The PS3.

You love it. Status updates and awkward pet photos would be looked forward to if your PS3 had a Facebook page. If it could tweet, you’d follow it. Smack it up and rub it down and gently ride that wave in, is what you’re thinking when Playstation is mentioned in passing conversation, website, or article. You would go on Maury and submit to a “baby daddy” paternity test for it. Now that we got that out of the way:

Does anybody else think it needs a facelift? You know…in general?

The XMB is tired. The obese XMB cow has grazed in the field long enough and needs to be harvested. This cow has also requested to be turned into a happy meal if at all possible. I digress though…it’s gotten a bit stale, hasn’t it? It’s been the same tired look for how many years now? Maybe something to liven up the whole experience would be nice? Add some more color to an over dark, stark and otherwise cold look. Now I know there’s jazzy themes and dynamic  whatnots to spruce up the whole overall outlook, but maybe a whole new design is needed?

And maybe it’s just me, but I feel like I’m inundated  with advertisements and “look what we have here specials”? The XMB lately seems slow and sluggish and bogged down with extras I just don’t care for. How about a totally and fully personal customizable XMB would be the route to take for Sony? I’d be on board with that. And what’s with this safety message that pops up now every time I turn on my PS3? I know I need to take a break. Don’t get all preachy PS3, just load up Uncharted 3 and get me online. Do everyone a favor and leave the safety soapbox at home, gosh!

Playstation friends.

I’ve got them in spades. Almost too many. I engage in “friend spring cleaning” every other week to make room for the Foo Army hordes that join my ranks everyday. Seriously, we’re talking friend mudslide action. So why is it that I even have any friends at all  if I can’t effectively communicate with them? The keypad attachment for my controller stinks! My stupid, fat, troll-like fingers can’t press the right buttons and when I do – it looks like I just mashed all the buttons at the same time. Text chat is ok I guess, but who wants to type when they’re in the middle of a game? I think you know what I’m getting at here…currently there’s 84 friends on my list. 20 online as of now. 19 of them are playing a different game.

Cross party chat. Party mode. Inter game awesomesauce.

Whatever you want to call it, the PS3 needs it. Like a bloated double-double burger from In-N-Out with extra cheese (no onions) and a side of “animal style” fries – this is quite possibly the tastiest rumor this side of the mississippi. Can you imagine the increase in users alone? Not only is it free to game online – now we got party/cross game chat! Come on in and let’s get donkey!! Sony would have to go to home depot and buy the biggest money rake ever. Worlds would collide, mysteries would be solved. Roswell would be explained, the JFK assassination would have closure. So maybe it wouldn’t be that epic, but it would pretty newsworthy. Being able to connect with all your friend regardless of what game they’re playing would make the Playstation community and it’s console the clear and obvious choice for people who are on the fence, or possibly big toe dipping in the deep end – to go out and buy a Playstation.

Now I know what you’re saying. Someone said it couldn’t be done, blah, blah, blah. 

You mean to tell me out of all the thousands of employees who work at Sony/Playstation that there isn’t one egghead that can’t figure it out? They’re probably in the Playstation lab right now figuring out what they want to call it. It’s probably already done and they’re just waiting/testing it and making it ready for the masses. Sony has denied plenty of things in which have come true:

Sony PSP:

Then: Can’t use it as a remote.

Now: you can use it as a remote via wifi to manage downloads. You can also use it as a rear view mirror in Grand Turismo. Or at least that’s what I heard (I don’t have the game) so that’s pretty cool.

Sony Move:

Then: “We’re not currently in development of any motion based games/peripherals.”

Now: This of course was said when the Playstation Move was code named “Sphere”. Later on that year, the Move came out with a  limited amount of titles. Some developers have embraced it, even adding Move support to games post-release. And with games like “Sorcery” and other titles rumored to be in development, it’s an exciting to grab a Move bundle and get familiar with Sony’s motion gaming effort.  And the “Sports Champions” bundle average price at $60, it’s a deal and a half.  So grab one up kids!

Sony of course never “comments on speculations and rumors”, so we many never know what Sony has up their sleeve. In this writers opinion it may time to release the cross chat monster as well as other little fixes in order to generate some new found interest in the Playstation community as a whole. While my opinions may not be reflective of this quality website, I think we can all agree that Sony needs to lead this endeavor with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind and firmly stake itself as a front runner once and for all as the superior gaming console.

Oh yeah, to you and yours – Happy Holidays or whatever.