PS3 firmware version 2.42 is now live
by Justin McElroy 
{ Jul 30th 2008 at 10:15AM }
What new features can you expect? Well, according to Sony, 2.42 "improves the playback quality of some PlayStation 3 and PlayStation format software." ... Hey, we said the updates were frequent, we never said they weren't vague.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
ZenGaijin @ Jul 30th 2008 10:19AM
2.42 you mean, they say this doesn't add anything cool though.
Haggard @ Jul 30th 2008 10:46AM
The 'improved playback of software' may just mean new Graphics or CPU drivers.
Haggard @ Jul 30th 2008 10:46AM
*which can actually improve performance in games.
Killjebus @ Jul 30th 2008 10:58AM
From my understanding...the update allows trophies to load up faster. I think Sony should not be so vague on these mini-updates, it is unnecessary. Life with Playstation was supposed to come by the end of the month. So, are we going to have to update again either 2day or thursday? If so, why bother with this update?
Paulmichael @ Jul 30th 2008 12:12PM
Life with Playstation is supposedly going to be a download from the Store, and this update apparently includes support for the application...
SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread) @ Jul 30th 2008 12:21PM
thats what i was wondering. these updates take forever for me. i hate it when i fire my PS3 up to play a game and it prompts me to update in order to sign in to the PSN.
BIGGEN (LIVE-PSN: BIGGEN1103) @ Jul 30th 2008 6:20PM
i'm right there with you. 15 minutes and it's at 20%? yes, i can go do other things, BUT the 1 hour of free time i just had to play is now seemingly turning into about 15 minutes. then again, it seems to skip the last 30-40%, so maybe i'll get a half hour in?
Dirty @ Jul 30th 2008 10:22AM
Is there and up date to the ps3 firmware too? My system kept telling me to update but couldn't connect to the server.
Dirty @ Jul 30th 2008 11:09AM
I thought the headline said psp. wierd.
Brent @ Jul 30th 2008 10:23AM
Improved playback! Take THAT Xbots!
D dogg @ Jul 30th 2008 11:19AM
Laugh out loud, Xbox 360 users get owned on a bi-weekly basis it seems!
Actually, I could care less about the dashboard at the moment, I'm too busy with life and actually PLAYING GREAT GAMES on my Xbox 360. Don't get me wrong though, I'm EXTREMELY excited about Netflix and the idea of a "Party Creation" feature!
=)
Jakka (Not sure why he got banned?) @ Jul 30th 2008 12:06PM
Yeah but you guys miss out on the great fun and excitement when a year worth of updates rolls onto your 360 at the same time.
Fall-Update 2008:
"What the hell is going on with the dashboard!? Where did the blades go? Why is it all moving!? How the fuck can I play CoD4? What is this Primetime cr...awww the colours! MAKE IT STOP, PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!NOOOOOOOOOO....."
Aaron @ Jul 30th 2008 10:26AM
they actually pushed this out yesterday afternoon, i was going to try to play monsters and it made me update, and you know how that goes on the day of release for a PSN patch...
KingOfGods @ Jul 30th 2008 10:31AM
why do patches on the PS3 take so long? I went to sit and play some MGO and I had to wait an hour to download and install the FW then once that was finished MGO had it's own patch that took 2 hours to download and install.
By the time it was done I shut the PS3 off. that is one thing I love about my 360. Updates never last more than a minute to download and install...a minute may even be too long.
Hyams @ Jul 30th 2008 10:56AM
An hour, really? And I thought the ten or so minutes it took me was a long time.
Slayer @ Jul 30th 2008 10:59AM
@KingOfGods
That's odd. I've never waited more than a few minutes for a firmware download or a mgo update. Are you using wifi or are you connected directly? Make sure your setup properly.
baby sea tuna @ Jul 30th 2008 11:02AM
An hour may be exaggerating, but it really does feel like it takes for freaking ever. Honestly, I just finally downloaded 2.41 because every time I turned on my PS3, I did so to watch a Blu-ray and didn't feel like waiting for the patches to install. If this doesn't really add anything, then I'll probably wait until 2.45 to even bother.
baby sea tuna @ Jul 30th 2008 11:05AM
@ Hyams
10 minutes *is* a long time for a d/l and install of a patch. But I guess when you're used to waiting for 15-20 minutes for an HDD install, that 10 goes by pretty quickly.
deaftly @ Jul 30th 2008 11:31AM
Yea I dont get why PS3 takes so fucking long to update while the 360 takes a couple of seconds for games and system updates. Proves that MS is just the better software company.
Jakka (Not sure why he got banned?) @ Jul 30th 2008 12:01PM
It's all the PATRIOTS!
Now seriously, it probably has something to do with PSN being free and Sony having to throttle the bandwidth on their crappier servers(compared to XBL ones) in order to accommodate thousands of people downloading at the same time.
As for install speeds, I have no idea. Maybe because 360 has more RAM?
cc123 @ Jul 30th 2008 12:17PM
"it probably has something to do with PSN being free and Sony having to throttle the bandwidth"
My firmware updates always take between 5-10 mins from start to finish no matter what time I download at. Even when the update goes live and tons of people are getting it it doesn't take that long so I doubt they are throttling anything.
"As for install speeds, I have no idea. Maybe because 360 has more RAM?"
It doesn't have more RAM. Even if it did I don't see how this would affect install speed. Anyway, the complaints are about download time not install speed, people just lump them together.
Jakka (Not sure why he got banned?) @ Jul 30th 2008 12:37PM
PS3: 256 MB RAM
256 MB GPU
360: 512 MB shared between GPU and RAM.
So when GPU is completely free(aka you're not playing games), 360 has over 450 MB of RAM at it's disposal.It looks like "more" to me.
And considering that updates ALWAYS take you ten minutes, could it be because Sony might be capping the download speed by default.I don't own a PS3 so that's just my guess.
Heh {XBL: P4nic 4tt4ck} @ Jul 30th 2008 12:38PM
"Proves that MS is just the better software company."
MS, a good software company? My head just asploded.
deaftly @ Jul 30th 2008 12:44PM
Well its also because the firmware's for ps3 are 100 something megs, you would think they could just make small patches to them instead of dl'ing the entire thing over and over again.
Vidikron (FU) @ Jul 30th 2008 12:57PM
My updates haven't taken more than about 10 minutes in quite a long time now. Not sure how some of you are waiting hours... in fact, even when updates were very slow early in the PS3's life I never had an update take an hour.
cc123 @ Jul 30th 2008 1:08PM
@Jakka
They have the same amount of physical RAM and the same amount for games/graphics. If you're going to stick to an operation like this where the gpu isn't being used then yeah the 360 might have more RAM at it's disposal. But again why hell would this need so much RAM?
"And considering that updates ALWAYS take you ten minutes, could it be because Sony might be capping the download speed by default"
I said between 5 and 10 mins. It's a lot more logical to assume my download times are consistent because my internet connection has a capped max speed. If there is any kind of throttling going on it's not enough to cause the massive delays some people report since others are getting it in a few minutes.
And Deaftly is correct the firmware download size for the PS3 is 133 Megs.
MC Double Def DP @ Jul 30th 2008 10:27AM
will this fix the seemingly random inability to playback some of my Divx files?
Aaron @ Jul 30th 2008 10:28AM
they actually pushed this out yesterday afternoon, i was going to try to play monsters and it made me update, and you know how that goes on the day of release for a PSN patch... it says 2.41
FOXHOUND @ Jul 30th 2008 10:45AM
The update initially had trouble DLing for a lot of users due to the huge number of those attempting to get the firmware.
However, if you're having trouble downloading updates at a decent speed; check your network connection settings on the PS3. I actually assigned mine a direct IP address instead of letting the automatically get one since I have multiple WiFi connected devices(Wii, PSP, PC, etc.).
Also, run a connection test on the PS3 to see what connection percentage/signal strength you have. If your console's too low and easily over 30ft away from the WiFi hub, that's possibly the reason for connection trouble. If you've got it ethernet cord-connected, there are ways via devices or ISP-provided websites to not only check latency on the hub, but the cord used as well(I've had a couple bad cords bought in the past that significantly dropped speed); in case the issue *isn't* the console itself.
FOXHOUND @ Jul 30th 2008 10:47AM
KING OF GODS---
blarg. The latter part of my reply was to help you out. x_x I forgot to set the comment reply, my bad.
Moffka @ Jul 30th 2008 10:51AM
Yea. I have both systems and I'll admit that most of the PS3 updates take longer, although the usual fall and spring updates for 360 take pretty long (assuming any substantial improvements where actually made), so I'm sure the next one will take awhile as well. While the PS3 updates usually take longer, I've never had any of these epic one hour ordeals that some of you mention. It's never really been over 10 minutes at most for me. Usually more like 1-5 minutes. It always varies so much based on what is being changed.
Duke @ Jul 30th 2008 10:58AM
Some of the earlier PS3 updates would take a long time, long enough that I would just walk away and forget about it until the next day. Yet the ones recently have been much quicker.
j.howlett @ Jul 30th 2008 10:58AM
this update downloaded really fast for me. the install took like 5 plus minutes this time though. only ever had the long update proble when i first got it last year but thats mostly because i had no idea what i was doing.
j.howlett @ Jul 30th 2008 11:39AM
i'd like the to put back the ability to control music tracks so i can rewind if i miss somthing while using the browser. i hate having to quit the browser now.
Carlos @ Jul 30th 2008 11:07AM
may be we can't handle the truth and they are protecting us by not letting us know what they fixed ...naaah
mkernan @ Jul 30th 2008 11:29AM
Maybe this adds support for Life with Playstation and it will be downloadable via the store tomorrow?..... Just a thought.
s00pcan @ Jul 30th 2008 11:47AM
Firmware updates are the only reason I turn my ps3 on. No joke.
Draco Basileus @ Jul 30th 2008 11:52AM
When is Sony going to push out and update that improves the update process? It seriously took me at least 30 minutes to download and install this update.
And on a similar note, I bought Pain (c'mon, it was $5!) and the first time I started it up it took 30 minutes to load because it was checking for updates and downloading the latest version release. I just bought the damn thing! Shouldn't the latest version release be what I already downloaded 5 minutes ago!
juju187 @ Jul 30th 2008 11:55AM
big whoop.... i rather wait for a complete, and working update thx ...
koehler83 @ Jul 30th 2008 12:09PM
Anytime there is a PS1 emulator patch, you can expect an update on PSP to roll around shortly after.
With any luck, they fixed FFVIII and/or Chrono Cross.. but we'll see.
Anyone care to check?
Tez (PSN: Tezasaurus) @ Jul 30th 2008 12:10PM
Seems like the people that were having problems updating were on the west coast... so I guess they just had a server issue there. Maybe something to do with the quake? *shrug* I'm in the midwest and it downloaded in about 2 minutes.
Spartacus @ Jul 30th 2008 12:27PM
In my book, frequent firmware updates mean only one thing:
The company couldn't get it right the first time... Or any of the other times.
Sony is a good (not great) hardware company, but alas, we're in a software driven world and in this area they have a track record of complete and utter suckage.
Zoesch @ Jul 30th 2008 12:38PM
You still need hardware to run the software, good software on bad hardware is just as bad as bad software on good hardware
cc123 @ Jul 30th 2008 12:47PM
Yeah, paying a lot of attention to the software and very little to the hardware doesn't cause any problems at all. Just ask MS.
Spartacus @ Jul 30th 2008 12:50PM
Of course, however Sony isn't the only hardware company in the console market- they aren't a monopoly.
None of the three players right now have "bad" hardware, therefore software is what makes the difference.
Nate @ Jul 30th 2008 1:02PM
That's not true at all. Rapid development and frequent releases are a hallmark of a company that can react quickly. In the software development world it's generally regarded as a GOOD thing, not a bad thing. No code is ever bug free and no application ever has all the features you want, so being able to rapidly fix and update the firmware is a great boon to the end user.
Which would you rather have, 6 incremental releases over 6 months, so you get to use the new features that much sooner, or waiting 6 months for one big update? What if the 360 Avatars were done 2 months ago, but they have to wait for the big fall update to put them in?
Vidikron (FU) @ Jul 30th 2008 1:04PM
You act like MS doesn't have software updates. They update just as much stuff, but they save all the changes up for a set time. Sony rolls them out as they go along. MS obviously has a better update process as far as speed goes, but they are both updating their software.
Spartacus @ Jul 30th 2008 1:56PM
I can see where you're coming from guys, I was just voicing MY opinion which is valid, however one sided it may seem. It's simply my point of view, which I stated very clearly in my opening: "In *MY* book..." To *ME*, firmware updates so often simply communicates a lack of ability.
I mean imagine this strategy in another context. If your landlord had to send a plumber into your apartment every week to fix something, you'd start to question the competence of either your landlord or the plumber.
strang @ Jul 30th 2008 12:36PM
The fact of matter is, Sony needs a console update to fix game playback problems. Whereas Microsoft needs only to release a patch for a game.
These frequent useless Sony updates are starting to become useless. Especially if you're the type of person say that don't care about an update that fixes an useless game that you'd never play but is forced to do the update.
Night Elve @ Jul 30th 2008 1:23PM
Yeah right ... Because it takes you so much effort to download an update and takes much more effort to installed it.
People complain about everything these days.