In the midst of all the grim developments yesterday, Sony Interactive Entertainment dropped PS3 system software update 4.91 — the console’s annual update for its Blu-ray player. Interestingly, patch notes for the update mention those vague “system performance improvements” that we’ve become used to now, but hackers have warned that the update renders current jailbreak useless.

Jailbreakers miffed by PS3 system software update 4.91

“This system software update improves system performance,” the official patch notes for the 200 MB update read. “Please note, to play Blu-ray discs, your PS3 system needs a renewed Blu-ray player encryption key. Please update your PS3 system software to the latest version to renew the Blu-ray player encryption key.”

Understandably, these annual exploit-patching updates continue to frustrate hackers. All existing jailbreak tools will have to be updated. As noted on jailbreak forum PSX Place, those who end up updating their system software by mistake will have to wait for all the expoits to be updated by their developers. There’s no way to roll back the system software. Resetting the system does not work.

In related news, PS3 continues to see millions of monthly active users, according to a leaked Sony presentation. However, support for the console has officially ended.

The post PS3 System Update 4.91 Released and It Isn’t Good News for Some appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Sony announced at CES 2024 that it saw a record number of active PlayStation players during the month of December 2023. 123 million PSN users logged on during the month across the PS5, PS4, and PS3.

PlayStation saw an increase in players year-on-year in December 2023

In December 2022, Sony logged 112 million active users, so the aforementioned figure is an increase of a whopping 11 million users. For those wondering about a breakdown, Sony didn’t have one to share but we recently found out via a leaked slide following the ransomware attack on Insomniac Games that even the PS3 is still seeing millions of players… or at least it was back in February 2023.

Other tidbits of information that cropped up during Sony’s CES 2024 presentation is our first look at the Gravity Rush movie, a revival of Patapon (either an anime or a game), and possibly a slight delay in Helldivers 2 as Sony listed a release date of February 28, 2024 as opposed to the original release date of February 8. However, this release date change could be an error.

We also learned that Sony Honda’s electric vehicle can be driven with the PS5’s DualSense controller.

The post PlayStation Set New Record for Monthly Active Users in December, Patapon Revival Teased appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Sony‘s beloved PS3 apparently still has millions of monthly active users (MAUs) — nearly two million, to be precise. That’s according to a presentation leaked as part of the recent Insomniac Games‘ ransomware attack. This tidbit of information was tucked away in a slide about PlayStation Network‘s monthly active users.

Die-hard PS3 users still enjoying beloved classics

As spotted by Exputer, the slide in question is nearly a year old but sheds some light on the active player base of Sony’s consoles. PSN MAUs were expected to hit 107.5 million by February 2023, accounting for data latency. PS4 is understandably in the lead (71.5 million PSN MAUs) with the highest amount of consoles in circulation, but the PS5 is quickly catching up with nearly 37.1 million MAUs by February 2023.

Between December 2022 to February 2023, the PS3’s MAUs fluctuated between 2.3 million to 1.9 million. Impressive numbers for a console that’s almost two decades old. The PS3’s library continues to be in high demand, with fans hoping for emulation support of some sort in the absence of backwards compatibility.

Unfortunately, PS3 games are currently only available via streaming for PS Plus Premium members in select regions.

We won’t share the slide here for obvious reasons, but you can check it out over on Exputer.

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Dark Souls 2‘s PS3 and Xbox 360 servers are set to close on March 31, 2024, at 5am PT / 8am ET / 1pm GMT / 2pm CET.

One More Soul Snuffed Out

It will have been ten years since the release of the most divisive game in From Software’s more recent history when servers are shut down.

Servers for PC, PS4, and Xbox One will still remain up for the immediate future. Offline play on PS3 will still be available after server closure. The companies sent out a message that read “Thank you to those who have played since launch.”

Dark Souls 2 had the unenviable task of following up on the massive breakout success of Dark Souls, and it split fans, with some claiming it didn’t match up to its predecessor. In 2015, From Software repackaged the game as Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin, which changed aspects of the original game.

From Software is currently working on Elden Ring expansion Shadow of the Erdtree, which is rumored to be released in February 2024.

The post Dark Souls 2 PS3 Servers Prepare to Die Next Year appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Back in November 2021, we reported that a group of fans had managed to revive the PS3’s beloved social world, PlayStation Home. The group — Destination Home — has now revealed that their first playable beta has been successful.

PlayStation Home restoration project gearing up for a second beta

In a lengthy interview with IGN, Destination Home content developer Nagato said that the first beta took place in October 2022. And for the first time in seven years, the hub went online for some of the project’s biggest supporters and contributors. Destination Home has managed to add cross-region compatibility whereby various regional spaces have been packed into one “massive” server.

Thanks to PS3 owners who “donated” PS Home data from their consoles, Destination Home was also able to add items like clothes. They aren’t purchasable, but Nagato says the team is looking for ways to make them available to all participants for free. “If you have your original PSN account and you bought stuff on Home, all your items — as long as it’s been donated to us, or we’ve archived it — will basically be alive,” Nagato told IGN.

Destination Home is now gearing up for a second beta and currently has over 100 spaces. The project has received a ton of support, and Nagato hopes that everyone with a PS3 will be able to jump back in and have fun “the way they remember it.”

The post PlayStation Home Restoration by Fans Is Progressing Well, Beta Successful appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Players are reporting PS3/Vita download error when attempting to download purchased games from the PS Store. It’s a widespread issue that’s apparently affected downloads on both consoles for a couple of weeks now.

PS3/Vita download error is apparently related to the PSN licensing system

Multiple threads have cropped up on Reddit (via ResetEra) exploring the issue in detail. Some users have theorized that the problem occurs for games with expired licenses that need re-activating.

“An error occurred during the install operation – (80029509),” reads one such error message.

Last Tuesday, February 28th, Sony rolled out a firmware update for the PS3 that came with the standard “improves system performance” patch notes (or note, rather). While some users think the firmware update is what “broke” PS Store downloads, comments from several players suggest that the issue precedes the update. Additionally, since the PS Vita is also affected, a PS3 firmware update couldn’t have been responsible for the download issues.

Some players have been able to get lucky by making several attempts to download their games. Others have said that they had to either wait for a few hours before trying again, or attempt to download another day.

It’s not known when/if Sony will fix the issue.

The post PS3, PS Vita Players Can’t Download Purchased Games From PS Store appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

PS3 firmware update 4.90 is now available to download. For anyone still using the PlayStation 3, a new system software update will surely come as a surprise. The previous patch rolled out in May of last year, so seeing the February 28 update popping up is no doubt going to be a shock. Thankfully, it’s only a small download and shouldn’t cause too much downtime before getting back to those “retro games.”

PS3 system software update 4.90 patch notes

The PS3 4.90 update patch notes detail one change:

This system software update improves system performance.

Unfortunately, those are all of the details provided by Sony. The 200 MB patch just “improves system performance.” It’s unclear if the update targets the performance of a certain piece of equipment, or just gives an overall boost of speed and efficiency to the software.

Sadly no, the 4.90 patch doesn’t unlock PSVR 2 compatibility for PlayStation 3, letting players see through the eyes of Solid Snake in MGS4, as cool as that would be… Whatever it does, hopefully it leads to perceptible benefits for those still playing on their PS3 consoles.

Big PS3 fans probably got the PlayStation Stars PS3 Collectible. For those that missed out on it, here’s how it was unlocked.

The post New PS3 Firmware Update 4.90 Now Available to Download appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

A Kickstarter campaign on a 320-page book detailing the “unofficial history” of the PS3 has smashed through its initial goal. Titled “It Only Did Everything,” the hardcover is written by Sandeep Rai, the author of “Vita Means Life” that also had a successful Kickstarter campaign. The book, set to release in June 2023, will chronicle the lifespan of the PlayStation 3 “from its rocky launch to its impressive comeback.”

PS3 book will feature developer interviews

Rai, who is also known as 2 Old 4 Gaming on Twitter and YouTube, explains in the book’s Kickstarter that it will feature the history of the PS3 as well as retrospectives on the console’s most important games.

The planned list of games to be covered is quite long, but it will notably include The Last of Us, Uncharted, Killzone, Journey, and even PlayStation Home. (Will these games be emulated on the PS5?) Many of these retrospectives will be written by outside contributors like Colin Moriarty, Ian Scherer, Dan Richards, and more. Rai is reaching out to the developers for those games for interviews and hopes to share more information on that front in the future.

At the time of this writing, the Kickstarter for the PS3 book has already more than doubled its initial $14,796 goal with a total of $32,976 pledged. This means that its first two stretch goals have been met, so that it will include a bookmark and one-shot magazine featuring the top 100 PS3 games as voted by the campaign’s backers. The only stretch goal left, which will give the book a sewn bounding for better longevity, is set at around $60,000 (or £50,000).

The post Unofficial PS3 History Book Smashes Kickstarter Goal appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

The mysterious PS Stars PS3 collectible is causing a lot of confusion among the PlayStation community. Some are unlocking the Heroic collectible through the “PlayStation and You: PS3” challenge, while others don’t have the challenge at all. For the completionists out there, this can be quite frustrating. Thankfully, we at PSLS have done our darndest to solve this mystery. Here’s how to unlock the PlayStation Stars PS3 collectible.

Unlocking the PS Stars PS3 collectible by completing PlayStation and You: PS3

To unlock the PlayStation 3 console Heroic collectible, PlayStation Stars members must fulfill the following criteria:

1. Have created a PSN account during the first year of launch in 2006/2007.
2. Remained active on the PSN account.
3. Sign up to PlayStation Stars.
4. Play any game on PS4 or PS5.

The above steps are based on the experiences of PSLS staff and accounts from ResetEra and Reddit users. We’re still awaiting official confirmation about the exact requirements, so don’t be surprised if you see the collectible in your collection, despite you not fulfilling the above criteria.

It’s worth noting that some users that should have received the PS3 collectible, haven’t yet done so. This is perhaps a bug that needs fixing, though there has been no official word on that yet.

Finally, it’s worth drawing attention to the official PlayStation Stars page which states that users may not receive the same campaigns as others. This can be based on the type of console you have, your game ownership and completion, feature usage, and the availability of certain game titles in your country/region.

For other helpful PS How guides, check out how to unlock the Sony Chord Machine collectible here. Also, here’s how to get your own custom PS5 controller to get the advantage in online shooters.

The post How To Unlock the PlayStation Stars PS3 Collectible appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

PSP, PS3, and PS4 designer Masayasu Ito is retiring from Sony Interactive Entertainment after 36 years of service, the company announced. Ito will be replaced by director and deputy president Lin Tao, whose current position will then be filled by Kiichiro Urata, the head of Japan Asia partner development and relations.

PS4 designer Masayasu Ito joined Sony in 1986

A mechanical engineer by profession, Ito joined Sony in 1986 and went on to work for the PlayStation division. Ito’s LinkedIn profile lists his involvement in the PSP, PS3, and PS4 but doesn’t seem to have been updated in a while and there are conflicting reports of his design work on the PS5. Nevertheless, it’s the PS4 that Ito is most known for.

In 2015, he dropped the news that there were no first-party games in development for the PS Vita anymore as Sony was fully focused on the PS4. Ito said that third-party companies were “working hard” on the handheld while Sony shifted its focus elsewhere, leading to disappointment among fans. That said, those decisions weren’t Ito’s. Following the PS4’s successful launch, Ito called the console’s $399 price tag the “magic price.” He revealed that the company planned to include a PlayStation camera with the hardware but decided against it because it would have lost “too much money.”

In a 2019 interview with Famitsu, Ito said that he was proud of his work on the PS4 and satisfied with how it turned out. Following a rough patch with the PS3, Ito wanted the company to regain its former glory especially during the PS1 and PS2 era, which he helped Sony succeed in doing together with architect Mark Cerny.

All the best, Ito san!

In other news, new Silent Hill game’s playable concept and script has apparently leaked, and Naughty Dog may have teased its next IP in The Last of Us Part 1.

[Source: Gematsu, Bloomberg]

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