This week, Sony announced that the PS3 was going to be the recipient of a new firmware update which would, among other things, finally allow you to download files and play your games at the same time. Today, this simple but very important feature has been implemented as firmware version 1.60 is ready and waiting for PS3 users to install.
We’ve downloaded the firmware update in order to test out the feature. The installation took about 15 minutes and we fired up Need for Speed: Carbon to play while downloading the MotorStorm demo. Now, when you go to the PlayStation store to select a demo, a little button appears which gives you the option of downloading in the background. Click on it and you are good to go.
There was no lag while playing Carbon and downloading the demo and we were pleased as punch with the performance. A new download management icon is now available under network settings on the PS3’s main screen and allows you to monitor and delete download activity by pressing the X or triangle buttons, respectively. If you shut down your PS3 before it completes the download, the machine will remember its last action and continue from where it left off. Did we mention that the new system screen is now pink? We hope you like the new color.
For the complete details on what firmware 1.60 offers, check out this page on PlayStation.com.
