PS3 Firmware Update 3.0 Causing Games to Freeze

Drakes Fortune, COD 4, PES 09 and BioShock Amongst Affected Titles

Sep 7, 2009 Jay Davies

Firmware upgrades for consoles usually fall into one of the following two categories:

• Something to look forward to and revel in when they fix a lingering fault, streamline the menu system, add an all new feature or pre-empt a possible future fault

• More often than not a pleasant looking upgrade that actually comes with a selection of bugs and gremlins under the surface

It appears that Sony's 3.0 Firmware for the Playstation 3 falls squarely into the second one, at least for a large selection of gamers.

The Positives of PS3's 3.0 Firmware

On the face of it, the 3.0 upgrade looks to have made a few nice changes.

Startup now features both the old and the new 'PS3' logos and the background for the profile selection screen now has a sparkly effect which will no doubt incite a few 'ooh's and 'aah's the first time gamers see it.

There are also a few new features on the XMB. The game section now has a link to the PS3 Store and the default starting point is now a 'Recently Used' kind of feature that lists the players recently loaded games and applications as well as the 'recommended' items from the Store.

British users also get a direct link to BBC's I-Player on the TV tab, which has been streamlined for use on a big screen.

The Negatives of PS3's 3.0 Firmware

Other than a few complaints regarding style issues, undoubtedly the biggest problem with the new Firmware is how it supposedly causes certain PS3 Titles to inexplicably freeze up without warning.

Uncharted: Drakes Fortune is meant to be to be the most affected game, becoming completely unplayable for some users while others report no issues at all.

Other titles supposedly affected are Call of Duty 4, Bioshock, UFC Army of 2 and Pro Evolution Soccer (Winning 11) 2009, but reports of more and more games 'locking up' are constantly appearing across the internet.

One disgruntled PES 2009 gamer, Brett Bailey from Rotherham said when asked about the problem:

"At first I thought my console had developed a problem, either a faulty drive or that it was overheating. I played a few other games with no issues, so decided it must be the disc as it seemed to be freezing every time the match kicked off.

"I even bought another copy of the game but the same problem existed. It was stressful not knowing what was causing it, but then I saw that others were having issues since updating.

"I just hope they release a fix soon, because there's no way to downgrade until the problems are solved and it means I have games I've paid money for that I can't play on anymore"

Further Problems with PS3's 3.0 Firmware

Furthermore it appears the problems may not be limited to games, as other gamers are now saying that both the internet browser and controllers have frozen up since upgrading the console.

Sony have yet to officially comment on the 3.0 problems on their website (as of 06/09/2009) however Gaming Website giants IGN.Com have reported that Sony are 'looking into the problem'.

With the release of 3.0 tying in with the launch of the new Slimline PS3, it seems Sony have rushed this latest Firmware to completion in order to meet a release date, rather than making sure all the kinks had been ironed out.

Hopefully a 3.1 update is just around the corner, but until then many PS3 owners may simply have to appreciate the consoles aesthetics rather than playing their favourite titles.

Update - Sony have released version 3.01 which seems to have fixed many of the freezing issues caused by the 3.0 Firmware upgrade.