Hi Guys, just wanted to give you some more detail on the main features of firmware 3.10 for your PS3. Hopefully you will have seen the American video previously posted that demos some of these features. If not check it out here.

As shown in the video and the screenshots below, the Photo view on the XMB has been improved. Your photos are now shown in a grid format rather than in one line to make it easier for you to skip straight to the photo you want or browse an album quickly.

We’ve added some links to the worlds most popular social network site, Facebook.

If you want to show your friends what trophies you’ve earned or brag about your gaming prowess, simply go to account management, under PSN, and turn this option on to share your triumphs with your friends

You can also share information about your PSN Store purchases if you want. Turn this on the same way and you will be asked each time you purchase from the store if you want to share it on Facebook or not. Let all your friends know what you’re playing and get them to join you online.

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Hi Guys,

I’m James and I’m really pleased today to finally be able to share with you more information on the Facebook functionality which will soon be available on your PlayStation 3.

Hope you enjoy the video and I’ll speak to you tomorrow morning to feedback on your comments.

- James

Hi everyone, here’s an early peek at PlayStation 3 (PS3) firmware update (v3.10). The latest update incorporates Facebook into the PS3 experience. By linking your PlayStation Network account to your Facebook account, you will have the option for the PS3 to automatically update your Facebook News Feed with Trophy and PlayStation Store activity. This update also enables developers to set specific criteria in their titles to publish additional game information to your News Feed. You can then check out your updates, and those of your friends, on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media favorites through the PS3’s built-in web browser.

This is just the beginning of our integration with Facebook and we are looking forward to adding new features enhancing the experience in future updates.

Additional highlights from update 3.10 include:

• The Photo category on the XMB has been revamped to make it easier to see more of your photos stored on the PS3.
• The PSN Friends List has been modified based on feedback we received after update 3.00. Additionally, you can now choose a color for your PSN ID on the XMB.

I just want to clarify a comment I made to this post yesterday about Cross Game Voice Chat, which seems to have caused some confusion. I can’t confirm if or when Cross Game Voice Chat is coming, but as I said, when I do have some information to share with you, I’ll let you know.

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Hi everyone, PS3 system software update 3.01 is now available for download. This is an optional update that improves system stability during use of some PlayStation 3 format software.

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Many of you have been asking why we haven’t responded to your complaints about last week’s 3.0 update until now. Sorry it’s taken us a while to get back to you – this is obviously an emotive subject and there have been a lot of issues raised surrounding the release, so we wanted to make sure we could come back to you with a comprehensive response that answers your most frequently asked questions.

I don’t like the “Fizz”. How do I turn it off?

To turn the fizz off, go to the Theme Settings under Settings on the XMB, you can choose different themes from here. “Classic” is the default theme without the fizz.

Where’s the game start chime gone? Why would you remove it?

One of the reasons we removed the PS3 jingle is that it was created to indicate the start of a game, but now we’re offering non-game content such as Vidzone in addition to games. More importantly though, this change makes the loading time a bit quicker than before, which we think will be a noticeable benefit for all game users.

The BBC iPlayer icon hasn’t appeared on the XMB. How can I get it?

There are 2 criteria for the presence of the iPlayer icon on the XMB:

(1) A PSN account or guest account as a UK resident

(2) A PS3 console sold in the UK. If you don’t have either of them, the icon will not show up. You can access the BBC iPlayer without the icon, by using the PS3 browser. The quickest way to get around it, is to type “iplayer” in the Google search shortcut on the XMB and click “iplayer” from the search result. You will be redirected to the PS3 special site of iPlayer, where you can then press “Select” to add to your bookmark.

For a better experience in the future, we are looking at the possibility of removing point (2). However (1) is required to identify your country of residence.

I don’t like the size of the font and the icons. Why can’t I change it back to its old size?

Based on your feedback, we are looking at the possibility of making the changes optional.

The US and Japan have a few Dynamic Themes available already. Where are ours?

The Dynamic Themes were supplied to all three regions at the same time, but unfortunately, due to the complexities of the PAL region’s PlayStation Store publishing process, they missed our publishing window last week. (Remember, we have 29 stores across 25 countries, which require the use of 13 currencies and 8 languages, so it’s more difficult for us to publish last minute content than it is for either the US or Japan). We can confirm that some Dynamic Themes will be made available on the EU Store this week, and we have a little surprise prepared especially for our PAL readers that we hope you’ll agree is worth the wait!

I used to be able to surf the net and listen to music simultaneously. Now I can’t. Why?

The PS3 extended the upsampling capability to audio tracks stored on HDD and storage media with v3.00. Some function on the XMB such as the internet browser and photo gallery outputs with 48KHz only so you need to set audio outputs as 48Khz to enjoy music and net surfing.

The first thing I see when I turn my PS3 on is adverts. What does this offer me?

It’s not just about adverts — the primary role of the “What’s New” screen is to get you into the game more quickly. You’ll be able to jump straight into the last three games or applications that you’ve been using. It’s basically acts as a short-cut to the games that are resident on the HDD, so that they can be automatically booted up rather than having to go via the game selection icons on the XMB. In addition, “What’s New” will give you a chance to discover some of the best deals on offer, read about the hottest stories currently making news across the web or even give you a heads up about some exclusive content our own EU Blog. We’re planning to improve “What’s New” in the future with some exciting content and customisation, so we eagerly await your feedback and ideas.

Uncharted freezes ever since 3.00 was released. Is there a fix coming soon?

We’re aware of the problem with Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune following the latest system software update and have a team working hard to isolate the issue. We’ll update further information here on the blog, as and when we get it. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused and appreciate your patience and understanding.

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Well guys, I hope that’s helped answer some of your questions. Thanks to all those of you who have provided positive feedback on 3.0.

As a wise person once said, “You can please all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot please all the people all the time” — We love hearing everyone’s opinion so keep the comments coming!

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Have you heard? Firmware 3.00 has been unleashed and is now available to download via System Update on the XMB. In case you’re not entirely sure what new features this update contains, we’ve got a video walkthrough, showcasing some of the major improvements. Check it out below.

I also wanted to take some time to discuss one specific 3.00 feature with you – the What’s New Screen. By default, this is the first thing that you will see when you enter the XMB (though you can turn this off in the PS3’s settings). We’re aiming to provide links to content that PlayStation fans will find interesting. This content can be streaming video, a link to a webpage (such as a blog post, perhaps!) or a direct link to an item on the the PlayStation Store.

The aim is for the What’s New Screen to be a community tool. We’ve got some big plans already, but we also want to know what you, the community, want from it. Have a think and let us know in the comments section below.

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