Update 3.40 is live

yay no cross game chat!

It's 12:00 AM here in the midwest and the ps3 is telling me to update to version 3.40 which is bringing several features I don't really care about but you can read about them on the playstation blog: http://blog.us.playstation.com/

I get the feeling cross game chat is going to be a playstation plus exclusive...

 

"I get the feeling cross game chat is going to be a playstation plus exclusive..."

They didn't mention anything about this; in fact, they seem to have completely dropped this from their leaks. They are too busy giving us facebook support right after everyone closed their account, 3D support for games that don't exist and which need glasses that they don't offer, and the Playstaion wii, er a, I mean Move.

Cross game chat is great in theory...unless it is a PS plus exclusive...then it is useless because you can't chat with your friends anyway, as they don't have PS plus!

 

I read that if you have PSN plus you can invite a friend for XGC(Not sure if it's true). So I guess if you have a friend that dropped $50 for Plus (like I did) you can XGC.

 

That is neat i guess...now I can chatshare as well as gameshare! Still isn't worth $50 a year just for that...and so far that is all that I see to set plus apart, other than a few free things that I wouldn't want anyway.

 

why does sony have to make a simple feature like this such a hassle to get?!

and those "free" games you get only last as long you're a Plus member

 

OtherOS was a much more simple feature; and it already worked...and they still removed it!

The people that used to be in charge of the PS line are out, and now their old bosses (the ones who tried to kill the PS1 and PS2) are in charge...this is because everything else they touched turned to crap. Of course, they never really touched the PS line other than to try to kill it, but that is still considered management I guess...so they get credit for the success.

Isn't corporate bureaucracy funny?

 

Yeah but you can re-download said free games if you decide to re-new PSN Plus. Here's the way I look at this. It's an option. No one is making anyone buy anything. If anything the people that decided to buy PSN+ will help Sony improve PSN as I am assuming that some of the money will go towards it. As it stands I am happy with my investment. The free 3 additional months is nice as well. I would have paid the money anyway if Sony did start charging for online play. I'm not switching to XBL as all my friends have a PS3.

 

"No one is making anyone buy anything."

Maybe not yet...but that is the main worry here; Sony is well known for doing things that they claim they will never do...usually only a couple months after they claim they will never do it. Most users will grudgingly pay the fee, and many of those users will be the same people who got a PS3 to avoid XboX Live fees. Sony knows that their users are addicted to the internet; that is why they cut off online play to Linux users.

"If anything the people that decided to buy PSN+ will help Sony improve PSN as I am assuming that some of the money will go towards it."

That is quite an assumption; given the fact that PSN updates often make the PSN worse. Sony's corporate goal seems to be, "Screw over the customer however you can; even if it looses us money."

 

"Given that PSN updates often makes the PSN worse"

I know some firmware did brick some PS3 owners console but I don't agree with making the PSN worse. The only really thing that I can recall that affected PS3 owners is the update that removed Linux. That did not affect me since an option for another OS did not enticed me to buy the machine,the games did. So what other updates are you referring to that made the PSN worse? I'm not trying to disrespect you in any way shape or form but you but how did you come to the conclusion that Sony is going out of their way to screw customers over?
Again I look at it this way. IF and WHEN Sony does start charging for online play ( I don't think they will.)consumers in the end have the choice to stay or leave.Some gamers for some reason feel like they are entitled to a lot of thing just cause he\she pledged an allegiance to a product or company.At the end of the day these are businesses and they have to do things to make a profit even if a business decision does end up hurting some of its customer base.If you feel screwed by Sony then you must hate apple. Ipod has become the Madden version of consumer electronics as there seems to be a new one every year of every other year. I like Sony and will continue to buy they products when I can. Why? Because anything that I have purchased from Sony has been reliable so my personal experience with Sony has been a positive one.

 

I forget the numbers of the updates, so I'll just post what they did...

1.) Added trophies (some say this was an improvement; I say it ruined gaming forever, as now everyone just gets the trophies, and they don't even finish the game half the time).
2.) Put in a second link to the PSN store...I could already find it; don't put it where it is going to slow down my navigation!
3.) Added a facebook icon that I can't remove...I already had a web browser, I have not had a good browser since linux was removed, but it worked fine with facebook. 2&3 might seem like petty things, but when it takes 30 seconds for each icon in the XMB to load (when using it during a game), every useless icon is a PITA.
4.) The many bricked systems; I know you mentioned that...but this is a big one; one of the updates was even recalled because it was so bad!
5.) Added copy n paste...I know this seems like a good idea, but without the ability to block malicious users, this "feature" has caused me to get more spam on my PS3 than I get on Gmail!
6.) Enabled move...I know this has not happened yet, but it will...and it will ultimately lead to game development funds being diverted into gimicky games that no one will want, not even the Wii-croud. The devs will loose money, and they will blame piracy like always, even though piracy isn't even possible on the PS3.
7.) Added support for copy-protected gamesaves.
8.) Screwed up the browser...it was problematic before...but now it won't even work correctly with gamefly.com!

And that is not counting the removal of linux which also served to remove a lot of linux users from the network completely (my best friend no longer games online thanks to that).

Sometimes they might make an improvement or two, but they seem more concerned with making changes than with making improvements.

 

lo1 you sound like you really hate Sony now

I really hated when they added trophies, but the worst thing they have ever done, was disable the Other OS function, via firmware 3.21 and what annoys me just as bad, are the idiot fanboys, claiming that people who want to keep the Other OS function only want it for piracy.

There have been many other useless updates, but Other OS was by far the worse, i will not update, if i find a game that i want to play, that requires a higher firmware, i will buy a preowned slim PS3, or just buy the game for my 360.

 

The up-dates were not bad, (except for the bricking one) they just did not please "you". Every update ADDs new things or fixes problems. The OS removal was the only thing that took something away from some people. Do you blame Sony for removing that feature? What Game system has ever given us an option like that? We all know why Sony had to remove OS. One guy pooped in everyones corn flakes.

 

Yes i do blame Sony, GeoHot had nothing to do with the Other OS removal, Sony could have fixed his method with a patch, instead, they decided to screw everyone, which by the way they have been doing since the PS3 was created, no other console i know of keeps getting downgraded, Sony has been doing this with the release of every new model.

 

So it was just coincidence that Sony removed OS right after the GeoHot Hack? I think he found a Hole that could not be Patched. Or they just did not want to waist countless man hours battling him from now on.
The new Slim is improved all around. Runs cooler, less failures, much bigger HD, smaller size. That’s an upgrade, not downgrade. Only thing I don’t like about the slim is 2 USB ports.

Why would Sony have ever included the OS anyway? They were trying to give us more but that was not enough for some and they screwed it up for everyone that used it.

 

Ask any PS3 Dev, the hole could have been very easily patched, the removal of Other OS from the slim was just the start, this was done before GeoHot done what he done and as im not a PS3 fanboy, i can see outside the box, i can see the bigger picture.

I could go on and on about various facts, etc but i would end up ranting and would fill a few pages on this thread, instead of doing that, i will link you to my thread on HaXNetwork containing the details of the constant downgrading, i would have copy and pasted, but the list is far to huge, so the link is better:
http://www.haxnetwork.net/showthread.php?t=11890

Its simple, by including the Other OS at the time, Sony was able to ship the console worldwide as a computer, thus saving money on taxes, also before the release of the PS3, Sony explicitly stated that the PS3 wasn't a games console, they stated that it was a Super Computer.

 

Sorry, i cant look at your link. URL's with "game" are blocked here. I dont realy want to argue with you as you are one of the few knowledgeable posters here. The best i can remember is the Cell being refered to as a supercomputer, not by Sony but others. The tax thing sounds kind of Grassy Knoll. I have a 60 that has failed once. I dont realy worry about it failing again but with the Up grades to the Slim, i would have no worries about it failing if i had one.

We were talking about firmware updates making PSN worse or better anyway.

BTW, im a Sony, Nintendo, Sega, PC Fanboy. Used to be an Xbox fanboy also. I see the whole picture.

 

No arguing here, just a friendly discussion, the world is full of people with different views, that they are entitled to have, it would be so boring if everyone thought the same

Thats true, it seems to have been taken off topic, so if we are talking about the Playstation Network alone, then yes, most of the updates have improved that aspect of the PS3, when i buy a pre owned Slim, i will be getting Playstation Plus as i think it is a great feature.

Edit:
Im not a fanboy, i like and respect all consoles

 

I have enjoyed them all. Even my 360. It never RROD on me, just scratched disk. It had to have had a cat in there. I got such a run around with the problem that i just gave up on the system. Other than that, i love them all.

Edit,forgot to list my Atari 2600. I still have it and @ 15 games.

 

These are more personal gripes towards the update. Petty even as you pointed out. So in your perspective the firmware updates ruined your personal PSN experience and I can respect that.
Here's the thing though. Your arguments make sense most of the time and again no disrespect or nothing personal but then you get into this conspiracy type rants.
PSN updates makes PSN worse but it turns out it was minor things that you personally did not like.Trophies? "Trophies ruined gaming forever!" LOL. Overdramatic aren't we? If anything trophies made gamers play games to the end. I am an example of these said gamers.I have 15 platinum trophies and a chunk of these trophies are from games with no online multiplayer.Check out my PSN id Foxhound1979 if you want to check my trophies.
Your latest doozie is your PS Move move comment. The PS Move will divert funds into gimicky Wii wannabe games that NO ONE will want. Not even the Wii-croud (spelled crowd btw).C'mon man! you really honestly believe that? I'm not even going to get into why that is such a ridiculous claim.
How about focus on the things that the PS3 does right? If the PS3 and the PSN has been a source of grief and has been constatntly disappointing you then get rid of it. Like the PSN+ and PS move, owning one it optional as well.

 

wow ive never gotten so many posts haha...

updates are mostly ok or passable to me the only things i dont like are that you cant have custom music on every game and pressing the PS button during video playback pauses the video...

anyway I just hope Sony doesn't make us pay for cross game chat.
On their blog post about Plus details they said

"Cross-game voice chat is a feature we know our passionate user base has asked for and we’ll continue to look at as a viable offering for the PlayStation Network"

Well stop looking at it and just do it!!!! You guys think they'd make us pay for such a feature?