Three Speech just received a statement on firmware update 2.4 from Sony.
“We are aware of a number of consumers experiencing an issue with installing firmware 2.40 on PS3. While our consumer services department has seen a low volume of calls on this topic, we are committed to enabling the community and XMB access features delivered in the 2.40 update. In order to further assess the issue, we have temporarily taken the firmware offline for further testing. We are working diligently to isolate the problem for those few consumers and to identify a solution before we put the firmware back up.”
Did SCEE put this firmware together?
MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Comment by russ — Jul 3, 2008 @ 4:44 pm
Do they have a statement on the Dualshock 3?
I was wondering if they will set up a sytem where we could trade in our obsolete Sixaxis controllers for free/massively discounted Dualshock 3s?
It is down to Sony’s statement of rumble being a “last gen” feature and that PS3 didn’t need it that many of us bought more Sixaxis controllers when all along we wanted rumble.
I feel it would go a small distance to repair the very fragile relationship Sony now shares with it’s customers, especially in light of the new firmware 2.40 fiasco which has emerged.
Comment by Ton Capone — Jul 3, 2008 @ 4:51 pm
Capone,
No discounts nor trade ins when the DS3 was released in Japan and USA. Considering how things usually go for Europe, I’d be surprised if they do that here.
Comment by TTP — Jul 3, 2008 @ 5:02 pm
Nice idea, but I don’t see it happening.
Ah well, I’ll get 2 rumblers when I have the cash bringing my total PS3 specific controllers up to 6. 2 for serious multiplayer split-screen (Resistance 2, MotorStorm 2) and 6 for Homecourt or anything else that will support that many!
Comment by Zoob — Jul 3, 2008 @ 5:05 pm
*pets 2.40 ps3*
i downloaded it about 8.30 last night, i think the servers got pulled just afterwards.
maybe us users who have it are just beta testing it before it gets rolled out properly.
i was kinda under the impression though (from loading the in-game xmb) that we’d be able to play mp3s over any game we had in, not just those that support the feature, feel a bit gyped over that. i mean, just how much processing power does that take?
Comment by mobiletone — Jul 3, 2008 @ 5:28 pm
@mobiletone…
Problem is, it’s not a problem of processing power regarding in-game music, more a question of a patent grey area…
Basically there’s a US patent, #6981918, called “Method and apparatus for creating and playing soundtracks in a gaming” that covers “a game console that executes an application that creates and plays soundtracks through the gaming system… A user-created soundtrack can be associated with a particular game such that the user-created soundtrack is played during execution of the game instead of the game’s default soundtrack.”
The patent was filed in 2004 and issued in 2006 to a certain Microsoft Corporation, initially for the XBox, and now covering the 360. (http://www.google.com/patents?id=mx93AAAAEBAJ)
Instead they may be exploiting a loophole by *not* making it system-wide but providing hooks in the XMB API for developers to optionally add in-game custom soundtracks per game so that it is something supplied by the game rather than the system. That may not be the actual case here but seems the most likely explanation…
Comment by Radharc — Jul 3, 2008 @ 5:59 pm
@mobiletone
Yeah, im a bit dissapointed about that too.. it should be enough just to turn the in-game music off, and then got to xmb & start ur own.. but naah, sony is really getting on my nerves now.. so much they f*ck up nowdays….
Comment by rBerggren — Jul 3, 2008 @ 6:02 pm
@mobiletone: it’s not about processing power, it’s about the game being smart enough to process the command from XMB to mute music without muting all audio (sfx, dialog, etc) - basically I would imagine the PS3 SDK (Software Development Kit) got updated recently to encompass how to detect this.
The entire trophy and custom sound thing is a bit of a mess imo - I mean Pain only just rolled out a game patch with it’s own implementation of custom soundtracks - meaning that they can’t have had THAT much warning, or they’d have saved some work.
Plus surely it made sense to hold 2.4 back until more than 1 game had trophies, etc…then go live with a raft of patches for games.
…don’t even get me started on what happens to people who’re stuck on 2.36 and pick up the SSHD 4.0 update, I imagine the game doesn’t take kindly to it.
Comment by Phil — Jul 3, 2008 @ 6:21 pm
You guys do have to realize that Sony’s walking a fine line with the personal music feature. Some companies spend a lot of time and money on music for their game, so if nobody hears it that’s money down the drain. Leaving this in the hands of the developers isn’t a bad movie honestly. It may suck for some of us as we’ll see a lot of EA games not support this and force us to listen to the crap they call music. All because they built their own “label” and have their own list of bands.
It’s giving us what we want all while not slamming publisher fingers in the door either. I see the point of wanting to always listen to my music, but I see the business sense in their implementation as well.
Comment by tdh — Jul 3, 2008 @ 6:30 pm
My PS3 died on me due to the update, reformatted the Hard drive on PC seams OK now, phewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!
Would recommend that everyone do a backup before they install updates.
Luckily not to many people affected.
Comment by Mostyn — Jul 3, 2008 @ 7:01 pm
@ Phil - most games have the ability to adjust the game/sfx/music volumes from within the options, so why not just mute the music and play your own while leaving the game/sfx?? GRiD being a perfect example of a game that can do this.
i mean, after a while most game music gets to be very samey and it’d be nice to listen to something different for a change. Bad Companys’ ‘radio’ being an example of this.
as it is i still have to mute the music option and turn my stereo on.
i want to drive across a Battlefield listening to The Bewlay Brothers in-game, not too much to ask seeing as this firmware promised such.
Comment by mobiletone — Jul 3, 2008 @ 7:12 pm
I got the FW, but missed the one for SuperStardust. Poo!
Comment by LordOfRuin — Jul 3, 2008 @ 8:02 pm
Thank you for the information, Three Speech.
From the comments on the US Blog, it looks as if Sony took a full 24 hours before sanctioning an official update to the European customers via ThreeSpeech.com. I certainly read the same statement at 8:30am this morning:
[ http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/07/02/firmware-v240-status/#comments ]
Although I rarely criticize SCEE, SCEA, or any of the Sony divisions, as I think they receive far too much negativity, the message here is that there is nothing like good customer service. (Add your own punchline). Maintaining a good communication channel in times of trouble should be essential. All registered PlayStation Network e-mail address could (and should) have been contacted with the statement (above) to reassure those who had downloaded the update. I am presuming that Sony would be able to track which PSN Id has what firmware revision but, even if this is not the case & was an oversight during development of the console/network, then all customers could be contacted as a matter of course anyway.
Well done to Sony for having the conviction to withdraw the 2.40 firmware revision, given the bad press they know it would generate. If this were an Xbox 360 update & Microsoft took the same decision, then the problematic release would be seen as a minor glitch, and the whole issue not mentioned again thereafter.
Sony does seem to always be on the defensive end of justifying their actions (or lack thereof).
To their credit, however, on the previous occasions when firmware updates have proven to not be completely satisfactory for all installations, then Sony have quickly turned around these issues & released a newer, more stable, firmware revision in a matter of days.
With this in mind, I would very much doubt a further update would be available before this weekend, so we can but hope for some better news next week.
If anything, the current events should demonstrate how complicated the global release process is, and why Sony typically stages releases throughout the local regions to minimise risk in affecting all customers if an unforeseen issue occurs.
Good things, of course, are worth waiting for. The features in the latest firmware revision have been planned for almost twelve months, so a few days or weeks longer is not a problem in the relative scheme of what we do have available on the PS3 console at present.
I am still waiting for the last update to “Tekken Dark Resurrection Online” (from March 2008) to be available in Europe (before “Tekken 6” is available), but am ‘consoling’ [arf, arf] myself with the fact that the “Cagney” update for “Burnout Paradise” is due in a week.
Just keep the information flowing, Sony. Some news is better than no news, even if it is not positive.
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jul 3, 2008 @ 9:08 pm
SInce updating I’ve had Metal gear 4 crash on me several times when opening the menu up (changing items, trying to save etc). It sounds like my ps3 is dying!
Anyone experienced the same?
Comment by Bob — Jul 3, 2008 @ 9:08 pm
did you know Sony is not earning anything on the Playstation 3, also I just saw this http://www.desktopexchange.com/gallery/Video-Game-Wallpapers
just a tip for some game images, but the Sony thing is for real.
Comment by Game — Jul 3, 2008 @ 9:37 pm
@LordOfRuin. Too bad you missed the SSHD update - it’s awesome! I’ve collected 10 trophies so far - just the really tricky ones left to nab. Sorry to gloat.
Comment by reakt — Jul 4, 2008 @ 8:11 am
[...] reported on the ’semi-official’ non-US Blog site for the PlayStation 3, ThreeSpeech.com, yesterday at 5:41pm (as the clock is an hour behind UK time), Sony have tried to justify the [...]
Pingback by 1UPGamers.com - » 2.40… Firmwhere? — Jul 4, 2008 @ 8:59 am
I got the firmware no problem at about 8pm on Wednesday. Works great and I can’t wait for trophies to start
Comment by TheShirts — Jul 4, 2008 @ 9:04 am
@14 [TheShirts]:
In contradiction to the fact that Trophies are not retrospectively awarded (at present) except with “Burnout Paradise” (following a future update) as the saved game data is linked to your PlayStation Network Id, according to the current “Official UK PlayStation Magazine” (the one with Daniel Craig/”Quantum of Solace”) on the cover, 70% of all current titles will be compatible with the Trophy facility.
No news on when this will be though.
TheSixthAxis have compiled a list of titles in reference to Trophy Support:
[ http://www.thesixthaxis.com/ps3_trophy_support_list_feature_1254_tsa.aspx ]
—
Already Supporting Trophies
Super Stardust HD: Patched.
Could Possibly Support Trophies
fl0w: Apparently up for debate.
Expected To Support Trophies
Buzz: Quiz TV: will reportedly be patched on launch, Friday 4th.
BioShock: Will Apparently launch with Trophies.
Definitely Supporting Trophies Via a Patch
Pain: Definitely getting a Trophy patch.
Uncharted: Definitely getting a Trophy patch.
NovaStrike: Definitely getting a Trophy patch.
Warhawk: Definitely getting a Trophy patch.
Burnout Paradise: Definitely getting a Trophy patch.
Will Release With Trophies
PixelJunk Eden: Will launch with Trophies.
Resistance 2: Will launch with Trophies.
MotorStorm 2: Will launch with Trophies.
SOCOM: Will launch with Trophies.
LittleBigPlanet: Will launch with Trophies.
Will Not Support Trophies
Call of Duty 4: Will not be patched to support Trophies.
Civilisation Revolution: Will not be patched to support Trophies.
Resistance: Will not be patched to support Trophies.
Ratchet and Clank: Will not be patched to support Trophies.
All dates are approximate. This list will be updated as and when we get more information and confirmations.
—
I have the 133,507Kb “PS3UPDAT.PUP” file on my laptop, but have not transferred it to my PS3. I may well not bother, and just wait for Sony’s next firmware release. Firmware revision 2.36 isn’t that bad!
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jul 4, 2008 @ 9:23 am
I heard that Microsoft had a say regarding Sony supporting in-game music with all games i.e. Sony had no choice. It was mentioned on the monsterous 2.40 Status post on the US Blog… I’m not going through 1500 comments to find it!
Comment by Obli — Jul 4, 2008 @ 9:25 am
Here we are - take it away, Joel:
“IN GAME MUSIC
had to be taken out, 2.4 contained it, but MICROSOFT threathened to SUE, YOU NEED THE DEVELOPERS NOT SONY TO PATCH IT, BECAUSE SONY WILL LOSE SO MUCH MORE THAN THEY DID.”
Not sure whether to believe someone that cannot string a coherent sentence together but I think I get what Joel is saying…
Comment by Obli — Jul 4, 2008 @ 9:28 am
No more Threespeech for a whole week now, damn sumer holiday to exotic shores.
Comment by E-ROLE — Jul 4, 2008 @ 9:56 am
@pages
If I were to get in touch - i’de be willing to get a copy of that update off you and brave the storm of updating my console
Comment by JohnSketch — Jul 4, 2008 @ 10:27 am
@JohnSketch - psst if you’re looking for the 2.40 update file - have a read of this:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=323204
Comment by reakt — Jul 4, 2008 @ 12:00 pm
I’d like two options to be available to me now. The first would be the ability to turn off the clock (though it’s not up for long, over time I’m going to be worried about burn in). Secondly, I’d like to be able to swap the in-game functionality of the PS button. At the moment a quick tap, brings up the XMB and the delay while the icons populate, while holding the PS brings up the usual game exit etc options, but quickly. If I had a choice, I’d have it the other way around. A quick tap for the usual menu, and a long hold to bring up the XMB. What are your thoughts?
We should get a trophy for managing to get the FW update in the time alotted, and surviving!
And JohnSketch, make a backup first. If it bricks, format and restore, and have another go. It works for some! Allegedly!
Comment by LordOfRuin — Jul 4, 2008 @ 12:10 pm
@23 [JohnSketch]:
If the links at NeoGaf are no use to you, yes, by alls means contact me & I’ll make the file available for you.
[If you are familiar with something called "BitTorrent" then the 'Mininova' site may prove useful also. Although I have no idea what this means. I am just passing on the information :)]
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jul 4, 2008 @ 12:14 pm
“by alls”? What Sony said when they had to withdraw…
Comment by fanpages — Jul 4, 2008 @ 12:17 pm
Sony was right to issue the patch now, if anything it stops the whinging on their blogs. Trophy support will come, but 3rd party developers would not have bothered until the system was confirmed and launch, by 2009 I would expect all new games to support trophies.
Same with In-game XMB - I don’t believe this is the finished article but an important foundation has been laid.
Another under-rated improvement with 2.4 is the fact the PSN Store now caches those thumbnails so you don’t have to wait for the buttons to load each visit!
Unfortunately I need to update my custom theme for the new icons though (I hope they update the editor soon).
As for the error some people have had (worked fine for the people I know btw), it’s clearly to do with a file on their HDD and not the firmware itself - this is proven by the fact reformatting the HDD leaves you with a fully working v2.4 PS3 (that’ll teach you to backup more regularly!).
This is why Sony wouldn’t have known it would happen, they can’t test it with every single file, theme or game save etc.
As for custom soundtracks, I believe the developer involvement is down to MS’s patent (you should be thanking Sony’s lawyers for finding a loophole instead of complaining). Personally I think it’s over-rated - I would only use a custom soundtrack for a) games with radio stations like Burnout and GTAIV or b) mini-games off the PSN like SSHD where you just relax and play a mini game and listen to some music.
I would never use custom soundtracks in a full release game anyway, music and sound effects are just as involving and important to me as graphics, gameplay and rumble etc. It’s like going to the cinema, but taking your iPod! Composers are paid to develop a music score for a reason you know - to add to the experience.
Comment by Apnomis — Jul 4, 2008 @ 12:19 pm
@Apnomis - I can appreciate that much time is spent by the game developer finding / composing music specifically for a certain game. However, having played motorstorm *a lot* (when it came out there wasn’t much else worth playing) and having heard each track hundreds of times I wouldn’t mind a change.
Comment by reakt — Jul 4, 2008 @ 1:12 pm
“I believe the developer involvement is down to MS’s patent (you should be thanking Sony’s lawyers for finding a loophole instead of complaining). Personally I think it’s over-rated ”
BALLS!!
Comment by mobiletone — Jul 4, 2008 @ 2:58 pm
@mobiletone - I totally get where you’re coming from (it’s not something I tend to do myself though).
What I’m saying though is that at a technical level games need the patch to be able to interpret the instruction to mute the existing music, as well as to interface with XMB to play the music you selected (either by calling some form of system MP3/aac player or just by routing the audiostream from XMB through to the “music” sound channel (I don’t really know whether the XMB/firmware decodes the audio or if the game is expected to - I’m not a PS3 developer).
In comparison, the 360 launched with this functionality, so all developers have been leaned on in order to cater for it, so it just works.
Not criticising Sony (because I’m glad to have these features now), but if you add sometime like this part way through a console’s life, it tends to cause upheavel until everyone’s on the same page again.
Comment by Phil — Jul 4, 2008 @ 3:23 pm
@19 - This is confusing my tiny mind! You said “@14 [TheShirts]” but 14 wasn’t my comment AND 14 wasn’t anything to do with what you then went on to say
Comment by TheShirts — Jul 4, 2008 @ 4:01 pm
@TheShirts re: post numbering. If any posts get deleted then the numbers of all the posts following that one get decreased by one. Maybe that’s what happened. I expect carl and his potty-mouth paid us a visit!
Comment by reakt — Jul 4, 2008 @ 5:39 pm
So backward compatibility for trophies - surely it shouldn’t be too hard for the trophies app to read save files & award accordingly? I don’t see why you need to play through games again to achieve them. Especially now I’ve traded them in…
TBH though, I’m more into playing music & instant comms with buddies. Agreed, I prefer to listen to in-game music for cinematic games (ie MGS4) but when it’s just played ad nauseum in the background I do turn it off & flick the stereo on. It’d be much handier just to do it through the XMB and have the PS3 going through the stereo rather than TV for full blown gaming heaven.
Comment by Zoob — Jul 4, 2008 @ 6:14 pm
Retroactive trophies would be a bad idea in the majority of cases, because (AFAIK) most game saves aren’t locked to your userid/psn account so you can just download a completed save.
From what I’ve read Burnout Paradise always HAD locked down saves and WILL give retroactive trophies.
I assume more and more future games will lock the saves and therefore will be secure (otherwise what’s to stop you getting a save just before a trophy is issued then getting it)…what I don’t get is if this is the case, aren’t we going to see a backlash from the people who LIKE to download saves but don’t give a crap about trophies?
Comment by Phil — Jul 6, 2008 @ 9:40 pm
I just had a nasty experience tonite with 2.40. I was trying (and failing) to get my first trophy in SSHD (yes, I know, I’m pathetic) and after realising that tonite was not going to give me my first trophy, I started Battlefield: Bad Company directly from in-game-XMB. Everything went well until I resumed my Singleplayer campaign, were the PS3 just hung on the loading screen. I stopped the system with the PS button and instead of stopping it did the 3 beep thing when something hangs and proceeded to reboot. Then came the nasty message: Cannot find correct harddisk or some like that. Real men don’t take backups and I haven’t in ages, so this was terrible. Luckily the PS3 came up after a button reboot. The fan was going bonkers after SSHD so maybe the PS3 just overheated? I have an original EU 60Gb PS3 which has always been more noisy than my chinese and japanese 60Gb PS3s.
Comment by Icebear3 — Jul 6, 2008 @ 9:51 pm
@36 [Icebear3]:
Although it would be reassuring to believe that Sony had tested every possible permutation of each & every title running concurrently it is improbable to expect that this has been done.
You may have just found a combination of titles that do not take kindly to sharing memory (or other) resources. I would certainly try to feed back this information to Sony in case there is a fundamental issue here they can address.
I know you will be reluctant to repeat what you did in case your hard drive does not come back online the second time, but if you could repeat the problem then this would demonstrate an area where the test team should devote some time.
Why not contact SCEE’s Customer Services team & ask for their advice. They may even offer to replace your damaged console if your assistance does lead to the resolution of an issue. The fact that you have three PS3 machines may well influence their decision if you are a dedicated customer.
Good luck in any respect.
BFN,
fp.
PS. @32 [TheShirts]
“@19 - This is confusing my tiny mind! You said “@14 [TheShirts]” but 14 wasn’t my comment AND 14 wasn’t anything to do with what you then went on to say”
My comment that is now #19 was at #15 when I submitted it. Since then other comments have jumped into the threaded responses (some may have be awaiting moderation, some may have been “ping back” comments that always seem to take precedence). This happens a lot here at ThreeSpeech.com.
The comment I made was in direct reply to the comment of your own immediately above it (”Comment by TheShirts — Jul 4, 2008 @ 9:04 am”). This is presently comment #18 with my comment (now) #19.
Sorry if that was confusing. It wasn’t my fault!
Comment by fanpages — Jul 7, 2008 @ 10:03 am
PS.
“PS3 firmware 2.41 out “midweek”, says Sony”
[ http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=192333 ]
===
Monday 7-Jul-2008 9:15 AM
Fixed version of the pulled 2.40 release to come within days
The huge in-game XMB PS3 update that was pulled from PSN last week following technical issues will be re-released for download by Wednesday, CVG has been told.
According to customer support, firmware version 2.41, which should be clear of all errors, will out “midweek”, although Sony is yet to make an official announcement to confirm that.
In case you missed it, Sony last week was forced to pull the hotly anticipated update after widespread reports of it breaking PS3 consoles.
The firmware is available to download from various website on the internet, but to be on the safe side you’d be best to wait for the update from Sony.
===
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jul 7, 2008 @ 10:06 am
None of what any of you say changes the fact that this update release has been a complete and utter farce.
The way they are doing custom music thing does not show inginuity, it shows they have missed the boat again through lack of foresight and not listening to us the customers and we are the ones who suffer.
When will 2.40 be available (assuming it works second time round) again?
Comment by Ton Capone — Jul 7, 2008 @ 8:19 pm
FYI: The PS3 Firmware Revision 2.41, “PSPUPDAT.PUP” (133,513Kb), dated 8 July 2008 is now available for download (worldwide) via your console’s XrossMediaBar “Settings” / “System Update” icon, or directly from the dedicated link:
[ http://duk01.ps3.update.playstation.net/update/ps3/image/uk/2008_0708_67c660325b0b97acdeda6c0913dc1f74/PS3UPDAT.PUP ]
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jul 8, 2008 @ 8:08 am
PS.
[ http://community.eu.playstation.com/playstationeu/board/message?board.id=138&thread.id=9016 ]
“Planned PLAYSTATION®Network maintenance on:
Wednesday 07:00 - 13:00 BST”
Or, possibly “Wednesday 09 July, 05:00 - 11:00 BST”… depending on what was edited in that thread.
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jul 8, 2008 @ 8:28 am
Anyone braved the 2.41 update yet?
Comment by BlueGene — Jul 8, 2008 @ 9:39 am
I don’t understand how firmware v2.4 affected only a “limited” number of PS3 units, when they’re all the same design and architecture, give or take a few SKU differences here and there.
I think Sony were simply LUCKY with pulling f/w v2.4 quick enough from PSN, before it bricked everyone’s console!
Comment by Zed Zee — Jul 8, 2008 @ 6:12 pm
@43 [Zed Zee]:
Not every PS3 will contain the same files on the hard drive as everybody updates their firmware revision to a later release upon different days at different times & perhaps skipping one or more revisions along the way. You may well have upgraded to every subsequent firmware release, but another user may have jumped from, say, version 1.60 (or earlier) to 2.40, without anything in-between. Some users even visit the PlayStation Store in a different region [so I believe ;)] & download content that may contain characters & symbols not found on their native console that could cause issues.
Not every PS3 owner has the same set of game titles & the associated “save game” data. Different PS3 consoles will have downloaded different PlayStation Store content (videos, themes, wallpapers, music, and so on).
Some people may never have visited the PlayStation Network Store or even played an online game! Some consoles have had one (or more) Linux variant(s) installed. Some do not.
One PS3 console may only be used to watch Blu-ray movies titles (that store data on the hard drive), whereas another PS3 console may never have played any Blu-ray movies at all.
Not everybody has used the “Network” / “Information Board” &/or the integral Web Browser, or even the “Friends List” messaging functions. The content on any of the many millions of possible web sites available that could be visited may well still be resident on the console’s hard drive.
A number of consoles will have had PlayStation Eye, SingStar microphones, third party keyboards, PSP console(s), and/or any number of other USB devices, USB hubs, and/or memory card readers plugged into them. Each of these devices requires hardware driver support that will create different files on the console’s hard drive. Some consoles may never have had any USB peripherals attached (apart from the USB-to-SIXAXIS controller recharge cable).
Bluetooth device configurations may exist on one console, but not on another.
Consoles that may have ‘crashed’ previously may have left temporary system files on the hard drive that were not deleted as the system was not closed down properly.
All these examples of “system administrative data” form the basis of an extensive test plan that cannot possibly encompass all the permutations that may be encountered without taking many years to plan, formulate, execute, & review..
Sony will, I presume, engage a “best efforts” basis in testing a vast majority of typical installations with firmware revisions, but it is impractical to assume that they can make provision for absolutely every possible case of every perceivable combination of a console’s hard drive contents.
To their credit, they acted quickly in removing the offending firmware (2.40) update file. The decision to do so will not have been taken likely, not least due to the backlash they would receive & the impact to their reputation & revenue (having to re-visit the code, re-test to find the fault(s), re-code & provide remedial action, re-test, & re-issue the firmware to their download servers), but this has to be balanced against the damage to the organisation (and the associated costs in compensation) if they failed to take action.
The re-issue of the firmware (2.41) happened in less than a week (spread across a weekend & a national holiday period in the US), throughout all global regions (with issues relating to localised language support). I think they should be commended on their turn-around time instead of being harangued for the initial issue.
Granted, everybody remembers something that is faulty & everybody is entitled to criticise actions (or lack of them) if they are a consumer who has paid for a service that is not delivering as advertised. From my computer software testing background it is my opinion that it is better to deliver a week late & get the product right rather than deliver on time to the detriment of sufficient testing. In the long term the over-run of a week will be nowhere near as memorable as if the delivery schedule was kept but the product did not perform as expected. Nobody remembers a late product… Everybody remembers a broken one!
As I said previously, it just demonstrates why local regions may differ in functionality or supported features as the PS3 brand diversifies. The risk of having all regions fail concurrently would be too much to cope with in an acceptable timescale, and releasing new functionality to a limited audience (with a limited number of potential failures) is good, practical business sense.
I would not be surprised if there is not a firmware release of this scale for some time as I would hope lessons were learned regarding ensuring adequate testing is undertaken. To some extent I hope Sony did not bow to consumer pressures about constant enquiries about “in-game XMB” being available as rushing to meet a deadline can mean mistakes are made &/or corners are cut.
I do think they could have improved on communications channels to each registered PlayStation Network Id though, but to date it has not been the case that Sony makes consumers personally aware of every new firmware revision so it may not be in their business plan to advise the same set of customers in the event of a problem.
This aside, it does make you wonder what is going to be available in the next firmware milestone of version 3.00, and whether this will be the collaborative selection of features from the next 12 months of user comments.
Again, with hindsight, it is easy to criticise the apparent after-thought of the provision of the in-game XrossMediaBar integration, and/or or the support for game achievement ratings in the form of “Trophies”. We do not know if any foundations were laid prior to the first firmware release, or within subsequent firmware revisions have. It may well have only just been possible to deliver this functionality at this time due to the increased understanding of the set of tools the Sony representatives have had available to work with.
One thing is for sure, though… the PlayStation 4 is going to be worth waiting for!
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jul 9, 2008 @ 9:41 am
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