[quote name='mtxbass1']Anyone else wonder just what the hell is taking so long here? This can't be that hard for Sony to implement...[/QUOTE]Quite simple. Sony NEVER had plans for a PS Store when designing the PS3. The only thing they had planned was a SingStar store, but that wasn't going to be out for a while. When Sony saw the popularity of XBLA and people seem to be wanting VC, that got them to put together the PS Store. The layout was web-based and mediocre early on in order to get a store up. And the very first games in the PS Store were either in development for just a few months, PSP ports, or older Arcade games. But the explanation to the PSN cards is MS and Nintendo knew they would need another payment method outside of credit card, so they had to setup a system designed to deal with pre-paid cards (where they randomized codes, makes the cards, re-deem them, rinse and repeat). SCEA had no such system setup in the U.S. and they were nearing launch of the PS3 (they weren't even looking at putting it together until SingStar came out). So they ended it up. The very first cards were sent out to Military Bases to do a test run. If SCEA released the PSN Cards to every single store initially, and there was a problem, that could have cost them a lot of money in the end. And now, just around the time SingStar has come out, they are starting to appear (which was the original plan). Setting up a pre-paid card system is not an overnight thing, it takes over a year. The original Xbox had no such setup for buying content (only paying for XBL for a year).
[quote name='mykevermin']
In-game XMB
[/QUOTE]Not this again.
I've said it over and over again, due to Sony's lack of experience with software, and only having 256MB main memory on the PS3 (with a portion allocated to just the OS), having the XMB appear during the gameplay was not technically possible early on. Their software used up more space than the allocated memory when compiling it early on. Just opening up the keyboard window used up around 20MB, and displaying the friend's list used up 9MB. Those two things alone were basically the entire 360 OS used in-game space wise, and that doesn't include many other XMB features. That is why every single firmware update was spent reducing the amount of memory the XMB uses. It's not like Sony could reserve more memory for the XMB because developers were already struggling to bring 360 ports to PS3 due to a lack of memory (Sony had 2X-3X more memory reserved for the OS, compared to 360). Now it is finally getting reduced enough to implement the XMB.
Although, if people wanted in-game messaging so badly, don't blame Sony, blame yourselves. Certain PS fans kept saying they wanted in-game XMB, which refers to the entire XMB. If people said they JUST wanted in-game messaging at least, we could have gotten it sooner because Sony would have implemented that before an entire XMB. But no, people wanted the entire XMB, which is why everyone has to wait.
And there are some who complain about it taking a while getting some XMB features. Are they the ones developing the PS3 firmware? I seriously wish complainers would so they can see developing software isn't easy. If a firmware is out by has issues, people complain big time that Sony shouldn't have any issues when they release a firmware (and they are the ones complaining Sony is taking too long). If Sony releases an update within a week or two to fix issues, people complain because they don't want to update if there are no added features, they can't sign-on PSN because of an update, they rather Sony wait for another update to release the fixes, and so on. And if Sony waits, people complain it has been too long without a firmware update, and/or still having one issue after a firmware.
And there are some who complain about it taking a while getting some XMB features. Are they the ones developing the PS3 firmware? I seriously wish complainers would so they can see developing software isn't easy. If a firmware is out by has issues, people complain big time that Sony shouldn't have any issues when they release a firmware (and they are the ones complaining Sony is taking too long). If Sony releases an update within a week or two to fix issues, people complain because they don't want to update if there are no added features, they can't sign-on PSN because of an update, they rather Sony wait for another update to release the fixes, and so on. And if Sony waits, people complain it has been too long without a firmware update, and/or still having one issue after a firmware.
People complain about the lack of PS1 games in the store, yet there's a huge complaint as to what PS1 game they get regardless of what it is (I'd be quite upset if I were Sony, putting together a PS1 game for PSP/PS3 if all I kept getting was complaints). And then people complain about the lack of PS1 games up, when just about every game that goes up (which usually sold well before), people complain.
I also posted the reason here, from an SCEA rep:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4452049&postcount=9