Ok, these firmware updates need to slow the hell down. Every time I turn around, I’m updating my PSP. The newest, v4.05, adds some new visualizers for music playback. Yeah, good times. A quick trip through all the menus didn’t turn up any blatant new features.
If you use your PSP for music a lot, fire up the network connection and download the newest update. If you have an iPod, you can skip this one or wait until you need it.
Sony fixed the issue with 2.40 and has released v2.41 this morning so everyone can get their in-game XMB on. Fire up your PS3 and hit the download. I’m sure the servers are going to get hammered.
Doesn’t look like anything major changed since 2.40. The only thing I noticed is the Platinum Trophy icon in the profile screen is different. Otherwise, everything looks the same. One thing to note is that you now accept all the conditions before downloading. I’m not sure if this is because I already have 2.40 installed, but it’s good that once you start the download, you can walk away and the firmware will install itself.
CVG got word from a Sony customer support rep that firmware v2.41 is coming by midweek to fix the issues that people were having with the pulled v2.40. Take this with a grain of salt as it came from a customer support rep, but we’re betting Sony will have the revised firmware out as soon as possible.
We tried to get in contact with Sony to confirm or deny what’s going on, but we did not hear back by press time. We’ll see what happens in the next couple days.
It’s been a full 24 hours since the new firmware 2.40 was pulled from the update servers. We heard from Sony yesterday that they were looking into the issue, but that’s about it. A post on PlayStation.Blog saying the same was put up yesterday around 7:30pm ET. Nothing else has been said. What’s the deal?
We contacted Sony and have yet to hear back. It seems that they don’t want to comment on just what’s going on here, which leads me to believe they really aren’t sure what’s causing the issues. While a huge majority of people had no problems when installing v2.40, a few got bricked consoles (wouldn’t turn on, gave errors, etc.). It seems the problem lies somewhere in the install process.
Hopefully Sony drops word soon. I have a feeling the internet will go into an uproar when they release the PlayStation Store update and still don’t have a fix or any word about the firmware. We’ll keep you posted.
[Update] I just spoke with Jeff Rubenstein at Sony. He confirmed they are still working on the firmware.
We’re still examining the cause of the problem. We’ll announce as soon as we are ready to resume the system version update.
[Update 2] We received a link to the exact file that the PS3 checks for updates. This file still indicates version 2.36 as the current version. Check it out.
I just spoke with Jeff Rubenstein over at Sony. Apparently the issues with firmware 2.40 are more widespread than we originally thought. Jeff wouldn’t confirm any numbers to me, but gave me this official statement:
Looking into it right now and will work with those customers directly to address any issues they may be experiencing.
I’m trying to get more information from him, but he’s not sharing. I think Sony is in lockdown mode trying to figure this one out. More as it develops…
[Update] I asked Jeff if a new firmware version would be issued and he didn’t want to comment. So even if 2.40 is working for you, a new update may be in store.
In the pursuit of science, I spent a while today getting to know the latest PS3 firmware update. Some of the biggest criticisms have been addressed, while a few others still remain. If you don’t know what this firmware brings, shame on you. But I’ll tell you anyway.
First off, in-game XMB works as you would expect. Checking and sending messages, viewing what friends are up to, changing some settings, it all works great. There are some features that don’t work, such as changing your video settings, which is understandable. Two areas I hoped would make it, but should be slated for a future release are cross-game invites and private voice-chat in-game. Another minor feature is the addition of the date and time in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Good idea, bad placement. You see, whenever you hit the PS button to bring up the XMB, the clock is covered up by the controller battery status. When in the XMB with a dark wallpaper, it’s tough to see either. Hopefully Sony includes an option to disable the clock or move it in a future firmware update. Custom soundtracks are there, but currently no games support this feature through the XMB just yet (some games support it in-game, like PAIN).
If you haven’t picked up Super Stardust HD yet, it’s a one hell of a good shooter. It flew under the radar and is one of the better PSN games out there. Sony announced that Super Stardust HD will be the first game to receive Trophy support, literally within hours of the firmware v2.4 release. With gamers clamoring to be the first to get their Trophies, will sales of the game spike this week?
I have a feeling this is the case. We don’t know the full sales total, but I’d expect Super Stardust HD to rocket up to the top of the charts on the PSN (as of mid-February, it was #7 on the PSN Top Sellers List). Just like with Achievement Whores on the Xbox 360, I fully expect Trophy Whores to be in full effect in the early morning hours of July 2nd once the firmware hits. Have to get started with building your Level, and why not spend $10 on a good game to get it going?
The real question is, did Sony plan this as a marketing move for the game? Being a critical success but not in the top sellers currently, why not make a big push with Super Stardust HD to garner attention? If this is the case, I think it was pretty smart move on Sony’s part. If not, they stepped into something good. Either way, I have a feeling we’ll be hearing about some high sales data at the end of the week or next week.
PS3 Fanboy got a couple more shots of the PS3 gamercards in action. We get to see the 3rd and 4th pages of the screen. That’s right, there’s a fourth page there when looking at someone else’s Gamercard. Pretty cool.
You can clearly see that you can compare trophies, which is a good move by Sony. I could see people really bitching if you couldn’t. Hopefully Sony will announce this before E3 and have that walkthrough video so we can get some official confirmation.
Wow, lots of news on the PS3 today. Sony had a presentation in Tokyo where they discussed plans for the upcoming fiscal year. Movie store is coming this summer in the US, Life with PlayStation is coming, the PlayStation Store is coming to the PSP. Wow.
I’m guessing we’ll hear a lot more about all of these services at E3, especially the video store. It’s already summer, so I would guess we’ll see a launch right around or shortly after E3 with the v2.40 firmware update.
You can check out Kaz Hirai’s full presentation in PDF form here. It’s a good read if you want to know what’s going on with the PlayStation brand.
CVG seems to think so. I’m betting it’s pretty close to reality. Here’s what they say is coming in Sony upcoming firmware update:
Sounds like everything we’ve heard before. They didn’t mention Trophy support, but there is background music in there, which is a big plus for a lot of people. CVG’s insider also points to a release date at the beginning of E3, so I guess we’ll be waiting a bit.
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