XMB battery meter glitch 'definitely being corrected'

by Jem Alexander { Jul 8th 2009 at 1:30AM }

PSN's Eric Lempel is doing the interview rounds, talking up the PlayStation Network and how far it has come over the last few years. Obviously, people tend to be more interested in the service's future and what's coming in future firmware updates. Lempel remained tight-lipped, but let slip a few interesting nuggets of info -- such as the fact that he's as angry as consumers about the XMB battery life meter bug. You know, the way the battery meter covers the clock when you press the PS button in-game. Annoying, right? That's "definitely being corrected," so you can check that one off your list.

Lempel also said that he feels PSN is no longer playing catch-up with Xbox Live: "I don't think there's a lot of 'catch up' [with XBL] anymore. In some cases, I think we've got more, and we've got some other things they don't have." He confirms that in-game voice chat is in the works. No release date, but they're working on it. Lastly, Lempel expects that "PSN would be great" for the upcoming motion controllers. Hopefully, more support than the PlayStation Eye's meager offerings.

Source -- Eric Lempel interview @ Industry Gamers
Source -- Eric Lempel interview @ PC World

[Thanks, Bryan]

Tags: eric-lempel, PSN, xmb

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

Wiizer (Michael Pachter MUST DIE.. Professionally) @ Jul 8th 2009 1:38AM

No mention of "enhancing our gaming experience" with XMB advertising?

But, how will we catch up with Xbox Live?

chrisnick @ Jul 8th 2009 1:41AM

by charging for the ability to view said advertisements?.......seriously though, if im paying i don't wanna see a big mac when i turn my damn console on, PPL PAY SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO SEE ADS!!!!!!!!!!

Mana37 @ Jul 8th 2009 1:47AM

...thank you Sony.

EGOvoruhk @ Jul 8th 2009 2:30AM

You don't need XMB advertising, you've got Home!

sn1per @ Jul 8th 2009 7:19AM

Let's see... a free, optional program, vs. ads on your screen the minute you fire up the console....

yea, they're totally the same thing.

Heimbachae @ Jul 8th 2009 8:31AM

maybe i'm blind, but i really haven't see any extra advertising on my box since this issue has arisen.... oh, no wait, i am blind.

jumpshot @ Jul 8th 2009 2:01PM

People pay for good service, not the absence of adds. I couldnt care less about adds as long as things are running smoothly and are easier to run. (I have both, but still use Live almost exclusively for multiplayer games)

343 Guilty Fart @ Jul 8th 2009 5:28PM

I pay Comcast a shitload of money each month and I still see ads on TV. Just sayin.

chrisnick @ Jul 8th 2009 1:40AM

i agree with him on the original games part, psn has the most unusual and creative games so far i believe....but i wish someone told me how hard "platinumizing" PAIN was going to be b4 i bought it.

BryanVP @ Jul 8th 2009 1:40AM

so when will you guys post your eric lempel interview?

Hopefully you check off all 100 of these things:
http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3updates&thread.id=76090

so wrong @ Jul 8th 2009 1:57AM

there's a lot of just pure whining on that list. I bet he complains about his car requiring fuel to run as well.

Ashitaka @ Jul 8th 2009 6:34AM

Agreed, half of that list is pure garbage.

Also, is this true?
"51. Media Server Music streaming in-game
Hard drive space is tight for some people and prefer to have it on their PC. It can be done flawlessly on the Xbox 360."

Asim Fareed @ Jul 8th 2009 9:09AM

Actually it is true, and one of the best parts about owning a 360. I buy multiplayer heavy game like CoD or an open world game like Assassin's creed for my 360 so I can listen to music while playing, it makes the repetitive tasks more enjoyable.

Otherwise, for games which really demand a high level of aural involvement, like Dead Space, I use the PS3.

Still though, it's a GLARING omission, and (as an owner of both consoles) makes the PSN seem very inferior. Other weaknesses are really weak mp3 streaming (no instant playlists!!) and party voice chats. At least the PS3 is a much quieter machine...

Ashitaka @ Jul 8th 2009 12:23PM

I wasn't talking about that!

Can the 360 stream music IN-GAME? That's what I want to know as that's actually the only feature I'd like that the PS3 had.

yyr @ Jul 8th 2009 2:07PM

Yes, the 360 can stream music (or play music off of an MP3 player) in-game.

Ashitaka @ Jul 8th 2009 5:13PM

Okaaay... I didn't know that. I'm actually impressed!

DrunkRaba @ Jul 8th 2009 6:21PM

the streaming over the network though can be spotty at times making it more annoying than anything else. I suggest getting a 500GB HDD for your PS3 and being happy. Though that isn't so easy on the 360

Jinsenken @ Jul 8th 2009 1:42AM

Meh, as a person who doesn't care about Cross game chat, PSN is perfectly fine for me. Never had any problems with my connection either.

Keep up the good work Sony.

Ballistic H @ Jul 8th 2009 2:07AM

Me too. Why would I want to talk to someone else who is playing a different game than what I'm playing? It ruins the gameplay experience.

PSN: John-Paul-Jones @ Jul 8th 2009 2:19AM

You might not like it, but others can get great benefits from it. Playing GTA IV single-player while talking to my boy who's playing a different game would be so awesome. I understand that I could just invite him to the game (if he has it) and it might be a bit distracting when you're playing a multi-player game, but this feature offers flexibility to everyone.

Also, that's good news that they plan on fixing the battery placement bug (feature?). This has been more than a year coming and that's not really a good thing after so many updates that this has been overlooked, from my POV

EGOvoruhk @ Jul 8th 2009 2:34AM

Ballistic H: You've never gone on, and seen one of your friends, and wanted to say something, but not have to type back and forth all kinds? It would be a lot easier if you could just connect and say "Hey, when you're done, lets play some COD! Cool?"

Fullmetal Salchemist @ Jul 8th 2009 3:32AM

Ballistic H: "Why would I want to talk to someone else who is playing a different game than what I'm playing?"

You might not care about the feature, but some of us have friends.

cloud858rk @ Jul 8th 2009 4:07AM

If your dismissing cross game chat you really don't know what your talking about. It makes games a ton more enjoyable.

ill trooper @ Jul 8th 2009 4:41AM

Even if you don't need cross-game chat in your life, others might like it and therefore it should be there. You can still opt not to use it, and it'll feel just like it's not there. It's a standard on Xbox LIVE and people would like to see some parity and have it on the PS3.

Until it's there, seeing the sentences "PSN is no longer playing catch-up with Xbox Live" and "He confirms that in-game voice chat is in the works" in the same paragraph reads like a big contradiction to me.

XGM @ Jul 8th 2009 6:08AM

Heck all I need is to be able to put in a game and play it. If I play online with friends, we all jump on a skype call because its much easier that way for all of us. Sure the 360 has other neat features, but thats why I have a HTPC that ended up costing the same while giving me more.

Ashitaka @ Jul 8th 2009 6:40AM

"Until it's there, seeing the sentences "PSN is no longer playing catch-up with Xbox Live" and "He confirms that in-game voice chat is in the works" in the same paragraph reads like a big contradiction to me."

@ ill trooper

Lol, are you serious? The fact that PSN doesn't have that feature automatically makes it that PSN is playing catch up with Live? Get real. At least PSN is free, that single-handedly makes it on par with (if not better than) Live.

R (XBL: Esoteric Lord) @ Jul 8th 2009 9:38AM

@XGM Its easier to use another headset/mic, and set up a skype conversation on your computer than it is to press 3 buttons on your 360 controller and talk on there? I find this seriously hard to believe, as a owner of both a 360 and a skype enabled computer.

Skype is wonderful, but you cant possibly say "its way easier for me to swap to my computer, set up the conversation there, then go back to my 360 than it is to take 4 seconds to set up an XBL party."

Hell, you dont even need XBL gold to make a party/ cross game chat.

Sly @ Jul 8th 2009 3:01PM

the way i see it is if you have friends that have PS3s or 360s, then the feature is useful. taking out a bit of immersion so that i can talk to my friends doesn't bother me at all. and considering i pretty much exclusively play multiplayer, it would actually be helpful.

ill trooper @ Jul 8th 2009 3:25PM

Ashitaka: Yes, I'm serious, but it's not _as_ serious as you act about it.

I'll simplify how I see it, for clarity:

If the Sony guy says they're still planning on adding a desired feature that LIVE has, then Sony hasn't totally caught up yet.

I appreciate how PSN doesn't charge me, but I still want cross-app chatting like the 360 has. Once it has it, you can think it's even better, Ashitaka.

There. Getting and staying "real" as always.

Danny @ Jul 8th 2009 3:52PM

I don't care for cross voice chat either, i'm not good at multi tasking..
Maybe i'm the only one that didn't notice the battery bug.

ill trooper @ Jul 8th 2009 5:21PM

There is a major difference in not using cross-game chat and not having it available. Even if it's implemented eventually, you can keep your life exactly the way it is and not use it. But it should be your choice.

Longhorn of Myon [PSN: MariusElijah] @ Jul 8th 2009 1:43AM

"He confirms that in-game voice chat is in the works."

Shouldnt that be the title of the post?
Good news :)

ChiTownRuler23 @ Jul 8th 2009 1:43AM

I know it might not be possible but it would be great if i could install my PS2 library and PS1 library so there's no disc swapping needed, i know its a lazy feature but it would be the shit.

Mana37 @ Jul 8th 2009 1:50AM

You Sir, should be working in the game industry!!
Of course we would all need bigger hard drives.

Jesus (PSN: Luttdawg) @ Jul 8th 2009 1:57AM

Don't get me wrong, I've always been a sony fanboy (ps1, ps2) and some of my all time favourite games are on those systems but with all the awesome ps3 games out and on the way, I just don't need to play those games anymore. I waited for the 40gb ps3 because I preferred a cheaper console over backwards compatibility.

However everyone's different and this must be important to a lot of people as sony seems to be doing some backwards compatibility patch.

ChiTownRuler23 @ Jul 8th 2009 2:39AM

That's why it would be a nice feature for the people who want it, so if you have a PS2 game you like to play when your looking to kill time then you don't have to go look for it and swap out your PS3 game for it.

Ashitaka @ Jul 8th 2009 6:41AM

That would only increase piracy. Sorry, but that'll never happen.

ChiTownRuler23 @ Jul 8th 2009 2:47PM

not if you use the serial number that comes on the disk, if you type that # in when u install it then you wont be able to install that game under any other PSN account.

Jesus (PSN: Luttdawg) @ Jul 8th 2009 1:50AM

All good things. I know live is a superior service but the PSN is still fantastic, had so many great experiences. Keep it up Sony.

Drew @ Jul 8th 2009 10:12AM

I respectfully disagree Mr.?????

But.... they told me you were fake!!!

ifalldownstairs @ Jul 8th 2009 1:54AM

How can Sony claim they're not playing catchup when they still don't even have cross-game voice chat? I use it all the time on my 360 and ever since NXE, an effective party system has become an expected feature of quality online service. I use the party system all the time in XBL for getting groups together to play a game or just talking to people while I play single player games like Fable or Dead Space.

Bradwart @ Jul 8th 2009 2:00AM

Xbox only got it with the NXE. Perhaps Sony decided to playtest their updates so they don't fry the scalar chips???

MystileArmor @ Jul 8th 2009 2:08AM

Hmm fried scalar chips! I'm Dutch so I'd like mine with mayonaise please.

He Hate Me @ Jul 8th 2009 2:00AM

Random shuffle for the picture slide show please.

Ballistic H @ Jul 8th 2009 2:04AM

Factually, there are way MORE new contents every Thursdays on PSN than XBL every week.

MystileArmor @ Jul 8th 2009 2:05AM

If it's fact, you've got proof. So lets see it.

Sesshoumaru @ Jul 8th 2009 11:34AM

Well considering that XBL pretty much updates on Wednesdays, and all XBL updated with today was a Metal Gear: Rising trailer and Battlefield 1943, I'd say that is not much of an update. When XBL updates the marketplace, usually they only add about 5 items. Granted, they are usually very good, but still. PSN updates on Thursdays, and usually adds 10+ items to its marketplace.