Video: In-game XMB demonstrated on PS3 v2.40
By Thomas Ricker 
posted June 30th 2008 3:37AM
posted June 30th 2008 3:37AM
It's here kids, in-game XMB demonstrated on a firmware 2.40 PS3 for the first time. Yup, that's the clock and date displayed upper-right with a quick hit of the PlayStation button. Sony also reveals that the 2.40 firmware update will deliver the Google search bar (like the PSP update last week) and the ability to play and control your own music stored on the hard drive in-game. See that and more in the video after the break.
Shouldve ripped off the xbox from the get go rather than trying to copy the wii's motion controllers...
this stuff shouldve been out day one... maybe im just spoiled with my xbox that automatically installs stuff that I download rather than having to wait forever to d/l and then install it... yes you may have an 8 cell processor but what good is it if you dont program properly for it (i like to multitask you know like d/l something and play a game at the same time, even if its not an online game)?
that system has so much potential and feel like the only reason sony pushed it was for the blu-ray player and not for the games or other features... if all i wanted was a blu-ray player sony i wouldve bought a standalone player, but instead i bought what i thought was going to be a great competition for the xbox in functionality and features...
all the consoles have their ups and downs but as ive said before I'd rather cook my xbox then watch my ps3 collect dust... (fin)
Erm, I'm downloading the MGS4 Database whilst typing on here.
Well, I guess we are all different. PS3 has everything I need and more in one box.
Trophy Support will also be available with FW 2.40.
I guess Home will be the next thing.
People who still say PS3 still has no games are hilarious..........
Sony can always improve the firmwares to add features but the 360 cannot just all of a sudden have a free blu ray player to download. When the day comes it will be an overpriced accessory.
MS will lower the 360 price in the next month then in september release a bluray 'add on' which combined will cost more than a ps3. While thats going on the ps3 will be on firmware 7.XX and have mind control powers.
Wait! you mean psycho mantis is a hidden character in MGS4!?
!
Sony might suck, but not as much as Microsoft.
This actually improves on the 360 in some respects.
Often I might want to switch to a different arcade game or go from a retail to arcade, but because that is not on the guide I have to quit the game, go to the games blade and load the game. Being able to do that without having to quit the game first as can now be done with the XMB is a feature the 360 needs.
Based on the video this seems like it was rather hard to implement. It is basically the full OS available while playing a game, and that must use lots of resources.
Although the 360 gives you the ability to check friends and messages and play music, that is all. It seems like practically everything you can do on the XMB out of a game can be done in game.
Only thing that looks poor is that unlike the 360 going to the XMB doesn't pause the game. That is just sloppy.
"Only thing that looks poor is that unlike the 360 going to the XMB doesn't pause the game. That is just sloppy."
Not neccessarily, not all games are fast paced action games where every second count. Imagine for example going on a cab ride from west Alderney to Hove Beach in Liberty City, and being to cheap to pay the extra for getting there in an instant, and being all too tired listening to radio commercials for Pisswasser and Americas Top Hooker. Then you hardly need to pause the game before browsing your MP3 library some prefered music.
As we, the users should never be satisfied, I will have to complain about the fact that I can´t have several games going at once. Instead of having to shut down whatever I was playing, it would have been nicer if the game had been put in some sort of hibernation, so that the current progress isn´t lost, when I switch over to some other game I get invited to. Since all PS3´s have a hard drive that should not be impossible to do, maybe?
i like that I can jam my own music during the game instead of the weak tracks the game makers think are cool.
You need to stop buying crappy Sports Game 2009 Edition and Rip van Cool's eXtreme Skateboarding Hoe Down.
"Boss what music should we put in the background?"
"Just go to MTV.com and download everything on the Top 40 list. Those darn kids will eat that stuff up. We'll look so hip, and with it."
Looks good. I just need some friends now so I can use it.
SOOPERGOOMAN187
As someone who never plays games on the PS3, do I get In-DVD (or Blu-Ray) XMB?
Probably not.
I don't think it will, but when I watch DVD/BR titles, I've never had much of a reason to want to pull up XMB. I mean, either you're watching the movie or you aren't.
New...? meh, you get what you pay for Sony (sarcasm.. i know its free). I've been enjoying all of this for.... 2 + years now. You guys used to have to get out of the game to view messages... LOL! Suddenly $50 a year doesn't sound bad at all.. I think I'll go renew now.
awesome, but still no official release date announced :(
Looks alot smoother then the laggy 360 dashboard.
whats with comparing consoles?? i don't care one bit about PS3 not having XMB from the start, how it doesnt pause like the 360's XMB bla bla bla bla, The only thing i care about is that Micrsoft & Sony keep improving their machines allowing game developers to create even better games. I own both consoles and i enjoy playing both of them, MGS4 is crazy, I can't wait for Fable 2, Killzone 2 is gonna be sick, Gears of War 2 is gonna be out of this world. If you only own one console then there's no need to start bitching about the other that u don't own, each machine has great games of their own, if its a matter of not being able to play Halo/ not being able to play MGS 4 then save up and get urselfs both consoles.
Remember:
-PSN is free. Xbox live is a monthly subscription.
-Playstation didn't "rip off" the wii's motion controller. They filed the Sixaxis patent before nintendo's Wiimote.
-Life with Playstation is coming
-Playstation Home is coming.
-It's still the cheapest/most upgradable blu ray player
-Don't hate. All the consoles have their stregths/weaknesses
You're out of your element Donny!!
Don't forget from the get go you were also able to access all your media on the ps3 remotely from a PSP. Where's the xbox's counterpart for this? the zune? yeah right gimme a break.
soon you will be able to play all your games remotely with a Dual Shock 3 from any room in your house/apt./hole in the ground. with the psp. Just do the old remote play in you LAN and aways you go. gaming on the throne, like it was meant to be.
As for now, I can chat through my ps3 with my psp, view the ps store on my psp play some games and all psone games remotely with my psp, listen to all my music remotely, watch videos stored on my PS3's HDD, Start downloads and a whole lot more.
Does the xbucx do that? UMMM NO! Now FACK OFF until you have something to post, worth anyone reading .
I think a lot of you are missing the point about this. When people are saying "ZOMG, teh 360 had this from day 1", it's not so much a claim to the superiority of the 360(I hope; if so, grow up), but it's more of a condemnation on the Sony engineers. Where are the people that gave us the Walkman, or the Discman? The PS3 had a year to get its shit together, so why couldn't there be in-game XMB from the start???
That said, I don't really see how it's that big of a deal. While I own the 360, I really don't spend that much time dicking around in the blades while I'm playing a game. Most of the time, I'm using my game console to GASP!, play a game. The same thing can be said for all that "functionality" that the PS3 has. I believe MMM said he was typing a paper, surfing the web, etc. I already have a computer for that. Why am I going to spend $499+ just to consolidate it into a machine that I generally use to avoid the aforementioned tasks?
As for Blu-Ray....well, I don't have an HDTV, and DVD's seem good enough to me for now.
From 0 to Fanboy flame war in 35.2 seconds.... anyways I am very pleased with this update because it will come in handy in racing games and GTA4 to play your own music in the background.
I like my PS3 and my 360, I'm a little exited about the update.. but I too never really found the lack of in-game XMB to be that big of a deal. I don't use it much on the 360 either, and we keep the macbook hanging around the area if we want to look up a hint to a quest or something...
The trophies are a little more interesting, I kinda like the achievements on 360, gives you a reason to try to do something in a game. Appeals to that sort of OCD side of every gamer. Though with me there's a point were I'm just screw it I've gotten enough of them. :)
Dreamcast FTW
Very cool
Greg Calvino
Finaly, onley that they are two years behind. I own a PS3, still waiting for the big games they promised.
I am kind of disappointed.
From the video, it looks like we have to MANUALLY go in and shut off the soundtrack in the settings menu. On my 360, it automatically disables the sound track and plays the files.
Also, it would be A LOT better, if they didnt have the full XMB but rather a smaller one. Because for about 7/10 of the stuff we have to quit the game anyways in order to do it, so it would just seem better for me to have a smaller XMB and go from there. Kinda like the 360 did it.
can you play music while playing game now too?
that would be cool if you could take a SS of the game and set it as wallpaper....
Awesome
Finally. This will make adding people so much easier, such as COD4.
Now rather than quitting the game, adding the person, starting the game, and jumping back online, we can bring up XMB, add a person, and keep on killin' baddies!
Great update, if i only had my ps3 to install it!!!. The #%^$ Bluray drive died on me after 6 months of delicate use whilst playing GTA4. They should be working on THAT issue. BTW, mine "was" a 60GB PS3 and it's on its way to get dissected. For what i heard 99% of them don't make it through and Sony just gives you a voucher for a new one.....after 4 weeks!
Go SONY EUROPE!!!! D@^^n it!
PS: don't get me wrong, I still LOVE my PS3 and would never change it for the XSuX360, it's just that this is a serious issue that they haven't addressed properly.
I don't mean to burse any bubbles here, cause i have both systems (Xbox360 & Ps3), but seriously any 1 paying close attention to what this xmb does,should know that 95% of this firmware v2.40 will do si based on what the 360 has been doing for two years. playing music from your hard drive in the background of a game, sending & or responding to messages from other players, & friends list; all old news. Google search !...........Now thats wonderful ...........I rate them for that. I know this is a compition.......of winner over consumers ...........so if ur going to copy something try not to make it so obvious.
Not to sound ungrateful, because I'm not, but there is one slight qualm I have about this...
I just think, and it's only a suggestion, that when playing music in-game, the music control feature should be the first thing to appear when the PS button is pressed. Then, press Square to return to normal XMB. If music isn't playing, XMB appears as normal.
Just a suggestion...
I can't wait to update when I get a PS3 lol
Seriously, this is great. It brings the PS3 up to the 360 interface's level and then takes it a step further. The implementation isn't quite what I expected, but still more than acceptable.
JULY 2nd, can't come soon enough. The PS3 has FINALLY arrived. Forget Home, 2.4 is much more important.
yay
The fact that the Sony fanbois need to compare 2.4 to the 360's features is proof enough that Sony is still playing catch-up.
Oh, and with regards to the PS3 outselling the 360: yeah, we'd all like to think that it's because it's getting good market penetration, but we all know it's because the PS3's killer app just came out while the 360 has no blockbusters rocking shelves.
– Equal lover of the 360 & PS3; hater of fanbois
Ive never seen so many retards...
"but seriously any 1 paying close attention to what this xmb does,should know that 95% of this firmware v2.40 will do si based on what the 360 has been doing for two years"
- First off, there is NOTHING wrong with basing/copying. If a person invented a cure for cancer, and kept it to himself, it wouldnt do much good would it? Its all about taking ideas and improving them.
- Also, the PS3 has been running Linux for 2 years, can the 360 do that? Im not bashing the 360, just saying that each console has things it does which the other takes time to do. Some idiots need to learn that.
"From the video, it looks like we have to MANUALLY go in and shut off the soundtrack in the settings menu. On my 360, it automatically disables the sound track and plays the files."
-Oh im sorry, next time, I'll make sure they add in the option to wipe your ass. It takes, hmm, FIVE seconds to switch off music, and if you dont have that kind of time, then you should not be playing in the first place.
"New...? meh, you get what you pay for Sony (sarcasm.. i know its free). I've been enjoying all of this for.... 2 + years now. You guys used to have to get out of the game to view messages... LOL! Suddenly $50 a year doesn't sound bad at all.. I think I'll go renew now."
- Ive been enjoying Linux for ... 2 + years now. You guys used to have to get off your asses and go to you computer to go on the internet... LOL! Suddenly $0 dollars a year doesnt sound so bad at all.. I think I'll go check my e-mail now.
"As we, the users should never be satisfied, I will have to complain about the fact that I can´t have several games going at once. Instead of having to shut down whatever I was playing, it would have been nicer if the game had been put in some sort of hibernation, so that the current progress isn´t lost, when I switch over to some other game I get invited to. Since all PS3´s have a hard drive that should not be impossible to do, maybe? "
- One problem: memory. Any PS3 retail game (the ones which cost 60 bucks) that is worth playing will most likely use most of the RAM. Two going on at the same time is a crash waiting to happen. And since people cant stand crashes, this was probably a good move on Sony's side. Also, the HDD lag from storing images would be significant, it would pretty much like loading the level all over again (as well as preloaded material.) However, i do see this happening for small PSN games (even though those use a significant amount of memory as well.)
"Shouldve ripped off the xbox from the get go rather than trying to copy the wii's motion controllers...
this stuff shouldve been out day one... maybe im just spoiled with my xbox that automatically installs stuff that I download rather than having to wait forever to d/l and then install it... yes you may have an 8 cell processor but what good is it if you dont program properly for it (i like to multitask you know like d/l something and play a game at the same time, even if its not an online game)?
that system has so much potential and feel like the only reason sony pushed it was for the blu-ray player and not for the games or other features... if all i wanted was a blu-ray player sony i wouldve bought a standalone player, but instead i bought what i thought was going to be a great competition for the xbox in functionality and features...
all the consoles have their ups and downs but as ive said before I'd rather cook my xbox then watch my ps3 collect dust... (fin)"
- Im gonna have SO much fun with this one. Just letting you know :D
- As mentioned before, the patent for the Six-Axis was issued before the wiimote's.
- Why is ripping off the 360 better than ripping off the Wii? Just curious, since Sony has done none of that.
- The 360 should have had better hardware from day one. And hardware problems far outweigh software "problems".
- Are you high? You CAN download games and play games at the same time. And installing takes 1 click. My god, you must be MORBIDLY obese if you cant stand to do that.
- Still high? If you wanted a standalone blu-ray played anywhere as good as the PS3, you'd be paying above $1000. The PS3 surpasses the 360 in functionality and features, youre just too damn idiotic to realize it.
- Youre last sentence makes no sense. You dont want to watch your PS3 collecting dust, doesnt that mean you want to play it?
- Try detoxing before posting.
wow taking it a little personal aren't we? I didn't mean to insult you're girlfriend man don't take it to heart just because her fugly sister the 360 can get more attention and have a funner time doesn't mean that I hate the ps3 (really name calling is what you came to? you just proved to me that you are nothing more than a prepubescent 14 year old boy that can't control his rage... yes I stooped to your level just to try to communicate with you... maybe grunt would work better?)
sony needs a better SDK for the ps3 and blam most of my complaints would be solved... maybe get this stuff straight from day one... such as hey guys were going to release a controller that has a rumble feature so go ahead and program for it just to be safe itll only take a couple of hours to make a function like that....
maybe try anger management before you post again... like I said I didn't mean to insult your girlfriend I'm sure shes great for you but I just don't dig her, once shes adjusts her attitude and acts more like a gaming console maybe her and I will talk... until then she deserves a slap in the mouth
finally. its said sony hasnt come close to the user interface that 360 offers but now its starting to get there. with this new update. cant wait to play some games. in game chats from other in different games, hopefully.
Personally, these new features mean little to me. I'm not a big online gamer and yada but what I DO like about this is the fact that Sony keeps adding to a phenomenal gaming system, after such a "late" start in the next gen era.I love my PS3 and have NO complaints and will soon up the HD to 250GBs or more then really go hard with an OS, keyboard, and the like.
Like I have been saying since the beginning, Kutagari is a genius for being so creatively ambitious since the inception of the Playstation. Yes, he may have gotten a little mad and possibly ruffled a few feathers, even blowing exclusives, but the man had vision and that's exactly why I chose to hold out for the PS3. No one is perfect but the product speaks for itself and if the 360 was actually the late one, then a lot of this negative flack that has been tossed about in regards to the PS3 would not be and it may have actually been the opposite, in several regards.
Sony, keep up the good work.
I just want my Tekken Tag Tournament to work on my 80 gig PS3. Or put Tekken Tag Tournament in the PS Store to download.