Sony Addresses Heavy Rain Problems

via Examiner


As we reported earlier in the week, Heavy Rain is having some problems with freezing, locking up, and glitches. In the comments section of that article, you'll find many who experienced some kind of problem. At first, it was thought to be due to the 230MB patch, but it appears that may not be the case after-all. The issue has finally been addressed by a Sony developer on the PlayStation forums. He reassures everyone that this problem is only occurring in a low population of machines, Sony is working on a solution to release to the public so everyone can enjoy the game without a problem.

One thing he does make note of, is do not shutoff the system if the screen goes black. Wait 5 minutes before acting on this black screen and then make a decision from there. It doesn't mean the game crashed.

He posts:

Hi folks, this is just to let you know that the issues reported in this thread and elsewhere are being looked into. We're currently trying to establish any common factors for people who are experiencing game freezing so if you are having trouble please be as thorough as possible with regards to your PS3 setup - are you using a launch version of the console or a brand new slim, playing in standard or high definition (I'm not suggesting that these are potential causes, just making the point)... any information you can give may help to find where the issue lies.

One word of advice we've had already is to avoid switching off your PlayStation while the game is in black screen as this may be affecting your save game. There have been a few reports of incidents where game saves have taken longer than would normally be expected - and with a black screen present it may leave the assumption that the game has crashed. In these circumstances we recommend you wait at least 5 minutes before rebooting - while it's highly unlikely a save will take this long, it's better to be safe than sorry.

While incidents of problems with the game are very low we're working to ensure that everyone gets the Heavy Rain experience they expect. As soon as there is any further information we'll update further.

The same developer then left this response on the forums offering a possible fix. Remove all peripherals from the system. It may not fix the problem, but it's worth giving it a try.

Thanks for the responses so for, I'll pass these on to the right people to help in establishing potential causes for these issues. Obviously I'll keep you up to date with all further information that comes along, and please do continue to post any findings you have and I'll make sure the team are informed.

One other thing to try, that I mention purely because I've seen it happen in another game, is to try removing any peripherals to have assigned to your PS3 - Blu-ray remotes, Buzz! controllers, guitar controllers etc - while it's unlikely that this is the cause I'm keen to rule out the obvious to begin with.

Let us know if you are still experiencing any problems. With Sony now working on a solution, we should see some kind of patch, hopefully, within a week's time. Once an official solution if released, we'll let you know.