Slashdot Mirror
PlayStation 3 Gets Software Update On Launch Day
narramissic writes "Just as the long-awaited PlayStation 3 games consoles go on sale in Japan this Saturday, Sony will also be offering the first software update. The firmware update, offered as a free download, adds support for the PlayStation Network online service." From the article: "In late November the company also plans to offer a firmware update for its PlayStation Portable (PSP) games device. The update will bump the firmware to version 3.0 and add PlayStation Network support. With the new firmware in both devices the PSP will be able to access contents stored on the PlayStation 3 via a wireless LAN connection using a system Sony has dubbed 'Remote Play.' It will also make it possible to purchase and download PSP games content."
The Good News: Sony will have an online network for their PS3. Single login makes life easier.
The Bad News: The firmware needs to be updated to use Sony's online network. That this was not pre-installed indicates the network only recently was finished. The possibility that the network will have issues and growing pains is thus much more likely (though not a certainty).
The Bottom Line: Something is better than nothing.
Thunderclone: ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE! ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE!
Release first, patch later? I hope they don't expect everyone to have their PS3 hooked up to the internet, would suck to need a patch you can't get.
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
Before yesterday, this would have surprised me more.
Why yesterday? Because yesterday, I picked up Gears Of War. When I got home and tore the shrinkwrap off to put it in my drive, as soon as it loaded I was disconnected from Live.
I was like, "WTF, mates?"*
Then I was politely informed that there was a software update for the title. This came as something of a surprise, seeing as how I got it barely 24 hours after it was released. I have no idea what the update did, of course.
Anyway, I was surprised at this yesterday. But I am now inured to this tactic, so I find this news completely boring. In fact, my first response is "figures."
Reality has a conservative bias: it conserves mass, energy, momentum...
A quick fact: Updates will be provided on game discs (just as with PSP), so you won't need a connection to the internet to get this.
Why this is good: Adds new features.
Why this is bad: Will likely remove software exploits to allow unsigned code to run (happens each firmare update with PSP).
They DID say this was the equal to a computer didn't they?
:( Not everyone has 193737x23789 monitors yet...or we must use a business app that doesn't scale ;/
Hey slashdot, nice to know the verizon ad is more important than this headline that got covered by their ad
Maybe I'm still in the mindset of the political elections, but I see the headline "PS3 network service added as an afterthought" out of this. I'm sure Sony didn't want to release it until it was thoroughly tested. But the Xbox 360 network service really seems like it was standardized early on (so games knew how many achievement points they had, they knew they had to send the achievements text and icons to xbox networking, they knew how much CPU drop they had to deal with when you start IM'ing friends in the middle of a game, etc). How much game integration is there if the networking service is offered as a patch?
Sony's right, the PS3 isn't a gaming console...it's a PC.
After all, what veteran computer user doesn't immediatly check for updates upon booting up a new computer for the first time??
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