Rumor: PS3 firmware 2.5 to include screen grab function

It's not remarkably wow-worthy, but CVG reports that its "development sources" have dished up dirt on a new screenshot feature planned for version 2.5 of the PS3 firmware. We have no reason to doubt this rumor, since CVG's sources previously broke the news that StarCraft 2 was going to be an MMO. Uh...

The purpose of this feature is presumably for folks to take pictures of error messages for customer service their in-game exploits to share with friends. Of course, we can speculate on how it will work. Most likely, it will involve a combination of button presses on the controller, since bringing up the in-game XMB would ... probably result in a screen grab of the in-game XMB.

This functionality could be a boon for those of us who write about games for a living and would really like to be able to take our own screenshots of PS3 games in HD. Xbox 360 debugs have offered this since day one – via a networked PC, no less – and we've been on Sony for a similar solution for eons. Unfortunately, PS3 debugs have different firmware than retail units, so our dream scenario may be limited only to finished retail games.

(Fun fact: Pressing the Lock and Home buttons on your iPhone simultaneously will take a grab of whatever is on screen and save it to your Camera Roll. Fun!)

[Via PS3 Fanboy]