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)
Fail.
@1021
not exactly,
the firmware just needs to check the hardware version and remove only if on the older hardware.
I hope Mr. Seybold got approval before posting this joke.
And if it is not a joke, I just pulled my receipt for my PS3 and my DVD copy of Yellow Dog Linux.
I’ll need them after I see how my FTC grievance claim pans out.
This is a bunch of bull, why remove features that makes the Playstation diffrent from the X-Box, one things for sure, you sony are now inviting hackers to spend more time focusing on the PS3 than on the Xbox…
This is a ridiculous update. Why is Sony so worried about taking away features, and not adding them. That is why I bought a PS3, becuase is has so many features. I also have the new PS3 and no the old model.
To all those who are saying its an April Fools joke… I hope to god that you are right.
To all the others, FW 3.2 was supposted to be the next update, and it was supposted to add 3D support. 3.21 would be a added step if they actually will remove Linux.
If it is an “shigatsu baka”/april fool’s, it is being carried out on a global scale.
http://www.jp.playstation.com/info/support/sp_20100329_ps3.html
https://blog.playstation.com/2010/03/28/ps3-firmware-v3-21-update
https://blog.eu.playstation.com/2010/03/29/ps3-firmware-3-21-coming-april-1st/
Just when Sony’s star is starting to rise again, they remind everyone that they were the company that put rootkits on their music cds to compromise computers in the name of “security.”
I guess their memories about the last class action lawsuit were getting too dim.
OK after reading 1,020 comments about how much people hate this new update, it is obvious that no one wants it. so my hat is off to you Sony you really know how to piss of customers. like most of the people before me, i don’t use this feature but i can’t for the life of me figure out why Sony thinks the customers will take this sitting down. thanks a lot Guys.
It’d be great if Kevin Butler posted something funny about this.
If this ‘security’ thing is based on piracy it is fruitless. Sony is fighting a war that’ll never be won, and the only people to lose out are the legit customers.
Well done for cutting off a whole community. I’m sure you’ll win back all those ‘lost sales’ now (if this is what it’s about).
It is not an April Fool’s joke:
1. Who announces an April Fool’s joke almost a week in advance?
2. It’s not funny.
epic win
april fools joke?
I was an early adopter, and removing my other OS from my machine is reprehensible. At minimum, Sony should at least allow us to make the decision to have a (perhaps potentially) less secure system by prompting us with the upgrade. Whatever happened to being open? With every “upgrade” the PS3 becomes less a multimedia computer and more an ordinary game console.
time to get an xbox!!! joking… or am i?
it only does EVERYTHING!
I made the decision to buy my $600 60G fat based on the features that I could both run Linux on it AND play games online with it. If Sony decides to make me choose between one or the other features that I already paid for then I am entitled to compensation for my loss, and any court in the land would agree.
If they are taking this feature away, I would like a full refund ($600) plus reimbursement for the games I purchased from PSN that I can’t resell (approx $125). I’ll sell the disc based games and my accessories myself.
I’m serious here, I would have not pulled the trigger on buying the PS3 for that price had it not had the ability to run Linux on it.
its not funny cz ur the one being screwed, the screwer laughs not the screwed lol
Love it how people are whining and complaining about this as if they actually used the function. LMAO
For people that actually use it for what it was designed for, they will continue to use it. Only the ones who never used it and don’t even know what it does are upset, oh the “I’m entitled to it” attitude of this generation. LOL
This is a feature that I specifically paid for when purchasing a PS3, and it has served me well in situations when my laptop has been down for repairs. I don’t buy the argument that it is a security risk either. Since linux is being virtualized on the PS3, how is it exactly impacting the main OS? The two hard drive partitions have absolutely no access to each other. Furthermore, the Playstation 2 continues to have optional linux support. So what is the real reason for the removal of this feature? I think the reason is simple: there is no way for Sony to profit from this feature or to monetize it in any way, so they are removing it. The idea that the PS3 only does “everything” could also begin a downhill spiral after updates like this begin to come out. Listen up Sony, if your company is that hell bent on removing the feature, then take it out of systems that have had not history of using it and keep it for users who have existing installations. This solution should allow people to install a secondary operating system before doing the system update if they choose, and will stop more linux fans from berating your customer service. Thank you.
this is terrible
why cant we get an update to fix the web browser or something along those lines.i have a backwards compatible “fat” ps3 and one the reasons why i shelled out $500 bucks was because of the other os feature.i run linux on my ps3 without one problem.i guess you are gonna make it mandatory like the other terrible firmware updates.
So, I installed the “Other OS” on a whim… played around with it for a little while… then never returned.
After the update, I won’t have access to that 10 GB of data… which is no big deal… but will I have access to that 10 GB of storage? In other words, will I now GAIN an extra 10 GB of storage for the normal PS3 console side of things… or is that 10 GB gone for good, unless I do a complete reformat and repartition?
I purchased a 60GB PS3 to get certain features such as HW backwards compatibility, card readers, 4 USB, and the option to install a Linux operating system. This is a feature that I would very much like to have the option of taking advantage of and am disappointed to see that Sony is disabling it.
If this is a feature that Sony wishes to remove on newer models, that’s fine with me as long as it’s removed from the spec PRIOR to the customer purchasing the unit.
It’s like buying a car with cruise control and then having it taken away a year after you’ve bought the car… How will I be compensated for this?
i love how Sony reply to posts that get positive feed back but when they post stuff that gets really bad feed back they never reply and notice that the negative ones are always firmware cause they never release anything good
Well the more things that aren’t really considered very useful in the XMB, helps free memory for other features were looking for like cross chat and in-xmb music in all games. Yeah, it sux they’re using the exscuse for stoppin hackers….
Ok, so you’re removing core functionality that I paid for. Where’s our refund?
This is completely unacceptable and I expect there will be legal battles ahead as a result…
are you guys seriously complaining about a feature being taken away that im sure 97% of you are not using? seriously guys, im glad they are taking this feature away cuz it will help from getting the ps3 hacked or hacked that easily (although it was obviously hard with or without). i swear some people in this world are so clueless and brain dead, you guys obviously smoked too much dope to be complaining over the stupidest stuff that is actually going to help and think some things are just great idea’s, when in reality… they suck or just keep telling sony to add certain features when those certain features has been added MONTHS ago if not over a year….
either find a new brain or stop smoking w/e you been smoking cuz a lot of you have totally lost too much brain cells.
Another thing that amuses me is all the people who claim they are going to buy an Xbox 360 over this. You can’t install Linux there either. Although it could be that those people were just hoping to be able to pirate games on the PS3, and now that Sony is closing that hole they are flocking to the console that runs rampant with piracy.
@1045
yeah you would have to do a reformat to get those 10GB back, as will I…. that sucks, I have a lot of stuff on my HD, takes hours to do a backup… if this is true I think I’ll just ignore those 10GB, I have a 320 GB hd on my ps3 anyway.
I’m a loyal Sony fan (PS1, PS2, PSP, PS3) and an early PS3 adopter and am very disappointed by Sony’s decision. I also have a few friends that I know for a fact will be greatly affected by this decision since they used Linux on their PS3s FOR LEGIT PURPOSES on a daily basis.
If you’re going to do this, you damn well better improve your built-in apps like the crappy web browser.
WHOA! OVER 1,000 HITS!!! Awesome!
simple, everyone sue sony… wether you use it or not lol
@1036
No, it’s not an April fool’s joke, despite the timing. April fool’s jokes are always released on the day of, anyway.
The twitter accounts of several game developers have stated that they’ve contacted sony and been told that this is for real.
It’s on April 1st, b/c that’s the last day of the work week (Good Friday).
And it’s being announced beforehand presumably to shield them from loss of data lawsuits.
@1011
1) A guy in Oklahoma City once figured out that fertilizer and gasoline make a pretty good explosive. Was that progress?
2) PC game sales were plummeting way before 2008, mostly because people “figured out” how to play games without paying for them.
3) So it’s not justifiable to remove a feature after you’ve learned it has the potential to do grievous damage to your console and your brand name? Especially a feature that, let’s be honest, only 0.5% percent probably use. Doing nothing would be more anti-consumer, in my opinion.
1050 inform yourself and don’t be ridiculus…
By the way Sony, this is one hell of a B-day present you gave me.
Whatever happened to the damn G.A.P. and PS Underground??
I’m in both, and havent seen anything for years. Maybe throwing out a 10% off game coupon for B-Days and such might spur some Software sales.
Oh wait, were those another fruitless Marketing claim too?
Just like Other OS?
Hopefully the FTC will be calling in the next week or so.
Ill watch the crap unfold on my iPad.
ignore them sony, they are ignorant and obviously don’t see the big picture why you are doing this…
this is a joke right? So all those people who have linux installed will just have to do without it, or loose the ability to login on PSN? What about the army and academics who use PS3’s as servers? Real stupid if you ask me…
@1043
A kid ran unauthorized ps3 code using the otherOS function, bypassing the underlying security system that prevents ydl from accessing the RSX.
He is the same one that jailbroke the iphone. Sony is protecting their investment by protecting their publishers. (If the publishers leave, then we lose out).
I’m just hoping this gets mitigated before it becomes a firmware war like on the psp.
@1059,
they are not doing the GAP or Playstation Underground programs anymore. they got other means to accomplish what they need now
Just Because one person got too close for Sony’s comfort they are gonna punish everybody, legit users and hackers alike. Whats next B/C removal, Paying for PSN. Don’t Punish the users sue the crap out of this geohot guy.
well according to someone who i know works there it is real…unless he is in the joke as well
I paid 600 EUROs for this Console, because of Backwardcompatibility, Blue-Ray, Music, Photos, Videos, Games and OtherOS. And if something of that will be removed with a stupid Firmwareupdate, than Sony have stolen my well-deserved money and tells me a whole bunch of lies…
ARE WE STUPID? IF WE BUY A SYSTEM. THAN THIS HAS A REASON, WHY WE BUY! We want the Features, that the PS3 gives us. And not to get stolen away some years later!
I’m using Linux as OtherOS. It makes a lot of fun and was the first step to me to join Linux easily… and now You (Sony) take this possibility away frum US? From US… the worldwide costumers, that paid a bunch of Money for all these nice functions.
If it’s true, that this is NOT a April fools joke… than I wont update my good old 60 Gig PS3 and play with it so lang, until the first new games want FW 3.21. If this happens. I’ll turn my PS3 off. Put it away in the basement and play with it NEVER AGAIN!
. . . Anyway… My Xbox360 was all the months unused, because of the epicness of my ps3 (God of War, Uncharted, Shooter, Yey Cam etc.)… but now… a new light illuminates for the Xbox 360… maybe I should… turn it on…
v3.21 Downgrade… I hope sony never to disable my beloved backwards…
This is a bunch of bull that Sony just keeps ling & making false promises to us gamers worldwide.We deserve better then this & Sony dose not seem to care about what we want & don’t want & only what they feel like adding when they feel like it & that’s pretty flat out selfish of Sony.
@1050
“are you guys seriously complaining about a feature being taken away that im sure 97% of you are not using?”
Almost everyone uses the Playstation Network… you don’t see it as a problem that this is being disabled for people?
I am *not* “upgrading” the firmware to lose linux… therefore Sony *is* eliminating my ability to use the Playstation Network.
If you look at the UK PS Blog it clearly states that this IS NOT A JOKE
1060 the only ignorant here is you. Keep believing everything they say, before you know you would not be able even to play videogames in your console.
For those users affected by this change:
– File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. They already have SCEA’s information in their database, which you can then copy over when you…
– File complaint with the FTC.
– Consider contacting Seeger Weiss LLP. A while back I spoke to a very nice associate there who was investigating YLoD cases. They might be interested in this as well.
http://www.lawyerseek.com/Practice/Consumer-Protection-C21/Playstation-3-Yellow-Light-of-Death-P212/
If you will be affected by this move–Sony’s post-contractual modification of bargained-for features in your console–you need to assert your rights. Good luck!