PlayStation Frimware 2.4

Well the moment is finally here and all the sony fanboys, or just PS3 owners, can finally wave their hands in the air for Firmware 2.4. Well some may ask “Gee just another dang update i have to sit through” and im in that boat to, but this is not just aother upate, its a giant fireworks showcase!
2.4 is the highly anticipated firmware upgrade that many people have been asking for. Whats so special about it? Three quick features, In game xross Media Bar, In game music from your own collection, and finally TROPHIES. What is all of this exactly? Lets explain in the easiest way possible.
in game XMB is something special and very usefull that we have dreadfully needed let alone wanted. XMB refers to the main menu when you first start up your game, where you go to listen to music or start the game etc… so now instead of having to quit games to go look at a message or fix that darn headset that wont connect, you can merely push the ps button and never have to quit the game. Be sure to push pause though because sony has yet to perfect it to push pause on some games, so while your fixing that mic you can be getting owned by a heard of Nauzis in some WW2 game. So far from our sources it is known that not all things are clickable without leaving the game, for example you cant click on the PS store and go shopping while metal gear awaits your needs, the game will close and you will go directly to the store without any hassle or pause in loading. It is known that you can indeed click on messeges, talk to friends, and mess with the mic settings without any problems.
The in game music is another small feature we are finally getting as well. Basicly you listen to music while you play the game, enough said. However sony added a few other features like a whole new bar to play rewind and close music. Along with a sound setting, so if metallica is too loud and you cant here guys sneaking around you can easily just turn it down a little.
Finally the best part of the whole update! TROPHIES. That is if you live in your moms basement and play video games 24/7. Im only kidding. Trophies is a really neat feature to add some excitement to our gaming library. What happens is similar to that of the Xbox 360 achievments. You play a game, do random things throughout the game, and you get rewarded with a trophy. Each game will have a Bronze trophies, silver trophies, and gold trophies. Each trophy has a point count, but this count is only for the devs to know, so each developer an only use so many points. This keeps them from letting players get number one by playing their game or using it as a advertising product. However if you accomplish getting every single trophy in the game you then get a platnium trophy which will then boost your player score by tons! Each player is tracked based on the trophies they recieve and the total behind the scenes points the earn.
Trophies then are displayed for others to see through friends lists, and can even be compared with other players, and will at one point be on display with HOME. Note that not all trophies will be on display. Sony has also added another menu to the XMB which is where players can view their trophies and what all is missing from certain games. ALL future games, expecially first party sony games, will have trophy support! If they dont then dont waste your money on a lazy dev. Sony mentioned Stardust from the PSN store will be the first game thats ALREADY OUT to be UPDATED and have trophy support with others like Resistance coming later. You will, however, need to go back through all your games and replay them to earn the trophies, so no transfering a gamesave to cheat your way to the top.
Sony also added a few extra perks like a google search bar on the XMB and some other neat features to tie in the fun. The update is expected to hit PS3’s on July 2 2008, just 2 more days! Hope everyone enjoys and we will get more info as soon as possible!
SoldierOne