Sony: PS3 3D firmware update due within months

"Stereoscopic games to come with the launch BRAVIA LCD TV in summer 2010"

9 February 2010 17:07 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

As Sony celebrates its Christmas sales success story for the PlayStation 3 (even though reports suggest the gaming giant is still losing money on each console it sells) Pocket-lint posed some questions to John Koller, the director of hardware marketing for SCEA about the high-end console's immediate future.

3D is set to be big in 2010, and Sony is not standing still in this market with 3D BRAVIA TVs due to hit this summer, which incidentally is when the PS3 is due its firmware update that will turn it into a fully-fledged, stereoscopic 3D-capable games platform, not to mention separate updates also due that will bring support for 3D Blu-ray.

Read on for our Q&A covering 3D, a 1TB PS3 and an App Store for the PlayStation Network...

Pocket-lint: How big is 3D going to be in the PS3's future? And how does it compare to 3D possibilities on rival platforms?
John Koller: 3D is a major part of our initiatives in 2010 and we’re currently developing 3D stereoscopic games to come in conjunction with the launch of Sony's 3D compatible BRAVIA LCD TV in summer 2010. The amazing thing about the PS3's technology is that all PS3 units that exist in homes and markets will be able to play 3D stereoscopic games as well as 3D BD movies through separate firmware upgrades - something that other platforms are unable to do. We'll be announcing actual game titles separately later, but we think that 3D stereoscopic gaming has a ton of potential, particularly in placing consumers within the actual experience. With 3D gaming and Motion Control technologies just around the corner, 2010 will show just how PlayStation is leading the innovation curve in the industry and that the PS3 truly does everything.

P-L: As consumer's appetite for digital content grows, do you see a 1TB PlayStation in the future?
JK: PS3 owners have downloaded an incredible 829 million pieces of content through PSN to date. Digital content will undoubtedly continue to be on the rise, so having a larger hard drive will better accommodate a user’s growing digital content library. Specific to a 1TB PS3 system, consumers can technically have one today. We recently launched the 250GB PS3 system, but since the beginning consumers have always been able to purchase and easily install a commercially available hard drive. The flexibility of PS3’s design enables you to have a 1TB PS3 if you wanted. Ultimately, our goal is to provide options to PS3 users so that whatever their entertainment choices are next year or the year after, they’ll have the storage space to accommodate the way they want to use their system.

P-L: Can we expect to see the PlayStation Network, as a connected platform, get some kind of app store in the future?
JK: PlayStation Network is constantly evolving and we’re always looking into bringing additional services and features to PlayStation Network. We have made no announcements at this time but we’ll keep you posted.

P-L: Could we see all content saved to PlayStation accounts in the future, perhaps with cloud storage eventually replacing physical hard drives?
JK: Right now, we’ve found that a built-in hard drive is still an important driving factor in PS3 purchase decisions. That being said, we plan to continue providing PS3 users with options so that whatever their entertainment choices are next year or the year after, they’ll have the storage space to accommodate the way they want to use their system.

P-L: Do you expect to see the "Cinema Mode", as seen in Uncharted 2, to become popular across more titles?
JK: With the incredible talent and creativity behind each of SCE’s first-party studios, don’t be surprised to see more ground-breaking features like Uncharted 2’s Cinema Mode. The PS3 is incredibly powerful and with upcoming technology like 3D gaming and our motion controller, both first and third party developers have the ultimate canvas to create innovative features that will change the way games are played and how we interact with them. Specific to Cinema Mode, we don’t have any plans to announce at this time.

P-L: How will a 250GB hard drive, as seen in the new PS3 Slim, benefit users as regards the coming-soon motion-controlled games for the PS3?
JK: In terms of the amount of hard drive storage required to install or stored saved game files, games designed to use the upcoming motion controller technology will not differentiate from games that don’t. Obviously, a larger hard drive will allow you to download more gaming content as well as give you plenty of overhead to download and store all of your other digital content without having to worry about running low on storage space.

>> Comment on this story

Full tags

Gaming, Sony, PlayStation, PS3, PS3 slim, 3D, 3DTV, Home Cinema, Blu-ray

UK Shopping

game.co.uk, gamestation.co.uk, Amazon.co.uk, play.com, ebay.co.uk

US Shopping

Amazon.com, ebay.com

Latest in Gaming

Latest on Pocket-lint

Comments

What kind of glasses and or TV will I need to play games/movies in 3d? Posted by Michael, USA
That depends entirely on the TV. That's the idea behind the new 3D standard. The player will send out a standardized signal. It's up to the TV manufacturer to determine how to deliver it to you. Posted by John B., USA
one thing ive been wondering is are the sony Z5500 bravias 3D compatible?
i could swear i heard sony say at CES that if you have a 120Hz or above TV you can view 3D content all you need are the stereoscopic glasses.
but i cant find any sources stating this, i even went in to sony when i bought the TV and asked them and they had no idea, neither did their tech line.
thats real freaking useful!
they make the TVs but they dont know what their compatible with.
guess ill have to wait till some 3D games come out, and wait till the glasses are available than ill try it out.
hope it does work though, if it does not 3D is going to flop big time!
lost of people just bought a HD TV there is no way their going to buy another one this soon.
i know heaps of people, me included who will not be buying a new TV for at least another 3 years, so if thats what you have to do to view 3D content its going to flop. Posted by name, Australia
it is. while they can add 3D to some of the current set top boxes (PS3 for example) the tvs will need specific hardware and, as far as I know, none until now have it. I agree - I have two Kuros and a projector in the house. I have no plans to upgrade just to get 3D. Posted by Richard, USA
Actually, there are a lot of TV's out there claiming to have 120hz or so, but to be able to play 3D content they need to have a 120hz input, and I don't know any comercial TV to offer that yet. What theses TVs make to be 120hz is flicker the backlight, something called MotionPlus (or other names), creating the "sensation" of 120hz. It's stupid, these TVs will never play 3D content, but people are still tricked to buy them. Posted by Ydna, Brazil
The3D film has twice as many fps (60 fps for each eye) a TV capable of pumping out twice as many fps ie a 120Hz capable TV not fake 120Hz "MotionPlus" that should be able to produce 3D images unless its not able to sync with the glasses?

3D without the glasses already exists so this is a steppingstone bit of kit. It depends if you could view on how much you would use the 3D. Posted by n.a.ble , UK
you cannot upgrade current ps3 models to 1TB since you are limited to 2.5" internal hard drive bay width. 1TB drives are 3.5". Please post links to 2.5" 1 TB drives SONY. Posted by CDubyahS, USA
John Koller always wins baby! Posted by BiezulbubBill69, USA
Not falling for your cr^p John Koller you can k^$$ M^ A^^! I WANT IN GAME MUSIC & CROSS GAME CHAT!..I will not but those 1950's stupid who cares 3D Glasses sell to the younger Generation but not mine you stupid fool! Posted by Chris, North America
I DEMAND IN GAME MUSIC WITH CROSS GAME CHAT BEFORE 2012!!! Posted by Chronos-X, North America
http://www.dabs.com/products/western-digital-scorpio-1tb-2-5--5400-8mb-sata-300-655T.html?refs=47250000-52780000 Posted by Andy, Australia
http://www.dabs.com/products/western-digital-scorpio-1tb-2-5--5400-8mb-sata-300-655T.html?refs=47250000-52780000

Apparently 12.5mm height hdd will not fit. my bad Posted by Andy, Australia
Good News!!!! :) Posted by circleag, Greece
haha @ chris Posted by themanisme, USA
I live in the UK and a few months ago channel 4 and 4HD ran a week of 3D tv programs and movies, if you had the glasses laying around you could use them or just go to the shop and get a tv guide giving you pair for free.

I guess my question is this, If i could watch (and i did watch) things in 3D on my Toshiba 1080p HDTV in the comfort of my own living room then why the hell do we need to go out and buy a new 3D TV for the PS3 update this summer??

Dont get me wrong, I love my PS3 and i am glad that the update for the PS3 will be free, but i am a little confused as to why I will need a new TV when the one I have works fine? Posted by aeoncsATgmailDOTcom, uk
coooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool Posted by mohd, U.A.E