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[thefil]

Personally my download speeds for PSN have always been great, but I've seen a lot of people talking about issues so I'm sure they are very real.

 

[U2NUMB]

I ran into this issue a few days ago... was over at my brothers house and wanted to get him signed up to an online league in MLB The Show... only had about 5 min before I had to head out the door. Turned his PS3 on.. crap.. firmware update, ok lets get this done. Went fairly quickly compared to previous ones so I was feeling good. Put in MLB The Show.. 300+mb update. Turned off the PS3 and headed out the door, guess I will try it when I have much more time.

While it never really bugs me personally there is a real difference when you compare how the 360 and PS3 update both their systems and games.

 

[vodka-bull]

PSN is way faster than it was a year ago. Can remember downloading the Killzone 2 demo: it took about one hour to download the newest firmware and another one to download the demo, installing process not included. So I was quite impressed how fast download times are nowadays as I rebought a PS3 two weeks ago, although it's still slow compared to Xbox Live.

 

[fortified_concept]

Oh look guys, arstechnica has a negative PS3 related "article". I'm so surprised.

Btw download speeds are faster on PSN compared to Xbox Live according to a test a site did a few months ago and was posted here, so as always they're full of shit.

 

[RedStep]

I'm gonna agree with the general sentiment that PSN's setup makes it a pain. It's a joke around my house that every time we try to watch a movie, it's telling me I need to update my firmware.

Sony's got the worst of both worlds here: the slowest updates, and the most frequently-required updates. It should really be one or the other.

I know that MS' 8mb (is that right?) limit on patches has required a few workarounds (like the Burnout Paradise patches), but you never have to worry about how long it will take to get online on the 360. 10 seconds (if there's a patch) and you're moving. 2 minutes if there's a firmware update, but that's twice a year or so now.

Btw download speeds are faster on PSN compared to Xbox Live according to a test a site did a few months ago and was posted here, so as always they're full of shit.

I think the experience of just about... everybody contradicts that test that one site did that one time.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Btw download speeds are faster on PSN compared to Xbox Live according to a test a site did a few months ago and was posted here, so as always they're full of shit.

gee it's almost like the speed depends on how close you are to the nearest CDN!

 

[fortified_concept]

gee it's almost like the speed depends on how close you are to the nearest CDN!

Yup, which is something these morons should have known before writing their idiotic "article". Gaming journalism, fuck yeah.

 

[Meier]

full article: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/...-a-reason-your-multiplatform-games-suffer.ars

when did Ars start doing comedy?

i mean if it takes 30 minutes to update your PS3.. there's something wrong alright... with your ISP!

He's right. Last time I bought a game for my PS3 (MLB the Show 10), it took at least 30-45 minutes before I could even start playing the game. It's a nightmare.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Yup, which is something these morons should have known before writing their idiotic "article". Gaming journalism, fuck yeah.

You are aware that you just called yourself out for being idiotic, right?

 

[fortified_concept]

I think the experience of just about... everybody contradicts that test that one site did that one time.

I don't know which "everybody" you've talked to but I live in Greece and download speeds are faster for me on PSN (I pretty much download the firmware update before returning from the fridge to get something to eat) and there are many members in this forum who will agree with me. As Stumpokapow mentioned there are different experiences for everyone with these services.

You are aware that you just called yourself out for being idiotic, right?

How did I do that?

edit: nm I got what you're saying. I didn't use that test as proof of PSN being faster, I used it to show the contradiction to what they're saying which is enough. These hacks would know there are different download speeds for different people depending on their location if they has read a few impressions from people using both services. Instead, they wrote another article full of bullshit that they pass as facts while throwing a few fanboy talking points in the mix to make their shit more clickable.

 

[ULTROS!]

I don't have problems with the PS3 firmware updates, just the game updates like LBP (which took me 2 hours to update) and initially Braid (500mb update) because even if you skip the update, it will keep prompting you to update your game (like when I was playing WipEout HD, it got annoying). Plus if it the update isn't working properly, I have to quit the game and reload the game to open up the game update.

I do hope they make games with less updates like Final Fantasy XIII and Star Ocean 4 (they don't have any game updates until now).

 

[Knch]

... and Star Ocean 4 (they don't have any game updates until now).

Star Ocean 4 does need an update though, or does it not freeze randomly on the PS3?

 

[ULTROS!]

Star Ocean 4 does need an update though, or does it not freeze randomly on the PS3?

I haven't experienced any freezing yet.

 

[Zoe]

This isn't some anti-PS3 war, just because the 360 has it's own issues doesn't mean PS3-specific problems can't be discussed. And again, I'm not going to miss out on either game, I bought them to play them, I'd just begin playing them at my convenience if the update infrastructure was better.

Why aren't you installing the firmware from the disc?

 

[DangerousDave]

Firmware updates are occasionally needed to play new retail games offline as well, so they can't be avoided forever.

But you don't need to avoid it forever. When you'll see a new PS3 firmware update thread in GAF (assuming that you don't browse GAF from your PS3), connect the PS3, select install firmware, auto-turn off, and go back to the computer to continue browsing GAF. If you have a syncronized PSP, you don't have even to get up from your computer chair.

 

[3rdman]

Regurgitated news eh? Not the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time I've read this news. And seen a thread about it too.

I don't understand this attitude...If it was a problem then as well as now, it remains news. If you wish to no longer see these complaints about your beloved console, complain to Sony to do better.

 

[grap3fruitman]

I have an incredibly fast connection and one time I signed on and there were updates for the firmware and the game I wanted to play. Twenty minutes later I was finally playing. Sounds like his ISP is part of the problem

Twenty minutes between the time you turn on the system and the time you're playing isn't an issue?

Personally my download speeds for PSN have always been great, but I've seen a lot of people talking about issues so I'm sure they are very real.

Edit: I'm aware of the difference between Mb and MB.

 

[paskowitz]

I really do not understand this at all. I have a 15mbs down 3mbps up and it takes a MAX 20 minutes to update and install. Average is about 5-10. In fact most PS3 owners complain how INFREQUENT the updates are and the amount of time between them. I personally hate waiting a hole year for MS to fix one little thing.

 

[vermadas]

:lol at Ars / Kuchera being called biased. I've read articles/posts by Kuchera where he was called a Sony fanboy in the comments. I don't understand how anyone could read about his experience in the article and not understand why he would be frustrated. And as much as some of the posters in this thread believe he's saying this because of some bias against the console manufacturer they worship, I believe it helps to make these issues more public so it gives Sony more reinforcement to address their problems. If not with the PS3, than with the PS4.

Personally, my FW updates have been in the five minute range the last few times I have had to download one. They used to take a lot longer. One thing that annoys me is that my Harmony remote, as convenient as it is the majority of the time, doesn't handle the "let's leave the PS3 on while it's downloading and switch to something else" situation. I have the PS3 Harmony adapter, and if I switch activities or want to power off to do something else, the PS3 will still turn off, even if it's background downloading something. I actually haven't tried this while it's updating firmware (for obvious reasons) but I would expect the same result. The 360 on the other hand, if the remote turns it off while it's background downloading something, it will go into its low power state and keep downloading.

 

[Dipswitch]

Firmware updates on the PS3 routinely take 15-25 minutes for me, including the download, install and reboot processes. Xbox Live updates typically take 20 seconds to 1 minute for the same steps. I think the longest an update has taken on the Xbox 360 was 3 minutes or so and that was for the NXE update. So PS3 updates are significantly more painful to apply. And let's not get into the game patching discussion.....

And before anyone blithely suggests my internet connection is at fault, it's not. I have a FIOS 25MB downstream connection and downloads runs like the clappers on everything except the PS3. Perhaps the PS3 network settings (Like auto detect) are at fault, who knows. What's apparent is that downloads are slow as shit on my 80GB PS3 phat, for reasons unknown.

 

[spwolf]

I picked up Motorstorm: Pacific rift yesterday. Got ready to play it and I had to download a patch. Now, I ain't new to the PS3 and I knew I would probably have to update the game...

But when that 608!! (WTF!?) meg patch started I just said fuck that and shut it off.

That is just bullshit. And you can't even background dl that shit. :lol :lol

Definitely lots of room for improvement.

Game updates definitely need updated everything, but that really does depend on the game developer.

At the same time... i find it crazy that people complain because you get a lot of new features compared to PS2 for instance and old school electronics where to get an new software feature you need to buy new product. Few years ago you wouldnt get 3D update in firmware, you would need to buy PS3 3D.

Not to mention game updates and bug fixes. Fuck, stuff you had to go through to get WE roster updated at PS2? .


Gotta love when people applaud developers who dont release updates... :lol. Yeah guys, they are not supporting your game anymore and you spent $60 on it... awesome for you!

 

[fortified_concept]

:lol at Ars / Kuchera being called biased. I've read articles/posts by Kuchera where he was called a Sony fanboy in the comments. I don't understand how anyone could read about his experience in the article and not understand why he would be frustrated. And as much as some of the posters in this thread believe he's saying this because of some bias against the console manufacturer they worship, I believe it helps to make these issues more public so it gives Sony more reinforcement to address their problems. If not with the PS3, than with the PS4.

Personally, my FW updates have been in the five minute range the last few times I have had to download one. They used to take a lot longer. One thing that annoys me is that my Harmony remote, as convenient as it is the majority of the time, doesn't handle the "let's leave the PS3 on while it's downloading and switch to something else" situation. I have the PS3 Harmony adapter, and if I switch activities or want to power off to do something else, the PS3 will still turn off, even if it's background downloading something. I actually haven't tried this while it's updating firmware (for obvious reasons) but I would expect the same result. The 360 on the other hand, if the remote turns it off while it's background downloading something, it will go into its low power state and keep downloading.

Arstechnica and the idiots writing for them aren't biased. They just troll and sensationalize to get clicks. Gaming journalism is a fucking joke and they're the worst part of it.

 

[spwolf]

I really do not understand this at all. I have a 15mbs down 3mbps up and it takes a MAX 20 minutes to update and install. Average is about 5-10. In fact most PS3 owners complain how INFREQUENT the updates are and the amount of time between them. I personally hate waiting a hole year for MS to fix one little thing.

thats because you have small but vocal minority that a. turns their PS3 once every 2 years, b. then proceeds to put in game that requires 600 MB of patches.

I would also get pretty damn pissed if I used my PS3 once a year, for two hours and then having to spend half of my time updating firmware and games.

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

Game updates definitely need updated everything, but that really does depend on the game developer.

At the same time... i find it crazy that people complain because you get a lot of new features compared to PS2 for instance and old school electronics where to get an new software feature you need to buy new product. Few years ago you wouldnt get 3D update in firmware, you would need to buy PS3 3D.

Not to mention game updates and bug fixes. Fuck, stuff you had to go through to get WE roster updated at PS2? .


Gotta love when people applaud developers who dont release updates... :lol. Yeah guys, they are not supporting your game anymore and you spent $60 on it... awesome for you!

No one is saying they don't want any patches. They just want patches and updates that aren't quite so bloated and inefficient. You seem to live in a world of false dichotomies, spwolf.

 

[Neuromancer]

No I agree completely with the article. I only turn on my PS3 to play games every 2 or 3 weeks it seems (use it as a Bluray movie player much more often) and every time I do it seems I get hit with time-consuming yet insignificant firmware updates. It's a real pain in the ass and I've heard my friends complain about it too. So it's not just Ars.

 

[fernoca]

I really do not understand this at all. I have a 15mbs down 3mbps up and it takes a MAX 20 minutes to update and install. Average is about 5-10. In fact most PS3 owners complain how INFREQUENT the updates are and the amount of time between them. I personally hate waiting a hole year for MS to fix one little thing.

Is not that hard to understand that not everyone has a relatively fast connection.
On my slow one, 100MB = 15 minutes; and this one is the second "fastest" package that my ISP offers. (with the most being 8MB and costing over $100 per month (plus modem and installation. The one below mine being 512k).

So is not like a few said in this thread: Want it to be faster, get a better ISP.
That's no "solution".

 

[fortified_concept]

No I agree completely with the article. I only turn on my PS3 to play games every 2 or 3 weeks it seems (use it as a Bluray movie player much more often) and every time I do it seems I get hit with time-consuming yet insignificant firmware updates. It's a real pain in the ass and I've heard my friends complain about it too. So it's not just Ars.

I didn't know PS3 had firmware updates every 2-3 weeks, I thought it was every 3+ months. Thanks for the info.

 

[spwolf]

No one is saying they don't want any patches. They just want patches and updates that aren't quite so bloated and inefficient. You seem to live in a world of false dichotomies, spwolf.

well some people are definitely complaining about patches... having to spend an hour per year to update PS3, doesnt seem like huge issue to me. But hey, maybe I turn on my PS3 more than once a year.

As I said before, game patches are another story... GT5P was almost impossible to patch. You could sequentially, individually execute all of the patches for PS3 to date before your GT5P patch would happen... that is if it would. It frequently would stop and cancel.

Some other games have it done much much better so it is clearly up to the devs.

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

well some people are definitely complaining about patches... having to spend an hour per year to update PS3, doesnt seem like huge issue to me. But hey, maybe I turn on my PS3 more than once a year.

As I said before, game patches are another story... GT5P was almost impossible to patch. You could sequentially, individually execute all of the patches for PS3 to date before your GT5P patch would happen... that is if it would. It frequently would stop and cancel.

Some other games have it done much much better so it is clearly up to the devs.

You're still doing it. You really think there's absolutely no room for improvement in the PS3's firmware updates? Personally, I think that's the one area where they really can and should improve. That, and making sure the latest version of software is up in the store. Kind of sucks to buy something from PSN and then need to update it immediately. Or at least, it seems kind of weird.

 

[fortified_concept]

Is not that hard to understand that not everyone has a relative fast connection.
On my slow one, it takes 100Mb = 15 minutes; and this one is the second "fastest" package that my ISP offers. (with the most being 8MB and costing over $100 per month (plus modem and installation).

http://www.speedtest.net/result/909761983.png[IMG]

So is not like a few said in this thread: Want it to be faster, get a better ISP.
That's no "solution". :p[/QUOTE]

Let's go nuts and say it takes an average of 30 minutes to update. What the hell is the problem with a 30 minute update 4 times a year? I can't help but think that the people bitching about this are either the usual trolls using their old and pathetic talking points or enormous whiners. If anything I'd prefer more updates so that bugs can be fixed faster/features added quicker.

 

[Neuromancer]

I didn't know PS3 had firmware updates every 2-3 weeks, I thought it was every 3+ months. Thanks for the info.

No problem. Hey want me to tell you what the word "seems" means? Because apparently you missed that part of my post.

(See, I can be sarcastic too!)

 

[Neuromancer]

Let's go nuts and say it takes an average of 30 minutes to update. What the hell is the problem with a 30 minute update 4 times a year? I can't help but think that the people bitching about this are either the usual trolls using their old and pathetic talking points or enormous whiners. If anything I'd prefer more updates so that bugs can be fixed faster/features added quicker.

Yes. Clearly the answer to this issue is MORE firmware updates, may as well make them take longer too just for good measure. That way, the consumer will really 'feel the value' as they watch that progress bar slowly inch forward.

 

[fortified_concept]

No problem. Hey want me to tell you what the word "seems" means? Because apparently you missed that part of my post.

(See, I can be sarcastic too!)

It seems you take a lot of liberties when using the word.

 

[Neuromancer]

It seems you take a lot of liberties when using the word.

Well that may be true.

 

[fernoca]

Let's go nuts and say it takes an average of 30 minutes to update. What the hell is the problem with a 30 minute update 4 times a year? I can't help but think that the people bitching about this are either the usual trolls using their old and pathetic talking points or enormous whiners. If anything I'd prefer more updates so that bugs can be fixed faster.

My complaint in general is not the quantity of the updates or sometimes the time, but more about having to download everything just to fix bugs. Granted, it was apparently fixed in the last one; only time will tell.

But, mix those with the game updates. Like when I wanted to play Eye of Judgment to play it online with 2 friends and it had to download 2,599 files, individually; for over 3.6GB (and slower than usual because each file downloaded at a different speed).

Guess, I'm just whining. Guess I should bake a cake and paint the house while I wait, since that update only took 24 hours to download, then a few more to install.

 

[spwolf]

You're still doing it. You really think there's absolutely no room for improvement in the PS3's firmware updates? Personally, I think that's the one area where they really can and should improve. That, and making sure the latest version of software is up in the store. Kind of sucks to buy something from PSN and then need to update it immediately. Or at least, it seems kind of weird.

There is an big difference between "has an room for improvement" and "omg it sucks and I will shit all over it". They did improve it lately with patching support and smaller updates. I am personally fine with it as long as they keep adding features.

On the other side, a lot of games take a shit load of time to update, and multiple updates one after each other, and to me thats a lot bigger issue here. On average you will spend 10x more time updating various games with poor updating system than on PS3 firmware throughout the year. If it works that is.

If the point is to shit on Sony, then they could certainly mandate better patching support which would be provided to the devs via SDK as well as updating store version to latest within some timeframe after release. I have no idea if current SDK maybe has something similar or who is at fault here.

 

[Erebus]

In my experience, downloading games/demo from the PSN Store has always been faster for me than downloading content from the XBL Marketplace. However, for some odd reason game updates/patches and firmware updates are ridiculously slow on PSN compared to XBL.

I've always wondered why this happens. :/

 

[fortified_concept]

The complaint in general is not the quantity of the updates or sometimes the time, but more about having to download eveyrthing just to fix bugs. Granted, it was apparently fixed in the last one; only time will tell.

But, mix those with the game updates. Like when I wanted to play Eye of Judgment to play it online with 2 friends and it had to download 2,599 files, individually; for over 3.6GB (and slower than usual because each file downloaded at a different speed).

Guess, I'm just whining. Guess I should bake a cake and paint the house while I wait, since that update only took 24 hours to download, then a few more to install.

What? How? When? Why? Holy shit. :lol

Even though, you're more than justified to complain about that it has nothing to do with firmware updates we're discussing here and it's a huge fucking exception. I have to admit though that your example is proof that Sony should put mandatory guidelines on updates (not nearly as strict as Microsoft's which imo are way too limiting) to stop this ridiculous crap. I mean, holy shit dude. 2,599 files, 3.6 GB? WTF?

 

[DangerousDave]

No I agree completely with the article. I only turn on my PS3 to play games every 2 or 3 weeks it seems (use it as a Bluray movie player much more often) and every time I do it seems I get hit with time-consuming yet insignificant firmware updates. It's a real pain in the ass and I've heard my friends complain about it too. So it's not just Ars.

From time to time, after looking a BluRay movie, instead of closing the system, go to system->update, auto-turnoff after updating. You don't need to do it each time.

Also, there aren't firmware updates every 2-3 weeks.

 

[Neuromancer]

From time to time, after looking a BluRay movie, instead of closing the system, go to system->update, auto-turnoff after updating. You don't need to do it each time.

Also, there aren't firmware updates every 2-3 weeks.

Yeah I should probably do that. Still a pain in the ass though.

 

[LosDaddie]

Updating FW on my PS3 is never a problem for me, even if it takes more than 5min. I usually just change my HDTV to cable and watch a show on the DVR.

 

[Zoe]

Yeah I should probably do that. Still a pain in the ass though.

Or you could just look for the firmware threads that always appear on here ahead of time since you're already reading the forum and all.

 

[Neuromancer]

Or you could just look for the firmware threads that always appear on here ahead of time since you're already reading the forum and all.

Yep, could do that too.

 

[jvm]

PS3 has problems, and the update process sucks, but let me just say: If you haven't updated Hot Shots Golf/Everbody's Golf: 5, you have no fucking ground to stand on to bitch about the PS3 process.

At least Sony has improved it from THAT point. I had to download a FIVE FUCKING HOUR update just to play with Sackboy/DLC. Seriously: WTF?

Correct answer.

 

[Man]

Wasn't the last firmware update (the one that added suggested titles and more) the first patch based update? I'm pretty sure it was. It was almost instant for me.

 

[Mr.Squirrel]

Add me to the dl/install taking too damn long group.

 

[Erebus]

My complaint in general is not the quantity of the updates or sometimes the time, but more about having to download everything just to fix bugs. Granted, it was apparently fixed in the last one; only time will tell.

But, mix those with the game updates. Like when I wanted to play Eye of Judgment to play it online with 2 friends and it had to download 2,599 files, individually; for over 3.6GB (and slower than usual because each file downloaded at a different speed).

Guess, I'm just whining. Guess I should bake a cake and paint the house while I wait, since that update only took 24 hours to download, then a few more to install.

Whoa so many possibilities! See? Sony doesn't limit yourself only on making sandwiches like MS does.

 

[Acheteedo]

Why aren't you installing the firmware from the disc?

I might do when it comes to it, what's your point?

 

[Zoe]

I might do when it comes to it, what's your point?

If you don't regularly play your PS3 then the various downloads and installs awaiting you are a significant issue. I still have Yakuza 3 and God of War 3 lying unopened next to my PS3 because i know i can't just jump into the game. I have a very fast connection. This is not an issue on the 360.

Because you complain about downloading it despite your fast connection.

 

[scitek]

I feel fucking sorry for anyone that buys Burnout Paradise now and plays it for the first time. I hadn't played it in a year and it took a LONG time to get into the game with the installs I had to catch up on.