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)
Also….. to anyone who thinks that blocking piracy helps YOU as a consumer… please explain how.
It might help make sony or the developer more money… but it doesnt protect you. When someone else plays an illegal game how is that bad for you??????????????????????????????????????????? The only argument people ever have here is that they have to spend money but the illegal guys don’t. Well guess what, it’s exactly the same for you/me if its blocked or not. Games cost the same no matter what.
I don’t intend to play illegal games, but if someone else does I don’t really give a rats a*****. I just want access to the features I paid for when I bought my machine.
@2450
Exactly Moog. That is what I have been saying.
hey guys just wanna be serious here. i have officailly filed a complaint with the ftc and i encourage you all to do the same. be aware this update is not optional. how can it be? to not update is completely restrict any and all internet related activities. while yes the terms of service does state that this is possible with a new firmware update, no where does it state that all updates must be done or you will lose previous functions such as playing online or using netflix. that is what makes this an illegal action. you can’t limit peoples usage of functions that were already paid for because they choose not to update. THIS IS NOT LEGAL. For u guys posting the EULA u should actually try understanding what u read.
Greatfoe, quit trying to sell me stuff or hire me. You’re annalogies are so poor, you probably don’t even realize how dumb you sound.
It is true! They are covering it
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8594720.stm
DAVI – piracy has existed on PC since it’s creation. It has also existed on every system except the ps3. And those systems still have good games. If the PSP has bad games its not because of piracy.
I searched all around to find a fat PS3 for the reason of installing Linux on it. I did this less than one month ago, ended up driving 30 min to a Gamestop to get the last one they had. Now after only owning it for a month this feature is being taken away. I am done with Sony, the only thing good about the PS3 over the Xbox is that it doesn’t break often. I think I might go get and Xbox now cause at least the games are better. You guys over at Sony must of met with the folks at Infinity Ward to come up with ways to really piss off your customer base. I am done with your products.
There is no current way modding or not to run pirated games. /the one responsible for the hack said it could only be used to unlock linux and promised never to make anything that would led to ps3 piracy. Now he has stated that if sony goes tho with this he’ll create cfw. Sony please for the sake of ps3 dont remove linux
robzilla it is simple. If sony and other game developers can make money, they can use that money to make new games and try and make more money. If piracy hurts their ability to make money then they make fewer games and games that are poorly developed.
@Grendolai
So we do not update. It is not mandadtory you say. Then that means they are taking away the internet feature which too was an advertised function which is probably protected by the same TOC that can be disregarded.
Either way you are losing features so there is no way out.
2,445 Comments Me being the 2446 to comment against this.
Whaaaaaaaaaat TF!
So many of your customers disagree with you and this decision. Maybe you should reconsider this. I am a linux user and love this feature. I have to say your internet browser sucks in comparison to firefox on the yellow dog side. Take away is not a good thing. I bought it soley for the option to have a PC in my living room along with the console and blue ray player over the Xbox which more people have because of the low cost of owning it over your system.
@robzilla2000
“When someone else plays an illegal game how is that bad for you??????????????????????????????????????????? ”
Wow, you are a moron. If a company is getting stolen from, they don’t make money. They miss out on income from SALES…which is the point of a company. If they don’t make money, they can’t afford to pay staff to make games, systems and all the updates you all whine about repeatedly. Stealing from a company always effects all share holders in the company.
Bobbake, you mean Activision.
I am a 60 gig owner who had just got done suffering for your incompidence with the leap year error. Now this. You are really starting to piss me the [DELETED] off. I have invested thousands of dollars with your little PSN store for the psp’s I own along with the PS3. This is the pay back I get. [DELETED] YOU SONY! Do this and me and my peers are going to get xbox’s or even a wii-tard. Yeah they may not have all your exclusives, but they have way more games. You are also conisdering, or should I say are preparing to charge us an internet fee like xbox, so why stay loyal to you? You offer no kick backs or free bees for the money invested in you. You are becoming the XBOX. You just want all the money. Money is not everything you a*s holes. Wake the [DELETED] up!
I will sell all my gear, tv’s, md players, dvd players, psps, games, which are all Sorry, I mean Sony and then get all my friends to do the same thing and boycaught your company. With the internet, this will spread like a grass fire in a dry May. So pull your heads out of your ass and start showing some loyalty to your 15 year loyal consumers!
Disgruntled angry consumer,
noktoluno
@ coreyfarks
no you can use the internet through linux which you so badly want.
Robzilla. PC gaming is a joke. They don’t have nearly the diversity and number of big budget games as the consoles do, and Piracy is a major reason for that.
Why is a comment I made about the BBC story “awating moderation”??
Grendolai, so it’s bad for pirates to steal, but it’s OK when Sony does it?
Sorry, but no.
I can’t help but wonder if this is whole decision is exposing an East vs. West culture clash, somewhat. Perhaps this sort of thing (‘Hey everyone, we’re going to gimp your console in a couple days. Bygones!’), in its totalitarian approach, is par for the course for a Japanese company, and we Westerners find it shocking.
Ultimately, SCE missed a great opportunity to engage with its user base. They could have announced, “Hey guys, this Other OS feature looks to raise some potentially serious problems for us down the road. We are thinking about maybe disabling it in a few months or so. What ideas do you all have about the best way to go forward, provide guidance to those who may risk losing data, a satisfying feature we could replace it with, adequate compensation to those with affected units, etc., etc.?”
I think it’s SCE’s current ‘thief-in-the-night’ approach that is responsible for much of the anger.
corey, any comment that has a hyperlink in it is usually moderated, so thats why.
Grendolai, you are dead wrong…. I program software for a living… I know exactly how it works.
You are right if they make no money then yes. But the fact is that not everyone will pirate games. You won’t. I won’t. A lot of people won’t.
In my experience with piracy, most of the people who pirate games are poor kids and college students who couldn’t afford them anyway… so the companies lose a lot less than is reported on paper anyway.
BUT STILL – the point HERE isn’t even piracy since the ps3 HAS NOT BEEN HACKED. the point here is that sony is taking away features which HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH PIRACY YET, and sony is just scared that they MIGHT (A BIG MIGHT).
@Grendolai
?? Internet as in playstation network. The thing you HAVE to update the system to sign into.
You want to retain promised features… Do not update
Now you cannot use the PSN or future releases.
Promised features include PSN and all the support that comes with it.
Thus, to keep one is to lose another. They are taking functions away.
“PC gaming is a joke. They don’t have nearly the diversity and number of big budget games as the consoles do, and Piracy is a major reason for that.”
-> Also this is really not true at all.
It is called greed. When someone steals from you, you take care of it. Not make others suffer for it you jackass know it all commenters.
So someone steals my car right, then I raise tire prices? Are you kidding me? You people are morons. Don’t even comment on Sony’s income. Like you anything about it. You people make me sick. They have lose clauses set up in thier revenue you tards.
wtf? did i understand it?! the new update brings us ONLY DISADVANTAGES?!?!? nice sony, thats the way oO
hey sponge, thats a great idea. Why don’t you submit it to the playstation blog share. I’m sure it will post really fast. :)
@ GreatTeacherDebo But they aren’t removing a feature like “your car doors.”
You can keep Linux if you want. But that means you can’t go online and use the features they give you for free under their “terms and conditions.”
It’s perfectly legal for Sony to do and one that is a step in preventing hackers.
After what has happened with the PSP and all the hacking and piracy going on there, Sony need to make sure that the PS3 is as safe as possible.
If people are able to get a hold of pirated games, then the console is basically screwed as that is the only way Sony make money from it, due to the high cost of building the systems.
It is a necessary step.
@improperlyaged what’s the link of the ftc?
@robzilla2000
“In my experience with piracy, most of the people who pirate games are poor kids and college students”
poor kids with HD TVs and PS3s who can’t afford a game? You’re lying to yourself….and a poor business manager. Every pirated software is a lost sale. If a person can’t steal it they WILL have to buy it if they want to play it.
This may likely be my last post on this subject, as the sheer idiocy of people seems to be growing completely out of hand.
I find it amusing that people seem to forget that the only way GeoHot even gained access and did the stuff he did was BECAUSE of the feature now being removed. Granted, it wasn’t just because of the software he did hardware modifications but still. The majority of what he was doing was all based of him having access to the system via a linux distro, so to claim that removing that feature is not in effect blocking the hole that he got into is wrong.
Needless to say, I hope as I have stated before, all your complaints to the BBB, FTC, and whomever will listen to your rather pathetic nerd raging rants will just completely disappear and all goes unchanged. It will perhaps teach you a lesson, that just because a company does something you don’t agree with, you can’t go and throw a tantrum and try and get your way. Unless of course you are five years old, in which case, you really should not be allowed on the internet to begin with.
@Sponge-worthy
I seriously don’t think that this is a west vs. east thing since the west has Microsoft :P
YOU CANT PIRATE PS3 games even with linux. >_<
You ppl need to learn the facts. The current hack has nothing to do with piracy and can only be preformed if you open up the ps3 and solder and even then it doesnt allow piracy.
That is some serious irony if true, phoenix. I think I am going to make this my last post too. Arguing is fun, but my work isn’t going to do itself.
guys seriously read my previous post number 2478. i explain how even bringing the eula into consideratin this action is still illegal. i’m not using stupid arguments or any thought of fairness or ethics just simple law. there is no imlplication any where that not updating your sytem will hinder its functionality therefore to do so is illegal. i should be able to choose what updates to install. just like with my pc. if i choose not to update my windows microsoft can not decide to limit my pc’s functions. this is illegal. please do not take this lightly. this is obviously illegal.
@ BlackCalamity Yes the current hack doesn’t, but it is a step in that direction and could open up a huge can of worms for the PS3 in the future. So, getting rid of the Other OS is just Sony covering the bases.
Grendolai – You are dead wrong.
2492 Sponge-worthy
my thoughts exactly, a little consultation goes a long way towards promoting good relations. Also they could say, here is an optional update to protect your PS3, if you don’t use it and get hacked, you get no support from Sony.
i dont know the link to the ftc just google it like i did. i think its ftc.gov though. just click on the box labeled complaint and its like a 6 step process. it only takes about 8 minutes.
I called the number, and asked about this. As far as they know, it is NOT an April Fools Joke.
It sounded like they were reading off a form letter, and they basically said they are “disabling the feature for security reasons, to protect their intellectual properties and content offered on the PS3”.
I wonder if this has to do with recent reports that the PS3 Hypervisor was hacked:
http://rdist.root.org/2010/01/27/how-the-ps3-hypervisor-was-hacked/
more than 2500 and no official response, guys Sony doesn’t care about this, not even the blog admin is reading this.
So prepare for the update in 2 days :/
The good new is maybe we earn a Guiness record for the longest comment chain ever
I just posted the link, though I do not know if it actually shows up so lets try this
ftccomplaintassistant
now add this before —> www.
and this after —> .gov
Hey ppl just to let ya know the very complicated ps3 hack that only .5 percent of ppl could do DOESNT ALLOW PIRACY. It only makes linux run better.
If the Other OS feature will be disabled, the PS3 will be my last Sony product forever.
And to all other who don’t understand: DivX and MP3 will be the next!
Part of the money we paid participate in the ROI related to the implementation of the OtherOS function. Which means, we actually paid for the OtherOS function. They remove it, they give us money.
I’m not a lawer but we paid for a set of functionalities when we bought the PS3. Can they really downgrade something we paid for without facing any legal issues ?
On an ethical point of view, how can they possibly blackmail all of us with something like : nobody forces you to upgrade… but you won’t be able to use our online services if you don’t (so you get your PS3 nerfed bad and part of the games you bought are rendered half useless).
No matter what we do, that’s a downgrade for us. and Sony should really be ashamed. A lot of people will get pissed, and the proportion of white hats / black hats that where hacking on the PS3 will most likely change. Some white hats may quit, some will move to the “dark side”. Of course some black hats will also quit (too hard), but the remaining ones will definitely be hardcore, which is imho more dangerous for Sony that it was before…
Anyways, this firmare update sucks hard, provided it’s not a bad april fool’s joke…
Also to all the other idiots out there:
Yeah, anyone who actually knows anything knows geohot “hacked” the ps3 from linux. But we also know he didn’t succeed in actually hacking anything. You can’t pirate anything.
Also, As I already said the fact he hacked it from linux is pure chance. This is where he found the ‘hole’ if you want to call it that.. since it achieved nothing.
On the xbox 360 the hole was in the drive firmware…
On the wii a hole was found in the system menu and the twilight princess game…..
A hole could just as likely be found in ANY playstation game or movie. Blocking otheros does not STOP hacking. It *might* delay it….. but its blocking a lot more than it is achieving. Did Microsoft block people with old xbox from doing things? No… they just detect the people with pirate games and block them from going online. THIS is the correct solution. Or even when you detect a copies game block their system… WHATEVER… you don’t have to remove a whole otheros feature.
@2504 Odrec:
Hehe. One could argue M$ has the opposite problem. They refuse to remove IE from Windows, despite all the holes in that awful piece of technology.
For the third time, Sony tech (call them) assures that Other OS will be removed.
Really, who actually read the post and thought it was a joke?
Crippling “Other OS” with hypervisor and limiting power of MY hardware is bad. Removing an advertised feature is very bad. You are afraid of hackers. This step will make them work better and faster. I`ll not update – I`ll wait for custom firmware without any restrictions and I`ll play with all of MY Cell SPUs.
@robzilla2000
No I do not think anybody has even attempted to understand that “hack”. People do not even understand that they are being swindled, that is why they do not care about this.
All geohat did was obatain access to the the entire PS3 memory, as opposed to what was allowed for the otheros function. Now he has more power with linux.
From BBB…just in case anyone wonders why people think that this is illegal, regardless of whether or not you use the Other OS function.
General consumer complaints: (other than Lemon Law/Auto Warranty) which includes, among others, misleading advertising, improper selling practices, and non-delivery of goods or services, complaints about nonprofit/charitable organizations, or the misuse of personal information.
Misleading advertising…check.
Improper selling practices…quite possibly, considering that for the past month anyone who bought a PS3 knowing that Linux was an option was lied to about what they were getting
Non-delivery of goods or services….check
So basically, things like this are what BBB is specifically designed for.