Leaked feature list included

Mar 11, 2009 18:11 GMT  ·  By

The PlayStation 3 is without any doubt the most powerful console in terms of hardware currently found on the market. But what it has in the processing power and feature departments it loses when it comes to price and availability to its Arch rivals, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's record breaking Wii.

However, as part of Sony's added value strategy, in which it brings new features to the console through various updates to the firmware of the device, a lot of new things have arrived on the big black box in order to make it more attractive to customers. That is why any new firmware release for the entertainment system is treated with the utmost care by the Japanese company.

But despite these security measures so that nothing would leak out before the update is ready, two developers of the PlayStation Network title Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle-Cars have let it slip that a new firmware, 2.7.0, will arrive this month.

While discussing the issue of a bug in the game, one of the developers said that, “Sony mentioned a bug they fixed with the next system software update (2.7.0) that might resolve these issues, but we have to narrow it down and verify it's the same problem to be sure it's that and not something we need to fix on our end.” Another representative then followed, “[If I remember correctly] it will drop later this month. And contain lots of fun new fixes. I'm excited about this one, lots of new stuff.”

This presumed leak, coupled with a feature list that surfaced a short while ago, makes the upcoming update a certainty, although Sony declined to comment on the matter. Here are the presumed improvements that the next update will bring:

Friends List:  Voice Messaging is now available as an alternative to text after selecting a user on the friends list. Voice message recordings are capped at 30 seconds.  Home Integration: Saved Playstation Home avatar photos can be selected as photo ID for Gamer Card/Friends List.  Trophy number and Gamer Level are listed under Friend names for quick reference.

Gamer Card & Trophies:  Gamer Card layout has been changed to more closely resemble the Playstation Store aesthetic.  Past Trophy information can be viewed in detail by selecting "Recent Trophy History" option.  Newly acquired trophies auto-sync in the background  Server infrastructure for Trophies has been optimized. Resulting in faster retrieval time for Gamer Card and Trophy information.

In-Game XMB:  Loading time for In-Game XMB has been drastically reduced, resulting in a more seamless in-game experience.  "Theme settings" options while in-game is now available, allowing custom themes to be applied to the In-Game XMB.  Internet Browser can now be accessed while in-game.  Voice messaging and voice chat options can be used while in-game.  Options that cannot be used in the XMB during game sessions are grayed out (but still selectable) to eliminate user accessibility confusion.

Misc:  Other slight UI tweaks and enhancements.

All in all, let's not forget that this is just a rumor and PS3 owners will still have to settle with the current firmware on their console for a few weeks.