Shortly after it was release, Sony has decided to remove the
2.40 firmware after some technical
issued have been reported by the users.
Apparently to new firmware was causing some problems with
the controllers, but there were also reports of consoles that stopped working
after the new firmware was installed.
Sony has confirmed the removal of the new firmware from is
servers and said that is investigating the reported issues.
The firmware will be made available after Sony will solve
all the problems caused by the new firmware.
The new firmware included a lot of features like XMB
(XrossMediaBar) access in-game and Trophies.
For example, XMB access in-game will enable gamers to
interact with friends using messaging, view their friends’ online status and
profiles (including their Trophy collection), and add new friends they meet
online to their Friends list.
All these actions can be performed without interrupting the
flow of gameplay. By pushing the PS button on the PS3 controller, the Home menu
takes center stage over a game in progress.
Depending on the game, XMB access will either automatically
pause the game or it will continue to run in the background. Also, know the
Friends list capacity has doubled to 100 names.
Also, XMB access in-game will allow users to sign-in to PlayStation
Network and manage Playstation Store downloads.
The 2.40 update also offer to the gamers the option to
customize their individual gaming experience by accessing the XMB during a game
and selecting music stored on their PS3 system’s hard drive.
Sony also hinted that a future update might offer XMB access
during movie playback. Similar to the recent upgrade for PSP, the PS3 2.40
firmware integrates Google-powered Internet search functionality on the XMB,
allowing users to input search terms and be directed to a search results page
without having to first open the browser.
But maybe the most important feature offered by the 2.40
firmware is the Trophy system.
The Trophies are somewhat similar to the ones used by
Microsoft’s Xbox 360, but the main difference is that PS3’s version uses
Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum designations, instead of plain numbers like
Xbox 360. The main idea is that the more goals you reach in a game, the better
the trophy you get.
The gamers will be ranked on a Level basis depending on the
bronze, silver, gold, and platinum trophies they earn across all games. They
will also be able to see how much progress they have made toward the next
Level, as well as compare their Trophies to friends.
In a post on its PlayStation blog, Sony explained that there’s
not a limit on number of trophies, but there’s a value assigned to each trophy.
That is why developers must balance out the trophies that
are available to stay within an overall value based on whether the game is
considered large-scope or small-scope. Essentially, a user that has unlocked
every trophy in one game would have the same level as a user that unlocked
every trophy in another title, all titles (depending on scope) have the same
overall impact on a users’ level.