Thanks loads for your comments on the PlayStation 3 two months in. Sifting through the odd bout of dubiously similar messages, stuff cut and pasted from elsewhere and the usual suspect IP addresses, we’ve gathered a whole bunch of your relevant comments together and have passed them over to Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, who promise to see which points they can action.

Resistance: Fall of Man is to get a new update, according to Gamespy Among the updates to the title are two new maps, Westmorland and Camborne, as well as unified servers which will allow for global play. Another new feature is a much easier method of muting players in multiplayer due to a new mute menu, and you can apparently use the same in-game menu to report suspected cheaters to a moderator who can then observe them in real time and decide if they’re breaking the rules or not. Also, if you tend to leave games early then Insomniac have added a penalty time during which you can’t start or join another game for a period of time depending on how many matches you’ve just quit out of.

Lastly, they report there will be an update to team online play, so it will be easier to tell who’s on your team or not. The update is supposed to be ready for the US in May, though we’re guessing it’s over-run a little, and the rest of the world will receive it shortly after.

Or at least it can be according to Helios, who will be making Linux server software for the PS3 available on their site www.jpy.com from June 1. According to the press release The software bundle normally needed to do this would be worth over ten grand, and would normally need high-end IBM or Apple server hardware to run on. Dr John Yardley, MD of Helios, said “It might seem like a crazy idea, but pound for pound the PS3 offers amazing power. I expect plenty of Linux enthusiasts will find good uses for the installation, which includes powerful tools like EtherShare and WebShare. Getting HELIOS running on the platform is akin to cramming a Spitfire engine into a Mini!”

This all seems a bit niche for most people, but it does show what the PS3 has under the hood. And apart from the slightly insulting ‘mini’ reference, it goes to show that we may only be starting to unlock the uses of the machine.

By Chris Blenkarn

As promised, we were able to get your questions over to the Insomniac team. Here’s what they had to say:

1. I would like to know if Insomniac takes inspiration for some of its weapons (especially in Resistance) from real world weapons?

Nathan Fouts, Weapons Programmer: Absolutely. We like taking modern-day weapons as inspiration and building on those. We also like taking physics phenomenon and natural occurrences and trying to blend them with weapons. For instance, the air-fuel grenade was based on real weapons but also on slower fluid dynamics, while the Hedgehog grenade was based on ”Bouncing Betty” mines and Cholla cactus. The look of a homing tag locked on the environment using the Bullseye was inspired by the classic Bohr model of the atom (with bullets homing on the tag mimicking swirling electrons).
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One of the PlayStation 2’s key accessories, credited for opening the console up to a more mainstream audience, as well as opening up all sorts of gaming possibilities generally involving getting gamers off their sofas and waving their arms around, was the Eye Toy. Like many ground-breaking inventions, there was genius in its simplicity – although a mere video/stills camera, clever software allowed it to supplant the traditional controller as an input mechanism. Now, its successor has arrived. Called the PlayStation Eye, it offers few surprises but, in keeping with the PlayStation 3 to which it is designed to be attached, it adds a whole next-gen level of sophistication.

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French publisher Ubisoft is one of the rising stars of the games industry – while not yet as big as the likes of Electronic Arts, it’s very much a top-tier publisher and has designs on becoming a behemoth. Prompted by the downsizing of the E3 Show – the traditional place until this year for publishers to showcase a year’s-worth of games – Ubisoft became the first of what will surely be several big publishers to put on its own event in 2007 to present its games to the European media. Called Ubidays, the event took place in no less prestigious establishment than the Louvre in Paris. And there was plenty of good news there for PS3 owners craving new games.
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Here’s some new L.A.I.R. footage for you:

Play Quicktime version

As you may have seen on http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6683231.stm, PlayStation’s Eye Camera is finally with us… well maybe not all of us just yet, but it won’t be long. As well as the PSP Eye Camera, Three Speech were also lucky enough to receive the PS3 version, so watch this space, because once we’ve finally stopped playing with it we’ll be updating you with our first impressions.

In the meantime, why don’t you let us know what you think regarding PlayStation’s steps towards the next generation of communication?

Latest PLAYSTATION®3 Firmware Update Provides PlayStation®, PlayStation®2 and DVD Upscaling

Remote Play on PSP™(PlayStation®Portable) via the Internet and DLNA transfer of media content also enabled

London, 24 May 2007 – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) announced today availability of the latest version of the PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) firmware. Version 1.80 features upscaling of PlayStation® and PlayStation®2 games, and DVD movies up to full 1080p HD resolution when viewed on a compatible HD TV set.

The capability to upscale DVDs to HD quality is a feature normally only associated with top range DVD players, and its inclusion in the latest firmware upgrade now allows PS3 owners with an existing DVD collection to dramatically1 enhance the viewing pleasure of their DVD collection when viewed through a compatible HD TV set. Not only are DVD movies enhanced to full 1080p HD quality but so too will PlayStation 2 and PlayStation games be upscaled to provide much improved gaming pleasure.

In a comprehensive update to PS3’s already impressive capabilities, Version 1.80 also allows users to enjoy Remote Play on their PSP across the internet, allowing them to access their PS3 anywhere in the world where a broadband internet connection is available2.

Version 1.80 also allows users on a home network to seamlessly view and play rich media content such as images, music and video on their PS3, that is stored on their DLNA3 enabled devices such as PCs and laptops elsewhere in the house, reinforcing PS3’s credentials as a home entertainment hub that truly deserves pride of place in the Living Room.

A host of other enhancements includes the ability to print photo images stored on PS3’s hard disk drive or inserted storage media to a selection of Epson printers via USB connection.

PS3 owners will be able to upgrade their PS3 with the latest Version 1.80 firmware from 24th May 2007.

Notes:
1. DVD-ROM (including DVD Video content) can only be upscaled with HDMI compatible TV sets.

2. Use of Remote Play requires PS3 version 1.80 as well as PSP firmware version 3.50 which will be available at the end of May.

3. DLNA – Digital Living Network Alliance. For more info on DLNA, please see http://www.dlna.org/en/consumer/home

So, it’s two months now since the PS3 landed in Europe. Tell us how you’re getting on with it! Any surprises that have turned up along the way?! And, assuming you like what you seeing/playing with, what would you recommend about the PS3 to others? What’s the main reason why anyone should buy it?

Would be great to hear your opinions on these topics. You, after all, are the people who influence others.