Sony Releases Key PS3 Firmware Update

Sony has released the latest 1.70 firmware for its PlayStation 3 console, laying the groundwork for playing downloadable PS1 titles on the console itself, and improving backward compatibility with PS2 peripherals. Long announced and in development, the latest firmware update has finally promised to give players the chance to play the PlayStation Network's selection of downloadable PS1 titles on the PlayStation 3 itself, as opposed to just on the PSP. However, for now, it appears PS1 downloads will have to be specially enabled by Sony to work on the PlayStation 3. This means users will have to re-download PS1 games bought before this latest update, and the downloads have not yet been updated. Japanese reports indicate that this will happen, at least in that territory, on April 26th. The firmware also adds the ability for players to transfer PlayStation 1 save data from the PSP to PS3, giving them the option to seamlessly continue games whether at home or away. There are also a number of backwards compatibility updates, especially important for European consumers with more limited compatibility due to the different hardware configuration. The new PlayStation 3 system firmware is available by selecting the system update on your PS3 console -- at this time, the North American firmware page has yet to be updated for offline updating. [UPDATE: SCEA has sent official word of the new firmware to Gamasutra, elaborating that the PlayStation titles currently available through the PlayStation store will have to be repackaged for dual use on the PS3 and PSP. No firm dates were set for the updated versions of existing games, nor on the following set of titles to come, apart from promising the repacks 'soon.']