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)
im so pissed about this right now. i want to down vote this post even more. i like how the writers of the Blog stay away from these posts, giving us no incite, explanation, or excuse. they just ignore it because they know we are pissed.
For those who don’t understand, (almost) nobody is using a PS3 as an everyday Linux desktop computer. Not every computer is simply used to browse porno and trade torrents on MSN. PS3 is (was) the most affordable way to get your hands on a Cell for development and tinkering, and there’s other stuff you can do with it such as this interesting piece of work:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/codecsys-video-encoding-on-ps3-article
People who are claiming to be upset or mad about this but figure oh well, life goes on. Yeah I can respect that. I can also believe you when you say you are Playstation fans.
But the other people who are trying to convince others this is illegal and they deserve compensation…honestly I hope you throw you PS3 in the trash and never come back. You are disgusting human beings who are just looking to make a quick buck. You arent fans of a console if you would try to sue it just for your own personal gain. Go back to Xbox please.
I dont believe anyone will be successful in trying to get a lawsuit with this, but hey all the power to you if you want to try. Its not a waste of court time and money is it.
“I WANNA PLAY MY VIDEO GAMES SO IM GOING TO WASTE THIS LAWYER AND JUDGES TIMES AND MAKE ACTUAL IMPORTANT RELEVANT COURT CASES WAIT”.
@improperlyaged
In regards to online playability, yeah you would have a point had the network in which you play on been public. It is however, private, so in that regard Sony can do anything they please.
Sony, if you actually go through with this update, I will abandon you for good. I love your Vaios, Bravias, and up to this point have been a Playstation fanboy for about 15 years. But you’re really going to stab your users in the back and start removing things we like to use? I’ve had Linux partitions on my PS3 for years and use them a LOT. It is very nice to have an additional OS on the system that you can use for personal storage, development, and most of all EMULATION!!! If it is a security risk, then let ME take the risk! I know how to use my hardware/software and am perfectly aware of what can go wrong. Here’s my ultimatum: if I see a required update on my PS3 Thursday, I will pack it up and trade it in for another XBox 360. You heard me right, ANOTHER one. I’d rather support Microsoft if you feel like treating your consumers like this is for the best. Who knows what other useful things you may remove in the future? I for one will not stand for this and I hope many more PS3 users will began to see right through you as well.
The thing most people are upset about is that they can use emulation anymore. “I am outraged, I cannot illegal emulate other games for free anymore…damn you sony”.
@2734 assuming again are we?
No most people are upset because features that where put into the system and where advertised to run on the system are being removed. You know what they should remove blue ray playability also. I dont use it!!
Hey legendary actually i have a point because the network is private. they agree to allow me access to their psn when i buy the system. this agreement is still in effect even if i choose not to update my firmware. it being a public network would render my argument moot because they wouldnt be able to limit access to it. again please read something to understand what ur saying b4 u attempt to argue.
Removing blue ray playability would make it so games don’t work. As long as games still work with the factory default settings, there is nothing illegal going on.
while I currently do not use the OtherOS function I have and was planning on using it again. I think this is a bad Idea (and pray that this is just a bad April’s Fools Day joke)
To remove advertised features is bad. Please for the all that is good leave my OtherOS alone. Promises and Used Features should not be removed. If it is – I wonder if a Class Action is possible.
To all the people complaining: Don’t update your firmware. Don’t use the PSN anymore. You can keep linux, the firmware updates are not mandatory. And AspectOfLight, whatever valid argument you may have had, you pretty much invalidated it by acting obnoxious and overusing meme’s and just antagonizing people for your own humor. Grow up.
don’t forget the “you won’t play new games thing”.
If after this one, PSN premium subscription becomes obligatory, bye bye PS3! Because i am proud of myself and i disapprove of the wrong, i will do it.
it is not blue ray, aspect, it is blu-ray.
Hey I got Idea. Why Doesn’t Sony come up and say they are done with PS3 and removing all the support to it. Hey why not not like they breaking law right?
If sony chose to remove wifi connectivity or mp3 player fucntionality it would be the exact same thing. they CAN NOT UNDER FEDERAL LAW remove a feature that was advertised on the original packaging without the consent of the consumer. Should the consumer choose not to update they have to specifically state in the eula or tos that was previously agreed to that this will hinder your ability to use ANY function. Since it is not stated in any thing i ever agreed to they can not limit any system function should i choose not to update my system. this is the illegal action. not them removing it with the update. by updating ur agreeing to it being removed.
I don’t know about the legalaties, and I doubt anyone could successfully sue over it anyway.
What I do know is that Sony have made themselves look incredibly inept. Patch an exploit, sure, but to do so in this cack-handed manner in a move that hits their most loyal fanbase (i.e. early adopters) hardest is possibly the most stupid act of corporate suicide I’ve seen since Gerald Ratner’s speech in 1991.
“Removing blue ray playability would make it so games don’t work. As long as games still work with the factory default settings, there is nothing illegal going on.”
Does restoring a system to “factory default settings” restore the original firmware? If so, there would be a lot of games and movies that would not work
You can’t sue directly it would most likely have to be a class action lawsuit based on the size of consumers affected and the fact that it is a general agreement and not a direct contract between two parties.
The fail that is the Blog-
Customers come on here and voice valid points of dissatisfaction, and the Company remains silent…
No dont remove blu ray games. I dont watch blu ray movies. Please remove that functionality.
why would that option be available then be taken from you??? next time don’t say one thing and change it after people bought your system SONY CORP.
What a [DELETED] ripoff! First my system YLOD,s on friday now this! Sony wasn’t happy enough trying to fleece another £130 off me for a refurb unit now they their taking away a feature they advertised to sell their system !By the way Sony [DELETED]you and your £130 for a “general hardware error Light” i don’t think so ! I managed to fix my PS3 with some help from a downloadable PDF guide,a Heat gun and some Heat sink compound! GUESS WHAT SONY IT DIDN’T COST ME [DELETED] £130!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don’t pay them people if yours YLOD’s do it yourself!Back to the [DELETED] in question,this can’t be legal surely?You wouldn’t buy a car only for the manufacturer to tell you they wanted the engine out of it 3yrs later?!!If you’d like the guide people you do have pay for it though but think it was well worth it!www.ps3lightsfix.com Don’t top up Sony’s already fat piggy bank
This definately feels illegal, but I would like to assume that Sony has checked with their legal department on the legality of this. They are not forcing you to update the PS3, they are just not allowing access to the PSN unless you update the firmware. Which seems to skirt around the law. Like, you can still keep your features, you just can’t access their private network.
Of course they silent. It’s not like they care what we want or what we think about it. They already got our money what else do you want from them????
Let me be clear i do not nor do i plan to utilize this feature. However i think everyone should be aware of when they are being illegal taken advantage of by a company. please for those of you who wnat this feature heed my previous post. for those of u who dont just hink about it like this; would be so cavalier about it if they were removing mp3 playback or wifi connnectivity. also i’m not debating the removal of the feature rather the illegality of them limiting your online playability should you choose not to update. this is ILLEGAL.
Lou- you also can’t play new games or blu-rays restricting your right to do what it’s supposed to do
FOR SECURITY PURPOSES. Laws and regulations will allow them to do this because it is protecting anyones security. Deal with it. Or go play a 360 for 2 weeks until it breaks and then come back.
Guys, its an April Fools joke, it has to be, or Sony would be in trouble – legally and PR-wise.
You have the original console advertised as having this feature.. Features have indeed been removed from later consoles, but not from the console you’ve owned.
Sony did indeed contract a company to supply an official Linux OS for the PS3. The OS was intended to be pre-installed on all consoles. This was because Sony were trying to avoid a tax consoles get by having it declared as a computer, not a console. They failed so dropped the idea of having it a feature, but leaving the option.
You have a publicly available comment from a SCE executive stating this feature will never be removed – ignoring your EULA arguments, this still counts as a form of a contract – the guy signed off a statement saying this. That is a contract.
(also on a side note, you ARE legally allowed to return an item if you refuse to accept TOS/EULA – buy a Mac theres a huge sticker on the wrapping around the computer saying read the EULA before opening. this applies to anything, its up to the manufacturer to find a method to keep the item new if you don’t accept TOS)
Logically also, Slim PS3’s do not have the option to partition the drive. With the removal of the Install other OS feature, this would go also. A software update alone would not be able to delete the partition, reconfigure the HDD size, then install the update without it taking an eternity. 3.20 was NOT released to select consoles. Thats stupid. 3.21 would not be the next update.
Of course, Microsoft would eat this up if it was true (in the same week they add ability to use USB sticks to save to, sony drop linux), developers would drop support with the negative publicity and legal proceedings that would occur, but its not true.
Some companies like to make insane April Fools jokes that go too far.. This is one of those. Get over it and laugh that you fell for it at first
(that was one part but had to split due to being too long)
go take a college course
and for those of u asking no this is actually not illegal if you choose to update. by agreeing to the update you are actually agreeing to remove this feature from your system. this where sony is trying to be slick. they assume more people will put value on the online playability then the other os. however should u choose not to update sony will limit ur system’s ability to do so. this is what makes it illegal. they can not hinder ur ability to play online if u dont update. u r not agreeing to it. even if it says so in a new update eula or tos it doesnt matter since ur not actually agreeing to it. if they try to change the tos or eula without ur consent they are violating the law.
Sony: Please tell me you’re kidding! This is ridiculous! To take away a feature you once said you would continue to support is one thing. But then to say it’s for security reasons is utter BS. And then to say it’s optional even though you know it really isn’t (because the PS3 would become useless if I don’t install the update – no Bluray, no Playstation Network etc.) that’s just outrageous. How stupid do you think you’re customers are?
You should be fired for insulting your customers with this kind of crap. Unbelievable!
Shut up Aspect about 360. It is not that someone will go to xbox. One may also buy a pc. And stop overwhelming the comments with pathetic comments, you troll!
This made the decision between a Sony Bravia and a Samsung HDTV very easy.
I was going to get a Sony HD Receiver as well, but I will rethink that one too.
oh that is funny ok ha ha
“3.20 was NOT released to select consoles. Thats stupid. 3.21 would not be the next update.”
look it up. lazy
Interesting:
http://www.sonyinsider.com/2010/03/30/why-install-other-os-mattered-for-the-sony-playstation-3/
you win Doctor lmao
So it’s a down-date, not an update.
It makes me nervous when a company can threaten to lock you out of certain features (blu-ray movies/PSN) if you don’t get their worthless updates that devalue the system.
I’m rapidly losing faith in Sony. Plus, the last few months have been weak-sauce for updates.
And the giant remains silent, thumbs down Sony.
@AspectOfLight, you sure do make a lot of noise for someone who isn’t affected. Got nothing better to do than troll?
He went to med school. All of us “retarded retards”, as he so eloquently put it, need to go back to high school. Hi overrules all of us.
aspect, do you troll your patients too?
debug consoles are not ‘select’ consoles. they are specifically designed for things like shop use. 3.21 would not be a logical update number for end-users as they will ask what was 3.2 etc
everyone else.. avoid the personal attacks. whether its true or not theres no need to slag each other off over their POV on this subject. The Sony/anti-xbox fanboyism should not be anything to do with this thread either
@aspect of light
thanx for clarifying. congrats on ur medical degree. out of curiosity how many legal classes did u take in med school? imma guess 0. maybe u should stick with what u know.
chocobogamer said this:
“Guys, its an April Fools joke, it has to be, or Sony would be in trouble – legally and PR-wise.”
I read this online regarding the update:
Several posters wondered whether the April 1 update is Sony’s way of pulling an April Fools’ Day hoax on its PS3 system owners, mainly because Sony did not first release a 3.20 update. Not taking Sony’s update seriously, however, may result in gamers feeling like the fools.
“This is not an April Fools’ hoax,” Sony’s Han insisted when asked about some people’s reactions to the news.
this is not a personal attack, but a medschool degree is completely irrelevant in a technological subject, or in a legal manner either..
This is Aspect at work:
“Why are you taking Generic Drugs? The Drug companies are telling me that the Brand name is way better. You should know better than that. Why are you taking their great decisions for granted?”
great but what is the update it hasn´t nothing new we are waiting for the 3D movies an game updates not for this.