Sony pulls 'Other OS' feature from PlayStation 3

by Stevie Smith - Mar 29 2010, 09:26

PlayStation 3 owners looking to use a different operating system (OS) on their consoles won't be able to do so from April following news that Sony Computer Entertainment is moving to block alternative OS adoption on its powerhouse home platform.

The feature removal, which is supposedly being enforced due to “security concerns,” will come into effect this Thursday as part of PS3 Firmware 3.21, which will disable the “Install Other OS” feature available on PlayStation 3 systems produced prior to current PS3 Slim models.

“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 [you] will not be able to access that data following the update,” warned Sony Computer Entertainment Europe through its official blog.

Of course, the firmware update isn't mandatory, so those PlayStation 3 owners presently using a Linux operating system can always choose to carry on regardless.

However, Sony has us all over a barrel here considering that failure to accept the firmware update will prevent access to the PlayStation Network (PSN) and also the playback of games and Blu-ray movie discs that require firmware update 3.21 or later.

Thanks Sony.

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