Just curious. With every new feature that pops on to the PS3... it seems Sony doesn't want (or cant?) to implement the features as a over-riding system feature... instead opting to have it included in the game code in order to work.

Whether it be custom soundtracks, in-game screenshots, youtube video recording or even trophy support (ok, trophy support might be a bit different) it all needs to either be included at ship time or included in a patch.

My question is Why! Why can't we block out any game of our choice with our own music? Why can't I take screens and vids of w/e I want - why must it always be up to the developer to include said features?

It's not easy getting those things implemented. If from the beginning Sony had made the PS3 able to use such features and told developers they needed to add the ability to let users use their own music, take screens/videos, then it would have been mandatory. These features are just now being implemented with firmware updates, they can't force developers to go back and implement it in their old games, just like they can't make developers go back and put trophies in already released games. It was never mandatory before.

I'm pretty sure it will eventually be mandatory. I'd say by summer or fall of next year it will be. It might even be an announcement at E3 09.

Trophies are one thing that the devs more do for them self.
but  custom soundtracks should ve been in all games.

i hate having to pause the game go to the audiosetup and chose the song i want to listen to ( wipeout pure),  but in warhawk i just can press the ps button and chose the song from the harddisk much more easier and pain free.


come on sony!

I'm in total agreement.
The problem is that the makers of the huge open ended games that need custom soundtrack support (like Bethesda & R*) don't bother to implement it.  Unfortunately I get the feeling that PS3ers are 2nd class gamers to companies like Bethesda & R*.

I really liked Oblivion but the one thing that's holding me back from Fallout 3 is the prospect of playing another ridiculously long game of theirs, but this time being subjected to the greatest hits of 1776 the entire time.

I'm glad I have the option for Warhawk & Burnout but there are some other games that really need it.

It's because - quite frankly - these are features Sony should have included from the start and as a result developers are left to take advantage at a later date.

Yea there are some functions the machine should've launched with.
Some things (like custom soundtrack) probably aren't hard to later implement and there are developers who do that at a later date. Unfortunately, it's usually not the developers who need to do that.

It's because some of these features take up processing power, and even if it's only a small amount of power, it could effect the game. If these features were available at launch, like on the xbox 360, devs would have known about these when developing the game so they would have taken them into account., but since the features were added at a later date the devs didn't know about them, so they couldn't take them into account when developing the game, so sony can't implement it as an overriding system feature, because it might have negative effects on the game.

"It's because some of these features take up processing power, and even if it's only a small amount of power, it could effect the game. If these features were available at launch, like on the xbox 360, devs would have known about these when developing the game so they would have taken them into account., but since the features were added at a later date the devs didn't know about them, so they couldn't take them into account when developing the game, so sony can't implement it as an overriding system feature, because it might have negative effects on the game."

"MattyFTM said:

"It's because some of these features take up processing power, and even if it's only a small amount of power, it could effect the game. If these features were available at launch, like on the xbox 360, devs would have known about these when developing the game so they would have taken them into account., but since the features were added at a later date the devs didn't know about them, so they couldn't take them into account when developing the game, so sony can't implement it as an overriding system feature, because it might have negative effects on the game."

I've also read something about how Microsoft actually patented the whole music over the dashboard thingie, so Sony cannot do XMB music directly or they would be infringing on the patent. So that's why you see playlists in-game and every game requires separate support. I may be speaking out of my ass (don't remember where I read it), so if anyone could corrobate what I'm saying, thanks."

They will make it mandatory after the games that are currently in development get released. Any game afterwards will implement all the features.

Heh, how'd this topic get resurrected?

I totally understand that it takes resources  - but I wouldn't think a in game screen shot would be terribly hard to "over ride" and if not over-riding these features - why not make them mandatory in games released after the date the feature is in place? Heck, even trophies have taken forever to get the "Mandatory" clause.

The fact that Microsoft has a patent on playing custom music in game is dumb as hell. I can seem patenting some code or w/e to make it work, but actually having a patent that prevents any other console in the world from playing custom music is insane. What kind of moron approved that patent?

Well, the only thing you can have a point with that is the Custom Soundtracks. Even then, how often have you bought a game, wanted to play it with custom soundtracks and then found that you can't have them?

"Well, the only thing you can have a point with that is the Custom Soundtracks. Even then, how often have you bought a game, wanted to play it with custom soundtracks and then found that you can't have them?

Once?"