PS3 Firmware 3.0

[Arwin]

PS3 Firmware 3.0 Out Now

Feature list
- What's New display showing new stuff on PSN, recently played games, new articles on the official blog, etc. All of these are in fact shortcuts and by selecting them you'll go to that item directly, whether in PS Store, Browser, or actually booting the game. (Booting a game requires you to press the Start button rather than X, presumably to prevent you losing a lot of time by accidentally selecting it)
- PS Store avialable under all categories now for which content is available. Basically a category filter for the What's New section, showing for instance only Video content, or Games content
- Stereo audio upscaling up-to 7.1 at 176KHz extended to audio files on USB and HDD (note, as with CD not compatible with XMB multitasking, so if you want music while browsing you need to select the default 48Khz option)
- Music output possible to all audio ports at once. The non-default audio output will only output a stereo signal (e.g. for outputting sound to your stereo and to your TV separately).
- 3D Theme support (see vid below), default theme has sparkles now that move if you shake the sixaxis, for instance, and they flow in a direction related to your scrolling behaviour in the XMB. LBP theme available in US for $3, Afrika theme available for free in JPN. A Classic Theme option is still available for those who don't like the sparklies.
- Friends list redesign, with most important feature ability to read his/her messages directly from there rather than having to go to the message inbox.
- Boot-up screens for both the system and games have been changed primarily to improve speed. No splash for games, short splash during boot-up.
- Default font size increased for readability
- Status indicator containing number of friends online, number of messages waiting, clock, ticker (all regions except 'PAL'). Analog clock is also the universal busy indicator (will spin when busy).
- Control video playback speed very precisely by rotating the right analog stick (cf professional editing boards)
- Scrollbars when scrolling through large lists fast showing where you are in the list
- Trophies can be further categorised by developers, making categories for instance for main game and DLC trophies, etc. (only for future games/updates)
- Platinum Trophy no longer counts towards the Trophy percentage
- Web browser has a print screen option to a printer connected over USB or over LAN
- Phones can now be registered as remote play devices
- Settings descriptions (each settings has a description)
- Copy/Paste available in more areas (including the input boxes, messages)
- Internet Connection Test includes speed test
- Web Browser screen capture function
- Avatar support extended, with a slot for Premium avatars

Bugs / Complaints
- No option for deselecting ticker
- No option for changing the font size (only type)
- Disabling What's New option doesn't seem to work for everyone/anyone
- People want option for old splash (I agree it was classy); actually some people just want an option for old everything.
- When selecting the Classic Theme, sparklies still appear in some cases (may have to do with certain items having their own Theme/background, like iPlayer)
- I'm guessing that the XMB uses more power. Will be interesting to see if you can disable enough options to bring the power-use down close to the original. Look forward to someone measuring this.

Official video preview:

(click for widescreen/HD)

Afrika Theme

(click for widescreen/HD)

 

[Phil]

I have to say, this update is a huge disappointment. I can appreciate the fact that they've included fully animated themes, but simply can not unterstand why they

- included those horrendous grey bars in the friends list
- spam us with PS store icons in most categories
- enlarged the font size
- changed the really classy splash

On top of that, we don't even get the option to revert to the more simplistic XMB, as it was before the update. At the very least, the font size should be able to be adjusted, the grey bars behind the friend list should be optional and the PS store icons borderline of spamming.

What were they thinking?

They get the glorious opportunity to "re-launch" the PS3 as the PS3 slim and deliever a new milestone in the Firmware to go with it... and what do they do? They move from sleek, slim and elegant to a more cluttered, overspamed and enlarged XMB... Great!



I really wanted to like this, but the drawbacks outweigh the pros (that solely being the animated themes).

 

[Rotmm]

...but simply can not unterstand why they

- spam us with PS store icons in most categories

At the end of the day, the store was probably underused. With more and more content becoming available on PSN, it only makes sense to direct users towards it.

 

[Arwin]

By the way, does anyone believe in coincidence?

Released on 1st of September: Sony signs deal with Google for Chrome on Sony PC's

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8231184.stm

 

[deepbrown]

Guys the old splash is still there. It's called "Classic" instead of "Original".

The new friends list is awful. I canni find my BBCiPlayer but I'm told it's appeared for some people after a little while.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Argh, what have they done?! Are they trying to reach the older generation by combating short-sightedness with oversized fonts?! And why oh why have tacky boarders around the friends?

Who the heckers KO'd this design?? The only upside for me is I'm not seeing Store spams in every category. The Store is just in the network category. Edit : I also don't have a TV category and iPlayer available ??. But by golly, they'd better get a 3.1 out soon to return the classy swish that XMB had! This is an embarassment.

 

[rabidrabbit]

Is it coincidence too that Disney bought Marvel, thus the rights to Spiderman, and the removal of "Spiderman font" completely from PS3 branding?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

That Spiderman font isn't the property of Marvel, is it? I'd have thought it was created for Sony Pictures and the rights belong to whatever font company created it, or it's an in-house. It's certainly not a Spiderman trademark font outside of the movie.

 

[rabidrabbit]

But the font is still heavily associated with Spiderman through the movies, thus in the future with Disney. Maybe they just thought it would be wise to change it, so there wouldn't be any possible confusions.

I haven't yet updated my PS3 to 3.0 fw, but from the videos, the new default font size doesn't look that much bigger, at least not as big as what some forums make it sound, and I don't think it'll bother me the least. Has the icon size increased too? I don't notice it from the videos.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Disney aren't taking over completely with everything Marvel. They are still tending licensing deals. Sony are down to make Spiderman 4 and I'm sure that'll ahve the font. My guess is they just decided the association wasn't wanted.

Oh, and the TV option has appeared in my XMB now.

 

[Arwin]

Argh, what have they done?! Are they trying to reach the older generation by combating short-sightedness with oversized fonts?! And why oh why have tacky boarders around the friends?

It's probably partly just placeholder, and I'm thinking these borders will start showing message icons, trophy count and level, etc. We'll see. The question is - can they be changed by a Theme?

They should definitely offer a font size option though. The question

Who the heckers KO'd this design?? The only upside for me is I'm not seeing Store spams in every category. The Store is just in the network category. Edit : I also don't have a TV category and iPlayer available ??. But by golly, they'd better get a 3.1 out soon to return the classy swish that XMB had! This is an embarassment.

Did you try restarting your PS3 to get the TV Category? Apparently it only appears after a reboot to most people.

 

[Phil]

It's probably partly just placeholder, and I'm thinking these borders will start showing message icons, trophy count and level, etc. We'll see. The question is - can they be changed by a Theme?

I'm actually a bit worried it's because of this (looking like the online avatars you can post with all the information in them). Then it'll look like the X360... No thanks.

They shoudl bring back the old list and have the stats blend into a box that comes up after you've highlighted a friend. Then at least the list wouldn't look as cluttered up.

Right now, it just doesn't fit into the sleek XMB at all...

 

[Arwin]

Maybe, I don't know. They're probably also looking towards making something that looks/works better in the context of a game - currently selecting a friend in a game where there's just a black background looks ugly. They're probably looking to create something that can easily be overlayed in actual game menus with transparancy. Then they need the boxes to offset against the potential clutter of the game-menu or background. And in that case, while you could do different layouts in XMB versus in-game, keeping it uniform would be better.

Well, we'll see. I care much more about my friend's messages now being more easily accessible from the friends list. MUCH much more.

Updated the list above with the Platinum trophy not counting for trophy percentage thing.

 

[deepbrown]

Maybe, I don't know. They're probably also looking towards making something that looks/works better in the context of a game - currently selecting a friend in a game where there's just a black background looks ugly. They're probably looking to create something that can easily be overlayed in actual game menus with transparancy. Then they need the boxes to offset against the potential clutter of the game-menu or background. And in that case, while you could do different layouts in XMB versus in-game, keeping it uniform would be better.

Well, we'll see. I care much more about my friend's messages now being more easily accessible from the friends list. MUCH much more.

Updated the list above with the Platinum trophy not counting for trophy percentage thing.

Add that the old splash is still there...

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I'm actually a bit worried it's because of this (looking like the online avatars you can post with all the information in them).

Yes. It matches the info page when you slect an ID. The friend's list doesn't need this info always on show though. It's just to show who's online so you can interact with them. The old system was perfect IMO, very minimalist and natural.

It's as if the part of the team responsible for designing the friend's list aspect had a different design doc to the rest!

Edit : One nice feature is the background blur when entering submenus. That works very well.

 

[nightshade]

- Really Over sized fonts !
- Grey bars in Friend List
- Took the Jingling sound & Spiderman style Playstation 3 logo out when I launch game [why do this to us ? do it with the Slim owner not the old ones who have a big spiderman like Playstation 3 logo on my console, I liked that font ]

If we are to have those huge Grey bars then lets have some purpose for them, like having PSN level,or something like that in it rather than just a big grey bar.


On plus side...the animated themes are cool.

 

[Arwin]

Added scroll bars and right analog stick speed control for video playback, and the multiple audio out

 

[Rolf N]

I don't like the new look of the friends list. Who does anyway?

Filled and bordered container boxes clash with the XMB in a really bad way. If the concern was to maximize contrast with game screens, a)game screens fade to half intensity anyway, so you automatically win with a white font and b)glyph outlines work better than turning the whole design upside down.

 

[nightshade]

^ Or the box could've been much smaller.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Filled and bordered container boxes clash with the XMB in a really bad way. If the concern was to maximize contrast with game screens...

Has that ever been a problem? I can't see that being the reason as when in-game XMB was introduced, they'd have tested this and found the fading works. My guess is it's more of a placeholder for a future feature.