The next system software update for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) system will be released on April 1, 2010 (JST), and will disable the “Install Other OS” feature that was available on the PS3 systems prior to the current slimmer models, launched in September 2009. This feature enabled users to install an operating system, but due to security concerns, Sony Computer Entertainment will remove the functionality through the 3.21 system software update.
In addition, disabling the “Other OS” feature will help ensure that PS3 owners will continue to have access to the broad range of gaming and entertainment content from SCE and its content partners on a more secure system.
Consumers and organizations that currently use the “Other OS” feature can choose not to upgrade their PS3 systems, although the following features will no longer be available;
- Ability to sign in to PlayStation Network and use network features that require signing in to PlayStation Network, such as online features of PS3 games and chat
- Playback of PS3 software titles or Blu-ray Disc videos that require PS3 system software version 3.21 or later
- Playback of copyright-protected videos that are stored on a media server (when DTCP-IP is enabled under Settings)
- Use of new features and improvements that are available on PS3 system software 3.21 or later
For those PS3 users who are currently using the “Other OS” feature but choose to install the system software update, to avoid data loss they first need to back-up any data stored within the hard drive partition used by the “Other OS,” as they will not be able to access that data following the update.
Additional information about PS3 firmware updates, including v3.21 (once it becomes available), can be found here:
http://us.playstation.com/support/systemupdates/ps3/index.htm
PS3 owners who have further questions should contact Consumer Services:
http://us.playstation.com/support/ask/
800-345-7669 (800-345-SONY)
No one has answered the question what does Sony have to gain from this?
Hooray! Now Sony is cutting those cheater from the PSN for a long time. Just to read that all the PS3 whit an OS system wont be able to log on or play on-line is some re-leaf, but I feel sorry for all those “not cheating” who where happy whit Linux on it. At lease I might not have to deal whit aim-bot for a bit.
When I first heard about this I was pissed! But then I realized I don’t really use Linux on my PS3 all that often, although I do have it on there. But eventually I got over it, but now I’m scared to even try updating because I hear a lot of people are getting their PS3s bricked or the update stopping early. How many people have had that happen?
http://www.playstation.com/ps3-openplatform/index.html
Sony’s site promoting the Open Platform is missing the clarification of unable to use other features like PSN & Blu-ray. It turns out to be a heck of a DVD player too.
only sony would know that
@K4RK5_K
Now, SONY is truely doing things that can be ported to court !
Are they silly at SONY ?
what does Sony have to gain from this?
They had to gain precedence against laws. If people don’t cry at what they do, they sure can do what they want after that !
@ Lemmy_TwoPutt
Why didn’t you argue on that :
“Geo is the perfect excuse for SONY to stop OtherOS on FAT PS3.
Open your eyes, they had removed this functionnality on the Slim before Geo talk of his hack. Don’t lie, if it took 4 month to SONY to make a downgrade to remove OtherOS on FAT, they had done some R&D for the slim before it comes to the market.”
Instead of telling me ‘piracy’ and ‘terrorism’ stories …
I’m about to update the firmware on my PS3. I wanted to add my list of names to those here who are unhappy. I bought a “phat” after the release of the slim; the MAIN reason I made this choice was for the Linux capability. Removing a core feature years into a product cycle by releasing a new SKU is one thing; removing it by force via a firmware update is another. Again, I am very disappointed in this decision.
did yall read what geohot said about this, if not here it is, he said that if this is how sony wants to play then this is how is gona be, he is already working on a custom firmware that will enable you to have firmware 3.21 and still have other os support, now take that sony, your system is hack face it is all over for the so called unhack system, from now on whatever sony takes away there will be a custom firmware to enable it, just like it happend with the psp, i know the moderators are here reading all this and willl make nots about it and of course let sony know but like i said its to late, you lost the battle!!!!!
Ah Sony, you just stole from MILLIONS of your customers to stop a FEW of them POTENTIALLY stealing from you in the future… If you guys are too good to respond in the posts announcing that you are thieves then well, Ill start bringing the conversation into other postings. Sound good? Ok thanks guys, not letting this one go without making other people aware what kind of company Sony is apparently.
1) If Sony is offering a free service with the terms saying that you must comply with firmware requirements to access this service, and you do not upgrade, they _CAN_ _LEGALLY_ block your access.
2) I’m pretty sure Sony checked with their legal team before doing this, people. But you’re college level “survey of the legal system” makes you more qualified to say it’s illegal. Right.
3)If the iTunes store had in it’s terms saying that “you must use the most recent version of iTunes in order to access the store”, and you didn’t update, then they can also _LEGALLY_ block your access from the outdated program. They do not. PS3 OS / PSN does.
Looks like tazinlwfl is stepping up to the Sony shill plate–with the same talking points, of course.
Itunes didn’t remove the availability to dual boot your PC if you have not the more recent version.
SONY block PSN access if firmware is not up to date. Why not !
Did they specify anywhere they block games you own on BD ?
Did they specify they block games you buy on PSN ?
Not shure you’re better at law than all of us !!!
What is good, we will have all PSN account of SONY best supporters.
So we directly know which ones we don’t want to play !
when is the store going to be updated?
Still being modded. . .
Effing BS
@tazinlwfl
So, I will tell you another time, because I didn’t see you before :
In my country, there is a law who said :
If the vendor of a product modifies product capabilities, the sold is unvaluable, and the customer is in his right to ask for full refund of the product. No limit on the age of the product. The only limit existing is that the customer who have been stolen by the vendor has 2 years since the time the product came different from the vendor’s capabilities description à buy time.
This said, I bought my PS3 as advertised by SONY, with capabilities of beeing a gaming station AND a computer.
Today, my PS3 is not capable of thoses two things. I sure will ask for refund.
The reports of failed upgrades is starting to trickle in. People are losing Blu-ray functionality, intermitent picture and sound issues, and some folks are getting close to a reboot after the update, only to go back down to a blinking red power light. LOL
Not updating. Sony = Full Fail
Sony left you the choice :
Not update and not play with your product.
Update and not play with your product.
Bad bad move sony !
im kinda happy. no more aimbot for mw2 and bad company 2.
wait a minute this was real!?!!? I thought it was a joke. I mean obviously this is a terrible idea who would think to put this out on April Fools Day? This couldn’t have waited for one more week?
I was looking forward to installing Linux when I could afford to buy a bigger harddrive. Now I’m not even sure why I have this phat PS3. That was a big feature for why I had no intention of getting a slim.
This is just a bad idea, bad PR (April 1!?!?), and bad all around. The real problem is they put themselves in a Nintendo-like blinder situation. Which is to say just because I update (because there really is no other option it’s effectively broken at this point otherwise) doesn’t mean I approve or am happy. This is like Backwards compatibility all over again, or the Wii (just because I bought it, and play it doesn’t mean that anything less than 2GB of space is acceptable)
@zepala
That may be true, but it’s not illegal. You have the right to exchange it, but if I find no value in the feature and they remove it, then why would I return it?
If a piece of software (in this case a game) requires a specific version of the operating system or higher (regardless of the reason) and you do not have that version, I’m sorry but you cannot use that software. Same applies to BD Movies.
If access to a service requires a specific version of the operating system used to access it or higher (regardless of the reason) and you do not have that version, I’m sorry but you cannot use that service.
I’m not defending Sony’s reason (I don’t know their true reason) – I’m attempting to explain the legal side. If you want to flame me because I don’t agree with your opinion, then feel free to sink that low. If you are in any way mature enough to understand what I’m saying, then congratulations – you are one of the few on this thread.
Uhm, this won’t affect any hacks that are in the wild already.
That’s what makes this downgrade so insane, it does NOTHING except satisfy Sony’s fear about “someone, somewhere, someday, might possibly do something we don’t like!”
A few quotes with the Sony rep I spoke with on the phone today when I couldn’t login to PSN without doing the update.
“my hand to God we will not issue you a refund”
“you will need 2.3.1 or higher firmware to play any new games or new Blu-ray movies”
When I questioned her about games that need constant DRM internet connectivity she had NO idea what I was talking about. Even after I explained it to her she didn’t believe me there were offline games that needed a constant internet connection. sigh….
So the main reason they are alienating customers and doing this is to protect against piracy…. Why do they allow dvdr/avi/divx/xvid?
Errrrr 3.21 not 2.3.1 oops
Don’t interpret laws.
I bought my PS3 which was a gaming station AND a personal computer.
Today, it can be one, the other, but not twice.
I can (and have done) ask for full refund of the product, as it is not the product the vendor sold me. PERIOD.
They listed the “service” as a feature on the box. The words on the box help you decide to buy or not. In the U.S. you can’t SAY you are selling somebody something, then ACTUALLY sell them something else.
@tazinlwfl:
After, yes. If having only a gaming station is sufficent to you even if you paid for the computer part too, I see no reason (except show SONY they can’t do what they want with customers and laws) to change your PS3.
I will COST them a dime. LOL
And YOU are still at it too….AHAHAHAHAHAHA
@zepala
No, see, that’s where you are wrong.
You CAN still play games and watch movies. I played Battlefield Bad Company 2 this evening (before the update) and watched a movie I got from Netflix (blu-ray).
At the same time, if I had linux installed, I could still boot into linux and use it.
What your problem is you are now at the end of that firmware’s life cycle, and you will not be able to use specific services (PSN) or use new software (ex. games that require it).
If you want to use new stuff, you need the new firmware.
If you want to use their (free) service, you need the new firmware.
If you don’t mind sticking with older games and movies (or new ones that don’t require the update), then keep your linux and don’t upgrade.
Deal.
@shaolinpunks :
The only reason they try to alienate customers, is to put them in the ‘PSP Go’ move, where you can’t buy your game on physical support (Which means, you can’t sell used games). All benefits are here.
I’ve read a long time that SONY was angry about thoses shops who sell used games. I can understand why : One used game is played by 3/4 guys. This is 2/3 games SONY don’t sell.
And you purchase a device with ACCESS to the PSN, not the PSN itself. Whether its on the box or not. They spend time combing through possible loop holes to make sure people don’t sue them. This isn’t the first time this has happened, and I’m sure if they got into any trouble before, they have learned to word their Terms of Service a little more carefully.
ToS has never saved a company in court.
Not once has a judge said, “Whoa whoa whoa….it says right here in this thing you read AFTER you bought the products that….”
Ah Sony, you just stole from MILLIONS of your customers to stop a FEW of them POTENTIALLY stealing from you in the future… If you guys are too good to respond in the posts announcing that you are thieves then well, Ill start bringing the conversation into other postings. Sound good? Ok thanks guys, not letting this one go without making other people aware what kind of company Sony is apparently.
See what happens when you have people outraged, and noone can even comment on, or read our frustration.
See what happens when a big bad corporate entity decides to make a proposal to its customers. Did you want me to shoot you in the arm or in the leg? Some people here can’t feel or use their arm so they don’t care, none the less, its not a good idea.
Gotta read the fine print with Sony.
*Sony is not thieves, no really we aren’t, we had a lawyer write up this thingy that says we can do what we want see?*
You broke my heart Sony, and now I’m going to spread the word on what kind of company you really are.
Look at EA. Who has been sued more than them? They still lost the class action over Spore. Which is weird, because they had a ToS and EULA…. AHAHAHAHAHA noobs.
People bought a PS3 to play games and maybe to watch blu ray movies. Not a single person bought it for any other reason. If you say you did, you are a liar. End of story.
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LMAO, the tool is back. You do know that with this update Sony even screwed legitimate companies?
uk. gamespot. com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=25786749
You must live in a very small bubble
ToS for the PSN is available before you use it.
It is available to you for each update (before you initiate the update).
@tazinlwfl
But I can’t play games prior to this update.
Ex : Can’t play MAG (It isn’t written on MAG’s box I need a certain firmware. It’s only written I need network). But now I will understant Network says ‘PSN Access with a certain firmware’.
OtherOS was probably a more useful feature for Sony to include in the beginning of PS3 lifecycle before people were familiar with programming for the system. Now that there is a more established understanding of the hardware the feature might be more detrimental than beneficial, from their standpoint.
Don’t fool yourselves folks. It’s called “Playstation” not “personal computer” and gaming is its intent, heart and soul.
Computers are relatively cheap, btw. Buy a cheap computer and install Linyx or whatever OtherOS strikes your fancy.
In the end, consoles have a lifecycle (as does most rapidly changing tech devices) so every feature has an implicit “limited time only” attached.
Otherwise, great ongoing discussion.
Name one. Show one case where a single court has ruled ToS as being a generally enforcable agreement between parties. I will wait while you google battle me. **still waiting**
@ manin thats a link to a UK site, Europe is pointless and nobody cares about them.
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Like I said you live in a very small buibble.
The enforceability of an EULA depends on several factors, one of them being the court in which the case is heard. Some courts that have addressed the validity of the shrinkwrap license agreements have found some EULAs to be invalid, characterizing them as contracts of adhesion, unconscionable, and/or unacceptable pursuant to the U.C.C., for instance, Step-Saver Data Systems, Inc. v. Wyse Technology (939 F.2d 91), Vault Corp. v. Quaid Software Ltd. (at harvard.edu) and Rich, Mass Market Software and the Shrinkwrap License (23 Colo. Law 1321.17).
Sony, what’s next ?
Remove blu-ray playing ?
Remove online gaming ?
No Court has ruled on the validity of EULAs generally; decisions are limited to particular provisions and terms.
The 7th Circuit and 8th Circuit subscribe to the “licensed and not sold” argument, while most other circuits do not[citation needed]. In addition, the contracts’ enforceability depends on whether the state has passed the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) or Anti-UCITA (UCITA Bomb Shelter) laws. In Anti-UCITA states, the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) has been amended to either specifically define software as a good (thus making it fall under the UCC), or to disallow contracts which specify that the terms of contract are subject to the laws of a state that has passed UCITA.
Figured I’d at least post this somewhere, since Sony made a pathetic move today (April Fools, yeah right) that affects a large number of PS3 owners; the removal of OtherOS. The 3.21 update apparently does nothing but remove a feature for “security concerns.” I didn’t even want to install it on my PS3 Slim, so I went and adjusted my server to bypass the update for myself and others.
Basically, this will allow you to use the PSN and play your games online while still having an older PS3 firmware version installed, such as 3.15.
If, eventually, a disc game comes out that requires 3.21, you will be forced to upgrade to play that game; there’s nothing you can do about that yet. But in the meantime…
You can go to customize your network settings from XMB, and get to the part about DNS nameservers. Select custom, and enter the following IP as your Primary DNS:
67.202.81.137
And there you go, PSN works.
And in my state you can’t even IMPLY that a product does something unless it does, or you are responsible for making the first party whole. :)
reply to 5246 amdusias440
actually they sell you a ps3 with all the features working.
the problem is you turned on the hardware and accept their EULA.
Without limitation, services may include the provision of the latest update or download of new release that may include security patches, new technology or revised settings and features which may prevent access to unauthorized or pirated content, or use of unauthorized hardware or software in connection with the PS3™ system.
SCE may take all actions to protect its interests, including denial of any services such as warranty services and repair services provided for your PS3™ system and termination of your access to PlayStation®Network, implementation of upgrades or devices intended to discontinue unauthorized use, or reliance on any other remedial efforts as reasonably necessary to prevent the use of a modified PS3™ system, or any pirated material or equipment
—–SCE, at its sole discretion, may modify the terms of this Agreement at any time, including any terms in the PS3™ system documentation or manual——-
stop whining.. they did this update because they feel that they want to protect their consumer not pissed them off.
LOL You crack me up tubby.