Let's fix the PS3's biggest problems

[Electro UK]

Okay so I admit it, I'm a PS3 fanboy. I love Metroid, and Splinter Cell Conviction was one of my favorite games last year, but this young lad has Sony in his heart.

The PS3 has been the underdog of this generation; a lousy start quickly turned round into arguably the best line-up a Sony console has seen yet, with generation defining hits like Uncharted 2, technical powerhouses like Killzone 2, and inspired new IPs like LittleBigPlanet.

But the system is far from perfect; it may have an arguably better line-up than the 360 now, but Microsoft's box trounces the PS3 in other areas. PSN, while good, lacks several key features that make Live a much better service. I just wanted to get your thoughts on how you'd fix the bigger problems of the PS3. Here are some of my ideas.

PSN

Quite simply, PSN isn't good enough. Games take ages to load online, finding friends can be super hard, and you can't get enough information about your friends.

Let's get game launching, consistent invites systems etc across all games, instead of a slideshow programme for the next firmware. Come on Sony, this is vital stuff we're talking about here.

Home

Home is a huge blunder right now. It's not bad, but it's been around for over 2 years and still features less content than advertised in the reveal trailer that's over 3 years old. That's a problem.

What makes it worse is that Home could so easily be much much better. Imagine switching on the PS3 and going to the XMB like normal. Only instead of selecting the Home icon and loading the system up, you press the circle button and you come out of the personal Navigator and you're in your apartment.

Obviously Home has to load up n'stuff, but make players do that if that want to leave their apartment. That way you could have access to your friend list and invite them straight into your apartment to share videos and stuff and (more importantly) game launch. Going straight into MP games with friends is the PS3's biggest issue for me; few games have got it right. We need that to work.

PSP2

PS3's connectivity with the PSP is awkward at best. With PSP2, make it super smooth. Wireless connections that unlock content in games just when it knows you've got a PSP2 with a game from the same franchise/publisher in the room. Super easy content sharing for videos, minis and music... the PS3 is just begging for these features.

If PSP2 is as powerful as the PS3, then it should be pushing a whole host of shared features. Let people alert you on PSP2 that they want to play a PS3 game with you, let you look on the PSN and use the PSP2 to queue up downloads. Heck let us in our Home apartment on PSP2!

There's so many possibilites that I fear aren't going to be realised there.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

The biggest thing keeping me on my Xbox vs my PS3 is the online experience. In short, its annoying on Sony's platform, for much of the reasons you mentioned. Sending messages to your friends is FAR smoother an experience on the 360. The inability to send voice messages is also a killer and thats not even mentioning the lack of cross game chat, which PS3 fanboys have been telling me is coming for over 2 yrs now. Sony just doesnt have a user friendly system as it currently stands.

I also cant stand the massive updates and long install times. Iv never had to wait longer than 5 minutes on an update via Live. There are some PS3 titles, that iv left my PS3 on while i went to work, only to come back and have the update yet to be finished.

If Sony can fix those issues, i dont see why i wouldn't permanently switch to the PS3, imo, however, i dont think they can unless a fee is implemented. Which, if cheaper than Live, id still make the jump.

HOME however, is a complete and utter waste of time and space. It's useless and i cant fathom how some individuals spend more than 10 minutes in it.

 

[Benstamania]

Honestly... Just give me cross game voice chat/party chat and I'll be fine. I have NO trouble doing anything else on my PS3. Last night I was trying to explain to two friends who are completely new to MMO's how stuff in DCU worked and the VC in game was down.

You can't imagine how annoying it is typing everything out and then explaining to them commands and whatnot. A party chat would just make everything better.

I've never had long installs... no longer than two hours.

 

[Electro UK]

The biggest thing keeping me on my Xbox vs my PS3 is the online experience. In short, its annoying on Sony's platform, for much of the reasons you mentioned. Sending messages to your friends is FAR smoother an experience on the 360. The inability to send voice messages is also a killer and thats not even mentioning the lack of cross game chat, which PS3 fanboys have been telling me is coming for over 2 yrs now. Sony just doesnt have a user friendly system as it currently stands.

I also cant stand the massive updates and long install times. Iv never had to wait longer than 5 minutes on an update via Live. There are some PS3 titles, that iv left my PS3 on while i went to work, only to come back and have the update yet to be finished.

Exactly. It's like there's just barriers holding back PSN that Sony could so easily break down.

And man, installs and updates, I TOTALLY forgot about those. My 60GB needs reworking every time a game with a 5GB install comes along (which is way too many these days.

 

[StrainedEyes]

I also cant stand the massive updates and long install times. Iv never had to wait longer than 5 minutes on an update via Live. There are some PS3 titles, that iv left my PS3 on while i went to work, only to come back and have the update yet to be finished.

This.

I never download demos on the PS3 because they take forever. When I pop on a game and realize it needs to update it is the worst thing. First the extremely long download and then the sometimes shorter install. It's just ridiculous. Game updates for the 360 take maybe 1 minute, max, I don't understand why it's such a process on the PS3.

They should just get rid of the "install" segment all together, lump it in with the download and call it a day. I hate selecting to download something in the background and then still have to find the bubble to install it to the system, why is that necessary?

How slow PSN is, is my only real complaint with the PS3. Downloading a 6 song Rock Band track pack shouldn't take an hour.

 

[KALEL114]

Cross Game Chat is not that big of a deal to me, but as you guys have pionted out, the downloading and installing is my only big gripe. Game updates were an issue, but since I signed up for Plus, they DL on their own while I asleep. That, IMO, should be available to non-Plus members as well.

Other than that I am quite happy with it.

 

[ttotheusher]

Home

Home is a huge blunder right now. It's not bad, but it's been around for over 2 years and still features less content than advertised in the reveal trailer that's over 3 years old. That's a problem.

What makes it worse is that Home could so easily be much much better. Imagine switching on the PS3 and going to the XMB like normal. Only instead of selecting the Home icon and loading the system up, you press the circle button and you come out of the personal Navigator and you're in your apartment.

Obviously Home has to load up n'stuff, but make players do that if that want to leave their apartment. That way you could have access to your friend list and invite them straight into your apartment to share videos and stuff and (more importantly) game launch. Going straight into MP games with friends is the PS3's biggest issue for me; few games have got it right. We need that to work.

Wow, that's a really good idea. I admit, the reason I dont go in Home is that a) no-one goes on it, and b) it takes too bloody long to load, which I think is the reason behind a).

 

[Superhero 101]

I just think they need to fix the loading and installation times on it i mean it takes way too long to install a system update or install a game.... Also they need to add Cross Game Chat and make it easier for your friends to play a online match with you

 

[The Squirrel]

They could get rid of Home and I wouldn't miss a thing. And the downloads do need to be faster. Also I would like to be able to have private parties in games where you can only hear each other talk and other people can't hear you.

 

[Violet Lantern]

Home can be fun, if you like pointless socializing with your avatar.

Personally the only game I play online is Super Street Fighter IV, and it's very easy to find people to play. It may be because of Capcom though, not Sony. In fact it probably is, it's the way the game is set up. You can start a game of endless matches, which automatically links you up with opponents.

 

[Violet Lantern]

For the most part I play games that aren't really that suited to online play anyhow, they're more suited to just playing by yourself(Arkham Asylum and GTA come to mind). I've just never gotten into the first person shooter craze. I've played Call of Duty a few times on my stepdad's Xbox. It's alright I guess. Not really my type of game though, really. I don't care for the first person perspective, it's a pain in the ass IMO.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Some FPS games are fun, but they have really oversaturated the market with them IMO. Ever since the talent left Infinity Ward, I don't even buy anymore Call of Duty games and I pretty much just stick with the Resistance series.

 

[Havok83]

My main request is that they give it a major UI rediesign. The XMB is cluttered, slow and not that easy to navigate. It was in hte beginning when there wasnt much content but since then, they've added more categories, new apps and its a bit complex now. I also hate how you cant put the different options in alphabetical order. For example, go into the settings section and the arrangement makes no logical sense. A mess. I suggest they use the new Naigator from Home'supdate last year or if they really want consistency across the PS platforms, then they should use the PS Suite which they are going to introduce with NGP and the Xperia Play

 

[Timstuff]

Cross-game chat and voicemail are nifty features, but I would not pay $50 a year for them.

 

[Electro UK]

It's a complete embarressment every time I convince my friends to skip a Halo session on XBL and try some Uncharted/Killzone with me. We can't get into matches and spend hours trying to connect. The PS3 is a hunk o' junk when it comes to online, sometimes.

 

[Dave McFly]

And man, installs and updates, I TOTALLY forgot about those. My 60GB needs reworking every time a game with a 5GB install comes along (which is way too many these days.

why not upgrade to a bigger hard drive? that to me is the one thing that blows 360s out of the water, the ability to put ANY brand laptop hard drive into the console. I have a 4 gig 360 slim and the idea of paying 130 for a 250 gig hard drive is insane. I can buy a 250 gig laptop drive and stick it in my PS3 in place of it's 120 gig for 35 bucks SHIPPED online!

 

[Kryptonian Warrior]

I think that one of the reasons that it takes longer for PS3, as it relates to updates, is that the PS3 updates the firmware/hardware PLUS software updates, whereas the XBOX only updates the software. The PS3 is so much more complex than the XBOX is (internally speaking), and when an update comes through for a game, it needs to update the firmware/hardware to be more efficient when running the game along with it's new update. Now I may be completely wrong about the part in bold, but I'm pretty sure that it updates both.

Also, you can't forget that the speed of the download is determined by how much speed you are downloading at. What kind of speeds are you guys downloading at? Because if you are on DSL, for example, you MIGHT get 3 Mbps down, which is pretty slow by today's standards. 6 Mbps is available in some areas, but not all. Even then, that's pretty slow. I understand that there are people that live out in rural areas and that's the only ISP available to you.

 

[Spoonman]

The game installs (from retail discs) are due to the slow Blu-Ray drive Sony included on the PS3, the DVD drive from the 360 is comparatively faster reading games. So thats why Sony allows developers to use the HDD to install a lot of the data from the Blu Ray discs, because loading from HDD is obviously faster than from the BR drive. Usually, if a BR disc is composed of game data and FMV videos, developers choose to install the game data onto the HDD and keep the FMVs to be read directly from the BR drive, for example the Super Street Fighter 4 disc holds around 14 GB of data in total, believe it or not 11 GB are due to the animated segments (enconded in high quality, hence the size of the data) and just around 3 gigs are for the game data itself, of course if you choose to install it is the 3 GB that gets installed onto your HDD, and you will notice that fights load faster (the VS screen secuence is shorter), some other screen transitions are swifter and so on. Just wanted to give an example of how it works for most developers that choose the installing route.

 

[Cth]

Demos for everything.

Don't make developers pay for that stuff.

 

[Benstamania]

Cross-game chat and voicemail are nifty features, but I would not pay $50 a year for them.

They are must have features in this day and age. There are still games being released on PSN that don't have voice chat in them AT ALL. Dead Nation for example is a co-op game with ZERO voice chat.

This isn't the stone age. Ignoring these features is ******ed.

 

[Superhero 101]

This isn't really a PS3 Problem but more of a Sony thing
I think Sony does a piss poor job at Marketing/Advertising They need to market their games more I never saw a LittleBigPlanet 2 tv spot or a PS3 ad whenever i watch tv

 

[Havok83]

The game installs (from retail discs) are due to the slow Blu-Ray drive Sony included on the PS3, the DVD drive from the 360 is comparatively faster reading games. So thats why Sony allows developers to use the HDD to install a lot of the data from the Blu Ray discs, because loading from HDD is obviously faster than from the BR drive. Usually, if a BR disc is composed of game data and FMV videos, developers choose to install the game data onto the HDD and keep the FMVs to be read directly from the BR drive, for example the Super Street Fighter 4 disc holds around 14 GB of data in total, believe it or not 11 GB are due to the animated segments (enconded in high quality, hence the size of the data) and just around 3 gigs are for the game data itself, of course if you choose to install it is the 3 GB that gets installed onto your HDD, and you will notice that fights load faster (the VS screen secuence is shorter), some other screen transitions are swifter and so on. Just wanted to give an example of how it works for most developers that choose the installing route.

With that said though, its amazing how some developers like Naughty Dog with the Uncharted series can release its games with no installs. Heck even the FMV and data intense FF 13 had no install and thats the one game I thought would have had it for sure. While the BR drive may be the issue, I also think its a copout bc obviously some developers are better at optiziming the PS3 hardware to the point that they keep the installs to a minimum. I think most just go the easy route and throw in the intalls bc its simpler than actually dealing with the assocaited technical issues

They are must have features in this day and age. There are still games being released on PSN that don't have voice chat in them AT ALL. Dead Nation for example is a co-op game with ZERO voice chat.

This isn't the stone age. Ignoring these features is ******ed.

Thats not a Sony or PS3 issue though. That falls solely on the developer.

 

[Spoonman]

With that said though, its amazing how some developers like Naughty Dog with the Uncharted series can release its games with no installs. Heck even the FMV and data intense FF 13 had no install and thats the one game I thought would have had it for sure. While the BR drive may be the issue, I also think its a copout bc obviously some developers are better at optiziming the PS3 hardware to the point that they keep the installs to a minimum. I think most just go the easy route and throw in the intalls bc its simpler than actually dealing with the assocaited technical issues


Thats not a Sony or PS3 issue though. That falls solely on the developer.

Exactly, I forgot to mention that in my post, a lot of games that don't install (mostly exclusive games, though there are exceptions like FFXIII as you said) is due to extensive optimization in part of the developers, I mean God Of War 3, Uncharted series, Killzone, etc, those graphic intensive games with no installs quite impresive. The thing is that with exlusives they have the luxury to really exploit the PS3 and cinrcumvent its weaknesses (slow BR drive for example). I am by no means an expert on the subject but one of the things they use is they utilize redundant data accross the BR disc so the lens don't have to travel a lot to find and load certain bits of data, that and of course a lot of trickery that people like Naughty Dog and the likes can deliver. Thats why you almost see installs in multiplataform games and that just to match the load times of their 360 versions read off the discs.

 

[Benstamania]

Thats not a Sony or PS3 issue though. That falls solely on the developer.

Well yeah, but Sony isn't really making any advances toward a party chat feature. Even if a game doesn't have voice chat, Sony should have a feature that allowed us to group up and talk regardless.