Ben-DutkaIf you were paying attention during last week's GamesCom news blitz, you read all about the upcoming firmware update 3.00 for the PlayStation 3.
But what you may not realize is that it could be the start of a Microsoft-like trend for the system: less updates, but with each update comes more stuff . Update 3.00 will deliver a totally revamped Information Board, premium avatars and animated themes, PlayStation Store shortcuts, and a significant alteration to the Trophy system (among other small tweaks). It's arguably the biggest update of the year and it should be here on September 1, which is coincidentally the launch date for the PS3 Slim. Is this update the last one for 2009…? Well, according to G4TV , PSN operations director Eric Lempel said it's probably the last "major update," which led to the question: would Sony start issuing fewer updates with more features per update? Lempel responded:
"We try to release updates a few times a year and try to put as much as we can in them and depending on the different schedules and what we have ready at a certain moment, it may or may not make it into an update. We do want to continue to evolve the PS3, continue to go along our road map but also listen to what the users are saying and making the necessary enhancements to make their experience better."
Well, that doesn't really answer the question, but it makes sense. And one can look at the history of firmware updates on the PS3 and see that the number of them has decreased drastically over the years. For instance, during the early days of the system in 2007, firmware updates were arriving on a very frequent and consistent basis; sometimes multiple updates per month. Now, it's more like we see them once in a while – as it should be – but when they do arrive, they come with some serious content. Isn't that the right way to do it?
