PS3 Firmware Update 3.70: Auto Cloud, Auto Trophy Sync
Some firmware updates are boring. Others are pretty cool.
The latest, firmware update 3.70 for the PlayStation 3, falls into the latter category. Firstly, it adds the option to automate two existing features:
A new auto upload function for online save data back-up will be added to make it easier to back-up your game save data. Under (Game), select the game for which you want to automatically upload saved data, and then press the Triangle button.
Also, Trophies will now sync automatically at the timing of Auto Download.
Plus, they're tossing in a new recommendation function that lets you share your favorite PlayStation Store items (like games and videos) with your PSN friends. Basically, you'll be able to send a message with a store link embedded. A new category on the XMB called TV/Video Services will show up (for Netflix, Hulu PLUS, and VUDU), along with the following:
You’ll be able to find and download all of the video applications available on PS3 directly from this new XMB category.
A folder labeled “My Channels” within this category will allow you to easily access your downloaded applications.
Any videos downloaded from the PlayStation store will continue to be placed in the existing Video category on the XMB.
There are also a few new features for Blu-Ray and 3D viewing, so stay tuned for the 3.70 update, which should become available "soon." You know, can anyone even remember the XMB and the overall presentation of the PS3 when it first launched? Is it even possible to summarize every last update and new feature?
Tags: playstation blog, psn, cloud saves, firmware update
8/9/2011 9:02:34 PM Ben Dutka
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Comments (66 posts)
MyWorstNightmar
Tuesday, August 09, 2011 @ 9:44:40 PM
Ignitus
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 2:20:39 AM
WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 3:05:24 AM
Clamedeus
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 3:22:12 AM
Underdog15
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 9:28:39 AM
Highlander
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 11:42:18 AM
As someone said further up Sony prides themselves on the Free aspect of this, and as long as they can differentiate the free capability from the premium, people will pay for Plus. If Plus members have more space and automation, it'd be worth it to me, even if there was a more limited, but free cloud based save capability.
Qwarktast1c
Tuesday, August 09, 2011 @ 9:29:29 PM
Reply
JMO_INDY
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 7:44:22 AM
Qwarktast1c
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 1:06:59 PM
Mamills
Tuesday, August 09, 2011 @ 10:16:05 PM
Reply
Guess its a start but still Sony is really moving too slow.
there is so much that can still be done.
and i swear sometimes i wonder if they even care.
just some examples:
-Cross Game chat
-a proper browser. (The PS3 Browser is such a POS! Make a deal with Mozilla for firefox or something!)
-Ability to check emails etc.
-Use proper facebook integration(Search FB Friends to add to PSN List, i really dont care about sharing achievements.)
-record and send voice clips to friends
-create an app section in the PSN Store. (That will open up a lot of possibilities, youtube etc etc)
-Optimize the XMB, sorry but the game overlay is still slow and sometimes crashes
-All games on the PSN Store should have manditory Videos or photos of the game in action that plays automatically. (look at Steam, or the app store.) half the Games on PSN i know nothing about them, why would i buy?
-more deal days, cheaper introductory price for games. (Developers are making more and more DLC anyway. in the end it makes more money. Look at League of legends.)
-wtf they need more digital copies of games.(i love having a disc but from a business standpoint digital is the way to go and it will, so get on board.)
-the list goes on
now i know a lot would say some of those ideas aren't relevant to gaming, but lets face it. it would make the PS3 a must own system, i mean cmon what to you think would happen if and when apple enters the gaming arena?
they need to start thinking ahead.
hire a dedicated team to optimize.
matter of fact hire me
Last edited by Mamills on 8/9/2011 10:20:59 PM
LegendaryWolfeh
Tuesday, August 09, 2011 @ 11:17:36 PM
Temjin001
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 12:31:33 AM
Also, a reason Sony's browser isn't the best is because of Adobe's Flash presence in the market. Don't worry though, in time Flash will be pushed out in favor for the more open and flexible HTML 5 standard. You can thank Steve Jobs for that later. There's people who hate that move by apple, but once everything boils over it'll be better that a middle man isn't there to screw things up like flash does with HTML.
WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 3:06:19 AM
Excelsior1
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 5:39:57 AM
i am beginning to think there is some technical challenge that sony can't overcome to add this feature. i have heard that psn simply does not have the bandwidth for xgc. i've seen some evidence to support this in kz3. get a full squad with headsets and the audio cuts out horribly. heck it starts to cut out at 5 people with headsets.
sony could dramaticly improve the quality of the ps3 experience if they fixed the crappy browser and added cross game chat. i know several gamers that won't even touch a ps3 becuase it does not have xgc.
maxpontiac
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 9:01:33 AM
Underdog15
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 9:30:28 AM
You are correct. It's pretty much impossible. To implement it now, you would essentially have to have updates to every single game released to allow that function. I can't remember all the details, but Highlander described the full reasoning to me a while back, and I remember it making perfect sense. lol
Highlander
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 11:50:34 AM
The firmware as it stands uses about 48MB (IIRC - though it may be smaller now) of system memory at all times. Sony has worked consistently to reduce that footprint and leave more memory for games. In order to add Cross game chat, a fairly decent sized module would be required. It would have to be part of the resident portion of the OS, since it has to work regardless of whether a game has it's own chat feature. Adding a large module to provide something like Cross Game chat would either break the memory limitation on the resident portion of the OS. Games have been implemented that use the full available memory, and so that cannot happen. Therefore Sony would have to kick out other portions of the resident OS to accommodate Cross Game Chat. Since Sony already has pared the resident OS down to minimize the memory footprint, there isn't exactly any fat to trim to make room for Cross Game Chat. So to do it, some other existing feature would have to be dropped from the resident portion of the PS3 OS.
All in all, that's not going to happen. Cross game chat has been implemented from the beginning on the Vita, and had it been implemented from the beginning on the PS3, this wouldn't be an issue. But trying to shoe-horn such functionality into it now is not particularly feasible. It's not impossible, just extremely unlikely.
mike rlz
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 12:55:48 PM
WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 3:28:26 PM
WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, August 09, 2011 @ 10:24:32 PM
Reply
Mamills
Tuesday, August 09, 2011 @ 10:34:45 PM
LegendaryWolfeh
Tuesday, August 09, 2011 @ 11:19:01 PM
LimitedVertigo
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 12:06:00 AM
Ignitus
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 2:30:25 AM
JimmyVaudeville
Tuesday, August 09, 2011 @ 11:00:58 PM
Reply
Temjin001
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 9:39:38 AM
Highlightreel
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 12:15:05 AM
Reply
I travel a lot (MN to IA) and when in IA I'd like to play but would not like to have to start over or have a separate game save. I'd purchase a second ps3 if that was possible (pretending the ps4 isn't secretly coming soon to piss my wife off). IA is boring!
Stay classy PSX...
gray_eagle
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 1:31:31 AM
Fane1024
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 6:37:43 AM
Highlightreel
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 9:38:21 AM
johnld
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 8:30:57 PM
Amnesiac
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 1:05:18 AM
Reply
- The whole psn network is in disrepair. What discourages me is how a few minor improvements to their site as well as some useful software updates could rapidly change alot of opinions. The best ideas were the ones mentioned above:
having control with naming folders in the XMB
Music visualizers/ album artwork
better internet browser
game previews in the ps store*
(would be awesome) Heres a few of mine:
I want the ability to take in-game pictures that I could then throw up on my XMB background. (After playing FFXIII, HeavyRain, or MGS4 I still wonder why there isn't any option for this) Wouldn't that be something a game developer would want to put in their game?
Give us the ability to download any game I want into my system [Game Data Utility] I can't stomach some of those unnecessary load times in those titles where it isn't "required"
As mentioned above small additions like these would make a world of difference to the playstation community and the outlook of the PS3 as a whole.
So I suppose we'll have to wait till PS4 huh?
Highlander
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 1:23:57 AM
Peripheral features that are tertiary at best such as folder naming, music visualizers and such are not signs of disrepair, they are a sign that people are so desperate to find fault that they will look at the smallest things.
You can take in-game pictures in numerous games, and they are stored to the HDD and displayable as your XMB wall-paper. not sure where you've been the last three years, but you can do that in lots of games.
You're not going to get the ability to download complete game images to the HDD, so let's not even go there, security means it ain't gonna happen for games that are already on Bluray.
Small additions like these would only make a world of difference if your world is so small that the curvature on the visible horizon exceeds 179 degrees.
Fane1024
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 6:40:53 AM
maxpontiac
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 9:07:38 AM
Pleasantries aside, the PSN is far from being in disrepair. I am running some remote races on GT5 from work right now. Yep, still working.
Outside of what Highlander said, the screen shot feature is in place. It's up to the developers to implement it. The fact that MGS or Heavy Rain doesn't use it is not Sony's fault. For example, I have tons of in game photos from GT5 in my picture folder that I use for XMB backgrounds.
Underdog15
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 9:35:33 AM
You -CAN- name the folders in your XMB. I have all my PSN games sorted by genre. Action/Adventure games can be found in my Action/Adventure folder.
All my music has album artwork. You can even upload your own picture for album artwork if you, say, have a mixed playlist.
Most games in the PSN store have previews. Not all, but that's due to the developers. Not PSN.
Better browser? Well... yeah. I 100% agree with that one. It definitely needs a better browser.
As for the other two ideas you offered... they might be cool. I couldn't care less about either, personally. But they would be nice. Either way, however, that hardly classifies PSN or the XMB as being in 'disrepair'.
Don't you agree?
sha4dowknight05
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 1:18:32 AM
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Dancemachine55
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 2:38:14 AM
2 Great features that everyone wants, and yet Sony STILL haven't delivered!! Party Chat is the best thing about playing on 360 with friends. Doesn't matter what game you're playing or whether or not you're in the same lobby, you can all chat and organize a game together.
If Sony make Party Chat free with online play in their next update, Christmas will have come early for me.
Shame, all my friends love PS3 games, but they only play their 360's just so they can chat to each other while online. Sony has lost so many sales because this one feature IS STILL missing!! Yes, we demanded Party chat or X-game chat about 3 years ago... WHERE IS IT?!?!?
Excelsior1
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 5:47:50 AM
johnld
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 8:33:10 PM
gray_eagle
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 1:42:25 AM
Reply
Fane1024
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 6:47:41 AM
Dancemachine55
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 2:31:55 AM
Reply
C'mon Sony, this is awesome and all, but you need to at least have the basics down before you start bringing in the fancy stuff!!
Only reason, yes, THE ONLY reason my friends still game on 360 and not on PS3 is BECAUSE of 360's party chat feature and the fact that MS packed a wired headset in with every 360!!
I know PS3 is the better console with the better games, but MS pioneered and dominated online gaming and multiplayer!!!
Sony is catching up with Vita, and that's a great start, but the PS3 going this long without X-game chat or party chat?!?!? It's been nearly 5 years now!!! I just want to play online with my friends for free!! AND I wanna play great games online with my friends for free!!
Do Sony have any idea how many sales they are losing from the absence of this one feature?!?! How hard can it be to implement?!?!
WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 3:11:42 AM
Reply
Dancemachine55
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 3:33:04 AM
Feels to me that PSN has some catching up to do with Live. Sure, it's more open for developers, and easier for me to make my way around, and there's heaps of cool features like Cloud saving and PS Plus.
But lack of Party chat, playing custom music in-game through the XMB and the inability to change your PSN ID name (even for a fee) makes it lag just that little bit behind Live Gold. (I say Gold cos you can't do much with a free Silver Subscription)
But here's the cool thing... I love single player experiences!!! PS3: 25, 360: 7
(Gears 1 and 2, Alan Wake, Halo Reach, Fable 2, Splinter Cell Conviction and Forza 3... all good to play offline as well as online)
Last edited by Dancemachine55 on 8/10/2011 3:34:11 AM
Underdog15
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 9:41:14 AM
Highlander
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 11:59:13 AM
That custom soundtrack thing, as Underdog said, it's there, but the devs have to use it. This kind of comes to the same issue as the cross game chat - memory. The more things Sony forces to be cross game standards handled by the OS, the bigger the OS becomes. Sony instead provides hooks to allow games to use the built in music playback features of the XMB, and there's really no reason why games could not use them.
For that matter, there's zero reason why games could not do this before. All a dev has to do is include a relatively standard MP3 module and read the track-lists from the HDD. Good grief, you don't need XMB support to read the MP3s off the HDD on the PS3. If a game has an extensive tracklist already, why not include the ability to scan the HDD for music files and present them as options too? that can be done far more economically in-game than via the XMB. I think that part of the reason game devs don't do that is artistic direction, they have built the soundtrack to suit the game and don't feel like people should alter it - rather like watching a movie and complaining that you can't replace the classical mood music with thrash. It may well come down to devs not wanting to add the complexity of the option, but in the end, it really is up to the devs to do it.
BikerSaint
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 4:12:50 AM
Reply
As a gaming collector, I sample every game I get, even if I know that it's in a genre I don't usually like, just on the off-chance I might actually wind up liking that one particular game.
So there's a ton of games(and some PSN demos too) that I've actually gotten 1 single trophy for while sampling it, but the game itself, has been put away on the shelf forever cause I didn't like it at all.
So now I have all these funky 1-trophy games showing up that make it look like I'm a quitter & can't hang in a game more than a few minutes. And believe me, if I like a game, I always try to see it too the end.
It just really irks me to keep seeing those games I'll never play, still invading my personal space every damned time I go through my trophy list.
Yeah, I'm anal like that!!!!!!
Last edited by BikerSaint on 8/10/2011 4:20:05 AM
Dancemachine55
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 5:28:00 AM
While my trophy list is most likely smaller than yours, there are heaps of games I'd love to remove from that list!!
Seeing as I am a bit of a trophy whore, any games I don't own anymore that are listed on the trophy list as less than 10% reeeally irritates me!!!
I usually aim for 1 gold trophy in all the games I play.
If Sony were to implement the ability to delete games off the trophy list, that would fan-friggin-tastic!!!
Highlander
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 11:59:47 AM
johnld
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 8:35:30 PM
___________
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 7:26:37 AM
Reply
coverton341
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 12:02:16 PM
nath08
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 3:51:55 PM
Reply
Last edited by nath08 on 8/10/2011 3:52:44 PM
Amnesiac
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 @ 9:35:09 PM
Reply
For the most part you're all correct about why certain features will never happen or how its up to the developers to include in their game not Sony, but I'm speaking from the p.o.v. from somebody who expected it not to take 5 years to get to where the PS3 and Playstation Network is today. The rate of growth and development to the performance of this system has been kinda sluggish considering the powerhouse this machine is capable of being(Once again referring to Sony's overall presentation from when it was first launched) And if someone feels I should retract my statement that the PSN is in dis-repair? I can't do that for you but I will substitute it for maybe a more appropriate word (if that helps) lackluster.
btw:
I can name folders with my XMB? I was paraphrasing someones comment and didn't put much thought behind what I was writing lolz.
---also displaying album artwork or just pictures in the music visualizer is what I should have written to clear up any small misunderstandings.
cheers
Last edited by Amnesiac on 8/10/2011 9:57:24 PM
DemonNeno
Thursday, August 11, 2011 @ 12:31:19 PM
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I do love the fact that this update does have new "toys" in it.. I'm just feeling a bit hopeless about the significance of other improvements due to the possibility of their next console taking center stage... I'm really not looking forward to a new console anytime soon.
Amnesiac
Thursday, August 11, 2011 @ 8:12:47 PM
Reply
Does anybody know what features the PS4 is supposed to have? what is its selling point? Really Really good graphics?
Last edited by Amnesiac on 8/11/2011 8:14:34 PM

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LimitedVertigo
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Tuesday, August 09, 2011 @ 9:22:40 PM
BTW anyone else think the PSN will transfer to a paid service with the PS4? As more and more features get implemented via firmware updates that require a plus membership I'm starting to think it's a slow and steady path.