Sony explains/defends PS3 firmware 3.0

Sony has posted a blog explaining some of the changes in its most recent PlayStation 3 firmware and defending the more controversial ones.

For example, the loss of the "chime" noise you used to hear when loading PS3 games.

"One of the reasons we removed the PS3 jingle is that it was created to indicate the start of a game, but now we're offering non-game content such as Vidzone in addition to games," brand manager Mark Bowles wrote on the European blog. Hrm.

"More importantly though, this change makes the loading time a bit quicker than before, which we think will be a noticeable benefit for all game users." Ah, well, that's different.

There was also some "concern" from the faithful about the new font size (Sony's considering making it optional) and the new "What's New" page, which is the first thing you now see when loading up the XMB.

"It's not just about adverts," the blog's defence begins, capturing the essence of people's reaction to it. "The primary role of the What's New screen is to get you into the game more quickly.

"You'll be able to jump straight into the last three games or applications that you've been using. It basically acts as a shortcut to the games that are resident on the HDD, so that they can be automatically booted up rather than having to go via the game selection icons on the XMB."

Plus, of course, it's got adverts for things like news and downloadable content.

Elsewhere on the blog, Bowles said to expect Europe's first new dynamic themes in tomorrow's PSN update, explained how to turn off the dynamic theme included with the firmware itself (you know, the glittery background - I quite like that!) and said that a bug with Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is known about and being sorted.