Sony Reveals PS3 Interface (browser, photos, friends list, music, and more)

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http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3153937

Presentation Video

Following Ken Kutaragi's disappointing keynote (they ended with a video of Afrika -- enough said), 1UP and other media were invited to a separate, smaller meeting at their Tokyo offices where Sony's president of Worldwide Studios Phil Harrison allowed us an early look at PlayStation 3's dashboard and a few of the multimedia features that will be included within the interface.

The interface was described by Harrison as "too early" to release screen shots, however, so you'll have to rely on our descriptions for now. As expected, the interface is very much like the one you'll currently find on PSP but more refined, polished and updated.
http://media.1up.com/media?id=3037470

First off, photos. Xbox 360 allows for a slideshow gallery accompanied by music, but PS3's is a little more ambitious, allowing you to manipulate the pictures in a variety of ways (similar to Wii's approach). For example, one of the filters made the images appear as though they were printed on paper. Mr. Sam Kennedy was in attendance during the presentation, describing the filter as "pretty slick." You're pretty slick yourself, Sam-o.

Also included is a music player with a generic light show playing over.

Otherwise, it's pretty straightforward. More interesting was the web browser (which, unlike Nintendo's version of Opera, appears to be free) demonstration, where Harrison opened multiple windows -- in this case, the PlayStation.com home page, Google and a few others -- and flipped through them in a tab-like fashion (think tabbed AIM windows) very quickly.

1UP cornered Harrison afterwards to find out when we'd see the final version of the interface, a question he quickly dodged, saying the interface would never be finalized, as they plan on continuing to update and evolve the design and features throughout PS3's lifetime.
Click to expand...

http://www.gamespot.com/events/tgs2006/story.html?sid=6158393&pid=935088&tag=top_stories;title;0

The next section was a system settings tab which offered many options for customizing the PlayStation 3's various functions, such as audio and video. Harrison called out the network update subsection in system settings, noting that, much like the way the PSP's firmware is upgraded with new functionality, the PS3 interface will also be tweaked and enhanced post-release.

The next section on the media bar was the photo option, which will feature enhanced functionality thanks to the PS3's graphics processor and the cell. Harrison started out with a look at several pictures--most of which were of cats--shown in 1080p in much the same way one views images on one's PSP.

However, the PS3 will offer several different ways to check out photos. Harrison selected a slideshow option that arranged his photos as if they were set down on a flat white surface. As he cycled through them, dates were displayed in a handwritten font. Harrison stated that this was an example of one of many slideshow functions that will allow people to display their photographs in unique ways. The ornate interactivity comes courtesy of the PS3's RSX processor, which allows photos to be moved around like 3D objects.

The next tab was the music section, which featured a 3D visualizer that used the RSX to create images in time with the music being played. Next to it was a video tab which is where users will queue up their Blu-ray discs and stored video content for viewing.

The game section is, like its PSP counterpart, the centerpiece for game content on the system. That is where gamers will be able to boot up games and manage their saves for PS3, PlayStation 2, and original PlayStation games. It will also be where they can access game content downloaded from the PlayStation Network Platform.

The next section on the bar shown by Harrison was a new "friends" tab, where one will be able to see if friends are online. Messages can be sent via a predictive-text onscreen keyboard or any USB keyboard connected to the system. In addition, one can engage in voice and video chat with people on one's friends list using a microphone or camera peripheral.

The last section of the PS3 media bar was the Web browser, which Harrison showed was capable of displaying multiple windows. Harrison called up a few web pages-- including the TGS 2006 homepage--and toggled between displaying the lot as thumbnails and focusing on one in order to view it full screen.

Harrison ended the demonstration of the media bar with a quick demo of the PS3's network-communication functionality, which lets consumers use their PSPs to check out all the media on their PS3s wirelessly.

Harrison's opening chat concluded with a sneak peek at a PS3 game not playable on the TGS show floor, NBA 07. Though the game was less than complete, Harrison noted that it ran at 1080p much like several games on the TGS show floor, including Ridge Racer 7, Gran Turismo HD, and a handful of others.
Click to expand...
 
Where have I seen this stuff before? Hm...:whistle2:k

EDIT* I think some billionaire has something like that photo thingy, that's where I saw it. It's pretty sweet but I don't know if I'd buy a $400 machine if that's the best they can do.
 
"1UP cornered Harrison"

They *cornered* him!?!?! I know that people hate on the PS3 a great deal, but jesus christ, that's a great big bit of anti-Sony bias shining through there.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']"1UP cornered Harrison"

They *cornered* him!?!?! I know that people hate on the PS3 a great deal, but jesus christ, that's a great big bit of anti-Sony bias shining through there.[/QUOTE]

Try listening to the past 1up Yours podcast. It sounds like every person on there thinks Sony has fucked up at TGS. I've never really cared for the PSP layout (too much dead space for my taste) so it's a bit disappointing to see that. Honestly, the only really good news that came out of it was the HDMI/price thing, and that was more of an after thought. Sony's presentation sounded pretty horrible.

Getting away from that, here's my thoughts on the PS3 Dashboard interface. The PS3's web browser looks like a huge improvement over the dreadful PSP web browser, and the photo thing looks neat. I'll never use it, but I can see a lot of people having a bit of fun with it. Hopefully Sony will allow for multiple applications to run at the same time with the PS3 (you can't browse the web and listen to music at the same time with the PSP).
 
[quote name='captainfrizo']I guess you can add "picture viewer" to the list of things Sony's $600 wonder can do. . .[/quote]
It's always been on there.
 
[quote name='captainfrizo']Really? Well, I apologize for my ignorance then.[/quote]
Yeah, it's one of the reasons that they included an SD card slot for the $600 version, though you can just use a USB cord on the other version to do the same thing. They just hadn't shown off the interface before and what you can actually do with the pictures you upload to the PS3.

GameSpot seems to have a more detailed description of the interface.
 
The web browser sounds nice. The picture viewer is neat, too, but nothing revolutionary I guess. It will be valuable for some people, but most will likely never use it. I like the PS3 interface except when it comes to scrolling through lots of items (such as photos, music, etc.). Maybe this is somewhat improved?
 
Here's a question...

Where's Sony's answer to XBL? They haven't said shit since E3 beyond "Yes. You can play games online like XBL. But better...and stuff. Next question."
 
if it's like XBL, then it's just a meger attempt to copy XBL... as long as it goes online that's what counts most... plus it's free any way. Silly Sony, no fee to play games online...
 
[quote name='Thomas96']if it's like XBL, then it's just a meger attempt to copy XBL... as long as it goes online that's what counts most... plus it's free any way. Silly Sony, no fee to play games online...[/quote]

No fee to use their online service, but you're out of your mind if you think game companies won't make you pay per individual game (like WoW or Everquest).
 
[quote name='Scorch']No fee to use their online service, but you're out of your mind if you think game companies won't make you pay per individual game (like WoW or Everquest).[/QUOTE]
Actually, Sony has said this is the case. Companies can charge a fee to play--same as with XBL. But your average title such as Resistance, Warhawk, etc. will be free to play.

That being said, I wouldn't be surprised to see EA try to charge to play Madden online in the near future, on both the PS3 and 360.
 
[quote name='furyk']Try listening to the past 1up Yours podcast. It sounds like every person on there thinks Sony has fucked up at TGS. I've never really cared for the PSP layout (too much dead space for my taste) so it's a bit disappointing to see that. Honestly, the only really good news that came out of it was the HDMI/price thing, and that was more of an after thought. Sony's presentation sounded pretty horrible.

Getting away from that, here's my thoughts on the PS3 Dashboard interface. The PS3's web browser looks like a huge improvement over the dreadful PSP web browser, and the photo thing looks neat. I'll never use it, but I can see a lot of people having a bit of fun with it. Hopefully Sony will allow for multiple applications to run at the same time with the PS3 (you can't browse the web and listen to music at the same time with the PSP).[/QUOTE]

I don't read 1up with any great consistency. I actually get most of my news by scouring the forums here, since anything of relevance ends up started in five topics within two minutes of news breaking.

I think the universe seems to have an anti-PS3 bias. Eh, that's fine. That song and dance will change within half a year of the console's release, just like Microsoft dropped the stigma of its shitty shitty launch just as quickly.
 
No matter what they cant please you bitches...

So stop acting all suprised when they dont, "What! I wont pay 600 dollars for a Picture viewer! HAR HAR HAR! IM SO WITTY!"

Shut the fuck up and dont.
 
[quote name='DarkNessBear']No matter what they cant please you bitches...

So stop acting all suprised when they dont, "What! I wont pay 600 dollars for a Picture viewer! HAR HAR HAR! IM SO WITTY!"

Shut the fuck up and dont.[/QUOTE]

Who was surprised?
 
[quote name='mykevermin']I don't read 1up with any great consistency. I actually get most of my news by scouring the forums here, since anything of relevance ends up started in five topics within two minutes of news breaking.

I think the universe seems to have an anti-PS3 bias. Eh, that's fine. That song and dance will change within half a year of the console's release, just like Microsoft dropped the stigma of its shitty shitty launch just as quickly.[/QUOTE]

In fairness, a lot of the anti-PS3 bias has come from Sony shooting themselves in the foot a lot of times. I'd be hard pressed to find someone who thought E3 went well for Sony. Furthermore, the media reaction to TGS has been negative simply because it's two months from launch and there is no killer ap at launch and the best PS3 titles don't look any better then the best 360 titles. It's been a bit more positive over here simply because the spin of it is "HDMI with every system" and not, "where are the games?"

Sure, there are people who hate Sony simply because they're Sony. Then again, there are also people who want the PS3 simply because it's the PS3. The same goes for Nintendo at this point and to a lesser extent Microsoft and that's only because the 360 has had a year to put out a few great titles and some moderately good ones.

A lot of the hatred to the PS3 (and at this point the Wii too) is simply because neither console is out yet. By Marchish (hopefully) there'll be enough PS3s in store so you can just walk in and buy one. People stopped complaining about the price eventually when games they wanted to play came out for it. Once people play the games and Metal Gear Solid 4 hits along with maybe Devil May Cry 4 and Virtua Fighter 5, we'll see some good press.

It then turns into a battle of who has what with Sony fanboys taking potshots and Microsoft fanboys and vice versa with Nintendo fanboys in there somewhere.

[quote name='DarkNessBear']No matter what they cant please you bitches...

So stop acting all suprised when they dont, "What! I wont pay 600 dollars for a Picture viewer! HAR HAR HAR! IM SO WITTY!"

Shut the fuck up and dont.[/QUOTE]

So needless to say, things won't change much.
 
[quote name='DarkNessBear']No matter what they cant please you bitches...

So stop acting all suprised when they dont, "What! I wont pay 600 dollars for a Picture viewer! HAR HAR HAR! IM SO WITTY!"

Shut the fuck up and dont.[/QUOTE]

What the fuck have they done? "d00d its sony theyll win anway because tehy always do so everyone shut up about all the problems ps3 has and just buy one!!!!1!!1!!'

Seriosuly stop your bitching and start listing. Otherwise, go to gamefaqs and leave the people who use common sense alone.
 
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