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)
just got done with the update and nothing new just disable os and to be honest i do have the 1st gen 60 gb fat ps3 and i dont use os but somehow i feel disrespected because the os was included with the fat ps3 so to the people who hacked the ps3 F U and do wish you step up to my face so ya can eat my P25 with two 30 what you know bout that i just wish sony banned the hackers or law suit there a$$ but take away my os thats F up but hell i need my option to play online so yea thanx for the update and i will be getting a xbox this week BYE.
@jerk_man
NICE, well lets hope for a relatively healthy season this year and that we finish with AT LEAST a winning record
Kevin Butler VP of Locking $hit Down ain’t no joke.
so wait a minute it took 4 months for you to update a ps3 by removing a feature that seems a bit retarded you could at least have increased some functionality how about private voice chat or cross game voice chat or the ability to play music off our ipod/hdd during a game all features the supposed inferior system has you know Im not sure whos running the ship over at sony but I think you guys have lost touch with your audience you’d better pray the next gen MS console redlights as well or you guys are screwed I cant believe your removing features from clients who have paid double or triple the current retail price of the product its almost as insulting as getting DLC/OLC months and sometimes years after the xbox and frankly after the way you treat YLOD sufferers I think your going to have to do something drastic FOR THE CUSTOMER or your gonna fall behind nintendo on the next go around
Don’t bother calling them to make a complaint.
They are not gonna give that function back, sell your ps3 and get an Xbox if you don’t own one already.
@DonCalzone21
yeah, that’d be nice.. speaking of baseball, have you played MLB ’10 the Show?
Why call this an update? Isn’t this more of a downgrade? Of course, why would Sony bother to have a poll or anything like that to ask their customers if they should remove this feature, or to see how many people use it, before doing something like this?
I do find it nice that I can say whatever I want to on this board, seeing as Sony neither listens or cares about whatever the [DELETED] we say or want. Stop Sony…just [DELETED] stop… Your trying to turn our “Fat” PS3s into Slim ones. Is your next “update” going to take away our PS2 backwards compatibility? [DELETED][DELETED].
Ok this sucks…… So let me get this straight sony jump to get a firmware update out because of “potential” security issues but when there is a bug in the old style fat ps3’s that may or may not cause a similar issue further down the track to the time clock problem that millions of users had in early march it doesn’t make it into the firmware patch let alone get another mention, it just fades into the background……
Someone seriously needs their butt kicked. This is TOTALLY insane!!! I have been a sony advocate for 20+ years, gaming equipment, sound systems, TV’s. This is the straw that breaks the camels back, I will never purchase another sony product again!!!
wow. thanks sony. totally [DELETED] all the work i did getting xubuntu working right and all my roms. thats why i bought a ps3. get [DELETED]
Let’s review for those just joining in:
“Vegeta, what does your scouter say about the PSBlog anger level?”
“It’s over SIX THOUSAND!!!” (Posts worldwide)
What?!?! Six thousand?! That can’t be right!”
I’d say a good 65-70% of the posts in reply to FW3.21 are legit complaints. The remaining portion is mostly trash talk against the responders or against Sony.
You’d think Sony would be doing some damage control online. Nope. Apparently, they’re leaving this to the phone guys the world over. Meanwhile, the FTC and EC should be girding up for a wave of complaints. Fear that Sony may be setting a dangerous precedent by removing this single feature, no matter how obscure, grips the gaming world.
I stand in support of the few that use this feature as intended, though I am not particularly affected by its loss today. As such, I will not update until this version becomes mandatory.
lol my xbox has been collecting dust lately. it won’t bring back linux.
i bet you guys feel stupid.. what was that features purpose.. it left and i dont see the apocalypse. you guys made it seem that by removing it will jump start the second coming.
Very mad, have owned PS systems for ever and now I wish I bought XBox instead. I can live with not a lot of games , but when you take a function away that is great or say no playstation network this is backwards. I purchase at PS store and on home but now I feel like a fool if sony is going to make product worst instead of better. Make new update and put other OS back, blog this a lot.
My comment was too long by 1,259 characters. Well what happened to it when I pressed L1 to go back and edit it? Perhaps a countdown of available characters would let folk know that they are over the limit.
I agree with the others. I paid 500$ for my system (80 GB). I don’t us the other OS but im sure a lot of people do. I think its [DELETED] to remove a feature that people currently use and not adding additional features. I hope you guys (SONY) are planning to do more than adding 3D support because I don’t want to have to sell my car to experience the only features of the next update (GETTING A 3D TV). It’s been a while since we got a decent update so please add something besides 3D support. I personally don’t care for 3D support anyway. SONY, u guys rock and the possibilities are endless for what your capable of so please put those possibilities to use. THANK YOU!
Can someone say class action lawsuit? lol i think im talking to my lawyer tomorrow. Pretty sure after someone pays for a feature you cant take it away that’s pretty illegal.
@don
im a braves fan myself, so METS FTL(sorry, but thats the way it is)
@losers who say they want an xbox
Do you really think that microsoft has a better customer service.
“I may have to replace my $2.5 hundred dollar xbox machin “replaced” 5 times when all you really do is “fix” it, but thats good service.”
Please get an xbox so I dont have to disgrace myself by having the same console as you.
So, how’s that class-action lawsuit coming along?
its 11:30 at night and its been 8 minutes viking dont be a tool <.<.
we have the lawsuit, but we need to find an acting class…oh wait
It will probably do no good to say so here, but I *did* use the Linux feature, I’m mad as hell that Sony has removed it, and this has seriously damaged my interest in ever buying another Sony product. You could have least have given me my 10GB of DISC SPACE BACK. THIS COST YOU A CUSTOMER, SONY.
it’s 2:30 here… why the hell am i still up and on this blog…?
Love the justification for this, a FEW of you might uh, uh, “potentially” steal from us in the future. In order to rectify this, we are going to steal from ALL of you.
@drfreshey: Defining yourself by the console you own or what?
If you didnt use that feature, I dont know, why you even post here. It is like, you dont use it, so you dont want any other to use it. Keep on playing …
This is a great update. Plus to all the idiots who think it’s illegal, it isn’t. Go and sue Sony then you whiners or go to a garbage 360 and pay for online. The OS function is lame anyways and Linus is out. The only people who will complain are hackers and morons who enjoy there senseless comments.
ok, well i’m gonna go and enjoy my amazing, freshly updated ps3 and play some battlefield bad company 2 now. then i’m gonna go enjoy my amazing wife. then i’m gonna enjoy some sleep… so ultimately, good night, and i win.
Well its 230 i think i will leave now so that i can enjoy spring break tomorrow. Good night. remember: DEATH TO HACKERS!!
Well done Sony.. Good job on taking control of the situation. All you people that are going to complain are just wasting your time. If you want a console to do anything with get an xbox or whatever they call it. Playstation 3 is for original hardcore non pirate gamers. Well done Sony
Does anyone else get the feeling that the recent posts here on the PS Blog are almost like damage control? There has been a lot of posts the past couple days when usually there is only one every week or two. I think they wanted this one off the main page quick.
Also, did anyone else notice that the update does not say exactly what it will be doing to your system? I updated my Slim and all it showed me was the ToS before downloading and applying the update. My 60GB that my wife uses won’t be getting updated. Pretty ridiculous that I had to choose between keeping Linux or keeping PSN (as well as future blu-ray movies and streaming video from my blu-ray recorder which uses DTCP-IP).
I think im gonna get an XBOX360, since sony is only busy making stuff WORSE for its customers! Why add this feature in the first place.. to make the specs of the PS3 sound good so more people would buy it? Just to remove the feature later.. And customers who would want to keep THEIR stuff THEY paid for wont be able to play games online anymore, cus they cant sign in to PSN.
Way to go schmony.. keep it up
Well, I’m calling Sony tomorrow and complaining. If the slogan for your marketing campaign is “It only does everything” then the removal of a feature that promoted the freedom of the PS3 owner by allowing the installation of a third-party operating system alongside the standard OS contradicts that very slogan that the owner likely bought into initially.
Whats worse is that the decision seems to have been made with little regard for the customer in mind and rather more concern for “content partners” who benefit by reduced likelihood of monetary detriment in the wake of this “more secure system”.
If content partners want a piece of Sony’s customer base they should have to suffer the potential risk inherent within the PS3. (Now previous)Customers and loyal PS3 owners should not be forced to sacrifice freedom that they purchased when they bought a PS3 so that content partners can feel more secure in their coalition.
just spend hours installing other OS only to reboot after midnight and find out that it was just wasted time. thanks Sony! other OS WAS a great feature. i guess that we will be paying for psn soon then huh?
@Scubamaggy
You do realize there was (and is) no piracy on the PS3, right? Just because some people would like to use Linux on their PS3 doesn’t automatically make them a hacker or pirate. Please educate yourself.
I am also amazed at how many people are in here praising Sony for removing advertised features and pretty much trampling all over consumer rights. Typical of lesser educated Americans though.
Very good move by sony to make it more secure
I had no idea this feature existed until this update was announced.
i dont even really care the only thing i dont like about my new slim ps3 is i cant play my favorite ps2 games and im so glad i kept my old one o cant wait for another sly cooper game
talk about uneducated americans, geohot was pretty successful hacking into the ps3s system memory and processor through other os. tell me he’s not a hacker, please? just say it.
This is ridiculous!
You NEVER update the playstation store at a set time yet you make this update asap! It’s not even April 1st yet and it’s already out. You leave us months without an update and when we finally get one it’s to take something out. When are we going to get updates that actually improve and add to the ps3?
I think this update is a waste of time because the ps3 exploit can be done without install other os.
Just turned on my PS3 slim and saw this 3.21 update, it is really stupid and disappointing…
I DO NOT need this update.
When you are releasing an update, at least add some features or improve the console system, sigh…
http://www.ps3-hacks.com/2010/03/01/otheros-will-not-be-removed-from-non-slim-ps3-models/
So it’s ok for Sony to make a statement like this, and then do the complete opposite a month later? That sort of thing will land you in the great halls of political controversy lol. Makes me feel like I’m watching the 2000 elections again.
I am actually considering of getting a xbox..
wow i thought this was gonna be a joke because of the april 1 release but no. yet another thing sony removes from the ps3.
i broke my fat ps3 have the slim so i dont care about this update.
its funny how people talk about lawsuit. you guys accept their eula since you turned on your hardware and have your first software update back in 2006. if you dont like it, dont update your ps. simple as that.
who would in their right mind will make their customer unhappy, especially in a big corporation like sony.
its not like they release update 3.21 acting like 30yrs old guy living in their mom’s basement, they prolly have a team that report the impact of this update to their business and yet they release it
@iLluFe lol perfectly rational decision to get an xbox because your slim that never had other os in the first place was updated with 3.21. genius
For those that don’t want to update and feel tech savvy (I mean you played with linux right?) there are many forum posts across the ether which give explicit instructions on how to bypass fw checks. Be sure to search out the method for fw v2.30+. Give it a shot, see if you find something you like.
This method probably won’t let you play the newest bluray movies and games as Sony is stating, but you can at least get onto psn and play your current titles online. I doubt the people using this work around will want to support more ps3 games anyways.
It is a shame that this is how it needs to be to retain existing functionality. Sony seems to have a hard time learning.
This is really ridiculous. I don’t even use the other os feature, but i’m still outraged at the fact that they don’t give you another choice. it’s either do the update and let them steal something from you or don’t update and be casted aside like a leper or some useless piece to their machine. Bad move, Sony. Really bad move. I’m not gonna update till i hear about a better solution. I’m hoping I hear something good soon.
Yeah sony should most definably make this update a little more easier to download via computer… would be so much easier to slap this [DELETED] one a stick and upload it from the the flash drive…. And word for the wise someone needs to create a better video game cause COD epically fails anymore I mean come on how long will it take to move off of linear maps.. And also lets get off the story of these games and get them to be strictly online you might actually pass up microsoft.. Just keep the servers free!
The one great thing PS3 had over XBOX was the other OS.
I for one am selling this POS and getting an XBOX.
PART 2 OF 2
Again, in my opinion, your name and reputation is as good as mud as far as this community is concerned.
I will look at this the Waterloo of what went wrong with Sony – loss of leadership in music franchise of Walkman/MiniDisc (ATrac3 versus MP3) versus IPod, and pending loss of gaming/media mindshare in PSP/PS3 versus IPod (Gaming) because this of irrational fear of the force of open source/standards. The Linux communities had not been an advocate of theft, yet they are the recipient of punishment.
When a company act in knee jerk reaction, it does not act from the position of strength, and dare I say will not be able to foresee nor anticipate its outcome. Learn from Apple, they’re so successful, because people love their products.
I see no love of PS3 from users reacting to this announcement.
I see incompetent people running the company. THIS MUST CHANGE.
Pengy
the sony mods are probably asleep now. cut and paste your xbox defection tomorrow. that’ll teach them not to mess with you.