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The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Today, I switched on my Playstation 3 in order to play a bit more Buzz Quiz TV for my review of it, here. I was greeted with the familiar “orchestra tuning up” sound and then a message informing me that there is a newer version of system software available, in this case version 2.40. A short download later and my PS3 is back and better than ever, now with the Xbox 360-like ability to read and send messages in mid-game, as well as checking your friends list. They’ve also added a feature called Trophies, which is not dissimilar to Xbox 360’s Achievements (ie. pointless but people will dedicate hours of their lives to collecting them).

Some would argue that maybe these features should have been there since launch, but to me they are looking a gift horse in the mouth. It astonishes me that people go out and buy products and then complain when firmware updates take their time to arrive. You wouldn’t buy a car knowing it had a 1.0l engine and then expect Ford or Toyota or whoever to turn up on your doorstep one day and offer to fit you a 2.0l engine for nothing, would you? And if the 1.0l didn’t do what you wanted, you wouldn’t have bought it in the first place…

In the last couple of years I have bought many electrical products knowing full well their strengths and weaknesses, what they can do and what they can’t, so to me, any extra functionality added or improved on is nothing but a massive bonus. People almost expect it of electrical items, and (judging by the internet) get pretty angry when their firmware updates don’t do exactly what they want them to.

Let’s see, things I have bought that have improved since i got them thanks to free software updates in the last few years: an iPhone, an Xbox 360, a Playstation 3, a Topfield Freeview recording box, an Apple Time Capsule wireless hard disk and several others. All have been updated for nothing, some were marginally improved and some massively improved. (I couldn’t believe that the last major Xbox 360 update had “Greatly improves menu speed” hidden in the list of changes about three pages down, it was the best thing they ever added)

So, to Sony, Microsoft, Apple, and all the other companies dilligently improving products that they have ALREADY sold to us, I say thanks a lot for the gift that keeps on giving, firmware updates.

Cheers!

In game cross media bar

Above: The long (and angrily in many cases) awaited cross media bar being accessed in game.

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4 responses to “The Gift That Keeps On Giving”

  1. Scott Cameron avatar
    Scott Cameron

    I do love the versatility of software updates issued to hardware, but it really has become a double-edged sword of late. Although I appreciate the improved feature set from firmware to firmware (in some cases, improving a product enough that it now justifies a purchase), it’s also an avenue for new bugs and possible lazy initial development cycle.

    The worst example of this I have seen are updates which actually remove functionality for the “sake of the consumer”, such as PSP and Wii firmware updates which do nothing but disable homebrew applications; adventuring in ScummVM and using a Freeloader feel like things I should be able to do. I do understand the position the hardware makers are in, though.

    To exemplify my point further, it seems that Sony has just pulled the 2.4 update this very post is discussing due to incompatibility issues. Let’s hope they fix this soon, as the new features certainly sound great! 🙂

  2. Tony avatar
    Tony

    Yes, I saw that they pulled it. They only did it to make me look stupid, I reckon. This from the Playstation Blog:

    “As has been reported on many gaming blogs and websites, we have temporarily taken Firmware v2.40 offline. We’ve received a limited number of calls from consumers experiencing an issue with installing the system software update on their PS3. While our consumer services department has seen a low volume of calls on this topic, we are committed to providing the PS3 community with XMB access features delivered in the v2.40 update. We are working diligently to isolate the problem for those few consumers and to identify a solution before we put the firmware back up.”

    The new features are very good, and installed with no hiccups on my 60gb UK launch day system. As you say, I’m sure they’ll get this cracked soon.

  3. Dave avatar
    Dave

    Bravo Sony, nice to see the console going from strength to strengh – now where’s Final Fantasy XIII?

  4. Tony avatar
    Tony

    Quick update on the PS3 firmware 2.40…

    Seems the 2.40 problem that occurred on some players consoles has now been fixed, with the release of version 2.41.

    Hopefully now I can write an article saluting something without it all going wrong immediately afterwards!

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