Rewind to 2006, when PS3 had in-game XMB (seriously)
by Andrew Yoon 
{ Oct 15th 2007 at 9:00PM }
Remember early 2006? The PS3 was still in development, and people were curious about all the new things PS3 would bring to the gaming community. People were excited for the XMB navigation system, where they'd have access to all the features of the PS3 in one easy-to-understand menu.
Fast forward a few months and now we see restless fans waiting for in-game XMB access. People want to access the XMB's features without having to quit a game -- but wait! We're watching this IGN video from 2006 ... and it clearly shows the XMB being accessed! (Watch at around 2:30 in the video.)
What happened Sony? In-game XMB was the plan all along, but nearly a year after the console's launch, why is this feature still missing?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ruibing @ Oct 15th 2007 9:07PM
They must have ran into problems or complications with it later on.
Nazim @ Oct 15th 2007 9:09PM
what the helll?!??!?!
meStevo @ Oct 16th 2007 1:34PM
I'd wager that instead of having a stricter certification process like the Microsoft and mandating this kind of feature, they let it slide (for now?) in order to get games out quicker for the console.
Jose Godinez @ Oct 15th 2007 9:23PM
DUDES SCREW THIS... THEY ANNOUNCED BIONIC COMMANDO!! GO CAPCOM!!!
Kspraydad @ Oct 15th 2007 9:27PM
1. PSFanboy already posted this video here: http://playstation.joystiq.com/2006/08/22/watch-a-video-of-the-ps3-interface-pretend-its-you/
2. Bionic Commando is multiplatform...if that is it Capcom color me unimpressed
N.K @ Oct 15th 2007 9:28PM
i have been waiting for an in game XMB for a very long time and all along sony has had it. i thought they havent produced it yet and still working on it. maybe they're working on putting music in there or this could be again part of their master plan.
C.Evans @ Oct 15th 2007 9:33PM
I guess it all came down to managing the memory, having the XMB run constantly would tax resources the game you are playing could use, in essence it was a good decision to hold it back until Sony could optimize the system OS.
Frank @ Oct 15th 2007 9:34PM
I'll pretend to be a Sony PR person.
"We made a conscious decision not to allow XMB in game at launch. We have a plan for it in the future. This is all part of a very carefully thought out plan"
Tim Parsons @ Oct 15th 2007 9:36PM
In-Game XMB serves no propose anyway aside from accessing you Friends list, i hope they put effort into useful features IN-GAME XMb in my opinion is totally USELESS!
Anthony Pittarelli @ Oct 15th 2007 9:46PM
bionic commando yee haw!
Frank @ Oct 15th 2007 9:47PM
If you think In-Game XMB is useless, you're an idiot Tim Parsons. I know this is a ps3 site, but have you ever used the 360s guide? It's incredibly useful to send messages, check messages, see what friends are playing, and invite friends into your game. And the bonus is that you don't have to quit out of your game to do it.
Random1448 @ Oct 15th 2007 9:58PM
meh
Kattleox @ Oct 15th 2007 10:03PM
That's a debug, beta, test unit. I'm pretty sure the developers have that feature, the same way that they have custom soundtracks.
Andy @ Oct 15th 2007 10:07PM
I think I game XMB depends on if dev's want to allow it. For example if devs are willing to save 40MB of ram for XMB access then it can be done. But they are already have trouble with the ram so this is unlikely. Until they can get the XMB running a 1MB then this will be impossible for some games.
paranoidime @ Oct 15th 2007 10:33PM
Resistance FOM
has XMB access during the load screens, as of the last update
Autopsy15 @ Oct 15th 2007 10:49PM
Dammit Sony!
Popfrogs @ Oct 15th 2007 11:19PM
@15: Are you serious? You can hit the XMB and look at a picture or check your friends list? I gotta dust off Resistance just to see.
Edge @ Oct 15th 2007 11:45PM
It was prerendered. Ha, I'm just kidding.
...but, no, seriously. It was probably a dev kit.
jae29one @ Oct 15th 2007 11:48PM
Though yea their showing it here in this video dated back in 2006 (Last year).. That XMB in the video only had 4 Icon.. The one we have has twice as much and their IMO is were they have come into some problem..Also the whole "Home" thing.. Its like, why come out with a temporary interface.. When your going to have to come out with a totally whole new one in a couple of months.. Especially with the whole "Sony platform learning curve"..
Michael @ Oct 16th 2007 12:00AM
Why the heck didn't they just put in more memory in the first place so that this isn't even a question? What an appalling oversight if you ask me. 256 MB of RAM with another 256 graphics memory don't make much of a future proof machine in my opinion. 1GB Minimum anyone?
animekid3515 @ Oct 16th 2007 12:53AM
seems these guys havent read about firmware 2.00...
Paranoid @ Oct 16th 2007 2:25AM
@17
yup.
runs slower than hell, but its there.
I know you can send messages to friends, but not game invites.
I havent tried much more than that.
Just hold the PS button down while in the staging areas.
TCampbell76 @ Oct 16th 2007 5:11AM
In-game XMB is nice, but I think th 40% of HDtv owners who have 1080i only tv's and not 720p would like the upscaling feature to ps3 games that the ps2/1 got. Tired of watching HD games get downscaled to 480p. The fact they seem to have so many features missing that the competition has makes it look like an undeveloped product. Mind you my HDtv is only 2yrs old and there are some 1080i only HDtv's still on the market today, so that whole "go get a new tv line" won't cut it Sony.
Steve @ Oct 16th 2007 12:15PM
It is a disgrace that Sony have not added in game XMB sooner. My guess is they were struggling to add in game xmb at the time of launch due to a lack of memory so they concentrated on other features on the xmb instead.
Now, what is curious is that back in July Sony made a statement saying 'We know this (in game xmb) is something you all want and we are working on it and it will be added in the next major firmware update'. Now, usually it takes Sony 1 maybe 2 months at a time to release a major new firmware update which means we are now 1 month over due for the next major firmware (2.0). Does this mean Sony are struggling to find a solution to include in game xmb access?
Everyone is saying the PS3 is the most powerful next gen machine, but I'm seriously beginning to doubt that now. The 360 has in game custom soundtracks and you can chat to your friends whilst playing games, why can't we do this on the PS3. The 360 makes doing all this appear as a mere formality, yet Sony are apparently 'struggling' to include it on the PS3. What are they playing at?
chris.westermann @ Oct 16th 2007 2:53PM
Why is this necessary? Its obvious there is an OS overlay mode for games on the PS3, just hit the PS button and it brings up the quit menu, or a message box appears when a friend goes online. This is not built into the game but a feature of the OS. I can't see a reason why to access the XBM in game as half the stuff you would do on it would have to be disabled while in game ( I mean, you can't launch a video, browse the internet, launch another game, or decide to start messaging a friend while Warhawk is on hold in the background ). Sometimes, you just don't need all the features you think you need be happy with what you have.
Larz @ Oct 16th 2007 3:00PM
Might be a handy feature once in a while. It might depend upon the game to support it... It sure would be handy to have in Warhawk when I fail to have the forethought to switch voice IO options before joining a game, depending on what I'm using at the time.
Perhaps we'll see it in firmware 2. They probably have a handful of features already done right now, but we won't see them until v2 comes out.
Jeremy Bogdan @ Oct 16th 2007 7:04PM
Hah! I remember submitting this to PS3 Fanboy ages ago. I put this vid up on youtube quite a while back, and I can't believe its gotten over 300k views! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lluUBPzMcOw Looks like this one was put up a little while after mine.
linebeginstoblur @ Oct 16th 2007 9:14PM
@23, Xbox Live has been in the works since Xbox while the PlayStation Network is relatively new. That's why the PS3 is behind in some online features that the 360 currently has.
In-game soundtracks is very much possible with the PlayStation 3, but it's an option that the game has to allow you to do. It's not that the PS3 can't do it, it just needs more games that support it.
I wouldn't say Sony is struggling with major updates. In fact, I think it's quite annoying to hear people talk about how Sony is keeping 2.00 from them. Just be patient. When you bought a PS3, you should have bought it for what it does, not necessarily what it will do. Just give them time. It will be released when it gets to be that time. There is no firm schedule. Just chill out. As far as PSN not being as great as XBL, just remember, you're not paying any fee for it. It may not be as complex, but I think you get quite enough considering that you don't have to pay any yearly fee.