Patrick Elliot
Shaun InguanzoOverhyped: one man's opinion on PS3 Firmware 2.40
July 3rd 2008 02:58
Rebadged features do not maketh such features new
UNLOCKING achievements, accessing music and downloads during a game, checkings friends' status, and building a gamer score.
It's all been done before.
While Sony's PS3 lags behind the Xbox 360 in terms of online integration and community features, sadly, we've seen Sony gloating about 2.40's belated features
Released yesterday, the new firmware allows Cross Media Bar (XMB) access during gameplay - something that PS3 fans have been screaming for.
It also introduces the Trophy system, which is essentially a take on the Xbox 360's Achievement feature.
The Friends system has been revamped so that when you select a name, a card with their details, gaming and personal information appears.
But given Xbox 360 users have been doing this since 2006, what makes Sony's belated response - two years later - so special, and worth the hype?
Should Sony be excited about something new, something that offers up a delicious plate of previously unserved tidbits to gamers, then I would no doubt also be excited.
But when, after two years of waiting, Sony released what it should have a long time ago, I fail to see as a gamer how this is really progress at all.
If the original Xbox taught the gaming world anything, it was that online play on consoles needed to become more integrated. That was in 2003.
As good as the original Xbox Live was, it is but a shade of the current 360 service which allows demo downloads, Xbox original downloads, comprehensive online multiplayer, the ability to chat seamlessly with friends, even while changing games, and a less laggy online community to play against.
And yet, Sony 'launched' videos of 2.40, showed the XMB in action during games, and beat it up like a tabloid journalist on 'roids.
Last night's update was a sign of the times - a concession by the once powerful gaming giant that Microsoft did it right, and did it better - and that it needed to follow in order to keep the Sony fans at bay.
I may sound like a grumpy 360 fanboy, but I'm in fact an owner of all three current-gen consoles, and it has disappointed me that Sony's effort has so far been underwhelming. Yes, the PSN is free, but that's because it's not a true service. or at least it doesn't feel that way.
It doesn't help when every version of a multiplatform game also looks better on the 360, and when exclusive games like Unreal Tournament 3 don't have the online community necessary to make it a hit (at least in Australia).
So, if Sony is excited by this necessary, belated update to its console, then I'd hate to think what is in store in the future for PlayStation owners, and for the industry in general.
What we need to see from Sony is the company being more focused on raising the bar, rather than meeting it. That is what progress is all about.
UNLOCKING achievements, accessing music and downloads during a game, checkings friends' status, and building a gamer score.
It's all been done before.
While Sony's PS3 lags behind the Xbox 360 in terms of online integration and community features, sadly, we've seen Sony gloating about 2.40's belated features
Released yesterday, the new firmware allows Cross Media Bar (XMB) access during gameplay - something that PS3 fans have been screaming for.
It also introduces the Trophy system, which is essentially a take on the Xbox 360's Achievement feature.
The Friends system has been revamped so that when you select a name, a card with their details, gaming and personal information appears.
But given Xbox 360 users have been doing this since 2006, what makes Sony's belated response - two years later - so special, and worth the hype?
Should Sony be excited about something new, something that offers up a delicious plate of previously unserved tidbits to gamers, then I would no doubt also be excited.
But when, after two years of waiting, Sony released what it should have a long time ago, I fail to see as a gamer how this is really progress at all.
If the original Xbox taught the gaming world anything, it was that online play on consoles needed to become more integrated. That was in 2003.
As good as the original Xbox Live was, it is but a shade of the current 360 service which allows demo downloads, Xbox original downloads, comprehensive online multiplayer, the ability to chat seamlessly with friends, even while changing games, and a less laggy online community to play against.
And yet, Sony 'launched' videos of 2.40, showed the XMB in action during games, and beat it up like a tabloid journalist on 'roids.
Last night's update was a sign of the times - a concession by the once powerful gaming giant that Microsoft did it right, and did it better - and that it needed to follow in order to keep the Sony fans at bay.
I may sound like a grumpy 360 fanboy, but I'm in fact an owner of all three current-gen consoles, and it has disappointed me that Sony's effort has so far been underwhelming. Yes, the PSN is free, but that's because it's not a true service. or at least it doesn't feel that way.
It doesn't help when every version of a multiplatform game also looks better on the 360, and when exclusive games like Unreal Tournament 3 don't have the online community necessary to make it a hit (at least in Australia).
So, if Sony is excited by this necessary, belated update to its console, then I'd hate to think what is in store in the future for PlayStation owners, and for the industry in general.
What we need to see from Sony is the company being more focused on raising the bar, rather than meeting it. That is what progress is all about.
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