Sony ditches support for Other OSes on PS3

Linux on the console no more after Thursday

29 March 2010 10:09 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Sony has announced that it will remove the ability to install a secondary operating system on the PS3 on Thursday.

The company will be launching the latest firmware update, PS3 firmware 3.21 on Thursday and with it disabling the feature that has been available to owners of the older fatter PS3 since launch.

"It 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, we’re now removing this feature", says Sony.

Users that do upgrade and continue to keep another OS, like Linux, on the console will virtually cripple their machine unable to play back Blu-ray or software titles that require 3.21 or later.

Users will also not be able to sign into the PlayStation Network or play copyright protected videos stored on the console. They will also not be able to use any other new features that require 3.21.

"If you currently use the 'Other OS' feature and you wish to update to system software 3.21, make sure you 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," warns Sony.

Via: blog.eu.playstation.com

Full tags

Gaming, PS3, Firmware updates, Linux, Sony