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)
I can post here if I want to, none of you are the boss of me.
If anyone bought any kind of Linux and now won’t be able to use it..that is their own risk. It was never stated that you HAD to purchase it.
Also lulz@ people who think they deserve money back for this. This features value is like .50 cents. If that. You guys just want a superior Slim PS3 to replace your crappy 40 and 60 gig PoS models.
Thanks for taking away my freedom of choice. I enjoyed playing MAME on the Linux 6.1 I installed but I guess since you can’t profit from those games I’m not allowed to play them unless of course I want to buy another console which I’m sure you wouldn’t mind. There’s what being loyal to Sony gets you, I just might buy an Xbox 360.
New PSP games only run if you use a certain firmware. So if you have custom firmware…then games that come out after a certain point will require you to update. That is why people are so butthurt. Keep your linux and just dont play new games, simple solution.
I bought the PS3 for both purposes: Gaming and Linux access.
It was a bona-fide feature that tipped the scale towards buying the PS3.
Now you are telling me that I have to loose either one side of the functionality or the other without providing specific information?
You are either testing the waters to see how many fools fall for this hoax or, if not a hoax you are testing the waters to see how far the users will go to sue you.
Playing on a MAME emulator with MAME roms is ILLEGAL. Unless you own the games you are playing. Grats on admitting you participate in piracy. People like you are the reason they are removing it.
@2571
Your opinion had no valuable information in it. It did not offer any insight. You know why, because you felt it was necessary to exprss your opinion to make yourself feel better. No one cares that you are unaffected.
Need security much?
Bait and Switch to the max.
I am so pissed off.
This is my primary and only PC, to have other OS taken away is to steal my computer.
This WAS a selling point for me.
This WAS a MAJOR factor in me purchasing a PS3 for $650 after tax.
If it really goes through, I will consult a lawyer because this is simply pathetic. I feel like I’m being robbed by a company I backed to the fullest.
At this point, I’m out of this forum because it’s quite clear that the trolls have arrived in force. It IS illegal, people have absolutely bought the PS3 for the functionality, and just because you didn’t know what you were buying doesn’t mean that others ignored it, too. I’m sure your car has a feature that you never use either, but that doest not give us the right to go and steal it from you.
Good luck to all those against this announcement. Follow up with the appropriate agencies and put the pressure on. FTC, BBB, whoever.
LOL @ people suing over video games. I hope you get laughed out of court and get nothing but insanely high court fees and lawyer costs.
“I can post here if I want to, none of you are the boss of me. ”
ROTFL. I feel like I’m in elementary school again. I don’t have a “superior ps3slim” so what upgrades does it have?
The short of it is, this is a class action lawsuit waiting to happen. Removing a very big feature from an existing product after the customer has bought it is a dangerous thing to do. This firmware feature removing business has happened before (example: Creative Zen and it’s FM recording feature about 4 years ago – http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2006/10/8006.ars) and it resulted in lawsuits and manufacturers backpedaling on their decisions.
I can understand why Sony is doing this, but at the same time, this is a feature that people paid for and that a fair amount of people actually use. Removing it is very much like bait and switch, especially since it was an advertised feature. There WILL be legal fallout because of this business decision.
Will Sony backpedal? Doubtful.
OK, so you’re disabling the other os function and the data won’t be accessible anymore. What happens to that 20gb of space? Does it just magically go away? So not only do I no longer have access to the data, it’s not recovered in any way so there’s 20gb of wasted space on my drive?
And yes I did occasionally use it as a stand in computer when my main computer wasn’t working. Wasn’t the zippiest but it got the job done. It’s sad that Sony is punishing legit users when hackers will find a way around it.
And somebody shut Aspen up, he’s making everyone dumber.
Almost 3000 posts and not one reply from Sony. Scary little guppies I tell you!!!
Is just me or there’s a lot of trolls and suckpuppets here?
@AspectOfLight
LOL @ you not understanding that some people aren’t so spineless as to let people damage their 600$ electronics just because they feel like it. Go ahead and drink the kool-aid, and feel free to continue making yourself look stupid with wrong information and poorly thought out opinions
I just had a thought, are you a bot? Because I have a hard time believing an actual person could express such failure for logic and debate – you sound like you are just copying/pasting arguments from some other discussion without understanding the issue.. if so, you got me, very funny :)
I want my money now !
Do not understand how we may sell a console with a variety of features and lately they keep lowering their initial characteristics, the next thing will be, take away the backward compatibility with the PS2.
SONY In this case is not serious, if they detect a bug, since repair and we do not take away what we paid.
who the f said a slim is superior??? lol please. i can do anything u can do on a slim and play my entire library of ps2 and psone games on the same system. superior i think not.
This is actually good. I am willing to bet most of you are 14 and 15 year old kids that do not know how legal systems work so you just throw around terms like “THIS IS ILLEGAL OMGZ, I CANT ILLEGALLY PLAY MY MODERN WARFARES 2 NO MORES! i am going to sue the pants off of sony”.
The good part is, maybe 10 or 11 of you will actually try to sue. You’ll pay court fee’s, pay lawyer fees and get nothing out of it. Good day to be the court system or a laywer I guess.
Honestly, nobody is truly hurt over this. You are just complaining to complain. If the PS3 had a feature to make loud noises and catch on fire at the press of a button and Sony announced they were removing that feature…you would all complain that it wasn’t fair, you used that feature when you were out of matches.
SONY, this is how you treat (young) developers and IT students? I’ve lost interest on all new products of your brand, consoles, audio, video, anything.
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Playstation 3 isn’t a $600 system anymore. It is $250 if you have an ever model, maybe 200 if you have a older one. Thats like me saying “Oh my Playstation 2 broke, there goes a $200 system down the drain”.
Just because you paid something for it, that doesn’t mean it retains that value forever. I can’t believe some of you actually were dumb enough to pay that much for it to begin with.
and yes certain firmware updates for the psp are necessary to play ceratin games. however if u choose not to update ur psp it does not stop u from using the internet or updating software for older games or using the system’s internet connectivity in anyway. it only prevents you form playing a single game it does not cripple ur system’s entire web functionality. again aspect u fail.
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So what happens if we choose not to update and then have a hardware problem and send the console in to Sony to repair? If Sony decides to send out a different refurbished unit that has been updated, we lose out on the ability to use the Other OS feature?
Anyone have an answer for this? Or should I just call Sony and ask?
Lol AspectOfLight, if we are here to complain for complain sake then what are you here for? to complain about complainers for complain sake? lol.
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I don’t get what the big deal is. Linux on the PS3 sucks anyway. It doesn’t work very well even as a media player or for emulation purposes. Just use your PC.
INB4 “I cant afford a PC, but I was able to pay $600 for a console”.
Come on. Just ignore AspectOfLight.
This is not about, if linux is good or not, its about exploiting the PS3.
Damn most of you are in the shadow about this wow.
So MADZEN81, you have nothing better to do that spam the comments with utter garbage? And you think this will make Sony listen?
Nice and intelligent people there are here.
Do note that, that was sarcasm. I have to add that in, seeing as I don’t think you have the mental acuity to be able to discern that.
also aspect yes my sytem is worth 500 regardless of the worth of current system’s. i paid 500. my receipt reads 500. my credit card reads 500. in fact just as the slim released i had to send my system in for service and sony tried to send me a refurbished slim which i sent back refusing to accept. i wanted a system of equal value and function after much talk with a sony rep i was sent a fully functional 80gb backwards compatible system like the one i sent in. i am not a spineless consumer and i know my rights. i always get what i pay for or the company buys it for me. period.
People have sued over hot cups of coffee and have gotten more compensation than we are asking for.
Might not be as fruitless after all….huh dumba$$es
I just want to keep a feature that I bought into because of Sony Marketing.
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“Hey ignore that AspectofLight person, they are making too much sense and do not sound ridiculous like the rest of us! Come fellow retards, join me in the acts of sounding retarded! ”
Suck it up whiners, this feature is going bye bye and there is NOTHING you can do.
AspectOfLight – ok, I’ll keep it very simple for you since the slightest tangent confuses you, apparently
SONY advertises a feature, sells millions of units with feature
SONY removes a feature from existing units, remotely disabling something that was included as part of what it “does”
SONY fails
http://gamer.blorge.com/2010/03/30/sonys-other-os-removal-in-response-to-hotz-ps3-hack/
@2607
By that idiotic logic, if you paid $40k for a car it would retain that value permanently. That, however, is not the case.
So, what all of you Sony employees– I mean, Sony fanboys– are saying is if Sony put “Sony, at its sole discretion, may choose to terminate the life of a user caught violating these terms of service” into their EULA or PSN licensing terms, that it’d automatically be legal, the final word, and be going around saying “SEE!! It’s in their terms of service! You can’t argue about it!!”
Just because something is written on a piece of paper or a screen that you don’t even see before you make the purchase and open the unit does NOT make it automatically legally binding.
The amount of sheer idiocy here is amazing.
It specifically states that Sony has the right to remove this and because they have just cause for doing it, it will fly. As long as games work with the official firmware they offer, you have no ground to stand on.
@AspectOfLight
If you look older BC PS3 systems are going for more then there brand new systems. Why ? because people wanted the features offered on these systems. One of the features which is now being removed..
@PAID-ASSASSIN
You aren’t really asking, you are demanding and using threats. That never works. So enjoy getting absolutely nothing.
LOL @ that article. It was posted in the UK, so it loses all credibility.
@aspect of light
how exactly is the PoS models crappy?granted i waited to get the 80 gig version with the b/c,media server connection,and other os.i use linux and that was a selling point for me dropping over $500 dollars for my system.its not necessarily them getting rid of an option that most people may not use.its forcing people without forcing them.right now its not mandatory,but like firmware 3.00 i believe it will be.you either take the update or after so many firmware updates you decline your ps3 will be a brick.what if you get a firmware update that disables the emotion engine in PoS models or the emulator in the 80 gig versions?i am not one of those people that who asks for compensation for everything that doesnt go my way.i just would like to know the justification for removing something many people care about.look at the number of post compared to the average.
there is no honor in doing this. if this is done i can no longer support sony as a consumer. when debating on what product to buy i would site numerous examples of sony’s commitment to it’s consumers and products. i have read many times that sony is committed to supporting is older ps3s as i was an early adopter i felt gratitude for their stance. is this the commitment that i can now expect from sony. i can no longer be the proud owner of a sony product nor can i debate on sony’s commitment to the consumer. i have been wronged by sony. this is truly a sad day for proud owners. i MUST turn my back to you.
@ 2614
But that logic means that GM or Ford is coming back after 3 years to take the radio out of that car, or the spare tire out of the trunk.
We are not talk about wear-and-tear here idiot.
@AspectOfLight
“It was not an advertised featured”
Yes it was, that’s how I knew about it back in 2006.
” nor did anyone buy it because of that.”
That was actually a huge selling point for me.
“There is no legal option here, it will not hold up in court on
you end and you will waste money even trying.”
Are you a lawyer? Quickly, list for me all of the class action lawsuits you’ve ever participated in.
“There is no real benefit from using OtherOS over the PS3 default one.”
Yes, there is, one obvious thing is that it’s amazing how much faster and better the linux web browser runs. The PS3 browser is trash. Then there’s about 100 other things I can do on linux, that I can’t with the PS3.
You have no idea what you’re talking about.
@FritoZ
It will do no such thing as to affect them. They have no reason what so ever to update the system. That article is the equivalent of flame bait.
If these scientists are stupid enough to update their GAME console for newer game features when using it as a supercomputer they deserve to lose their ability.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA