Playstation 3
PS3 Firmware 2.80 -Details- Actually does quite a bit!
Well the Sony Playstation US Blog said this earlier on this week “Hello, I just wanted to provide everyone with a head’s up that the next PLAYSTATION 3 system software update (v2.80) will be coming soon. The playback quality of some PLAYSTATION 3 format software has been improved”. Well the firmware came out, and boy, oh boy! It’s actually a cracker! Read below to find out all the details.
Ok, so if your wondering why the heck you haven’t had your system ask you to update your console yet, even though the firmware has been out for quite a while now. Well that’s because its an optional update (Yes Sony have been listening to our rants about being forced into downloading small pointless firmware updates all the time), you can get it by going to the “System Update” option at the top of the settings list on your X-Media Bar (XMB) and download and run the update from there.
Here is whats been changed/improved in firmware 2.80 that we know of so far:
- XMB works smoother and faster while in-game.
- Wireless PS3 Controller now is auto-assigned controller number one at start up, instead of any USB devices that you have plugged into the ps3’s USB (like Guitar Hero wireless dongles and such like, this has been needed for a long time!)
- Text chat now enables 64 characters per message instead of 32.
- The official Bluetooth wireless PS3 headset now has its microphone volume locked to level 3.
- Open Remote Play (ORP) has been de-activated in 2.80 for security reasons (not Remote Play, Open Remote Play is a home-brewed application that allows you to remote play onto your ps3 via your PC or Mac).
- PS1 game titles loading times have been decreased.
Also there are a few things we haven’t been able to test and confirm ourselves yet, and they are:
- Internet browser runs smoother and loads less corrupt pages.
- Trophy card loading is quicker (in-game and out of).
- A bug which allowed friends to be displayed offline has been fixed.
Have you noticed anything we haven’t? let us know below!
Source - Official Playstation Website
Playstation Store Update - 25th of June 2009 (PS3 & PSP)
Another week, another update, but this one has benefits (if you don’t already own Super Stardust HD). This weeks update comes with a new game for the the ps3 and one for the psp too, oh and the usual DLC, videos and such like. I will list everything below.
Ok so first of all lets get down to the good stuff. This week, and for one week only (until 2nd of July), Super Stardust HD gets a MASSIVE price reduction from £6.29 down to an incredible £1.59, this is to celebrate its Anniversary (yes it really has been out that long). So if you don’t already own it and fancy giving it a try, now is your chance!
Also in the Playstation Store this week is “Zuma”, a highly addictive game that is similar to puzzle bobble, but in a completely new and unique way, you have to fire different coloured balls from a frogs mouth to match three or more balls with the same colour, and this is to stop the balls progressing around a set wiggly path to a Golden Skull, as you eliminate balls you make them retreat back down the path they came from and away from the Skull, there are many challenges and the game is genuinely addictive, especially displayed in full 1080p, this game also supports trophies.
Now here is the complete list of items in this weeks Playstation Store update:
PS3 Store Update for 25th June 2009
Game
Zuma
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PSP)
Super Stardust HD (Anniversary Special Offer)
Packs
Motorstorm Pacific Rift - Wombat Signature Livery
High Velocity Bowling
’60s Surf Ball Pack
Tiki Polynesian Ball Pack
Little Big Planet
Jon Burgerman Original Sticker kit
Solstice Costume (1 week only)
Rock Band
Maroon 5 Pack 01
21St Century (Digital Boy)
Alive (Live: Drop In The Park)
Brother’
I Didn’t Say I Was Powerful, I Said I Was A Wizard
Little Of Your Time
Makes Me Wonder
Reinventing Your Exit
State Of Love And Trust (Live: Drop In The Park)
The Downfall Of Us All
The Flood
Wake Up Call
Warped Tour 2009 Pack 01
Rock Band Unplugged PSP
Afterlife
Dr. Feelgood
Constant Motion
Sex Type Thing
Guitar Hero World Tour
Chalk Dust Torture’ By Phish
Down With Disease’ By Phish
Sample In A Jar’ By Phish
Phish Track Pack
Videos
Mini Ninjas E3 Trailer
Call Of Juarez: Bound In Blood
Story Trailer
Announcement Trailer
Wallpaper
Battlefield 1943 Wallpaper 1
Battlefield 1943 Wallpaper 2
Themes
Battlefield 1943
MotorStorm Pacific Rift Screenshot Competiton
PSP Store/Media Manager Store
Game
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Packs
Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce Additional Quests 2
Rock Band Unplugged
Afterlife
Dr. Feelgood
Constant Motion
Sex Type Thing
Source - Playstation Store Update thread
Playstation Home update - 25th of June 2009
Well its that time of the week again (and I don’t mean Friday), Its Playstation network weekly downtime! Playstation Home’s downtime today will result in the return of all your long lost items.
MusterBuster (PSN Community team leader), has today confirmed that the Home downtime will bring back most of your long lost reward items from games and events played in Home since the Extended Closed beta trial (but not the closed Beta). He states that not not all items will be recoverable, and any items that do not re-appear after the work is done today, will be lost permanently.
Downtime to Home while the work is done will be approximately 8 hours and will be down from 8am this morning. The next Home content update will be on the 2nd of July.
Source - Playstation Home update thread
Thousands of Music videos on your PS3 for FREE! (VERY soon)
That’s right, we kid you not! At some point during the next few months you will be blessed with the mother of all music services direct onto your PS3, thousands upon thousands of music videos for free at your fingertips for you to surf through and play at any time of the day whenever you feel like it. But there is a catch.
Its ok, don’t panic! The catch isn’t that big really, unless you live outside of Europe then you might as well just pretend you never saw this article. As far as we know the Vidzone service will only be available to SCEE users, but for those SCEE users out there, the catch will be very minimal. The service uses little advertisements to pay for itself, but they are not intrusive and don’t get on your nerves, in fact it has less adverts than watching music television or using youtube, so two happy thumbs up!
The Vidzone service which is bought to the PS3 by Vidzone Digital Media in London has been around since around 2001 and now has distribution agreements with Universal Music, Sony Music, Warner Music, EMI and more than 7,500 independent record labels, so you can expect to see a fair stack of music videos old and new on your PS3 at launch, with more being added all the time.
The service which arrives on our PS3 this summer will be accessible via the music section on your PS3’s XMB menu, once installed and launched you can instantly start viewing music videos, you can set up playlists, just play a random tune or you can just let it do what it wants, its like music TV only better and more interactive. The video quality is very high and even though it streams the videos to your system apparently there is hardly any loading or buffering at all. If that is still the case once the service goes live is yet to be seen, but it all sounds very promising so far!
And finally for any PS3 users out there which own a PSP (I would hope all of you), you will have the ability to create playlists on the move using your PSP and then when you get home you can listen to them, whether a remote play feature will be added so you can watch the videos on the move is yet to be seen, but we can only imagine that if it isn’t, it soon will be.
The PS3 looks more and more like the ultimate home media device all the time, with digital TV, web browser, Music video service, Blu-ray, DVD, CD, media server accessible and a whole bunch of other features, what other device could offer you all this except a PC which certainly isn’t as simple, cheap or as fun to use. The only thing the PS3 is missing in the SCEE region is a decent Video/Movie service, but I think we will be seeing one of those aswell before too long.
Sources:
Vidzone Digital Media
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Playstation Site
Playstation Home makes glitching a thing of the past! (PS3)
As of tomorrow users inside of Playstation Home will no longer be able to run along the rooftops and float in mid-air, well at least in some cases anyway.
As you wonder around Playstation Home you do quite often notice users who have managed to get into the most unusual places, floating in mid-air, running along rooftops and walls, standing on tables and chairs, walking on hand rails, standing on poster-boards and the list goes on and on. Well it seems Sony have got fed up with all this “mostly” harmless frolicking in Home and have decided to put an end to some of it.
In the update scheduled for tomorrow Home will actually be upgraded to Home BETA v1.21, this update will bring along a whole bunch of bug-fixes and changes/improvements of which quite a few will most likely put an end to certain styles of glitching, they are as follows:
- ”Adjusted the way characters get up from seating to make them less prone to popping in and out of seats that are close together”
- “Fixed a bug that would result in characters standing on top of certain types of seating after standing.”
- “Fixed a bug that would allow character to run or slide while performing spot idle animations.”
- “We’ve slowed down the speed at which you can rotate furniture”
So by the sounds of it you will still be able to do the “wiggle” glitches, but any of you who want to explore the areas such as the FarCry train station I suggest you do your glitching tonight, and any of you wanting to explore the land around your Apartments or just want to place furniture on top of your apartments then I suggest you do so before the end of tonight. I would believe that the furniture rotation speed change is a way of preventing these glitches, but on that I could be wrong.
You can view all the changes coming to home tomorrow in this article here
What do you think of Sony’s tactics on reducing glitching? Do you Glitch and will you miss it? Let us know any opinions you may have on this!
Sources: