.
morriss said:
Basically if you go on your PS3 and see that I’m playing game-x and you want to contact me somehow, whilst you’re in the dash and I’m playing, I get a message saying there’s a message but to read it and reply I have to quit back to dash, write back, then either wait for you to do the same or continue playing.
The really annoying thing is if the message you just quit your game for say, “Hi. How are things?” and nothing else.
Blerk said:
Just ignore all your mail, like I do.
/filters entire inbox straight into bin
morriss said:
@syrok - I just get “New Message Recieved” popping up when I’m playing. No headline or anything.
Still, even if you want to play online in say, 15 mins (you just want to finish the level you’re on), there’s no way of communicating that to your friends whilst you’re playing a game.
Blerk said:
Mobile phone?
DrDamn said:
Just to demonstrate how crap this is consider the following real life example.
A bunch of friends and I want to play Warhawk online. I start up a friends only server and the game kicks off as a few join. I get a message from a friend. So I need to close down the server and quit to XMB to read it - it was just a message saying “Sorry can’t make it tonight”. Start it all up again. In game someone tell me over comms they have a friend who wants to join. They can’t though as they aren’t on my friends list. The game needs more players so again I close the server, quit to dash and add the guy as a friend so he can join when I restart the server. It’s a big bunch of arse and it’s not like someone else hasn’t shown them exactly what is needed over the last 4 years +
morriss said:
@Blerk:
patlike said:
Bloody hell. That actually does sound “bad”.
Syrok said:
@morris: Hmm, in some games you can see headline, maybe not all games I don’t know, apart from friend requests I don’t get too many messages anyway.
But yes they certainly could improve in that area.
morriss said:
I dunno, “could improve” is an understatement. Stuff like that is basic and integral to any online gaming experience.
I’ve said it loads of times. You get what you pay for. If paying a monthly sub will get this stuff and much, much more implemented asap, then Sony, I’ll pay you.
Syrok said:
Okay, should improve.
morriss said:
Or is pretty unacceptable given the amount of time they’ve had to implement it and we should all carry posters saying, “Down with this sort of thing!”
I mean, how long is it going to take them? How difficult is it? Anyone know the ins and outs of such a procedure who knows what the hold-up might be?
patlike said:
Surely this stuff will happen with Home, though. There’s no way it could be left like that if they’re surrounding all their online stuff with a “world”.
Syrok said:
If they don’t the internet will run amok.
PS: Home seems to be month away…
patlike said:
Yeah, it’s still a little way off, from the look of it.
DrDamn said:
I think work on Home is the reason this stuff isn’t there already personally. The longer they have left it the worse the situation is too. With older games maybe needing a patch to support it etc. It should have been there at the start - plain and simple.
morriss said:
Yep. An “out of the box” feature. Like scaling - but let’s not go there.
patlike said:
It was a choppy launch all round, really, and it’s well documented that they’ve lagged a bit on the online side. I’ve got faith it’ll all be fixed by Christmas this year, though. I sincerely hope so, anyway.
morriss said:
Well I really hope that switching between 5.1 audio and TV become ‘auto’. Rather than accessing loads of menus every time to do it manually. Again, stuff like this should be standard.
Spiral said:
@ morris: I suspect the difficulty isn’t in the doing it but in doing it in a way that doesn’t break anything that wasn’t designed with it in mind. Adding functionality like that could give the OS a larger memory footprint while the game is running and that could screw with stuff in strange and unusual ways. I suspect a way of doing it for new games only would be a lot easier, but that might just piss people off more so they could be holding off till they figure it out.
morriss said:
Yeah fair enough. However, it does strike me a puzzling that this feature wasn’t discussed in R&D pre-release. Unless, as Syrok and pat say, it was always meant to be in Home but Home wasn’t meant to be this late.
Still, not having this and a few other feature out the box really surprised me.
Spiral said:
I think Sony were just trying to get the PS3 out the door and thought that the fact it’s free to play would make up for the lack of in-game functionality. Which for a lot of people I suppose it does.
morriss said:
Strangely yes, yes it does.
patlike said:
Not to me, personally. Time is far more valuable to me than £30 a year, or whatever.
morriss said:
Exactly. Time and ease of use > 2 or 3 quid a month.