It’s been four years or so since Sony officially discontinued thePlayStation 3. And while it hasn’t received many new games since, at least from Sony itself (Shakedown: Hawaiireleased for the PS3 in 2020 only a few months before the PlayStation 5 launched), there are clearly people who still use the system to replay old favorites that aren’t available on more modern platforms. Still, it’s surprising and bizarre to learn that a new system update is available for it.
It’s been discovered that the latest system software update for thePlayStation 3released on June 1st, so it’s still very recent. It’s titled version 4.88 and requires a minimum of 200MB of free space. But don’t expect this to mean that Sony’s coming back to support the PS3 as the only thing the update does is improve system performance.
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While this obviously doesn’t indicate anything, it coincidentally enough comes just about a month or so before the console’sPlayStation Storewas going to be shut down. As a reminder, Sony originally planned to close both the digital storefronts for it, the PlayStation Vita, and PlayStation Portable. This generated enough of a backlash that Sony has decided to keep the PS3’s and Vita’s stores up for the time being (the PSP’s store will still be shut down in July).
It’s possible that this update has been planned for a while and would’ve released even if Sony hadn’t backpedaled. Even if new games aren’t coming out for it, some games still have active online communities, which is probably why Sony is continuing the support the console with small system updates like this.
It may be nowhere near as popular as the more modernPlayStation 5and even the PlayStation 4 (both of which have also outperformed the PS3 in terms of sold units), but there are reasons for owners to go back to their PS3s, chief among them being its digital library. There are several games that are easier to buy or only available through the PS3’s PS Store, which is why many were upset with Sony’s plan to shut it down, including multiple PlayStation 2 and even original PlayStation games that may be near to impossible to track down physically.
When it released, the PS3 was negatively received thanks to its high price and lack of launch exclusives, and was certainly overshadowed by the more successful Xbox 360 andNintendo Wii. Its reception improved over time, especially once Sony released a far less bulky model called the PS3 Slim.
