Of course the PS3 has supported them for ages (if not since launch)...

Yes, but not very well.

Mine works perfectly.

I plug the drive in, it shows up in the XMB. I can copy stuff to it, I can copy stuff from it. I can backup my PS3 to it. I can delete stuff off it.
Exactly what else can you come up with that a USB drive is supposed to do?

The fact is the PS3 has always had pretty excellent support for 'third party storage' (with USB mass storage support and user replaceable standard internal drives from day one) whereas MS have previously been happier flogging people 20GB HDDs with a proprietary interface for four times the market price. This is one area where the 360 has always been the poor relation.

Jon

If you want to watch video clips they have to be in a folder called Video, it isn't able to see them otherwise.

Well bugger me! I had to set up four folders! Big deal.

Apparently the eggbox can't see them at all, so I wonder who's coming off worse there...

Whatever happened to plug and play?

Good question, ask Microsoft!

Not true, just press triangle on the icon for the USB mass storage device and choose "display all". It'll even show you the hidden folders on the drive.

Yip, problem is it isn't immediately obvious... This whole thing of folders and file formats etc is just fcuking tragic in this day and age

I plug a USB drive of media in, I can play it as a read only device

I plug my iPod in, I can play it (with the free download for the codecs)

I'm not bothered about the game saves, if the next revision (slim version rumoured) has e-SATA I'll be very interested as I can see people adding SSDs to increase speed for games installed to the hard drive

Nice feature to have though, the PS3 may have had support for a while but Sony are usually more open with 3rd party kit, which isn't always a great thing but usually is (Logitech wheels for one, I'd love a decent wheel for the 360 that isnt €350 with full manual gearbox and ideally a clutch)

It's two button presses, it's hardly an ordeal.

Compare it to the issues on the other consoles - the wii with its 16-digit nonsensical "friend codes" and the 360 being the loudest and least reliable piece of home electrical equipment ever made, its a minor problem.

I can't understand why it has to be like that at all, that's my point

To be easy it should either show everything or show everything it can play by default. If it doesn't do that then it isn't easy imho. Just an extra step that isn't required.