Update: The problematic firmware 4.45 has been resolved, according to Sony, after the company announced that a patch for the erroneous update will be issued on June 27th. After players downloaded the aforementioned update, a select few were presented with ‘bricked’ consoles that prevented users from utilising the XMB. Come Thursday, however, Sony will release a supplementary statement to aid Playstation owners affected by the error and allow them ‘to implement the solution’.
Just yesterday evening, Sony issued a new firmware update for the PlayStation 3 with the promise of improving system stability. However, after sparking a flurry of feedback from the PlayStation community, the company have postponed the scheduled update after users reported that, post-installation, their consoles had been rendered obsolete. Sony took to Twitter to address these issues and we’re still waiting on firm confirmation that firmware 4.45 is a-okay.
Hi guys, we’re aware of reports that the recent PS3 update (4.45) has caused. We have temporarily taken 4.45 offline and are investigating.
— PlayStation Europe (@PlayStationEU) June 19, 2013
We will announce when the system update is available for download as soon as possible and we apologise for the inconvenience.
— PlayStation Europe (@PlayStationEU) June 19, 2013
Social media sites such as Twitter and Reddit acted as a gaming klaxon, as members of the community informed one another to ‘not update their PS3’ in the aftermath of 4.45 going live. Sony have since stated that technical difficulties appear to be affecting a ‘small number’ of PlayStation 3 owners – which effectively caused the XMB to vanish on said consoles.
Originally, the firmware update was designed to modify the trophy notification (see above) and provide users with the ability to turn the visual indication off during gameplay. For Sony, though, the repairs are ongoing. And given that PlayStation Plus owners have their updates installed automatically, this is perhaps a more widespread problem that the company first realised. What’s more, console owners who wish to use Netflix or access the PlayStation Store will be prompted the download firmware 4.45, but until Sony roll out a fix for the troublesome technicality, you’d be best to remain offline for the foreseeable future.
We’ll be sure to update you once Sony have solved the problem for firmware 4.45 on the PlayStation 3.
