Interview with Sony's Eric Lempel

PlayStation Network director of operations Eric Lempel tells Next-Gen why PS3 firmware update 2.40 represents a significant step forward for Sony's online service, why it's taken so long to deliver some of gamers' most requested features, and why some are still absent.

[Condoleezza Rice]

Thanks for the awesome job Lempel!

[jamenees]

I whole heartedly agree with that. Thanks.

[meepmoopmeep]

i love the continuous support and features.
the PSN team rock!

my launch PS3 is not the same one i have now.
it went from Beast form to Beauty form.

[Rick Astley]

When can we expect the update? THAT'S what he should be telling us dammit. I want a midnight launch.

[SonySoldierEternaL]

yes, i'm hoping for a midnight launch as well. only time will tell

[ATLRoAcH]

...want it to be available at midnight. I'm going out of town tomorrow so if it's not midnight tonight I won't get it until I get back home on Saturday. I can wait but I don't want to.

[XBOX 360]

Didn't that Warhawk Dev guy pretty much confirm it would be tonight?

"...late tonight when the firmware is released."

http://boardsus.playstation...

[ATLRoAcH]

Yeah you're right. I read that and it didn't even register. Good to know. Thanks. +1 bubble

[SonySoldierEternaL]

this man knows what he's talking about

[juuken]

...This guy rocks. Very well said.

[Bathyj]

With these added features, dedicated servers and Free online, its hard for anyone to claim now that PSN is inferior to XBL.

What do you guys think?

PS
Its already 2nd July here, but I'm at work so I dont know if its up yet. Any Aussies by their PS3 at the moment?

[meepmoopmeep]

Eric loves Mozzerella. That's good enough for me.

:P

He said Uncharted is getting a trophy patch! wOOt!

[dappaute]

Free online FTW!

[meepmoopmeep]

Eric.
“We’re happy with what we’re doing right now and we’re going to stick with it,” he stated. “I think being free is always an advantage. The fact that it’s free is nice for consumers who want to try out the online experience, those who may be new to it and may not be ready to commit to spending dollars, and that’s a really good message for us. Being free also gives them the opportunity to spend the money that they may have spent on a subscription on online items or online games instead. We have a ton of games for the price of a subscription and offer a significant amount of great original content that you can’t get anywhere else.”

yup, it's great for online n00bs like me who just want to try out the online play and not have to pay $ for getting PWNed every 2 seconds after i respawn! :P

[Big Jim]

Gamer A: "Look! I passed Uncharted on the hardest mode!!!!!"
Gamer B: "Holy Jesus, I'm impressed!!!!!!!! Look at the size of that trophy!!!!!!!!"

[blusoops]

Confirmed: Free PSN for a long time to come! And more improvements to come aswell!

[gumgum99]

"Being free also gives them the opportunity to spend the money that they may have spent on a subscription on online items or online games instead. We have a ton of games for the price of a subscription and offer a significant amount of great original content that you can’t get anywhere else."

I couldn't have said it better myself. There is no greater subscription price than $0.00 T_T

[Jandre02]

No BS Sony PR either. Employ/ let more guys this Eric/Jeff represent Sony and they may be able to get that "cool" image back with people between 18-30.

I think Sony's best bet is to just let their features and content talk for themselves, and be as honest as possible. Sony has lots of resources and has an advantage in every department over competitors when it comes to gaming. They are the reigning champs, so they should just stick to doing more of what they did last gen. I like the direction they are headed in right now. I'm 100% satisfied with my PS3.

[ICUP]

The PS3 is the gift that will keep on giving or something like that. )8-D

[DJ]

"I think if I look over at the competitors’ UI they may have some issues just displaying content, and scrolling up and down lists isn’t the easiest way to find things."

Sadly, he's actually right. =/

[Isaac]

Dave Karraker? If so he's a very good replacement, good job man.

[ChrisGTR1]

now this this is out which adds trophys and xmb i wonder how much more time is left for us to get the home beta? shouldnt we have it already? they are on beta version 0.94 and all. thats only .06 from completion... i think we should have it by now especially considering its suppost to be OPEN beta form.

[Muff1nB4k3r]

Ladies and Gentlemen, Firmware 2.40 is out!

Before going to sleep tonight, I used the check system updates option on my XMB and guess what? Firmware 2.40 text looking at me!

Feel free to confirm it here!

I'm not sure if it's automatic yet, but manually check for the update!

Cheers all!

And to verify this, I'm downloading it now in Toronto, Canada

[Kyur4ThePain]

Confirmed!

Downloading now.

[XBOX 360]

TWO.POINT-GASM

[chewmystink]

Yes the firmware is out, previous post just beat me :)
BathyJ I'm an aussie and am downloading it now , glad to get it before the servers get hammered :)
add me dude if you want I'm always looking for aussies to fill up my friends list
PSN ID: B_U_L_L

[jeanm3306]

“The other thing is that we don’t release anything until it’s ready to go, until we have a strong program behind it and strong support, and until it offers a strong consumer experience. We hit that point a few weeks ago and realized that we were ready to go, so we scheduled the update and here we are now." this is why i love sony they don't release anything unless they feel it's ready without any hiccup.

[AllseeingEye]

downloading 2.40 now. east coast.

[wangdiddy82]

downloading it now.. awesome

[Sez]

i think Eric Lempel and sony need to worry about trying to get their gimped @ss update on par with live before he decide he want to take jabs at MS. because thier half-@ss attemp to copy live is just that. a half-@ss attemp. in-game text but no cross-game chat, no cross-game invites, and no private chat.