Sony's been having to "look into" quite a few things since PS3 Firmware 3.0 launched. First there were complaints about Uncharted: Drake's Fortune crashing, then there was the issue with white Dualshock 3 controllers not working. Now Sony's looking at an entirely different problem -- the new-look friends list.
The new friends list puts grey boxes around all the names, making for a somewhat unkempt and displeasing aesthetic. A number of users have complained to Sony, and the platform holder has pledged to take a look at the situation and see if something can't be fixed, although it did admit that "updates to firmware don't always suit everyone's tastes."
What do you think of the new friends list, and Firmware 3.0 in general? Is it a resounding success, or an ugly mess? Let us know.
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
7:40 PM on 09.11.2009
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IMO it's worked out. The battery icon doesn't obscure the clock anymore, the information ticker is gone (replaced by the much more tolerable What's New).
I don't see how anyone could even bother to call it a "resounding success" or "massive failure" simply on the fact that there were very few fundamental changes. It's hardly a complete overhaul like the NXE was. The only "big" thing about it is that the number on it said 3.0 instead of 2.67 or what-have-you.
Otherwise... yeah the new friends list is pretty horrid. I do like the new typeface size though.
:/
As far as what's there, the dynamic themes are cool but too expensive so I'll probably never get any after the free Afrika theme from the Japanese store. The blurring of the background when entering a sub-menu is really nice and makes things more readable with a light background.
Unfortunately the friends list is hideous and while taking some steps in the right direction doesn't go far enough to justify an update. They've also cut out the Playstation logo screen when launching a game, but now the screen in just black and it doesn't appear to have decreased the time a game takes to launch.
Sony needs to get on copying party chat already and clean up the messaging system. It's a pain to send or read messages and they don't even sort the order properly. They can make the friends list less ugly and speed up XMB icon loading some more while they're at it.
Unfinished, sure, but ugly? I've always found it so simple that it has no appeal or disgust. It's just there. And PSN landmines? Do you randomly push the X button as you're going through the menus? How does someone do that?
Actually I have noticed that my Friends List does load up a lot slower now once you turn on the system. Could be my internet though becasuse it has been kind of crappy lately. After that though it is fine with the in-game XMB working much faster than pre-firmware 3. I also really like how you can check all your messages with a person by clicking their ID as this makes conversations a lot easier. Premium themes are awesome.
Haha I occasionally overshoot menu items and hit X on the wrong thing because the menus go all slide-y, and for some reason now it seems like every time I scroll sideways through the menu the store links are always first. And I'm still not used to the screen getting eaten every time I scroll past the PSN section. It is a slight improvement in that in the previous version I'd always accidentally hit Home and then be stuck for a while with it loading before I could cancel out.
All I hate is the ticker, and the friends list thing.
I love it all, LOL. Ok, I admit, I would disable the new friend list. It sucks...
don't really matter sony wants money so bad it'll do anything to please
all u bitches... and me too
I'm getting so goddamn tired of all the complaints. And not only about Sony. Just complaining as a whole. Jesus Christ! Enjoy your goddamn games for a change instead of crying over nothing.
Mostly it's the lack of an update that had a positive impact on gaming. It's a gaming console. Why not cross game chat, why not folders for friends lists for easier organization (and the ability to have more friends in neat folders that load when you go to the folder), why not have clan or groups spaces/functions... something, anything that actually relates to gaming would have been nice.... unless they had called this update 2.95 - then everyone wouldn't care.
I'm exactly the same.
For now, I'm patiently awaiting the release of the next update, so I can finally register on PSN.
Buying one theme is cheaper then getting damn food over here in the EU, how in God's name can the dynamic theme's be considered too expensive?? I'd understand if they were double the price, or if you got tons of them all at once and they were shit, but as it stands, the themes are anything but too expensive, or expensive at all. It's moeny well spent, IMHO.
Hell, most DLC is more costly then a dynamic theme, and probably less work gets put into a crappy costume/skins or 'new' weapons for a game. Someone actually had to plan the LBP theme, and add or create all of the necessary textures on sack boy, the planet, and the sun/moon. Not to mention the rather good lighting effects, character modelling and all of the testing of the theme works. A heck fo a lot of work went into the Wipeout theme, and that's FREE. A heck of a lot of work goes into the dynamic themes, and asking a three bucks is a fair enough price.
All that effort for 1 pound 19 pence?? I'd say it's the best 1.20 I ever spent, the LBP theme is gorgeous, whoever made that deserves to get paid.