PS3 Firmware 3.0

[Mandouga]

It's now available. However, on IGN people have been making sweeping complaints about it including (but may not be limited to) clutter, a PS Store button on the XMB's "Game" column above where the name of the game disc would be, and options to disable certain features, but with the features not disabling. One user even claimed that it took 14 minutes for it to download and install (OTOH, it could have been that one users connection, but I need to consider every possibility).

So, before I decide to update my system, I would like to hear the opinions of other people who have already gotten it. How does it work for you? Is it really as bad as people are saying. I know that IGN's users tend to get...carried away (for lack of a better phrase), but this is something I'm personally taking with a grain of salt, and so I want to know exactly what's going on before I get a potentially disastrous (or otherwise "bad") update.

[Captain Highwind]

If that's all it does, I'll wait. Enough complainers will get them to update it again.

[Mandouga]

If that's all it does, I'll wait. Enough complainers will get them to update it again.

I said "including, but may not be limited to". There may be other issues I'm not aware of. That said, I did later discover a few others. People are also saying that the new update is allowing for "advertising" of some sort to be shown although it's "only" game-related, and it's "just" in one of the corners of the screen; one person (either on IGN or GameFAQs) mentioned that it's not advertising for "McDonalds" or "Sprint", or anything like that (nonetheless, the "only" and "just" are in quotes because to some people advertising is advertising is advertising no matter what it's for, and no matter how "unnoticable" it is). Oh yeah, and there's only one feature to my current knowledge that has the disabling problem: the Information Board (now called "What's New"). People are also saying that the little jingle that plays when you start a game no longer plays. Additionally, there have been complaints that the font is too big.

These may not sound like major problems, but I would still like to know (as much of) the full extent of what this update is all about. The Information Board/What's New feature has always shown PSN related updates, and while there is a weekly article called "New on Blu-Ray Disc", I wouldn't call that advertising, but if it does also show ads...if this update really is just a medium for sending us advertising, then I don't know If I'll want anything to do with it (needless to say, I'm against in-game dynamic advertising, even if it doesn't involve playing a game). For these reasons, I still want to know everyone else's opinions about this new update.

[Tay the Cat]

These may not sound like major problems, but I would still like to know (as much of) the full extent of what this update is all about. The Information Board/What's New feature has always shown PSN related updates, and while there is a weekly article called "New on Blu-Ray Disc", I wouldn't call that advertising, but if it does also show ads...if this update really is just a medium for sending us advertising, then I don't know If I'll want anything to do with it (needless to say, I'm against in-game dynamic advertising, even if it doesn't involve playing a game). For these reasons, I still want to know everyone else's opinions about this new update.
Don't have the update yet, but

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3_system_software

All the features of version 3.0 are on there.

[JeffBreakdown]

it looks like a 13 year old from 1998 made a homepage...the fonts are HUGE, friends list just looks idiotic....so far i hate it because it's so aesthetically dissonant it makes my brain hurt.

[GWOtaku]

Feh, it doesn't seem bad to me. It certainly doesn't annoy me, although I question the necessity of three different ways to go to the Playstation Store. I don't find my experience terribly different. And I liked the way things were, so there you go.

[Ryusui]

It's so...sparkly. And I'm not sure if I like it yet. What I definitely don't like isn't how the Store icon is spread across three different XMB categories now, but how the first thing it does when I select it is throw all this advertising (yes, advertising) in my face before it'll let me access the Store proper.

On the flip side, nice that they've finally ditched that damn Spiderman font. I mean, sure, it wasn't bad, but the longtime problem with the PS3 is that it feels like they're trying too damn hard. I mean, they're like something out of a Strong Bad Email. Now that they seem to be embracing their previous branding instead of violently trying to divorce themselves from it, maybe they'll start earning some respect again.

Any maybe when they finally nudge down the MSRP for new games by $10, my PS3 library will no longer be countable on a single hand. :P

[Beefy]

Any maybe when they finally nudge down the MSRP for new games by $10, my PS3 library will no longer be countable on a single hand. :P
Which reminds me: can anyone explain why games like Metal Gear Solid 4, Resistance: Fall of Man, Little Big Planet, Street Fighter IV, and Resident Evil 5 all have had price drops, but Heavenly Sword is still over $50 new?
The game is two years old now. Why is it still so expensive?

[EinBebop]

Which reminds me: can anyone explain why games like Metal Gear Solid 4, Resistance: Fall of Man, Little Big Planet, Street Fighter IV, and Resident Evil 5 all have had price drops, but Heavenly Sword is still over $50 new?
The game is two years old now. Why is it still so expensive?lol, i was complaining about that in the zero punctuation thread a few weeks back. That's been on my watchlist for awhile as a possible God of War holdover, and most games you can get used for under $30 within a few months of release (which is my maximum purchase price for most games) but that game was still at $35 last I checked. Really, it seems like one of those action adventure games that most will play once, and with no online play would never go back to it.

[Mandouga]

Going back to the new update, I think the only way I'll get this is if I'm compelled to install it (i.e., if a new game requires it, or something). In other words, I'm going to wait. Maybe updated versions will fix the issues everyone's talking about.

[krazymed]

I managed to get Heavenly Sword new for 25 dollars on Amazon the other day. I'm guessing that when the God of War compilation comes out, that's when the price will drop to 30 dollars.

The only problem I have with the update is the info bar on the upper right corner. It's a backdoor to product placement. In a game is one thing. Right there on my XMB, that bugs me. I would like to think that when I am tweaking with my PS3, I don't get a scroll bar telling me to buy something. The last update at least had an option to take it out. That's all I want, really.

[Tommy Lawson]

They finally fixed that "battery life covers the digital clock" problem. I do miss the original startup music cue however, but the way I look at it, since the PS3 is now finally at the PS1 and PS2's original launch prices of $299, that means Sony wanted to rebrand it similar to the PS2 for a "PS3 re-launch." Yes, there's advertising, but it seems like a bunch of video game companies were going in that direction anyway, with in-game advertisements and such.

[ShadowGUN]

If anyone has the Ceramic White Dual Shock controller, the Firmware 3.0 is affecting some of them by not working (http://www.destructoid.com/ps3-firmware-3-0-is-breaking-controllers-147277.phtml#comment). Also it seem to be causing glitches on some game like Uncharted.

[Marvin Tikvah]

On the flip side, nice that they've finally ditched that damn Spiderman font. I mean, sure, it wasn't bad, but the longtime problem with the PS3 is that it feels like they're trying too damn hard. I mean, they're like something out of a Strong Bad Email. Now that they seem to be embracing their previous branding instead of violently trying to divorce themselves from it, maybe they'll start earning some respect again.

I liked the Spider-Man font. It made the system look so....sleek and futuristic. I wasn't too fond of seeing PLAYSTATION 3 at the bottom of every copyright notice though.

They'd probably gain more respect if their PR guys didn't continually dance around certain questions or tried to make themselves look superior to their competition. Seriously, when you acknowledge that the other two competiters are beating you in sales, yet still claim you are #1, you know you've placed both feet in your mouth.

[Bird Boy]

As someone who is running 1080p on a 37" set and often sits seven or eight feet away from it at night before going to bed, I commend their use of a larger font. It does look a bit wonky up close, but it definitely works better from a distance.

I haven't noticed any other major changes, though I swear Resistance 2 loaded faster this morning than it has in the past so maybe the 3.0 update sped things up some (I know it does on the Slim, but not sure about the Phat...or whatever it is we're calling it).

Additionally (for information's sake) the update downloaded and installed in about 3 minutes for me, but I also performed it at 2am before going to bed, when traffic for the update was likely rather diminished.

I frequently check in on the PS store for game demos so I kind of needed to do the 3.0 update before being allowed back in there, but so far I've not run into anything that makes me regret it.

-BB

[Mandouga]

Remember when I said I would only get the update if I was compelled to get it? Well, I was compelled.

With the exception of the internet browser, the system's online features require you to install the new update in order to use them, hence I had no choice but to get it.

Yes, the font is bigger, but not by a whole lot. Also, you have to sign in in order to actually the information in the "What's New" bar. Also, the "advertising" didn't feel like "advertising" per se. It's difficult to explain. They do advertise some of their products (e.g., Uncharted 2, and the upcoming PSPgo), but it's not "advertising"-advertising. Also, when I logged into the Playstation Store, it did show some of their new and upcoming productes on the tab, but I was worried that you would see commercials or something before actually seeing the storefront, not so.

So, in all honesty, I really don't know what to make of it. Yes, the "PLAYSTATION 3" logo no longer appears when you start a game, but other than that, the experience doesn't really feel any much different.