Will the new firmware update save the PS3?

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 24 May 2007 17:43

Your IT - Entertainment

Another feature that we had asked Michael Ephraim, the head of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia in an interview prior to this year’s ‘rest-of-the-world’ launch, was whether or not the PS3 could actually print any of the photos that it was storing, simply by plugging in a dedicated USB printer.

Well, that feature has finally come too, although only to selected Epson printers. That said, there’s no reason why the range of compatible models and brands couldn’t be updated in the future – with the PS3 really being a powerful computer, it just needs more printer drivers.

To add to the bonanza of actually being able to print photos directly from the PS3 through a compatible printer, there’s now a new type of slideshow for displaying photos, zoom functionality and the ability to crop images.

Sony also say that users can now copy saved data from PlayStation or PlayStation 2 format software stored on their PS3 system to a Memory Card or Memory Card (8MB) (for PlayStation2), using their PS3 system and a Memory Card Adaptor.

So, will all of this ‘save’ the PS3? After all, if you believe the figures at NexGenWars, the Xbox 360 with its year-long head start has sold 10,821,166 consoles worldwide, the Nintendo Wii has clocked up 7,215,400 global sales while the PS3 has only managed 3,137,642 total units, although if memory serves Sony would counter that with a figure of 5.5m units shipped.

Still, shipped isn’t the same as sold, and with either figure, Sony is still behind. Given the PS3’s technical superiority, and the filling of some important digital media gaps with the launch of the latest firmware update, the PS3 has all the technical smarts to beat the competition.

All it needs now is some more ‘must have’ games – and maybe a price cut just in time for the end-of-year holidays, with the importance of massive holiday sales used as the face-saving excuse of why a price cut was needed.

Even if that price cut simply lowered global prices closer to the US price, many people would happy and very tempted to buy. So, while the new firmware was much needed and is much appreciated, and is an important piece in the puzzle to boost those PS3 sales, it’s not the full story.

After all, this holiday season will be fought between the major console manufacturers much more closely than ever before, with each holding trump cards of their own. For gamers, it has never been better. It’s the golden age of gaming, and with each firmware update, it just gets better!