This in-game XMB video is touted as 'clearer'

by Nick Doerr { Jun 7th 2008 at 6:30PM }

The term "clearer" really means a lot when watching this new supposed in-game XMB video. It certainly appears to have more clarity than most online videos, after all. While the feature has been more or less confirmed for firmware version 2.40, it's still interesting to see these videos quickly crop up all over the internet. People have learned to fake a lot of things with the advent of the computer and the internet, but this looks pretty good. We especially enjoy seeing the XMB finally including a clock in the upper right. What do you think?

[via PS3Forums]

Tags: firmware-2.40, in-game-xmb

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

pww1 @ Jun 7th 2008 6:44PM

maybe a dumb question but would in-game xmb allow you to download stuff off the psn while playing a game?

Volomon @ Jun 7th 2008 6:48PM

Ya that is a dumb question, and the answer is no. Sony would not allow you to degrade your own connection while "possibly" using it at the same time. Also this article is dumb, SD Loader is obviously a SD card loaded program that uses the SD for memory purposes.

TekTro @ Jun 7th 2008 6:57PM

lol actually if you watched they are loading the game from the SD card. PS3NEWS found out how to do this a while ago but its only on the debug firmware(the one their showing now).

Mein Bratwurst @ Jun 7th 2008 8:26PM

Am I on drugs or is it not already possible to download while playing online? I remember downloading a few demos while playing CoD with little to no lag. Of course, the downloads were slower than normal. I think it just limits your connection to the PS Store.

Crabman @ Jun 7th 2008 6:47PM

Clearly fake. The clock is WAY too big, and would be covered over by the RSS bar...

Junior @ Jun 7th 2008 7:12PM

It's legit; I heard some1 long ago tested this firmware and he said it by other things had a clock and date included in the XMB.
That's what convinced me

Skunk Ape @ Jun 7th 2008 6:54PM

Yeah I seriously doubt thats real... especially considering the guy is obviously using a hacked PS3, what with the whole Ridge Racer 7 on an SD card thing.

Falryu @ Jun 7th 2008 7:00PM

That is not a hacked ps3. That is a debug ps3. You cannot hack the ps3. No one has been able to hack it yet. The debug ps3 is a debug unit used for tests by developers. Sometimes its not even a ps3 but a computer running a virtual image of the ps3.

A1 @ Jun 7th 2008 6:54PM

Who cares, that rock solo is awesome!

Geph @ Jun 7th 2008 6:57PM

Not clearly fake. the RSS bar can be turned off, and I don't think the clock is too big. Maybe the font / size / color can be changed?

I've been excited about in-game XMB since I got my PS3 over a year ago, mostly to get to music, messages and changing users without quitting. And since it appears to be coming sooner than later, this one looks legit to me.

Volomon @ Jun 7th 2008 6:58PM

Its not real, its a program on a SD memory card. Some of the functions are nothing more than your standard already in game features such as quiting the game or starting the game, its nothing more than an Icon with the command function slapped on top of it. On top of that it appears to not have any of the real functions such as checking your friends list its just doing what is already available with little more than accessing your hard drive.

I guess its not really worth explaining any further...

Da @ Jun 7th 2008 9:34PM

No, please explain further.
Explain until your rambling makes sense.

Jettic @ Jun 7th 2008 11:24PM

Volomon = Pwnt.

TekTro @ Jun 7th 2008 7:00PM

Its probably being recorded in SD instead of HD, that might be why it looks so big.

Jermaine Hall @ Jun 7th 2008 7:08PM

the video suck plus there isnt any media server icon on the xmb..cant fool me

Junior @ Jun 7th 2008 7:17PM

If you're not connected to the internet there is no 'Media Server' server thing, and debug PS3's cannot connect to the internet

Gamoc @ Jun 7th 2008 7:16PM

Jermaine Hall: Yes there is a media server icon on the XMB.

Anyway, it looks pretty real to me, it would probably take a huge amount of work to fake that, you can see the game running in the background (the lap time on the right continues to go up) when he brings the xmb up. It looks real to me.

stargateheaven @ Jun 8th 2008 3:45PM

I turn that icon off under the options. It's Junk.

Gamoc @ Jun 8th 2008 3:47PM

I've used it to stream music and video from my PC.

Fraser JK @ Jun 7th 2008 7:22PM

Faking that would be difficult! All the animations look PS3 like... and I'd expect a debug PS3 to have all those options. You don't really expect developers to burn blu-rays everytime they want to test a line of code?

Jonathan @ Jun 7th 2008 7:29PM

how do you get the clock on the ps3 to work, i cant seem to find it, F.Y.I. i have a 60gb.

MISERY SQUIRT @ Jun 7th 2008 7:41PM

It's not a feature yet. That's supposed to be in the 2.4 firmware.

gabe @ Jun 7th 2008 7:41PM

pretty cool hope it's true.

TinyTim121 @ Jun 7th 2008 8:37PM

I'm going to bet on this being genuine (Y)

But i won't be sure till 2.40 is released

TinyTim121 @ Jun 7th 2008 8:37PM

I'm going to bet on this being genuine (Y)

But i won't be sure till 2.40 is released

ahsayuninew @ Jun 7th 2008 9:19PM

It looks very legit, but I'll take it with a grain of salt

Wayne @ Jun 7th 2008 9:22PM

This is 100% legit. All the videos show the new XMB in the exact same way. Do they just copy each other?

The_Black_Circle @ Jun 7th 2008 9:43PM

I believe DEVs have had their hands on these tools for some time now, however the implementation of in-game XMB is irrelevant if the firmware for PS3 owners does not support the feature.

The videos are, by logic, and evidence, real. Faking them and going to elaborate lengths to "trick" people would not only be foolish, it would be pointless.

Just like rumble functionality was present in many games long before DS3's became widely available in North America, it's more than likely that in-game XMB is already in many games as well, however rendered useless by lack of firmware updates as the system is not, as of yet, up to Sony's standards.

There isn't any official word on Sony's part confirming that in-game XMB will be forthcoming in update 2.40. Yet it's very possible that it will to correspond with what is, in my opinion, the true "launch" of the PS3 with MGS4 finally being released.

Rumours indeed seem to point to this outcome. If these rumours are true than many DEVs who have been patiently sitting on clips/videos/and information about in-game XMB would most likely now feel "unconstrained" from withholding this info, due to several sources "spilling the beans", thus sparring these many video clips showing the usage of in-game XMB. Also, if the Ridge Racer 7 DEVs have had the opportunity to work with this as is suggested by this video, it would mean that most other DEVs have as well.

Sony (from my experience) are extremely focused on quality. Releasing buggy and poorly working software and hardware is not in their game plan. Thus the PS3 itself being held back a year, while knowing the 360 was consuming a vast market share, and HOME being delayed until it is in their view quality content for their audience.

Sony will launch in-game XMB when they feel it is equally as good (or better) than what is offered by the competition. Waiting this long surely has hampered sales and overall appeal of the PS3, however if they jump the gun and put out a feature that makes the 360's online experience even more appealing, there would most likely be very high criticism from the gaming community.

Graeme Byers @ Jun 7th 2008 10:11PM

One of the best and concise comments I've ever seen on here, and 100% accurate. I tip my hat to you good sir.

The_Punisher @ Jun 8th 2008 12:49AM

Reason for being a PS fanboy. Perfect, and true.

YOU WIN!

Groundskeeper Willie @ Jun 8th 2008 6:39AM

Sorry but you're wrong. PS3 firmware goes out to debug PS3s a few weeks before it gets a general release. People with debug PS3s are typically developers who are under NDAs with Sony. They essentially act as beta testers of a new firmware, and if there are no problems reported then the new firmware gets released to all PS3s.
Just because Ridge Racer 7 is in this video does not mean that developers have had in-game XMB tools for ages, instead it indicates that in-game XMB works with legacy games that may not have been developed with it in mind.

Gunegune @ Jun 8th 2008 1:20PM

Okay, let me set it straight. In-game XMB is not a functionality of the game, it's a functionality of the system software itself. Just like holding the "PS" button and getting the current layout we have now. The trophy system on the other hand would be a functionality of the game since trophies have to be programmed to activate at specific events.

Ranus Studios @ Jun 8th 2008 1:39AM

I think I'm still struggling to understand why this is a big deal.

Whoppy @ Jun 8th 2008 4:43AM

Because it will be easier to send "DUUUUUUUUDE WHY HAVEN'T YOU JOINED THE GAME YET" messages to friends who are taking their time :)

S2 @ Jun 8th 2008 5:31AM

An Analog clock would have been nice. Like the one on the menu of GT5p.

highman888 @ Jun 8th 2008 5:54AM

U can download all PSN content while playing ps3, ps2 or ps1 titles, whoever said that was dumb (above) clearly has 47 chromosomes.

KUV1977 @ Jun 8th 2008 10:57AM

Downloading PSN Content while playing is dependent on each individual Game. Try downloading something while playing GTAIV. All downloads will automatically be paused. Other games, like COD4, or even non-Games such as Folding@Home continue your downloads in the background...

highman888 @ Jun 8th 2008 5:56AM

I'm 100% sure this video is a fake, but I'm sure the in game XMB will be very soon because alot of dev's have been talking about it. U can tell this video is a fake because of the texture of the icon against the background movement just looks off. And the biggest give away is the default desktop moving in the background, at certain times u can see it reset, they tried to make it look smooth but failed miserably in pulling it off =(

Groundskeeper Willie @ Jun 8th 2008 6:22AM

It's legit.

seasidebaz @ Jun 8th 2008 7:35AM

it may be legit, but it's also a bit pants.

the game continues to run in the background with the xmb over it, by which i mean the game doesn't pause. the lap time can clearly be seen ticking away while the xmb is overlaid.

which will be very annoying having to pause before pressing the ps button...

Laurens Holst @ Jun 8th 2008 8:02AM

Right now already, some games pause automatically when pressing the PS button.

In case they don’t, you will have to press the pause button yourself (start?) before pressing the PS button, a minor inconvenience, but I think we will see more games doing this kind of thing as gamers have more reasons to press the PS button when in-game XMB gets released.

Meximan @ Jun 8th 2008 4:45PM

@ seasidebaz: It may be annoying to have to pause the game but, at least it's better than what we have now. And does it really bother that much? (a simple button press I mean). When you play games online, it's not like you're going to be able to pause the game anyway. This update (and in-game XMB) is for those users who have been annoyed at having to either quit their matches online everytime they get a message, or ignore their friends whenever they play online.

Falryu @ Jun 8th 2008 11:54AM

Well a lot of sources indicate the ingame xmb is coming and this definitely looks like a debug unit. There are far too many options to fake so this is definitely legit. I would doubt the faker would be so dedicated to faking a trophy option, the debug options of the ingame xmb on off, the quit game option when running, and the ingame clock. If this is a fake then the maker should be given credit for making such a realistic ingame xmb. As this being a second video that surfaces and displays exactly the same as the first I believe this is very legit.