What In-Game Communication Really Means?
What In-Game Communication Really Means?
In-Game communication has become an important feature to console gamers. The expansion of online gameplay is a huge part of it. When the PS3 was first announced, many wondered if it would come with features such as in-game communication and custom soundtracks. To the sadness of many, it did not. Why? Because Sony did something that the other console did not, leave it in the hands of the Developers. This will not be an article bashing developers or cursing Sony. It will simply explain my views on the subject.
Let me start off first by saying that I have no need for in-game communication or custom soundtracks. Why? Because I can simply mute my television to hear the music that I want or send a text message to someone that I really want to talk to. The majority of the individuals on my friend list are people that I have never spoken to or even played a game with. (Amazing? No, I seem to find that to be quite common with many gamers). I also enjoy the game music for the most part. Currently, I have a hard time thinking of a game that has music that I absolutely detest. This is just my opinion of course.
When it was leaked/announced months ago that in-game communication would be coming in update 2.4 this summer, Playstation fans went crazy. It not only gave them a feature that so many of them desperately wanted, but it also took away a talking point from X-Box 360 owners. I enjoyed that part personally. (Yes, I do prefer the Playstation Brand to any other, but I did buy the 360 when it was first released. I wasn’t really impressed and got rid of it. I do not regret my decision). The greatest joy I received from the announcement came from the fact that the PS3 would become an even better console. Additional functionality definitely would not hurt.
Word has come that Sony will be releasing the 2.4 update before Metal Gear Solid 4 is released. This is great news. Not only is one of the biggest titles to date coming to the PS3, but the PS3 will be taking another step to being the must have console. (It already is in my opinion). Be it pressure from Konami or Sony realizing that it must make moves fast to further establish the Playstation Network, this is a necessary move. It will foster the growth of PSN. I stated earlier that I do not speak too many of the people on my friend list. That could change if one contacted me and asked me about the game that I was currently playing. (likely Super Stardust HD). A few conservations later and voila, that person is not only on my friend list, but he/she is now actually my gaming friend.
I don’t see in-game messaging changing the way games are played. I see in-game messaging help turn the PSN into a community. This community would then be further fostered through Home. It is apparent that the two were originally planned to arrive at the same time, things have since changed. I think this may be a great thing overall. The community will now develop independent of Home and will then evolve through the implementation of Home. The thirty something friends that I have on my list that are not friends and family will actually be able to say that I am more than a name on a list. I like the thought of that. I like the thought of what PSN could be in the post 2.4 world.
Do you think that the 2.4 update will have a substantial impact on the community? Why or why not?
Thanks for reading.
May 20, 2008 at 3:56 pm
I have to admit, I didnt care much about in game communication until recently with MGO beta, and GTAIV. Then the feature was sorely missed.
We need that in game communication to be able to easily game together.
Its too much of a pain in the ass, to have to quite game, then go check your messages.
Another thing is. I own GT5:P. The music in that game SUCKS. It screams for custom soundtracks, and so does GTAIV.
Did anyone else feel that the radio stations in this latest GTA were the worst out of all GTAs?
May 20, 2008 at 4:35 pm
i dont think that custom soundtracks is something that the OS (XMB) has to handle ,every game must be in charge of that.
For me at least,its not a must-have feature.
Ingame messaging is nice, MGO had those lovely presset messages and the XMB keyboard to write stuff. (As you see, the API’s are already in the PS3 SDK).
It will be a great addition, BUT , once we have that feature, the users will start crying to get another like : ‘ingame install another OS, dude i cannot install a Linux while i play COD4 , WTF sony?!’ we will read some complains for more features ,but well…
Once the ingame messaging is implemented , sony should focus (and it is doing that right now) not on imitate Microsoft but to make new stuff.
YES, i do believe that Konami pushed Sony for the trophy and ingame messaging.
You cannot say NO to the guys who give you MGS4.
(Have you noticed the opinion change of the Konami CEO), a couple of months ago, he told that MGS4 and other games would be multiplatform , and now has told that the PS3 is not so bad, and it will keep working, even Kojima san has hinted to stay PS3-exclusive on his next project.)
Cheers and i see you all guys on MGO.
May 20, 2008 at 4:42 pm
I agree. I have never really spoken to people on my friend’s list. I only added most of them since they were actually going for the challanges in Burnout and not messing about.
The only sort of games that would need in game music is racing games. You just know that someone will abuse that feature and listen to Barbie Girl or something while playing MGS4. In most cases your music will spoil the game and ruin the atmosphere.
And about GTAIV, I don’t think that really was GTA in a way. The music was ok on some stations, but it was no where near as good as Vice City
May 20, 2008 at 4:53 pm
I thought the music in GTAIV was “average” at best. I found myself only listening to about 2-3 stations whenever I play. The chat station is still hilarious, but you can only listen to the same jokes so many times. I do agree that Vice City had the best music by far.
Also I have been experiencing the need for In Game XMB as well with the whole messaging thing. A lot of the times I will just ignore it and some of my friends will be like “Why didn’t you respond faster?” I simply respond with “Because I was playing a game”.
I have both a PS3 (bought at launch) and a 360 (bought when Mass Effect came out) and I love them both for different reasons. They each have some advantages over the other. This is one of the advantages the 360 does have. I know Sony will eventually get it implemented, but it’s just a matter of when.
May 20, 2008 at 4:53 pm
I agree. It will bring people together because you can speak to someone on your friends list say, “Hey! Come on GTA IV. We can play together”. Then you get to know them more and friendships develop.
May 20, 2008 at 4:54 pm
custom soundtracks? mainly for racing games. everyone drives to different music. so that should be a no brainer for all racing developers. a few sports games maybe..
but for the most part i turn off music period. i prefer the sound of footsteps, ammunition dropping to the floor, screams, whispers and other in game sound effects and dialog.
Mood music like creepy violins etc during certain moments are also welcomed. but for the most part i turn music off.
when i owned the 360 (i too got rid of mine and now enjoy 2 ps3’s in my home looking to add a third) there were a few times i did use the custom soundtrack for a shooter game. but that quickly faded, the music can take you out of the game mentality.
May 20, 2008 at 5:14 pm
In my room i play the PS audio through my hi-fi so i have no other way of listening to music while i’m playing so custom soundtracks would be good for me. Especially in games like GT5P and GTA IV.
May 20, 2008 at 5:55 pm
I kinda want in-game videochat - or some kind of improved UI to show a buddy’s face on the PSeye. Imagine getting 2 people in a Warhawk, and a video of the guy appears in the top corner. haha again, that’d be a developer decision. Just spitballing here…
May 20, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Just to point out something:
“When the PS3 was first announced, many wondered if it would come with features such as in-game communication and custom soundtracks”
I don’t recall custom soundtracks being announced as a function the PS3 would ship with, but the ingame XMB definitely was. When the PS3 shipped and there was no XMB ingame, that’s when the hubbub started.
I personally think ingame communcation and more specifically ingame chat is incredibly important to the advancement of the PS3’s online community. While I can appreciate Sony’s original position of giving the developer the responsibility of handling ingame communications, I am extremely glad that they have decided to make it a static XMB controlled function.
Custom soundtracks on the other hand is something i’m sitting on the fence with. I see the need in many games like Skate, Burnout, and Grand Theft Auto; plenty of music, but not an iTunes store worth. After 60 hours playing any one of those games there will be at least one song you have heard countless times and would like to cast into oblivion. Custom soundtracks could help further your gaming hours by helping to relieve audio repetition, but it could also be abused. I have the utmost respect for game developers (aspiring to be one myself), and the work they do. I believe it would be a direct insult to the entire developing team to buy a game such as Dark Sector, or Uncharted and immediately put on a custom soundtrack (which unfortunately many will do). Not only are you ignoring the hard work of the sound designers, but you are likely missing an ambient mood that the game is conveying through the score. That’s why i’m on the fence. Should it be in the hands of the game developers to decide whether their soundtrack is and integral enough part of the game to not be turned off, or should we as consumers ultimately carry the decision? Either way I am glad that I am being given the power, because i will do my best to appreciate the developers’ creation first and then customize it second.
May 20, 2008 at 6:48 pm
I also don’t care about in-game soundtracks as the music that comes with the game dictates the atmosphere. The only genre I would ever use this on would be a driving game. Interestingly, I only like two music tracks in GT5P but the way I look at it, I don’t even listen to rock or whatever it’s classified as but it opened me up to music I wouldn’t necessarily buy, which I think is good. So the tracks I do like was a big surprise.
Back on topic: I agree with this guy, I had a TON of friends (mainly from Tekken challenges) who I never ever talked to (recently had a big purge) Now my list consists of people I actually know though there is on guy who is still on my list as we do talk about new games from time to time and he seems cool.
I do hate getting a message to join a Warhawk match or a Rainbow Six match when I’m playing a different game and I can’t really reply. In-game messaging will be a welcome addition, but I don’t think there will be a good online community on the PSN until Home and I think that could be the catalyst for great things…..we’ll see.
May 20, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Nice article,
I completely agree that custom soundtracks are pointless to be OS based. It should be down to the developer. The only game I’ve ever (ever ever) used a custom soundtrack on was GTA for the radio stations and that made sense.
In game messaging could be quite cool… but my friends list consists of very very little real people I would want to communicate to.
But you know, the people who complain are always 50x louder than those that don’t care.
May 20, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Really,it’s a great news and sounds goood…I’ve heard that much more codecs will be added in FW 2.40…It’ll be the next great update for the Playstation 3….No doubt !
May 20, 2008 at 8:38 pm
I’m really hoping for some better in-game communication. Something like being able to hook up a keyboard, or be able to message in-game. I have some pretty good music on my PS3’s hard-drive, so that would definitely be a plus to integrate it with my games.
May 21, 2008 at 4:50 am
I heard that in-game video chat would be included in the update. That would be pretty sweet, the 360 can’t even do it. MGO could use a custom soundtrack feature, I got bored of the 2 music tracks offered in the beta, and it would not hurt GTA4 either. I have a 360 too, I only have used the custom soundtrack feature a hand full of times so it’s not that big of a deal for me. The only true exception (for me) is Super Stardust HD, I absolutely love the custom soundtrack feature in the game.
Speaking about custom soundtracks, do you guys know the PS3 can “rip” Itunes AAC (DRM protected) music off an Ipod and save it to the PS3’s HDD. It doesn’t require any hacks or mods, it works right out of the box. Just plug your ipod in your PS3 via USB. In the XMB select Music and then look for the Ipod in the removable media section of Music. Once selected hit triangle and select Show All. You should see some folders for Itunes, this is where the DRM protected files are kept, hit triangle and select copy to what ever music files you desire. Note: AAC playback must be enabled in the System Settings menu of the XMB. The music files will not be named properly (probably to curb piracy) filenames will look like someone mashed a keyboard, for example “ftzlc” would be the name of a song. You can rename the files once they are saved to the PS3 HDD. Enjoy!
May 21, 2008 at 6:53 am
Great Article!
you guys have good things runing around here…Im sure this site will be a hit in the future for Playstation releated topics.
May 21, 2008 at 6:12 pm
What happened to having your friends over to your house to play the game with you? Then you can talk to them while they are sitting next to you.
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May 22, 2008 at 12:24 pm
In my case, I’ve moved to a new state for school. Online gaming has gained importance for me because I would like to play with my family and friends from back home.