Sony withdraws latest PS3 Firmware

Following wide spread reports of serious problems with the latest PS3 Firmware, Sony has confirmed that the update has been pulled while it investigates the problem. It is believed that a error with the installation process has caused some consoles to seize up at the point of rebooting, following the install.

“In order to further assess the issue, we have temporarily taken the firmware offline for further testing,” one spokesperson revealed. Sony is also keen to assure PS3 owners that the issue was only affecting a “limited number of users” and that the “consumer services department has seen a low volume of calls on this topic”.

Yep, it was such a minor issue that Sony has decided to stop any further downloads of the update. Hardly worth mentioning, really.

Our sister-site PSPSPS.tv covered early reports of the problem and at the time it seemed that the issue was mostly affecting North American console owners with the 60GB launch models.

On the plus side, this limits the number of users that might be affected, but conversely, because the proper 60GB models are no longer being made, then if the hardware has been irreparably damaged, Sony might have a far bigger headache on its hands.

So far, we’ve not heard as many similar reports on this side of the pond, but if you’ve been affected, please let us know.

Nevertheless, this is pretty much the last thing Sony was hoping for. This latest Firmware, version 2.40, was subject to a huge amount of hype because it promised the addition of what many consider to be key features for the console. Following the Xbox 360’s lead, Firmware 2.40 enables users to play music from their console hard drives from within their games and to send and receive text communications from their friends.

(via PlayStation blog)

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