Is your clicky, drab Cross Media Bar in dire need of a facelift? Is it sagging around the Video tab? Got some unsightly varicose veins in its Network section? You can give your XMB the overhaul it so richly deserves with the recently released Firmware 3.00 System Update, which adds the "What's New" section, a status indicator, a renovated friends list, PlayStation Store shortcuts, and animated backgrounds to your PS3's main menu screen. Check out these features in action in the video posted after the jump.
To install Firmware 3.00, just hit the "System Update" icon under the settings menu. To update to Firmware 4.00, you'll either need to acquire some sort of time-traveling apparatus or become the president of Sony R&D. Good luck with that!
[Note: Flame-free comment thread here; thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
NXE has the same exact kind of setup, you scroll vertically through different types of content, then it opens up a new menu horizontally for content based upon the vertical selection.
LOL... is this the first time you've seen XMB? This is how it has always worked. The only difference now is some fancy animation for the items shown in the What's New section.
Not to mention D-5's comment... are you kidding? This isn't a big deal to me, I just made a simple observation, however wrong it may be. There's no need to insult me over it.
It's pretty hard to imagine that you haven't scene the XMB at least once and not realize that as far as navigations goes the NXE is very similar if not exactly alike. Eric Lempel was actually questioned a couple of time last year that is he thougt MS was borrowing ideas from them with their new (NXE) interface because it was similar.
Actually Vid, if you want to get technical, the XMB has always been a horizontal list with vertical menus that pop up, not a vertical list with horizontal menus :P
@Chris D This update makes it start on "what's new" tab which is almost exactly the same as the spotlight channel on XBL, which shows what new content is available on the marketplace. Or "ads" as some people like to call them. I don't see how this is any different.
Then again, I'm not sure what you mean by Mountain Dew and T-Mobile ads, we don't have any of that stuff in the UK, only games.
That's cool to know, but it doesn't particularly bother me. Just like the 360's spotlight never has. I actually like seeing what new content is available, although it's pretty annoying the 360 doesn't even give you an option.
I like being able to actually sort games now, I have a lot of PSN games and before they were just in a massive list that I had to scroll through.
Oh yeah, what sorting options did they have? Alphabetical? I didn't get to play around with it much before going to bed last night. Currently I have my games group by platforms (i.e. PS3 and PS1 games in different folders). Can we now sort alphabetically within these sub-groups? That would be handy.
I think what Chris D was talking about in reference to the 360 is all of the 3rd party advertisements for things that aren't game related. Stuff like razors, t-mobile, mountain dew etc.
List of noticable changes: - What's New Section - TV Tab for free TV viewing on iPlayer, etc (Europe only?) - Bigger font (finally!) - Great dynamic themes (the Afrika one on the JP store is awesome) - Redesign clock, battery indicator with friends/message indicator added - Startup logo changed :? - Added the ability to output sound to multiple sources - Speeding up/slowing down/rewinding playback with the right analog stick - Ugly looking new friends list Um. Anything I missed?
Oh yeah. Also, this looks like they redesigned everything to make the XMB more 3D friendly (the Afrika theme is in full 3D) and extendable/upgradable... Could it be that Home avatar support coming to the XMB? Or was it just to remove the constraints of the basic XMB design that they created.
Oh, also: the BEST change in my opinion. The Platinum Trophy no longer counts to the 100% on the Trophy Screen. That annoyed the hell out of me.
You know what I am talking about, right?... You were almost done with the game. Only one bronze trophy left to go and you get your platinum! So you should be about 98% through, right? But what's this?! The Trophy screen says you are only 80% through?! Why? Because they counted the Platinum Trophy which you get for getting ALL the trophies to the total percentage. That was the stupidest (also retarded) design choice ever.
Now it's fixed and the Platinum Trophy is worth 0% again, and is awarded when you get 100% in your game, not 9X%. Brilliant!
Yeah, that iPlayer thing works rather well. They already made a version of it for games consoles and I can't remember if it was the same as this one, but it seems quite natural on the PS3. Maybe Sony and the BBC should get together and design some kind of Store-like application for it instead of a crappy browser.
Maybe I'm just opposed to change but other than he multi-sound output I have to ask what's he point? Isn't all that extra "jazz" just slowing things down?? I don't need my friends location on game to scroll..... For any reason. Nor do I need my friends list seperated with grey boxes, or the background to go all blurry so it doenst confuse me somehow. SONY if it ain't brokedo t fix it !!!
Too bad I can't experience 3.0 due to the fact that my PS3 arrived at my house (from YLoD fix) an hour after I left to go back to school. Just my luck.
ok because for some reason no one has noticed this as yet. the grey borders are actually the boxes you see when you look at someone's trophy card. so i am figuring they are working on letting you see trophy info without having to highlight someone's profile. OPEN you damn eyes people.
It still looks like ass. It has the worst gradient and the boxes are unnecessarily way too long. It doesn't fit well with the clean interface that is the XMB
one thing I've always liked about the PS3 menu system is that it's pretty clean and uncluttered... I admit to being a background and theme junkie but on my X360 they're pointless because the menu system eats up 80% or so of the screen. I hope the new XMB menu system is as fairly uncluttered as the old one.
