RUMOR: Background Downloading limited to XMB?

by Nick Doerr { Feb 28th 2007 at 12:00PM }

Personally, this rumor makes some sense. The rumor is this: yeah, background downloading is on its way to the PlayStation 3, but it's limited to letting you screw around on the XMB. You can't play games simultaneously. Now, before you get all up in arms, think about that for a minute. What do you do in a lot of games nowadays? What gets slowed down drastically when downloading? Online play. Yeah, the rumor covers it, but it's a pretty decent reason to pause downloading whilst playing a game. Especially if the rumor is true when it says games require resources that background downloading uses up. We don't like the sound of that, but it's just a rumor, after all.

However, what isn't said is that you can't listen to music, surf the internet, or watch movies. So, while you might not be able to play a quick race in MotorStorm, you can still watch those DVD's of Scrubs you've had sitting around or, you know, go for a jog. Jog is a funny-looking word. Jaw-guh. Anyway, more bits about the 1.60 firmware update will crop up whenever the news feels like being released and it'll all stay as a rumor until we actually get to experience it for ourselves.

[Joystiq's all over this, too.]

Tags: Playstation 3, Playstation3, PS3, Sony

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

random g4 member @ Feb 28th 2007 12:16PM

No problem for me since I usually watch DVDs while I wait for my XBL downloads. :P

Awww Gundam Wing Complete Collection I'd be lost without you.

GRT @ Feb 28th 2007 12:32PM

In typical Joystiq fashion, this is a MAJOR FLAW with the PS3 even though the 360 works the same way and no one bitches about that.

I really really hate Joystiq. Thanks for sending me over there to reinforce my decision to shut off its RSS feed.

OrganicShadow @ Feb 28th 2007 12:52PM

I don't download things in the background while playing games on my PC, nor do I know ANYONE who does it either.

I don't intend on doing so with my PS3, so I guess I could really give a shit less if I can't be playing a game while something is downloading.

If EA is going to fux me over with microtransactions then I at least want to watch, instead of turning around and getting fuxt from behind.

jk @ Feb 28th 2007 12:56PM

wrong about Xboxlive it doesn't disconnect just because it is showing your live status. Only when you play a multiplayer game do downloads completely stop. The problem is that when a download restarts there isn't a notification. People see the download stopped notification when launching say gears of war to play single player. However once the game starts the download resumes without notification. I have a PS3 and 360 and I enjoy both but Sony needs to take lessons from MS when it comes to the online arena. No one can seriously claim that the Playstation Store compares favorably to Xbox Live Marketplace. The Playstation store with its html based interface is clunky and slow. Plus download speeds are much much faster on the 360. I hope that the problem can be fixed with the PS3 but the hardware design might limit downloads to XMB only which will be an improvement from the current situation but not ideal.

GRT @ Feb 28th 2007 1:16PM

#5 I agree that Sony is lagging behind MS in many areas... their online solution is a dim shadow of what XBox Live is. If Joystiq wants to harp on a real, demonstrable weakness, it's one thing, but when they seize on something like this, it just burns me.

For instance, want a real gripe? Why can't we charge the controllers with the system off, like the 360 can? I hate leaving the PS3 on just to charge the controller (though in truth, I don't...I charge them off a USB port on my computer).

#3, Either you and I have a very different game collection or my 360 is broken, because mine pauses when a game starts, and when I'm done playing and the download resumes, there's been no progress that I can detect. Granted I haven't tried this with every game in my collection, so maybe I've just been unlucky.

Your point about the downloads automatically resuming is a valid one, though. That to me is a bigger deal than background downloading during a game, because like #4, I really don't want my console multi-tasking while I'm playing a game.

cabrafeliz @ Feb 28th 2007 1:18PM

JK is right, the downloads only stop when you play multiplayer over live. Don't know why the 'resuming download' notification was cut out of the most recent dashboard update, but it's there, I background download things all the time.

I thought that by default the PS3 locks a full thread (out of the 7 available ones) to run UI and stuff, leaving 6 threads available for the game. I read this on the net in a document about software guidelines for the PS3 (can't remember the link). The same is done to the ram (8MB or so are reserved for the OS). So if the rumour is true and that's the excuse they're giving, it's a very lame one, since the OS already locks ressources as it is, and I really doubt it needs another thread to download in the background. That's probably shameful coding that will get fixed on another update...

Jiffylush @ Feb 28th 2007 1:57PM

What is important to me is the ability to queue and resume downloads,

Right now you start a download and can't do anything until it is done, and if you think the download is stuck your only option is to start over from the beginning.

Turning off the console when the downloads are over would be another nice feature, but it isn't critical for me.

GRT @ Feb 28th 2007 1:56PM

OK I have to eat crow...

I just tested this. I started downloading a demo, then fired up Lost Planet and played part of a mission. When I came back, the download had been on-going. I'd gotten to 20% complete.

So I stand corrected. I was wrong about the 360 continuing to download in the background. Anyone know if this was always the case? I mean, when the 360 first came out it didn't have background downloads, but did the first pass at it always pause during gameplay? Or maybe it depends on the game and how much talking it does to XBoxLive. Guess this is a discussion for another blog though.

I stand by my hatred for Joystiq, though... :) I get RSS feeds for the PS3, PSP, Wii and 360 "Fanboy" sites and enjoy them all to a greater or lesser extent. But the bloggers at Joystiq are just a bunch of hate mongerers.

Jiffylush @ Feb 28th 2007 1:59PM

Also, I don't care that the PS3 doesn't do everything an 360 does, if I wanted a 360 I would have bought one a year ago.

What I do want is for it to stream media over the network, and I want more games.

GRT @ Feb 28th 2007 2:03PM

Sorry the the chain-posting but I finally got to the original source.

"On the PS3, when you enter a game, your downloads will be paused and queued up, to be restarted later when you exit back to the XMB."

And of course joystiq left out this part:

"New APIs were discussed which allow background downloading during less resource intensive sections of a game (such as the front end menu), but such functionality will only be considered once the 1.60 update is out the door. Even so, games would have to allocate extra memory need to be able to support this."

So 1.60 is the 'final' rev of background downloading. More work can clearly be done on it.

This, of course, assumes the bloggers in question aren't just blowing smoke out their nether regions.

Going up to the intro:

"We have recently obtained through our contacts in the industry a summary of a high level meeting of the major players involved in Sony’s network platform (NP). This meeting took place in early February and involved representatives from Sony Japan, Sony America, 1st party and world wide studios (WWS) developers as well SCE-RT."

I don't know this blog, so I have no idea if these guys are legit or not. Sometimes I yearn for the days before blogs, when we got ours news from journalists who were at least somewhat accountable for the content of what they wrote. Now its all about mysterious 'contacts' written up by anonymous industry professionals...

D @ Feb 28th 2007 2:05PM

So if people are calling this a deal breaker, I would have to say that this is on par with XBLA releasing Paperboy as the "game of the week". I understand that some of you don't have a life or girlfriends so while a game is downloading, you don't have anyone to socialize with or something else to do. You enjoy living in your own filth so you don't need to clean. You also don't need to cook as you probably have a microwave setup right beside you so you stuff pizza pocket after pizza pocket into that thing that you call a mouth.

I think the only thing that 360 users do when they are downloading on XBL is logon to Joystiq so they can comment on how bad the PS3 is.

To paraphrase Shakepseare, "Methinks you doth protest too much". ;)

GRT @ Feb 28th 2007 2:11PM

"I think the only thing that 360 users do when they are downloading on XBL is logon to Joystiq so they can comment on how bad the PS3 is."

LOL, yeah, except, oh yeah, no browser on the 360... (Notice that is never mentioned when the 360 fanboys are going on about how the 360 can do EVERYTHING the PS3 can do. They forget about the web browser and oh yeah, this little thing called blu-ray... regular DVDs are ruined for me forever.)

jk @ Feb 28th 2007 3:12PM

Quote if people are calling this a deal breaker, I would have to say that this is on par with XBLA releasing Paperboy as the "game of the week". I understand that some of you don't have a life or girlfriends so while a game is downloading, you don't have anyone to socialize with or something else to do. You enjoy living in your own filth so you don't need to clean. You also don't need to cook as you probably have a microwave setup right beside you so you stuff pizza pocket after pizza pocket into that thing that you call a mouth.

I think the only thing that 360 users do when they are downloading on XBL is logon to Joystiq so they can comment on how bad the PS3 is.

To paraphrase Shakepseare, "Methinks you doth protest too much". ;)
Wow nice, your really cool putting down people and saying they have no social life. Seems like you know the situation well, I bet your really describing how you spend your days while you sit around with your PS3 a useless brick while it downloads and nothing else.

Sean @ Feb 28th 2007 3:27PM

Have you every used the browser on the PS3 it stinks. if your playing on an HDTV the text is extremely small even at it's largest size, and it has lots of problems with pop ups where it trys to load them. That being said I do like the option of having the browser it just needs work. The Blu-ray functionality is a plus as well, but you can get an HD-DVD add on and a premium 360 for less than a PS3 with available rebates on the HD-DVD drive. So it's a wash in my opinion on that front. The one thing that PS3 has is built in wi-fi which is nice you need to buy an adapter for the 360 which will set you back around a hundred dollars.

Welshbloke @ Feb 28th 2007 3:42PM

Point to note: The background downloading was NOT available on launch on the 360. This was supplied some time later with and much asked for update much in the same way Sony are doing now. That said this was a major improvement and actually works very well especially with the inteligent restartable downloads.

I can set a load going switch off my box come back a day later watch a movie or play a game and provided that I am not playing online or that I have enough storage space (20 gigs means you do need to ditch crap sooner rather than later) the downloads will resume in order.

GRT @ Feb 28th 2007 5:54PM

"Have you every used the browser on the PS3 it stinks. if your playing on an HDTV the text is extremely small even at it's largest size, and it has lots of problems with pop ups where it trys to load them."

Yeah, it isn't the best. I'd love to turn off that "Do you want to run this plug-in" warning. But it's there and it works.

"The Blu-ray functionality is a plus as well, but you can get an HD-DVD add on and a premium 360 for less than a PS3 with available rebates on the HD-DVD drive. So it's a wash in my opinion on that front."

I haven't purchased the HD-DVD option for the 360 because it feels like such a kludge, and because the 360 is so darned LOUD...it just doesn't seem like it'd be very movie friendly, and I expect MS will release a Rev 2.0 of the 360 that is quieter, has an HDMI port, and has the HD-DVD built in. I figure I'll upgrade then and give the old 360 away. Hadn't heard about these rebates, though...

Also, it *seems* to me like there're more blu-ray titles coming out, but that might just be temporary (what I really want is an affordable dual-format player, honestly).

Honestly, if either the PS3 or the 360 blew up on me, I'd replace it ASAP. I get a lot of enjoyment out of both machines and if gaming is a serious hobby for you, the cost isn't that much. Go price a set of decent golf clubs or a small boat for fishing or a yearly membership at a tennis club... :)

Iced_Eagle @ Feb 28th 2007 11:26PM

There seems to be some misconceptions on what the 360 can do in terms of background downloading.

Basically, the download continues downloading as long as you are not doing any online part of the game.

For example, if you are simply doing single player missions in lets say Call of Duty it won't stop your download. However, as soon as you go into the multiplayer menu it will pause your download since it wants all of the bandwidth devoted to the game.

Honestly, after the PS3 claiming it has superior hardware capabilities over the 360, blaming it on limited resources doesn't seem logical. I think it's more of the fact that they don't have any games or the SDK set up for game developers to put in these sorts of checks like Microsoft set-up.

Hopefully Sony can figure out a way to fix this and correct it in a patch. You would think Sony would have taken note and copied what Microsoft has done. I would much rather prefer a blatant rip off of Xbox Live if it worked almost as well! I mean Sony can't be so full of them selves that they should stay with the mantra "We do what we want when we want". It's going to get them killed sooner or later.

cabrafeliz @ Mar 1st 2007 12:33AM

@Welshbloke, it's true, background downloading was added to the 360 after it launched, but I find it lame that a console that launched a year later still didn't include that feature (it should have, since it's pretty much a standard nowadays, as much as it was a year ago).

It's like the argument about 360 games looking better than PS3 games because 360 ones are second generation games, while PS3 are first generation games: look people, a game coming out in 2007 is compared to games that come out in the same period. It would be stupid to compare a 2008 PS3 game against an Xbox360 2007 game, why? because the general expectations have been raised, and people thought Perfect Dark Zero looked incredible because Gears of Wars wasn't out to prove them wrong.

A lot of PC games get delayed and when they come out they are compared against games that surpass their graphical prowess (really, anyone who says Half-Life 2 has more spectacular lighting than Doom3 is on crack). So it's pretty safe to meassure the 'wow factor' based on the year of release, instead of the 'software generation' the game came out. Both the xbox360 and PS3 GPUs have been on the PC arena for a while for developers to get to know them anyways...

Naaiif @ Mar 1st 2007 3:37AM

Yeh they just need to upgrade the firmware and update the downloads so you can pause and stop them, and play single player games. I agree XBlive is a great service and better atm, but it has been around for absolutely ages, and you can't say this isn't a great first try from Sony - a company relatively new to producing software, especially operating systems.

One thing i will say i don't like about XBlive however is the blade interface, it looks nice but it responds so SLOWLY, accessing anything when another page comes up takes a really long time. It's like a game in itself - which is where the ps3 has the advantage, the XMB is extremely smooth and responsive.

Some people might argue that's because it doesn't do as much as XBlive though. You have to admit though, Sony are addressing this and progressing quite fast - and they need to because of the competition. You don't see Nintendo adding any of these features do you, but noone complains because EVERYONE loves Nintendo - or maybe because every single journalist on the planet is afraid to slate them for fear of a backlash from the hordes of Nintendo fanboys.

Virtua Fanboy @ Mar 1st 2007 11:23AM

"2. In typical Joystiq fashion, this is a MAJOR FLAW with the PS3 even though the 360 works the same way and no one bitches about that.
I really really hate Joystiq. Thanks for sending me over there to reinforce my decision to shut off its RSS feed.

Posted at 12:32PM on Feb 28th 2007 by GRT"

You couldn't be more dead wrong jackass, lol. The 360 will continue to download files when you play a game. It just stops when you play the game online.

If you hate joystiq so much well put your ass into it (since your being such a good little bitch) and get ya ass gone my little ho. Yeah that's right, your my ho.

Anyway, I'm not PS bashing just stating a cold hard fact. You know though even if they don't get background downloading right the first time I'm sure they'll get it later though. :)