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There’s been a lot of rumors lately about a new PlayStation 3 firmware that’ll bring a complete overhaul to the console. Well, Game On has tracked down Sony’s head of PlayStation Network Operations, Eric Lempel, and asked those questions we desire to be answered.
On the rumored 3.0 firmware update that’s said to be similar to the Xbox 360′s New Xbox Experience, Lempel said that “You’ll definitely see another firmware update this year, but it won’t be like what the rumors say. We’re working on some consumer features that consumers will definitely like, but it’s nothing like what you’re reading about, and at this time I don’t want to confirm any of those features because they’re not completely locked down yet. We’re looking pretty good, and timing is a little rough, but just in terms of that rumor, it’s not the case.”
On the subject of doing a complete interface overhaul like the New Xbox Experience, Eric said: “What we find is that people really like our current interface. We did redesign the PlayStation Store last April to make some improvements, make it faster, make it better, and we’re always listening to consumers. But right now the XMB [XrossMediaBar] is an Emmy Award-winning interface and people like it. They’re very comfortable with it. So we’re not looking to do anything radical. We’ll still do some research behind the scenes and see what can we do to make things better, or how can we make it so consumers find content faster, but right now we’re pretty happy with it. No plans right now to do anything like what the competitor has done.”
Regarding universal voice chat, Eric Lempel says that he knows “it’s one of the most requested features, and it is something we’re looking into. It’s a very complex feature, but we are looking into it.”
Well, it looks like Sony’s working on things. Let’s hope they get some things (universal voice chat) down soon.
Well, if the XMB is winning awards then there’s probably no chance of them ever dropping it. The awards just give Sony bragging rights and right now they need as much good news as possible. Completely changing the interface from an award-winning XMB to something totally different could mean disaster. And while I’m sure Sony would like to reinvigorate the PS3 with a new dashboard they certainly can’t afford to fail at it as it will only add more fuel to Microsoft’s raging bonfire of achievements against Sony (GTA, FFXIII, MGS).
I did appreciate the new glossy, glassy look of the PSN Store (complete with shadows on the “floor” and tiles that zoom in slightly when scrolling). Honestly I don’t think Sony needs to ditch the XMB, just make the overall operation more fluid with the ability to access content directly from the XMB rather than, as you CLEARLY pointed out, having to launch everything. Things like the Info Bar was a good idea but they never really fleshed out so that it’s a much better and useful tool.
The biggest thing they need to do is somehow make Home less of a game and more of a service that’s available from the moment you start up. Sure it’d be a little copy-cat but if they could manage to get the avatar on the XMB just like the MS avatars that would be awesome. Of course the hurdle in Sony’s way is the fact that the Home avatars are super detailed which would put more strain on the dashboard.
And as for Eric saying that they’re “looking into” the voice chat across games; I don’t doubt that it’s hard but to recognize that it’s one of the most requested features then following up that statement with this nonchalant “we’re looking into it” is just B.S.
“The biggest thing they need to do is somehow make Home less of a game and more of a service that’s available from the moment you start up. Sure it’d be a little copy-cat but if they could manage to get the avatar on the XMB just like the MS avatars that would be awesome. Of course the hurdle in Sony’s way is the fact that the Home avatars are super detailed which would put more strain on the dashboard.”
If the did this I would burn my PS3. Home is not for everyone, by making it there main interface would kill the system imo. XMB is the cleanest, and most intuitive user interface from all 3 platforms, and I don’t see it undergoing major changes ever. I supect the PS4 will use XMB with only minor adjustments.
“Home is not for everyone”
But shouldn’t it be for everyone? Shouldn’t everyone want to connect with friends in a more visual way rather than just being pre-selected icons on the Friends bar? Shouldn’t everyone want to connect with new people by playing launching into games? Couldn’t Home be used as a matchmaking system to connect people of similar interests?
I do agree that the interface is beautiful. There’s no denying that. My problem is that there doesn’t seem to be any real symmetry between all the apps and icons. You customize your XMB but when you press the PS button on your controller you still get the default gray icons. If you’re going to let me customize my XMB let me see those custom icons all the time.
Moreover the PSN icon, which grew on me, looks nice and it’s cool that it stands out but it would’ve been nice if they reworked the icons so they all matched.
I don’t want them to mimic the NXE but it would be nice if they were able to integrate more things into the XMB rather than having everything be a separate application. Take the PlayTV option for example. Microsoft has that feature coming to their console (in the UK of course) and it doesn’t require any additional software. Unlike PlayTV that requires extra hardware and, once again, launches a brand new interface.
Again, I’m not saying they need to copy everything MS is doing with the 360 but if they could find ways to integrate certain experiences into to the XMB I believe it would make browsing and using the system a more enjoyable experience. Right now it’s no different than booting up a PC and you’re really not compelled to explore.
And for goodness sake, I wish they could find a better pop-up display than the current one when you press the Triangle button to call up other options. That floating list of buttons and options was on the PS2. It sucked then and it sucks now.