Okay, so we dutifully updated our PS3 software to
version 2.20, and took it for a quick spin. Granted, the removal of
portable copy from the release lowered our expectations, but we really wanted to see what BD-Live is all about. During the install, we got a dialog to "... allow Internet connection from BDs" that got our attention. Hello,
BD-Live! The number of discs with BD-Live content makes for
slim pickings, but we popped in a copy of "War."
Based on what we've seen, you can strike this title off the Profile 2.0 list -- despite what we'd heard before about this being a BD-Live title, we didn't notice any special extras on our updated PS3. We uncovered the BD-Live enabled version of "Yakuza Fighter." It's without a doubt, the lamest game ever to grace our PS3: you set a sequence of moves and then pit your sequence against the other player. Once you're done, your scores and moves can be kept associated with your online profile for future fights. Think "scripted rock-paper-scissors" here. Even more disappointing is that we found it impossible to get the "Resume play" function to work with this title. The feature did work just fine on other discs, however, and is a welcome addition to our fragmented lifestyle. We'll hold off on a verdict until
more BD-Live content becomes available, meanwhile perhaps we'll try to grab a copy of the other BD-Live disc, Saw IV, and see if the BD-Live
Easter Egg hunt yawn-fest continues.
UPDATE: We found the BD-Live enabled game on War, and updated the post with the info. - Thanks, Dave C!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
shawnmos @ Mar 25th 2008 3:30AM
*sigh* I could already do this a year and a half ago.
Dave C @ Mar 25th 2008 3:34AM
Yeah that didn't take long.
The real question is, will HD DVD still have online features in a year and a half? Are they going to bother to keep those features active???
Keith @ Mar 25th 2008 5:26AM
Don't be stupid. HD DVD only had primitive scripting, not full Java.
You do know the difference right??
DrXym @ Mar 25th 2008 6:12AM
@shawnmos, and HD DVD demonstrated what a largely pointless feature it is. Blu Ray has upped the ante with 1Gb downloads and BD-J but I doubt the feature will be any more compelling on Blu Ray than it was on HD DVD.
Dave @ Mar 25th 2008 8:53AM
Keith,
You do know that, while HD-DVD's "scripting" language was designed from the ground up to design and play rich interactive media content, BD-J is an extension of a language that was not. You do know the difference right?
DrXym @ Mar 25th 2008 9:29AM
@Dave, piffle.
HDi is a combination of ECMAScript (JavaScript) with XML modelled on HTML (div elements etc.). You cannot claim it HDi is any more designed from the "ground up" than BD-J.
Both use bespoke technology (either Java or JS) which have been fashioned with appropriate helper functionality to be fit for requirements.
As for BD-J, I suggest you look it up. You will see that it is an implementation of an ETSI defined J2ME profile called GEM (Globally Executable Multimedia Home Platform) which is designed for broadcast multimedia applications. It's not something that the BDA just knocked up in their garage.
Dave C @ Mar 25th 2008 3:32AM
I believe that the game on War is supposed to be playable over the network.
I have not checked it out, but that was the feature that was supposed to be BD Live.
JARoy Gilmer @ Mar 25th 2008 4:28AM
IT'S 4:30 IN THE MORNING DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR SYSTEM UPDATES ARE?
Edd Mills @ Mar 25th 2008 5:23AM
They're at the after hours club, looking for drugs, dirty dancing and pounding pounding techno music (or perhaps portable copy?).
jaroy gilmer @ Mar 25th 2008 4:28AM
.
Jove @ Mar 25th 2008 4:46AM
id be amazed ps3 owners play-mini games in their super powerful video games console...
Jove @ Mar 25th 2008 4:53AM
play mini-games off the dvd...
locke6854 @ Mar 25th 2008 7:08AM
Well, judging by steve's strikethrough, this "game" wasn't even easy to FIND let alone fun to play.
And I'd be surprized if any bd-live game approaches the gameplay and polish of the WORST nintendo DS titles.
Jove @ Mar 25th 2008 7:11AM
right so i dont know whats the big deal about wanting those silly games.
Niels R. @ Mar 25th 2008 5:27AM
As long as Blu-Ray's are 25 and up (~40$) here in Belgium, I'm not buying them. I'll just keep hold on my nice DVD collection and enjoy the PS3 DVD upscaling skills.
One advantage of HD-DVD I like was the region free movies. You could buy them cheap in de US and play them in EU. At this point Blu-Ray s*cks big time!
DrXym @ Mar 25th 2008 6:15AM
Region free movies was probably a sticking point for many studios. So while it might have been a "consumer friendly" feature, it was also a "system dooming" feature. For example Disney appears to use staggered releases for its movies - Ratatouille was still showing in European cinemas when it appeared on Blu Ray. Region free would totally conflict with that model. Anyway, a lot of BD movies are still region free. Some studios seem more comfortable with it than others.
Blake @ Mar 25th 2008 6:43AM
1. Your standard DVD's are region locked too!
2. You can still import Blu-ray movies from the US because not all are region locked.
3. You obviously don't shop around on the internet for good prices because before HD-DVD's demise the media prices were the same.
4. You're just nitpicking!
LJKelley @ Mar 25th 2008 8:08AM
Well, as a world traveler and having lived in several countries regions suck big time. Luckily you have such a thing as Region Free DVD Players. I still don't know why my Xbox360 and PS3 stubily enforce this on movies when my Samsung HT System plays all.
Region Free was one of the reasons I supported HD DVD, as well its cheaper costs (and both sides were subsidised, Blu-ray started at about $1000 while HD DVD started at $500) and less DRM (though all layers of Blu-ray appear to be cracked now).
BASICALLY: I just wanna play the content I have bought when I want to on the machine I want to. Its no wonder that Pirate-bay exists.
Niels R. @ Mar 25th 2008 7:04AM
@Blake (Reply on comment doesn't seem to work, here)
1) Yes, they are, but my player isn't. Besides that, DVD's are a lot cheaper than Blu-Ray (in Belgium at least).
2) That I didn't know, but DrXym just said so too and know I'm aware of the fact.
3) If you look at the Euro Dollar, shopping in the US is cheaper for me than shopping in the EU.
4) No, I'm not. I was just commenting on the way I feel about Blu-Ray at this moment. It's just the fact that electronics and movies and such are cheaper in the US than in the EU. This made the region free movies of HD-DVD more attractive.
5) I'm sorry I commented. Next time I'll keep my opinion to myself.
locke6854 @ Mar 25th 2008 7:12AM
if anyone wants to play simple short amatuer games on their ps3, theres a few awesome ones accessable on the Playstation Store.
And frankly, I love the idea of WiiWare and Xbox Live Arcade too. This gives up-and-coming (and serious) game designers a chance to flaunt what they've got. (By-gamers-for-gamers, if you will).
Don't waste time on a game on the special features page of a movie.
Gene C. @ Mar 25th 2008 7:25AM
and still no DTSHD-MA?
WTF?
Salacious @ Mar 25th 2008 7:31AM
Resume play is only available on Blu-Ray titles not using BD-J (Java). This rules out all Fox titles released in the last year (BD+ is written in Java), any titles which have BonusView or BD Live or any titles that use Java to do menus or stupid games (Pirates of the Carribean, Dragon's Lair etc). So not only do you have to wait an age for Java to test the performance of your player (e.g. the spinning coin in Pirates) but you better not hit stop! Although they are currently in the minority it will become common and this feature better be implemented somehow
DrXym @ Mar 25th 2008 7:37AM
Most BD-J disks have a bookmarking feature, but you are right - this should be something which is standardized.
Silas Miller @ Mar 25th 2008 8:56AM
So where's matroska? BD-Live smive. Give an anime junkie a break, transcoding is for the birds.
Mike Jenkins @ Mar 25th 2008 9:20AM
Does anyone know what the Saw IV features are? It's the only Blu-Ray movie I have so far aside from Spider Man 3, but I don't wanna waste time finding a feature that may suck anyway.
LiqwidZero @ Mar 25th 2008 10:00AM
It's a MoBlog...
That's it... a MoBlog.
Entry from High-Def Digest:
"Short for MovieLog, this feature promises to allow consumers to create and share their own added value content via blog entries. Again, when Profile 2.0 players arrive, we'll give MoLog a spin and update this review."
JARoy Gilmer @ Mar 25th 2008 9:50PM
This is slightly freaky but I have a boss of the same name, there must be a million of you Mike Jenkins out there. Do you work in Towson, MD?
Mike Jenkins @ Mar 25th 2008 9:54PM
Nope, sorry. It's not an uncommon name though.
Chip Douglas @ Mar 25th 2008 9:39AM
I agree with Jove, and I understand that the PS3 is a gaming console. Is this all that BD-Live is going to offer me on my stand-alone blu-ray player I have been waiting for? Is the finished codec just going to give me the ability to play games? This sounds like such a bunch of marketing hype and a waste of time. Why can't they just put this content on the disc?
LiqwidZero @ Mar 25th 2008 9:57AM
The best game so far is the game on the HD DVD version of 300. It's a fun little strategy game.
There is supposed to be an online AvP Java game to be on the AvP Requiem BD, I believe. It looked pretty good, but you better hope it plays well on a standalone (I'm sure it will do fine on the PS3).
Daniel @ Mar 25th 2008 9:59AM
Ok, am I missing something? I played this shit-fest game 3 weeks ago when netflix sent me the BD of War. Nothing BD-Live about it that I'm aware, it was right in the menu cluster.
LiqwidZero @ Mar 25th 2008 10:02AM
It's a 1.1 game, more than likely. That's all.
Steven Kim @ Mar 25th 2008 11:55AM
The game isn't new, but it can now be played over the internet. Meh.
Semi @ Mar 25th 2008 10:57AM
what is this rubbish?
i gotta buy the disc and then use up my bandwidth to download content? another gimmick from sony...
get the nitty gritty sony, blu-ray movies are 23 a pop, with this new, read crap, BD live, it'll prolly cost even more...
JimC @ Mar 25th 2008 12:08PM
This feature was a lame idea on HDDVD and I'm sure it will be equally lame on Blu-ray. Only thing that might be interesting is downloading themes or other content but gee, that could have been done on my PC years ago but thanks to feature creep and useless functionality war, blu-ray felt compelled to match this useless feature, hooray!
Riley Freeman @ Mar 25th 2008 12:50PM
these comments are hilarious lol. in all seriousness though i dont get why people are actually uoset at sony for ADDING this. They didnt have to its not going to cost you more so why complain?
JimC @ Mar 25th 2008 1:44PM
Because I see it as adding very little value but adding complexity and cost to production of movies. The studios will feel compelled to offer up some sort of BD-Live content and thus spend extra $$$ producing/developing it and also have to schedule time and resources to it when all I want is the movie. The ROI cannot be worth it for them....but we'll end up paying a premium for it.
whoelse @ Mar 25th 2008 1:15PM
One of the best ever updates.
Don't forget video streaming, faster internet browser, PSP Remote Music settings.
Tanker-X @ Mar 25th 2008 1:37PM
@Salacious
BUY A DAMN PS3, the only reason why those games took a while to load is probably because you have a first gen sub par Blu-ray player!
Salacious @ Mar 26th 2008 9:47AM
My point was that resume play doesn't work with BD-J titles on the PS3. This was in the release notes and previously reported on engadget but then in the review of 2.20 they say it doesn't work with War. Guess why, it is a bleedin BD-J title. As for a PS3, it is the best Blu-Ray player but it is too noisy, doesn't support bitstream audio or currently DTS HD and doesn't fit into my seperate rack. I'm more interested in the Sony S350 or S550 but it depends if they are quicker than the current models
Riley Freeman @ Mar 25th 2008 2:46PM
im sorry bluray movies are expensive enough as it is i dont see them increasing price. they want to attract new customers higher prices will not do that especially since its already high.
Jonathan @ Mar 25th 2008 3:43PM
Haven't heard anyone else say anything but after updating my PS3 it locked up.. twice.. while trying to use the browser... hmmmm....
1stGreg @ Mar 25th 2008 3:58PM
Can't wait to see the ex-HD DVD fanboys start to dismiss online interactivity, after they had been touting it their format's savior for a little more than a year.
Thing is, as most Blu Ray adopters always said, this is a gimmick, a bonus. It was never important to beign with, it just adds a little.
Now who knows, we might see some cool stuff in the future, but there is certainly 0 excuse now to see the titles HD DVD had that used online features ported onto Blu Ray...
Unlike HD DVD though, there will be the choice in the future to have players with online features (2.0) , or without (1.1).
Frankly, for the bedroom or the kids, I don't see why you would want a full fledged player, with potential possibility of people chatting your kids up online without you knowing.
et @ Mar 25th 2008 7:20PM
you do realize that War is a BD-J title... which means the ps3 won't work with resume on that title. Resume only works on HDMV titles... not BD-J ones.
Feathered-Fur @ Mar 26th 2008 1:07AM
Isn't this post about the update? You guys are too offsubject.
Anyways... I'm having serious issues with this new update.
Right after updating my playstation won't play any disks. I've tried BDs, DVDs, and CDs. Nothing works!!!!
I've been looking around, and people are having troubles too. They all have the 60gb version like me.
Has anyone else had problems with this???
And does anyone know how i can get the last update 2.17? I'l try to rollback and see if it fixes it.
Gary @ Mar 27th 2008 5:28PM
I'm also having issues. I have an 80 GIG system. It now locks up and pauses between games too long.
It appears to be having issues reading the game disc. I've tried many.
Barbie-Shrimp @ Mar 26th 2008 8:29AM
BBQ
FTW
Mike Shaw @ Mar 28th 2008 10:20PM
get me some bd-live