Eric Lempel talks about in-game XMB, download speeds, more
by Nick Doerr 
{ Dec 14th 2007 at 12:45PM }
As we've heard before, in-game messaging and other XMB features are on the way, though no timeline has been announced officially. The developers, not Sony, are in charge of whether or not a demo is released on the PSN. Especially for smaller downloadable titles, the group behind those games might not have the manpower to release a demo as well as the full game. It's their discretion, but Sony absolutely encourages them all to toss a demo up. Speaking of demos, download times for some of the demos can be atrocious, even on fast connections. This is probably due to so many people trying to get it at once, putting a strain on Sony's server, implies Lempel. They're working on some solutions.
A final note was added about the PSN consistently getting content later than the competition. Lempel denied this, saying "as it relates to Network content I hear the exact opposite from developers ... While the process may seem as simple as a developer sending us a piece of content and the PlayStation Network department posting it for download, this isn't the case." They've got an efficient system, he says, and the Quality Assurance process is very important to them. If there's any lag between the PS3's and the 360's posting of certain items, over time we're sure the difference will diminish and eventually disappear. Microsoft knows what they're doing -- Live isn't new. Sony is still trying to really wrap their minds around this and they've caught up pretty well.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jango fett @ Dec 14th 2007 12:52PM
well i hope they get their act right. i mean the psp came out in 2004 and now that almost in 08, a full 4 years later is when they release the psp store and all that. they need to be a little faster, no hate on saying that. i mean i know msoft is a company of software and sony is about hardware but they need to get their best minds and cut burocracy(forgive my misspell) and speed this things up, for their own sake, or they will always remain 3d.
Ciaran @ Dec 14th 2007 12:55PM
When in-game XMB does come what will happen to many of the online games on the PS3? I know that Call of Duty 4 uses an invite system but that's only when people are in COD4. Will all games need a patch to work with game invites.
Who knows, game invites may not even be allowed when in-game XMB does come...
beaner07 @ Dec 14th 2007 1:18PM
does anyone know if and when the high velocity bowling demo will come to the eu store
rawd @ Dec 14th 2007 1:21PM
In-game XMB and leaving the Web Browser application open would be nice.
I would like to use web based eBuddy for IM'ing and leave it running while I'm playing games, watching movies, etc
Nate @ Dec 14th 2007 1:25PM
Leaving the web browser open would be good for following walkthroughs and other such game-helpers as well.
rawd @ Dec 14th 2007 1:31PM
Cheater!!!!!!
Phileoca @ Dec 14th 2007 1:54PM
I love the way he closed the article
"I think it's worth mentioning here that the PlayStation Network is free and all PlayStation Network members get new content at the same time, unlike the new tiered model from the competition, which delays the release of content for non-paying members."
Solace @ Dec 14th 2007 1:59PM
i.e. - sucks if you are a Silver Member on the 3fixMe.
lolz.
Leobebes @ Dec 14th 2007 2:01PM
Downloading demos, patches, and other items on PSN is atrociously slow. I went to my friends house and his xbox360 took literally seconds to update their new fall update. Anyone know why that is, especially considering the PS3 supposedly has more advanced hardware and infrastructure.
AK @ Dec 15th 2007 10:04AM
the ps3's hardware has barely any effect on how fast the download is, it may contribute to the maximum speed, but i doubt we'll be reaching this max speed for a while.
the real problem, is either:
A) the downloader's speed
B) the sony server
sony has not much money on their servers, as they dont charge us for using it. and therefore their servers are inferior.
of course my modem sucks, so personally it's no trouble.
NinjaAntonio @ Dec 14th 2007 2:12PM
Not be rude or anything but leobebes the question u just asked was specifically answered in this article. The title says it talks about download speeds and it definitely does. Plz read b4 posting it might help you with any questions you have.
Popfrogs @ Dec 14th 2007 2:45PM
I'm not buying his "we're working on it" for the download speeds problem. There are 2 solutions to this and both of them are relatively simple.
1. Release content updates _on the same day in all regions_. That prevents the Euros from stealing our bandwidth every Thursday and they get a local download which should be faster for them anyway.
2. Fix the netcode on the PS3 as it relates to the PSN. There's no reason for downloads to get progressively slower, then stop, then start up again at random. A stream is a stream.
I would suggest they use Akamai to balance the load, but it appears they already do. I have no idea why it doesn't work well for them. I'm starting to think it's the PS3 itself and I'm going to do some bandwidth testing with LAN transfers between it and my PC.
Xiru @ Dec 14th 2007 2:58PM
On the note of slow downloads. I have the opposite experience. I am on Verizon Fios and downloaed the Burnout Paradise demo in about 12 minutes. thats a 760mb file. Its not as fast as my PC downloads files but its not as slow as people make it seem. Remember its free... On that note, I lov emy PS3 and that will never change. Reading this interview only makes my belief in Sony grow stronger. In game XMB would be lovely.
EfrenPacquiao @ Dec 14th 2007 8:15PM
ditto
Slayer15 @ Dec 14th 2007 3:16PM
The Burnout Paradise demo downloaded fast for me too, not in 12 minutes, but much faster than usual. I usually wait until Friday to download stuff because the servers are to slow on Thursday, but I downloaded Paradise on Thursday.
Dehshizknight @ Dec 14th 2007 4:06PM
Lol, I usually downloaded hyped things on the same day but, usually, something I want I download on Friday because that's when I have the time.
elitewillie @ Dec 14th 2007 4:09PM
Xiru you are such a fanboy. Dude I love the PS3 also, but the thing is atrocious when it comes to games. Every time I have to choose between buying a game for 360 or PS3, the 360 option seems way better. Xbox live really kills the PS3. I have both systems and I totally regret buying the PS3. My 3 year old son usually uses it to watch Shark Tales, thats the only thing it is useful for. The PS2 is better than the PS3. How much good, does having a lot of tech inside a box due, when it is being used to make games. There are no games for the darn thing.
kentuckyfried @ Dec 14th 2007 7:36PM
I'm not feeling the advantage of Xbox live.
My friend and I were on it last night trying to play COD4, and not only did I end up getting kicked off the party for some reason, but the whole thing disconnected, and when we did reconnect, took almost 5 minutes to finally get into the next game.
EfrenPacquiao @ Dec 14th 2007 8:19PM
There aren't many games yet. No one is forcing you to keep your PS3 if its such a waste of money sell it and get what you can. As for Xiru being a fanboy, the site is PS3Fanboy.
Noshino @ Dec 14th 2007 10:49PM
"I love the PS3 also,,,"
"...and I totally regret buying the PS3"
....decide? do you love it...or not?
also, when it comes to games? seriously, there are so many games for the PS3 that I don't really understand how someone would complain about that...
also, Live might have more FEATURES, but its freaking p2p, the only advantage I see to that, is that games that are 2 years old or more might still have people playing them online...other than that, its horrible. That is what developers are praising, Sony gives them the options, p2p or dedicated servers...guess what, I prefer dedicated servers over p2p anyday...
next time don't claim to like the system when you are just bluffing...at least next time make it more believable...
grognard66 @ Dec 14th 2007 4:14PM
I think the main problem with PSN is summed up in Lempels response - Sony "asks" developers to provide demos while MS DEMANDS that every Arcade game have a demo. They have drastically different philosophies and the inherent advantage of a closed system with a firm set of rules for everyone does have its advantages over a laissez faire system.
No excuse for the continued slow download speeds. I think Sony can afford additional servers and should be able to understand the concept of cache farms by now. I'm tired of Sony telling me to continue waiting for the good stuff and would gladly pay them $50 per year if they could match the Live! experience.
Finally, Leobebes comment was not out of order. There is no excuse for the cumbersome download/install process of updates for PS3 compared to 360. It literally takes me 20 seconds from start to finish to install the under 7 MB 360 bi-annual updates which come loaded with far more features than the huge and slow to install PS3 updates that seem to come up monthly. That's just sloppy coding. Sony is a great hardware company but are completely clueless about software and networking.
Extinction @ Dec 15th 2007 1:06AM
"would gladly pay them $50 per year if they could match the Live! experience."
I feel they already have. Especially since Live is P2P
I also have no problems with the download speeds. They are quite fast.
"There is no excuse for the cumbersome download/install process of updates for PS3 compared to 360"
Except PS3s updates are 128 MB, and include a full image of the flash, and have never bricked a system.
Unlike 360s, now THAT's sloppy coding.
And 360 has never had an update that comes close to the amount of features PS3 gets/has. It's most recent one just added a few features PSP and PS3 had since launch.
boxmyth @ Dec 14th 2007 6:08PM
One thing that isn't mentioned: the Playstation Store only updates with new content on Thursday (in the US at least), while Xbox Live posts content whenever they feel like it. I find myself flipping on my 360 some mornings just to see if there's a new demo or game video to download. On days that there is, it's like Christmas morning and I'm happy. I like the Playstation Store and the fact that there's no fee (other than for certain content), but I'm not a fan of once-weekly updates. That's the main reason I see that Live gets stuff before PSN.
Extinction @ Dec 15th 2007 1:07AM
PSN updated on tuesday for thanksgiving. They've updated on days other than thursday a couple times.
Leo @ Dec 14th 2007 11:44PM
On the timeshift multiplayer demo, there's in-game friends list and messaging.
grognard66 @ Dec 15th 2007 8:27AM
"Except PS3s updates are 128 MB, and include a full image of the flash, and have never bricked a system."
Extinction - that is precisely my point. How can MS software engineers add more features and functionality in 7 meg than Sony is able to do with 128 MB and if the PS3 is really that more powerful why does it take so long to process the update?
Finally, the Spring/Winter 360 updates have NEVER bricked a system. Sadly, the 360 hardware is extremely unrealiable so some systems coincidentally red-ringed while users downloaded updates but that is a factor of more people using the 360 to get the update and having the hardware fail - not the update itself (just like there was an uptick in red rings when Halo 3 came out but Halo 3 didn't actually brick the systems).
I personally have had 2 red-ring incidents (I have two 360's and it has happened twice on the older unit) and despite that frustration consider the 360 experience far superior to PS3 and spend the vast majority of my time on that system. Obviously, the majority of the public has come to the same conclusion based on the healthy lead 360 still maintains despite the well publicized hardware issues. If that's not a sad indictment on the state of the PS3 I don't know what is.
It's pretty bad when people would rather invest their time and money on a shoddily constructed product than a reliable one. Games, features and online experience are more important than watching Blu-Ray movies.
Noshino @ Dec 15th 2007 11:04AM
"healthy lead 360 still maintains despite the well publicized hardware issues."
err...well publicized? on the net, yes, but outside of the net, no, Microsoft I think is doing an AMAZING job at keeping hidden this issue, I mean, almost if not all of the "News" are about bashing the PS3 or somewhat praising it, but about the 360? only praise, I haven't seen a single article on the problems with the 360...
So back to topic, no, if people KNEW about the malfunction rate, they wouldn't be buying it as much as it is...
"Games, features and online experience are more important than watching Blu-Ray movies"
And the PS3 has no features? no online experience? guess what, it has Games, Features, online experience, AND plays Blu-Ray movies...
Brad @ Dec 16th 2007 3:57AM
Honestly, I don't understand the complaints about download times. I've had my PS3 since February'07. My downloads have always been, and continue to be, fast through my cable modem. Those demo games tend to be 700MB - 1GB, and even then it downloads in, say, 20 minutes. That's nothing to complain about. Firmware updates download for me within 2 - 5 minutes. Again, no complaints from me.
Brad @ Dec 16th 2007 4:03AM
On in-game XMB access, I'm starting to think that we will be hosed. Anyone following PS3 news in detail would have seen Sony developer talk about six months ago where they added in-game access to music playback and some other XMB functions - TO THE DEVELOPER'S KIT. I.e. the game has to be programmed specifically to call up this function. And there is a cost in terms of memory consumption. So, the game developer has to decide to implement or not. This is why we are seeing this feature in High Velocity Bowling, but you can't do it in Resistance.
I don't know if Sony is ever going to be able to add this as a firmware feature to all games.
Personally, I have no interest in in-game XMB music playback.
In-Game access to XMB chat and messaging is a MUST, however - Sony has got to add this feature. I just hope it's possible.
I'm hoping that Home will somehow make things like game invites more standardized between games. But, I'm also worried that none of the current games are going to work with Home, and would require patches from the manufacturers who care enough to write the patches....