PS3 firmware 2.40 said to be bringing in-game XMB, trophies

It's not confirmed by Sony just yet, but Videogaming247 says it has it on "good authority" that the upcoming version 2.40 firmware update for the PS3 will at long last bring with it in-game XMB, as well as the slightly less-anticipated trophy support. If those sources are to be believed, the update will be dropping sometime in June, with some speculation further pointing to a release in advance of Metal Gear Solid 4's June 12th launch. There's apparently still some testing to be done to ensure that the in-game XMB will work with all titles, however, and it seems like features like trophies and user-music via XMB will only be supported in games created with the new developers tools that have apparently already been released in advance of the firmware update.

[Via PS3 Fanboy, thanks John]

[jak0b @ May 30th 2008 4:46PM]

That's great! But personally I'm most looking forward to the Blu-Ray to PSP feature.

[Kurian @ May 31st 2008 5:52AM]

Why? I'm pretty sure NO studio is going to put a resized version on the disc for you to carry around. Just use AnyDVD HD and convert it to your liking with a suitable bitrate for your memory card capacity.

[LinuxMacWindows fanboy @ Jun 1st 2008 11:05PM]

um.....i think he was talking about using remote play to stream blu ray to his psp.

dumb ass.

[nathan.wong @ May 30th 2008 4:46PM]

Why do they assume that we know what XMB is? What is it?

[Pochi @ May 30th 2008 4:47PM]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XrossMediaBar

[kevinm @ May 30th 2008 4:59PM]

It's the Playstation 3 menu system. Hit the PS3 button and you should be able to pull up the PS3 menu while in game.

[Eric M. @ May 30th 2008 5:08PM]

They assume that because most people that are interested already know what it is, not that this is a smart practice but engadget does this alot - especially with abbreviations. I usually have to look back to old posts on some topics or do a quick Google search to figure some stuff out.

But yeah, I would explain the XMB but people ahead already did this. Essentially the in-game XMB will be similar to how the 360 reacts once the home button is pressed (hopefully a bit better though).

[silverblackvoid @ May 30th 2008 5:58PM]

you post on engadget. they are entitled to assume that.

[Darkest Daze @ May 30th 2008 8:36PM]

I could of sworn they had shown off in-game XMB when they showed a preview of Genji before the PS3 release. Either I'm completely wrong, or they really took a long time to finish something that I assumed was in at launch.

[Pochi @ May 30th 2008 4:46PM]

Ah, trophies and achievements.

Fine tools to keep human tools buying/renting/playing mediocre/bad titles way longer than they ever should.

[Eddie @ May 30th 2008 6:00PM]

Or to add a little something more to great games.
Duh.

[hurricane @ May 30th 2008 6:08PM]

@ Eddie

Yeah but that's not as comedious

[Pochi @ May 30th 2008 7:47PM]

@Eddie

I don't appreciate a good game any more than I would have because it pats me on the back for playing it in a way that earns me a little medal.

[hans @ May 30th 2008 7:02PM]

"Who cares about Truth? We demand entertainment!"

[Alex @ May 30th 2008 7:45PM]

Are Trophies the snide PS3 equivalent of the 360's Achievement system?

If so, BOOO!

If not, what are they then?

[ryan @ May 30th 2008 8:40PM]

hooray for conditional disdain!

[jak0b @ May 31st 2008 5:19AM]

XMB stands for "Cross Media Bar". It's where you acces your games, music, video, settings or internet.

[rarrk @ May 30th 2008 5:00PM]

Sounds good, as MGS4 brings new owners to the console, Sony will finally give the PS3 functionality comparable to its 360 counterpart. Hopefully the wait will be worth it!

[Abuzar @ May 31st 2008 12:11AM]

You don't call me bud, friend.

[Deluxe @ May 31st 2008 10:02AM]

don't call him friend, guy.

[Andrew @ May 31st 2008 1:03PM]

don't call him guy, dude.

[Danakin @ Jun 19th 2008 9:15AM]

don't call him dude, man.

[Eric M. @ May 30th 2008 5:02PM]

Yeah I figured Sony would release a new firmware to coincide with Medal Gear Solid. And to me the in-game XMB will really complete the whole PS3 experience for me though.

Damn. The next couple weeks are gonna be hard on me, gotta finish Rock Band AND GTA IV.

[engadget @ May 30th 2008 6:16PM]

Those games finish?

[kevin @ May 30th 2008 5:06PM]

UGH so XMB wont even work for all the titles I already own?

Oh well, I wanted to download torrents using my browser (torrelay.com) at the same time as game play !

[rarrk @ May 30th 2008 5:36PM]

No I think that BioShock was used to demonstrate trophies. In-Game XMB should be available for all titles.

[Falc @ May 30th 2008 5:16PM]

questions: how does the PS3 handle web browsing? specifically streaming video from sites like hulu, revision3 or nbc.com? also, can the ps3 play xvid/divx videos? i can't seem to get a good review covering this anywhere...

[Khaeos @ May 30th 2008 5:24PM]

youtube works well...and if u live in UK (i dont) there is also bbciplayer for the ps3..as for DIVX..ps3 has native support for it and it works amazingly...so u dont have to transcode on the fly like for the xbox..this feature was added in the last firmware update...

[dunks_nz @ May 31st 2008 2:42AM]

does divx but not xvid - although there are many tools to convert. I tend to download the HD files in MKV container then convert using MKV2VOB (about 30secs). Comes up really well with 5.1 sound

[JerkfacedFed @ May 30th 2008 5:58PM]

you're actually inaccurate on that one, the xbox 360 supports divx / xvid too because it supports mpeg4 asp.

it has support for wmv vc1 mpeg4 part2 and h.264, aac, mp3, wma, dolby digital including the avi extension containing any of these audio / video streams.

source:

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemuse/xbox360/digitalmedia/videoplaybackfaq.htm#h264

btw its had the in game dashboard, ability to stream media from pc's, xbl marketplace, online game support, voice chat, wireless rumble enabled rechargeable controllers (with replaceable batteries), backwards compatibility, media center extender capability, and lower price tag since november 2006 :)

[benny boy @ May 30th 2008 6:19PM]

Youtube videos work fine, however they seem to be the only flash videos that work from what I've seen and tried so far, so I'm not sure about those other sites you mentioned. Sony need to update the flash. Divx videos are great: I often watch them on my PS3.

Web browsing works fine. I use it to browse the web when I'm in my living room but it is slower than regular browsers such as firefox or IE.

[digitallysick @ May 30th 2008 6:20PM]

the web browser is garbage, and any linux install is so slow its almost un-usable

i use eyeconnect to stream avi files to the ps3, it plays them very well for the most part over the air. I am not sure about playing them directly from the harddrive.

[Mike @ May 30th 2008 8:14PM]

@ JerkfacedFed:

True, the 360 plays xvid files. However, whenever I play a widescreen rip, it played only as wide as a 4:3 video would, so looks very small. However, the 360 is able to navigate videos in folders, which the ps3 is not (I wouldn't think it would be that hard, but they don't show up).

Meanwhile, the PS3 plays all my .avi files really well so far, and looks great.

So both do it, and both have their downsides. Either way, let's see the Wii do that.

[hiko36 @ May 31st 2008 4:37PM]

Instead of bashing the PS3 why dont you read the options when a menu pops up. In order to navigate files that dont directly relate to what you are doing you have to hit triangle to bring up the options and then hit show all files...

[tyler @ Jun 1st 2008 12:25AM]

@ JerkfacedFed:

Good for you. Go profess your love for the 360 elsewhere..

[Andy @ May 30th 2008 5:32PM]

For the love of God please let this be true....it's about time.

Lets hope that the friends system / voice chat works like xbox 360...not to mention the most important part of being able to send invites...this would be nice if Sony made it a requirement for all future titles...

[hurricane @ May 30th 2008 6:06PM]

Well it is true... it's just that we don't know when this goodness is coming... that is to say, when in June it is coming.

[Erik @ May 30th 2008 5:29PM]

I'll believe it when it's actually announced.

How many firmware updates have there been that were once rumored to have in-game XMB?

[Jake @ May 30th 2008 5:34PM]

Errm, none. It's never been officially promised by Sony, other than "were working on it".

[Erik @ May 30th 2008 5:49PM]

...

That's why I said "rumored." As in, Sony didn't confirm, but tipsters said so.

[benny boy @ May 30th 2008 6:27PM]

Actually, this was already announced a few months ago. The only new information is the introduction of trophies:

http://www.gamecollision.com/news/rumor-ps3-firmware-240-details-game-xmb-trophies-more

[CosterMonger @ May 30th 2008 5:30PM]

how about the 2TFLOPS {that will never be used} of raw horse power and they can't do PS2 emulation on the 40GB model for some stupid reason {now that they fazed out the 80GB in most countries}.

Sadly I have no other choice but to buy the 80GB MGS4 DUALSHOCK3 PS3 bundle when it comes out on June 12th.

[Mike @ May 30th 2008 7:17PM]

ok but when are they going to add video playlists?

[mills.edward @ May 31st 2008 6:53PM]

They've had playlists for ages. Just hit triangle on a video and change the Info bit to the name of the playlist/folder you want to store it under. Then just go back and tap square to sort by info rather than date or whatever.

[Alexander @ May 30th 2008 7:45PM]

Lets hope, this is not just again such a "big rumor" followed by "great disappointment" scenario like with the XBox feature list for the spring update followed by no spring update at all....

[Seth A @ May 30th 2008 7:38PM]

Sony really needs to hurry up. I mean, In-Game XMB should have happened a long time ago. I got the PS3 because of its Blu-Ray drive, but my neighbor just got an Xbox 360, and quite honestly, I am embarrassed. Come on Sony. Dare I even mention Home, I watched that trailer a good two years ago, and I have all but lost interest in many of the "promised" features because it has just taken too long.

[BorisBorf @ May 30th 2008 7:40PM]

It'd be nice if they could get the XMB to display while watching DVDs or Blu-rays. I really like how I can bring up the XMB while watching downloaded hi-def movie trailers but it is very annoying that I cant pull it up while watching a disc without quitting playback.

[Raheem @ May 30th 2008 8:28PM]

Welcome to the social? Lol.

[eminemd12obie @ May 30th 2008 8:37PM]

wait that's what xmb is? i always thought it was just private chat/invite ability... i contemplated a ps3 for the bluray drive but they are seriously so far behind the 360 that bad?? it's bad enuff they are copying the achievement system and the mii system but they are copying the dashboard and haven't even had the common sense to launch with that? i love my ps2 and psp but this is just really slow... i'll stick with the Wii60 with PSDS for handheld gaming

[xValentine @ May 30th 2008 9:19PM]

Make my June be more happier pls..

-In-Game XMB
-GRID
-MGS4

!