Joystiq

PS3 Firmware 2.41 is now live

Andrew Yoon — 2008-07-08T03:21:00+00:00

Looks like the software engineers at Sony have finished tweaking firmware 2.40. The much-anticipated firmware update included crucial features, like in-game XMB and trophies, but was pulled shortly after its release due to reports of bricked systems. Now, a few days after the controversial removal of firmware 2.40 from Sony's servers, firmware 2.41 is available to download worldwide. Turn on your PS3 and hit Network Update to get started.

[Thanks, Seth C.!]

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PS3 Firmware 2.40 is now live

Ross Miller — 2008-07-02T00:03:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3

The much-ballyhooed PlayStation 3 firmware 2.40 update -- with in-game XMB and Trophies -- is now available. What are you waiting for? Download it now, and be sure to check out our coverage of the firmware so far.

Gallery: PS3 Firmware 2.40

Check out more information about Firmware 2.40's features, including the Trophy system and video of the in-game XMB in action.

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PSP firmware 4.01 is here to fix 4.00

Justin McElroy — 2008-06-25T13:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PSP

In what could be the least impressive PSP firmware update ever, version 4.01 has arrived to ... well, to make version 4.00 not broked, in short, improving the Internet Search and Video features. We were so enjoying that clean .00 ending and we barely get to savor it before that stupid 1 has to come along and spoil the whole party.

If this update were adding any new features, this would be the part of the post where we would explain them, or make some disparaging comment about their usefulness. Instead, it's the part where we come to an awkward, joyless close.

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PSP Firmware 4.00 available now

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-06-18T13:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PSP

After updating the firmware on our PSPs to version 4.00, we were initially quite perplexed by the lack of obvious new features for our beloved portable 'station. This prompted a quick Google search from within the XMB, which pointed us to this Joystiq post explaining ... wait a minute. XMB Google search? That wasn't here before, was it?

The update is now available for download via the network update or through our pals at PSP Fanboy. They tell us 4.00 also adds the ability to change video playback speed with the Up and Down buttons. We'll be sure to try that on all the, err, interesting videos we're busy googling.

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PS3 firmware v2.36 available now

Randy Nelson — 2008-06-17T23:33:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3

That was fast. Just a matter of hours after mentioning it on its official blog, SCEA has flipped the switch and gone live with v2.36 of the PlayStation 3 firmware.

According to the release notes, this revision merely introduces some stability fixes for certain PS1 titles. The real biggie everyone's waiting for is firmware 2.4, which today was confirmed to include in-game XMB support along with the introduction of "trophies," something Sony promises we'll learn more about "soon."

Just when we'd come back from the suggested 15-minute break from MGS4, too!

[Thanks, SoCoolCurt!]

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New Wii menu update 3.3 nullifies Twilight Princess hack

Ross Miller — 2008-06-16T22:50:00+00:00

Filed under: Hacks, Nintendo Wii

We've got some good news and some bad news. Let's start with the bad news: Nintendo's latest Wii menu update (3.3) effectively plugs up the Twilight Princess hole that served to foster a homebrew community - or, perhaps more accurately, it casts the homebrew community into a realm of darkness. According to the update, "Beacuse unauthorized modifications to save files may impair game play or the Wii Console, updating to Wii Menu version 3.3 will also check for and automatically remove such save files."

As for the good news, the Wii menu update also lets you move a Mii from from the Mii Plaza to the Mii Parade, and really, isn't that awesome enough to make up for killing homebrew? The countdown has begun for someone to produce a Wii downgrader.

Update: According to various sources, the Homebrew Channel still work if it was installed before the menu update.

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PSP v4.00 update adds ... XMB Googling

James Ransom-Wiley — 2008-06-16T16:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PSP

Sony has announced that PSP will graduate to firmware 4.00 this week, marking the unexpected integration of the Google search engine ... directly into the XMB! Woah, Sony. Slow down. We're still recovering from update v3.95's option to quit Remote Play without turning off the PS3.

The latest feature you didn't know you needed and will seldom use promises authentic Google.com search results (which we presume will open in the clunky PSP browser if selected), with an input history of up to 20 items, so you can check up on your exes, your exes' exes, and their exes day to day with ease and efficiency under the guise of "portable gaming." But if the forthcoming Google search ain't sellin' you on "SCEA's commitment to further enhance the mobile entertainment experience on PSP," then perhaps you'll want to crack open v4.00's second easter egg later this week: the ability to change viewing speed -- to faster and slower settings -- during playback of videos stored on a Memory Stick. Huzzah!

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PS3 firmware 2.35 released, improves stability of 'some PS3 titles' but not GTA IV [update]

Ross Miller — 2008-05-14T23:32:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Action, Adventure

PlayStation 3 firmware update 2.35 is now available. According to the US PlayStation Blog, v2.35 is "a relatively minor update to improve stability of some PS3 titles." We're willing to wager a handful of stolen cars that "some PS3 titles" is a better way of saying Grand Theft Auto IV, whose compatibility with older PS3 models has become a topic of discussion and a sore spot for early adopters of Sony's console. An alleged Take-Two email yesterday hinted at a Sony firmware update.

Download now and let us know if the game's technical hiccups (for those that had them) have been eradicated.

Update: As noted in the comments of the blog by Sony's Al de Leon, this upgrade does not fix GTA IV. Said de Leon, "I just want to clarify that this upcoming firmware update isn't related to GTA IV. For those of you who may still have an issue playing the game on your PS3, we have identified a solution that should resolve the issue. You can contact SCEA Consumer Services for support."

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Rumor: Sony may update PS3 firmware for GTA IV problems

Justin McElroy — 2008-05-13T12:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Action

It looks like help may be on the way for those of you who are still experiencing some freezing problems with Grand Theft Auto IV on PS3. One user on the official PlayStation forums said he received an email from Take-Two stating the issue was "with the launch edition of the PS3 and this game" and that "the game was checked over and passed as 100% compatible with the current version of the PS3."

As for the fix, the alleged Take-Two staffer reportedly wrote that "Sony are aware of this difference and are looking into producing a new firmware just for the earlier version of the PS3." Wow, a whole new firmware update? For one game? We hope the swelled head doesn't affect Niko's balance when he's bludgeoning and murdering hookers.

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Reminder: The new PSN Store, PS3 firmware 2.30 both live

Justin McElroy — 2008-04-15T09:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3

If you love retooled buying experiences or super, SUPER 27.1 surround sound, then we probably don't need to remind you of this, but for the rest of you: The new PlayStation Store and PlayStation 3 firmware version 2.30 are both live.

As if that weren't exciting enough, this also means that weekly updates to the store will resume and PS3 Rock Band owners will finally get their hands on Jonathan Coulton's "Still Alive." We'd expect the geek anthem to be part of a pretty beefy update this week to mark the store's return, we'll let you know when we hear something.

Gallery: PlayStation Store Update Spring '08

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]

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PS3 firmware 2.30 adds DTS-HD Master, High Resolution Audio

Justin McElroy — 2008-04-10T09:59:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3

Being really huge video game nerds doesn't leave us much time for other kinds of nerddom. So we're not even going to pretend that we're hardcore enough audio geeks to tell you the implications of PS3 firmware 2.30, which Sony announced this morning will add DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio. See that? We just copied and pasted that. We weren't sure we could even type it right.

We know that DTS-HD MA will pull audio off the Blu-ray at the "incredibly high variable rate of 24.5 mega-bits per second," which sounds like a lot of bits. It's also got 7.1 audio channels which looks pretty good to us, and that's at "96k sampling frequency/24 bit depths." Awesome (we bet). Be sure to scroll down to the comments where one of our brilliant readers will explain what all this means.

When will you get your ~~hands~~ ears on it? Well, you need it to access the new PlayStation Store, which is coming on April 15th. Check out the PlayStation blog for all the details or peep their video after the break.

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Revamped PlayStation Store goes live April 15 [updated]

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-04-10T09:32:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3

Sony KONPYUTAENTATEINMENTOJAPAN has announced that the revamped PlayStation Store will open its virtual doors on Tuesday, April 15th. Update: SCEA has confirmed that loud-mouthed, spendthrift American PS3s will be allowed to roam the aisles on the same day, as will systems from around the globe.

The store revamp will be facilitated by enhanced firmware (version 2.30) and should mark the return of weekly content updates which have been absent since April 3rd. Once the more user-friendly interface is up and running, PS3 owners will be able to download fun things like Warhawk's Broken Mirror expansion and the 'Still Alive' DLC for Rock Band.

Gallery: PlayStation Store Update Spring '08

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

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PSP firmware 3.95 adds minor remote play features

Kyle Orland — 2008-04-08T11:58:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Retro

Attention, people who enjoy playing console games on a portable system via a wireless internet connection: We have important news for both of you! The new PSP firmware version 3.95 offers two minor tweaks to enhance your remote playing experience.

Remote players can now remap the PSP's limited button layout to more usefully replicate the DualShock when playing PSOne games. The new firmware also allows players to stop remote play without turning off the PS3, allowing any background downloads to continue unabated. While these new tweaks aren't exactly revolutionary, it's always nice to see a company continuing to support product features well after their release.

[Via PSPFanboy]

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PS3 firmware 2.20 available now

Justin McElroy — 2008-03-25T09:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3

Tired of your Blu-ray copies of Saw IV and War not pulling their own weight? Good news: You can now force them to give up all of their BD-Live downloadable treasures via a new update to the PS3 that went live last night: Version 2.20. Go, download away, see all the secrets they have to reveal! And then go buy some better movies.

If you've got more discerning theatrical tastes, the update offers other benefits like the ability to play bigger DivX files, Remote Play music with the PSP and Mosquito Noise Reduction (and just in time, too, the eternal flapping of their wings has become maddening). See what else you're getting right here.

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PSP gets firmware 3.93 today

Justin McElroy — 2008-03-18T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PSP

The PSP has been gaining a lot of momentum lately, both from an increasingly impressive stable of games and the constant updates to the already feature-rich firmware, which seem to come every time you turn around. In fact, let's turn around and see what we find. ... Hey, it's firmware 3.93!

This one, we'll admit, isn't a huge leap forward, just 20 new players for the internet radio feature (we're also assuming there's some under-the-hood modder thwarting as well). But hopefully it's a nice, free surprise on your Tuesday morning.

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PS3 firmware 2.17 addresses stability of online titles

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-03-13T08:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3

Before Sony's social media manager, Jeff Rubenstein, came to the rescue via an informative blog post, our research had concluded that the latest PlayStation 3 firmware update implements the following changes:

Cell division by zero no longer possible
Cross media bar lightened up, no longer cross
Fun patch applied to "Go! Sky Diving"
Triceratops tranquilized
Placebo.exe installed for faster load times

Unfortunately, it seems our analysis was wholly inaccurate, as Rubenstein explained that Firmware 2.17 merely improves "the operating stability of some online PS3 titles." You'll be prompted to download the update the next time you sign on to the PlayStation Network.

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Twilight Princess exploit leads to explosion of Wii hacks

Kyle Orland — 2008-02-25T15:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Hacks, Nintendo Wii

Hacking your Wii to play Pong is one thing, but the recently-revealed Twilight Princess exploit allows all sorts of unsigned code to run natively on the Wii. Homebrew developers are already starting to take advantage, releasing a bunch of interesting and/or useful unauthorized programs for Nintendo's little white box. Among them:

Linux for Wii - Coming next: Linux on your toaster
MP3 player - Just in case you don't like the crappy one included in the Photo Channel.
SNES emulator - Who needs the Virtual Console when you can just steal ROMs of your fave SNES games?
Wii Tetris - So much cooler than Pong. No, you shut up!

Still no public announcement from Nintendo in reaction to the exploit, though given their recent aggressive pursuit of game pirates, you can expect a PSP-style battle of the firmwares to start any day now.
[Thanks to reader Craig for many of these links]

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PSP firmware 3.90 cracked (yes, already)

Kyle Orland — 2008-02-01T15:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Hacks, Sony PSP, Wireless

Well that was fast. Here we are, not more than two days after the Skype-granting PSP 3.90 firmware was released, and a new custom firmware comes along to let PSP owners run homebrew and/or pirated programs yet again.

While there aren't many exciting new features for this quick and dirty custom firmware upgrade, we should note that the M33 line of hacks now has the ability to download updates directly from the internet via Wi-Fi using the PSP's built-in Network Update tool. When PSP users don't even have to be tethered to a computer to break Sony's copy-protection, what chance does Sony really have of stopping them?

[Via PSP Fanboy]

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PSP firmware 3.90 says 'Hello'

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-01-30T08:40:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PSP

It may not herald the arrival of the mythical PlayStation Phone just yet, but the latest PSP firmware update brings the next best thing. Firmware version 3.90 is now available for download (access it through the XMB's "Network Update" option) and enables previously detailed Skype functionality for Slim PSPs. Before you start prank calling Cristian Cardona though, keep in mind that portable blabbering requires a PSP headset with remote control.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

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New PSP, PS3 firmware goes live

Justin McElroy — 2007-12-18T09:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP

OK, Mr. Big Shot, so you already knew about the new, DivX-sporting PS3 firmware 2.1 going live today. But that's only because you read Joystiq. Never forget: We gave you that knowledge, and we can take it away. ... OK, so we can't do that. But we're working on it.

Perhaps a little more of a surprise for fans of Sony's small screen is the news that PSP firmware 3.80 has also appeared for you to download and enjoy. Most significant in this update is the new Internet Radio feature, which Sony says provides access to thousands of stations. The set-up instructions are pretty specific though, you can check them out after the jump.

Read - PSP Firmware 3.80 is live
Read - Firmware update (v2.10)

How to use Internet Radio on PSP:

Download and install firmware update 3.80.
Ensure you are in a Wi-Fi environment before attempting use
With Memory Stick Duo containing firmware update 3.80 inserted into PSP, select Internet Radio icon under Network, and then "About Internet Radio."
Select "Adding the player to the Memory Stick Duo(TM)" and press the X button.
When you have added the Internet Radio player, the player icon will appear under the "About
Internet Radio" icon.
Select Internet Radio player icon.
Choose a genre and select a station.

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