Firmware 3.0 May Include Cross-Game Voice Chat
During the whole PS3 Slim fiasco (“It’s real!”, “It’s not real!”), a user on N4G by the name of Super_Secret claimed the new hardware iteration was real, and it was coming. Still, most did not believe him.
The user told the N4G forums that he was an employee of Sony, and worked in the hardware department. That’s how he knew the Slim was coming. He also told the forums that Firmware 2.8 was coming June 24th, and that it wasn’t known because it wasn’t that important. And guess what, he was right.
The PS3 was updated on June 24th 2009, and Super_Secret was then known as a reliable leak. Although a lot knew that the PS3 Slim was real after accidental listings, etc, it was then safe to know that Super_Secret was the real deal.
BLPGaming, being the nice guys they are, put a list together depicting what Super_Secret said about the PS3 Slim, and if it was true.
1. It still has Bluetooth [TRUE]
2. It still has Gigabit Ethernet [TRUE]
3. “OtherOS” support has been removed [TRUE]
4. You still get 2 USB ports [TRUE]
5. Hard drive sizes will be bigger, it will come in 120Gb and 250Gb flavours [TRUE]
6. It’s still replaceable [HDD] and will actually be slightly easier as it has been relocated to the front of the console [TRUE]
7. It will NOT have any “new” features, such as backwards compatibility [PS2] or enhanced peripheral support [TRUE]
8. It’s just a PS3, but slightly smaller and cheaper [TRUE]
9. The power supply is still internal, but a different power cable will be used [TRUE]
10. Rear ports are still the same: 1x HDMI, 1x Sony AV port, 1x Optical, 1x Ethernet, and of course a power port [TRUE]
11. It’s as cheap as can possibly be, so expect it to launch with a smaller price tag than what you’re paying now in your respective territories [TRUE]
12. Internally, several daughter boards have been removed, but all functionality is still there [UNCONFIRMED]
13. A Cheaper Blu-ray drive is being used [TRUE]
14. It wont be any slower, but expect to see similar issues that another competitor had a while ago [UNCONFIRMED]
15. Touch-sensitive buttons on the front for power/eject are gone in favour of cheaper push buttons [TRUE]
16. It has a slightly different startup screen. Only slightly [TRUE]
17. It’s about 50% smaller than current PS3s.[TRUE]
18. It wont be called the “PS3 Slim”. The PS1 “slim” and the PS2 “slim” were never officially called the “slim”, either.[UNCONFIRMED]
19. In short: It’s a smaller PS3, but that’s it. No new features, no special hardware, just smaller and cheaper.[TRUE]
20. And it wont have sex with you.[SAD FACE]
And with that last comment, we move on. When Firmware 3.0 was revealed two days ago, a lot of PS3 gamers were disappointed with the absence of cross-game voice chat. However, this comment from Super_Secret proves otherwise that voice-chat is coming.
“Cross-game [voice] chat is in the works as part of Firmware 3.0. It wont be out during the summer, but assuming all goes well, it will be out well before the holidays. Current timeframe places it around September, but it’s still very much a WIP(Work In Progress). If there are any major delays, that will slip and if there are very few delays at all, it might even arrive earlier, but don’t bank on it as it is a lot more complicated than you might imagine. At this point, it’s working quite well in the labs and supports several players at once. It’s targeted to work with all past and future games that support ingame XMB, much like text chat. I’m not a betting man, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the “slim” shipped with this firmware installed (that doesn’t mean the slim will come first, remember).”
Considering Super_Secret was both right about Firmware 2.8 and the PS3 Slim, it’s not hard to assume that he will be right about this as well.
Stay with PlayStation LifeStyle as we’ll be giving out the details on Firmware 3.0 as they hit.
28 Responses to “Firmware 3.0 May Include Cross-Game Voice Chat”
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August 20th, 2009 at 7:59 AM
Here’s what I think is going on. They are working on it. Jeff has said on the PS Blog that they’re working on all of the features we’ve requested. I think at the time that Super_Secret came forward with the info, they were tracking a September release for cross-game chat. Now, it would seem that this feature slipped back and might be coming a little later. But it’s nice to know, and I have 100% confidence, that it IS being worked on and should be coming out within the next – 6 months?
August 20th, 2009 at 8:00 AM
Check out Source 2 – BLPgaming – for a real nice breakdown and pictrures to accompany each. These guys put a lot of work into their post – so at the very least, if not true, we can appreciate their hard work and generate some discussion here.
August 20th, 2009 at 8:05 AM
I agree with you StalkingSilence. If it was included in 3.00, they would have said it, but I have the same conidence like you, that they are working on it.
August 20th, 2009 at 8:10 AM
14. It wont be any slower, but expect to see similar issues that another competitor had a while ago
What does THIS MEAN?!?! Did the 360 have problems besides the RROD and E74?
August 20th, 2009 at 8:34 AM
The mole from ars tecnica predicted everything including dates way before anyone else did but than random people started predicting the slim shortly afterwards. The mole has been right on every prediction so far and his dates are accurate including tech specs..
Jeff said along time ago they where working on cross game voice chat so i dont understand why this is always coming up? if its officially been confirmed in the PS blog we know it WILL come.
Have you noticed in the demo video shown by Jeff in the PS blog he shows you all the new features and avoids the friend list ? Thats strange especially when in past video’s he shows you everything new step by step except on the 3.0 video.
August 20th, 2009 at 8:37 AM
@Twoje:
He was referring to the Blu-Ray drive. But what other competitor had disk drive problems?
August 20th, 2009 at 8:53 AM
@Brent
360 did. if u even touched it while there was a disc in it it would scratch the hell out of it. i remember gamefly having a big problem with it.
August 20th, 2009 at 8:56 AM
I noticed also that in the video he avoided showing the friends list but thought nothing of it until I saw the SCEE video and they avoid showing the friends list also. You can check it out for yourself and they also show a few more Dynamic themes that the SCEA video.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xa7h0z_firmware-300-ps3-httppsworldfr_videogames
August 20th, 2009 at 9:12 AM
@shadowjin are u talking about ERIC Lempel’s firmware 3.0 preview?
i have a hunch about this guy. this may be legit.
the guy has some form of credibility, i bet they are keeping this a secret to surprise the people.
…uh – worst kept secret of Firmware 3.00
lol, jk.
August 20th, 2009 at 9:17 AM
@lovestrucked
yes actually……. my mistake.. its ERIC but Jeff was just answering questions in there blog along time ago..did you use to play SC4 with Casandra? (off topic question)
August 20th, 2009 at 9:22 AM
@shadowjin
i dont play SC4, the only fighting game i’ve played is tekken (psp) and Naruto (PS3)
PSN: Lovestrucked
by the way, i made a video about Eric Lempel few days ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdHy0_chPCA
i sorta feel bad making it , now that in-game voice chat is possibly coming
August 20th, 2009 at 10:43 AM
I don’t think Cross Game VC is really needed. I wouldn’t mind having it but I think there should be some restrictions on how its used. Example. If I’m playing Killzone 2 multiplayer with some friends/random people I don’t need one of them talking to someone on a game other than Killzone. Another example. If you’re playing Uncharted’s co-op you don’t need someone on your team who’s talking to another guy playing Fallout 3. What I’m trying to get at is lack of focus. Its hard to play one game and be apart of 2 different conversations at once. I’ll play the 360 at a friends house and the cross game chat can get in the way more often then not. A good idea but one with restrictions.
August 20th, 2009 at 11:09 AM
@LoveStrucked
Saw your video. I see you made quite an effort to not be inflammatory, and I don’t think you were. Its no secret that in-game voice chat is the most requested feature. I don’t think anyone with a straight face, can seriously think Sony “overlooked” that obvious point. I don’t think you’ll get your request for some type of declaration of intended purpose regarding voice chat though. I’m not entirely sure it’d be a good idea to do it either. Anything they release like that won’t be viewed and accepted as intended. Whereas you and I might take comfort in the fact, that we now know they’re working on it, a whole host of other people will read that totally different. People will read it as a “promise”…that Sony promised it would arrive. Others will see it as “coming soon”…its right around the corner. Mentioning possibilities or ideas get them in trouble, because people view them as “lies” when they don’t materialize.
You can see that with game studios. They never comment on multiplayer unless its sure to be in there. In that environment, things can get cut at anytime. It might be in there when you mentioned it and be gone next week. Consumers are going to call you a liar when they learn its gone. They’ll say you were just trying to hype them up. Its hard to tell people anything, especially when they don’t know the process behind it. Devs and consumers are in different positions. We just spout out what we want, they actually have to “make” it. Who’s got the easier job?
Take Home , for example. Its always been billed as service that will grow…that its not a finished product. But look at how its perceived. Some folks look at it as though it takes away from other services…that somehow its the reason they don’ t have the features they want. All that is unfounded and untrue. A company is devised of different teams that do different things. The help desk folks who answer the phones aren’t skilled programmers. The graphics artist is likely not skilled with sound design. The animator may not be familiar with netcode. The sales dept won’t have a clue as to what it takes to be in the legal dept. The team that develops the animated background to the XMB, may not be the team responsible for in-game chat. Should animated background team’s work just sit on the shelf, til the in-game chat team gets its product out? Should we get no updates of any kind, til the #1 feature is available? You can throw the animated team onto the in-game chat team, but if they’re not familiar with it, you’ve just created a bigger team stuck in the same rut. The new people have to get caught up on the stuff the old guys already know. Some % of the old guys have to take time away from actually working to catch the new guys up. And just because they’re trying doesn’t mean they’ll actually be successful.
The reality is you’ve done your part. You and thousands of other people have given them feedback as to what you want. Now you’ve just got to hope and trust that Sony takes that feedback, and is able to execute. Just because you see “other things” coming down the pipeline, doesn’t mean your issue is being ignored. Fixing the clock is alot easier than in-game voice chat, I’m sure. There’s no question, that at this point they KNOW what you want. They’ve said as much in the blogs. Have patience, maintain understanding, and enjoy the games and features you get.
August 20th, 2009 at 11:36 AM
can someone list what we really need as a community???
i am very confused atm ,so please help…
August 20th, 2009 at 12:01 PM
@cornerman8
i agree with your points, specially with Home and also the fact that we have to give them time to develop these features and make sure they work properly. I also mentioned in my vid. that money is another concern, us users should be happy that the PSN is free and the features are being added free of charge. i have to admit in the end my video was demanding to some extent. but one of the major reasons i made it, is because of people flooding the comment section of the ps blog begging for this feature and they start bad-mouthing sony for not having it in ther upcoming update. so what i had in mind – if it was announced properly, not just hinted by jeff rubenstein then maybe people will go easy on them. then again, it could spark problems for them.
@marcindpol
personally, im happy with psn service.
and if there’s a feature i want (just MY opinion)
- better profile, maybe added tabs of your interests and fav. games and a space to write about your self.
- a more compact and efficient in-game xmb, so it would load faster and navigation is smoother.
August 20th, 2009 at 12:17 PM
Im awaiting the other 2 video,s there is only 1 atm and he says they will be back to show more , so looks like something is coming and its a SUPER SECRET …(pun)
August 20th, 2009 at 12:28 PM
@Jaxx377 We are thiinking alike man lol.I even made a thread on the ps forums about this last night
http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3updates&thread.id=86166
….I was like he didnt show the redesign friendlist or the trophy thing something not right lol
August 20th, 2009 at 12:46 PM
I hope he’s right.
August 20th, 2009 at 1:47 PM
@LoveStrucked
Ultimately, I think they’re damned if they do, damned if they don’t…but maybe more damned if they do. I once thought like you, that it would’t hurt them to inform people. That gamers would appreciate the information and some how gamers and devs would have this rapport. And while I think there are a good number of people who would appreciate, they’re are vastly more people who would totally miscontrue that message. This includes the media.
They can give out facts and insights, and they’ll largely be ignored. Look at the pricing structure for the PS3, they said why they hadn’t lowered the price. It was shown how much it cost them to make it and how much the lost and for how long. Facts were ignored. You still had people wondering why it hadn’t happened yet, oblivious to the fact that even once they make a slim version, it takes time to get it through the proper channels and production lines.
Look at the Getaway or Eight Days. People see early development footage, and claim Sony doesn’t know what they’re doing. Oblivious to how other facets of those games were working, or how those games compare to the rest of the portfolio, or how games are cancelled all the time without us knowing.
Look at the 10-yr lifecycle. A simple concept to relieve people that despite all their fears, the console will be supported for a decade…and that their money isn’t going to be wasted. To remind them that time is a part of the equation, and that things will naturally evolve and get better. An encouraging line meant to get them to look back at what’s been achieved in a short time (Remember when PSN was a webpage?). That was miscontrued as an answer to keep the price up…or arrogance.
Look at the blog. An open-hand to comfort folks and let them feel as though they are a part of the process. Giving people free reign to voice their suggestions, and make their “demands” to people who are already working very hard to please them. You got folks on there who expect it the next day! They get something and they complain about how they wanted more. Some don’t even offer their suggestion with decency.
Look at Killzone 2. These guys bring out a trailer to show people what “their” working on…what “their” vision is…The simple act to convey what their game’s goal is. A reporter/journalist/somebody not affiliated with them misconstrues the trailer as in-game footage. These guys spend the next few years trying to correct one guy’s ridiculous comment. They go on various sites, answer hundreds of questions, and their game is still compared to that trailer.
Look at release dates, executive comments, features in games…its just provides more and more evidence, that its better to just keep it to yourself. Firmware 3.0 looks likely, but they could find a bug the day before, and HAVE to set it back. They could apologize and make folks aware, and they’d still catch hell.
08/20/2009 at 2:04 PM
Amazing post. Thanks for writing that; I couldn’t agree with you more.
August 20th, 2009 at 1:48 PM
lol I must have be passionate about this lol. look at all those lines.
August 20th, 2009 at 4:22 PM
[...] Eric Lempel few days ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdHy0_chPCA … See more here: PlayStation LifeStyle » Firmware 3.0 May Include Cross-Game Voice Chat Share [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 5:13 PM
Looks at Cornermans walls of text.
Couldn’t have said it better my friend.
August 20th, 2009 at 5:22 PM
Im pretty sure they’re working on it. The real question is when it’ll be released. I wonder what why would live be better after it is implemented? hmmm….
August 20th, 2009 at 5:43 PM
Boy I hope this happens, as of right now this is the only thing I am missing from my xbox. They also need to do this if they want to keep customers coming from 360. They dropped the price and a lot of people will be trying it out and text chatting only is a big turn off when you are used to casually chatting with friends.
August 21st, 2009 at 12:33 AM
I absolutely agree with you cornerman. After several occurrences where Sony has promised early (Home comes to mind) and not delivered, they’ve learned not to speak until they are 100% sure they can deliver. I’m sure cross-game chat is a difficult feature to implement, and implement correctly (judging on how long it has been in queue) and I’m sure it has been tested, and will be tested until it is released.
I’ll admit, I’d really like to see cross-game chat come to the PS3. But when I notice that they’ve not announced any such thing, I just hope for it. I don’t go on about how Sony delivers garbage (which they don’t).
I’m glad to see that you all have optimism instead of negativity about this feature.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:15 PM
“20. And it wont have sex with you.”
well, that will finally shut my wife up as she constantly accuses me of having sex with my console when I make an epic comeback and win at whatever game we are playing.
August 23rd, 2009 at 4:24 PM
I personally feel that Cross-game chat is a feature that is going to be implemented in Firmware 3.00. After looking at the videos of Firmware 3.0 in action and no footage of a revamped version of the friend’s list where the chat is located and the SUPER_SECRET guy who tipped us off about Firmware 2.80 and the Playstation 3 Slim it just all adds fuel to the fire.
The Playstation Network is constantly expanding and with cross-game chat being implemented would extend their Network even further. Adding this feature would be a big boost to the Playstation community.
This would also encourage sales of the Playstation 3 Official Headset making money for Sony. It’s a win-win situation for Sony to implement this feature, they get money from headset sales and we get the most wanted feature for the firmware and being a happier customer.
There’s my two pence towards this, fingers crossed it’s true.
August 26th, 2009 at 7:58 PM
[...] a now famous internet forum user on N4G, had a ton of predictions about the PS3 Slim back before it was officially introduced by Sony, and he was dead-on with [...]