PlayStation Network director of operations Eric Lempel tells Next-Gen why PS3 firmware update 2.40 represents a significant step forward for Sony’s online service, why it’s taken so long to deliver some of gamers’ most requested features, and why some are still absent.
Sony’s late-June announcement that it would imminently be releasing PlayStation 3 firmware update 2.40, which would introduce the much sought after in-game access to the system’s XrossMediaBar (XMB) and a Trophies achievement system, immediately delighted some gamers, while prompting questions from others – would all their desires be met by the new feature-set and how greatly would the update help narrow the gap that many feel exists between the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live?
“We’ve delivered a lot of firmware updates to date, but this latest one is really significant in that it plays to a lot of the features that consumers have been asking for and really enhances the overall gaming experience,” says Lempel. “We definitely consider this a big deal and a big leap forward for the service.”
So what’s this significant update all about then? Preceding its Wednesday launch, Lempel released a firmware FAQ via the PlayStation Blog which detailed some of the features, as well as non-features, of version 2.40, and in the process dealt gamers some good news as well as spelling out a few home truths: Sony delivers features only when they are good and ready to go and not before. But is this a big leap forward, or baby steps?
Post-update (and we’re skipping some of the new features here), the new in-game XMB will support text chat (but won’t enable voice chat), users will be able to adjust sound settings in-game (but will be unable to make changes to visual settings), the in-game XMB will be accessible while playing PS3 titles (but not while playing PS2 games or while watching Blu-ray/DVD movies), and users will be able to view downloads in progress while playing a game (but won’t be able to browse the Internet or access the PlayStation Store in-game). Perhaps the biggest gripe users have expressed at this stage is that the update won’t enable cross-game invites.
The area in which the update could provide the greatest freshness and prove to be most successful is perhaps the Trophies department. Even some of those without a predilection for score-whoring have experienced the warm sense of achievement upon being awarded for their gaming efforts. For the meantime, Trophies will have to sit snugly on the XMB, but when Home is finally released they will no doubt adorn countless mantelpieces.
Lempel said that while Sony will be wholeheartedly promoting the system going forward, it will also be patching a number of older titles to include Trophy support. The feature won’t be retroactive though, so the firmware update and subsequent patches won’t automatically allocate unlocked Trophies according to saved files, meaning gamers will have to go back to older titles for another run through in order to earn some of their silverware.
“Right off the bat when the firmware update goes live we’ll be patching Super Stardust HD, so that game will include Trophies from Wednesday. We’re also patching Warhawk and PAIN, while Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, a completely offline title, will also be patched over the network, so it’s definitely an option for developers and we’re fully supporting first and third parties that want to patch, and of course those that want to implement this system going forward with new titles.”
Undeniably there are some significant improvements on offer and 2.40 is a great update for PS3, but there’s also a definite sense that some gamers were hoping for more. It’s disheartening to constantly be comparing the PlayStation Network with Xbox Live because Microsoft has undeniably set the benchmark extremely high in many respects, but Lempel himself acknowledges that there’s work still to be done after 2.40.
“There are a lot of features that are still part of our roadmap. When we release new features we want to make sure that we have a baseline set of features to put out there and that they work properly. We feel that these new features are ready and that they offer consumers a great advantage over what they have today.
“However, we’re not going to stop enhancing the features. Every time we do a firmware update we enhance old features as well as providing new features, so we’re taking a lot of the feedback very seriously. Going into this we knew there were some things that wouldn’t make it but there’s always time to fix those and get them in, but in the meantime this should keep consumers satisfied for some time.”
While gamers are a hard bunch to please, some will be satisfied with the update, but some will only be partially satisfied with it. We asked why it had taken Sony so long to implement in-game XMB access and an achievements system.
“Some of the [features] people have been requesting for some time, some of them are a bit newer. We have a roadmap and there were a lot of other things on the roadmap that we had to deliver prior to these features,” Lempel said.
“The other thing is that we don’t release anything until it’s ready to go, until we have a strong program behind it and strong support, and until it offers a strong consumer experience. We hit that point a few weeks ago and realized that we were ready to go, so we scheduled the update and here we are now.”
On the subject of rumors that Sony is preparing to unveil its answer to Xbox Originals by releasing PS2 titles over the PlayStation Network, Lempel simply offered, “It was news to me when I read about it." He was, however, happy to talk about boosting the range of gaming content available from the PlayStation Store, and while keen not to dwell on the strategies adopted by Sony’s competitors, he did take a thinly veiled swipe at Microsoft following the company’s admission that it was planning to delist underperforming Xbox Live Arcade titles in order to avoid cluttering its online service.
“We definitely want to make sure that [the PlayStation Store] offers quality titles and games that our consumers are going to enjoy just like we do with our console and disc-based titles, and I think there’s a lot of room with virtual shelf space to put a lot of things. Depending on what type of UI you have you can accommodate a lot of titles, and specifically with our new store redesign which launched back in April we have a great ability to merchandise a wide variety of titles.
“While naturally we only want to keep quality titles on the network we do have room for a lot of them. I think if I look over at the competitors’ UI they may have some issues just displaying content, and scrolling up and down lists isn’t the easiest way to find things."
Lempel was also keen to stress that Sony wouldn’t be going down the route of charging a subscription fee for the PSN.
“We’re happy with what we’re doing right now and we’re going to stick with it,” he stated. “I think being free is always an advantage. The fact that it’s free is nice for consumers who want to try out the online experience, those who may be new to it and may not be ready to commit to spending dollars, and that’s a really good message for us. Being free also gives them the opportunity to spend the money that they may have spent on a subscription on online items or online games instead. We have a ton of games for the price of a subscription and offer a significant amount of great original content that you can’t get anywhere else.”
Not trying to be a fanboy. Of course, it's hard when you own the best console eve... dang it
