What just happened? It's been nearly 20 years since the PlayStation 3 launched, but that doesn't mean Sony is done pushing out updates for the console. A new one rolled out today, though how much owners appreciate it will likely depend on how they use their machine.
The 4.93 update for the PlayStation 3 arrived this morning, exactly one year after the 4.92 update. As PlayStation Lifestyle reports, the patch notes are the same vague line PS3 owners have been seeing for years: "This system software update improves system performance."
Sony's own support page shows the same wording for versions 4.89, 4.90, 4.91, 4.92, and now 4.93, which tells you that this isn't some exciting late-life feature drop for a console from 2006.
But while this might sound like a generous act at a time when some companies are dropping support for games that are half as old as the PS3, Sony's actions aren't altruistic.
The likely reason for the update is to combat PlayStation 3 modding and jailbreaking, or at least make things more difficult for people using them.
These annual patches are widely understood to be tied to Blu-ray encryption keys, which means they help Sony keep control over the aging hardware while also disrupting modded systems and custom firmware until the homebrew community catches up.
Sony more or less says as much itself, just in far more polite language. On its official PS3 update page, the company notes that the console needs a renewed Blu-ray player encryption key to keep playing Blu-ray discs.
An older PlayStation manual explains that the AACS encryption key used for Blu-ray copyright protection expires every 12 to 18 months and has to be renewed through a system software update.
That doesn't mean the update is completely useless. If you own an unmodded PS3 and still use it to watch Blu-ray movies, installing 4.93 is probably a good idea. Sony says installing the update requires at least 200MB of free space, and without these periodic renewals, older hardware can eventually lose the ability to play newer Blu-ray media properly.
FlatpanelsHD made the same point last year when Sony rolled out 4.92, noting that without these updates the PS3 would eventually stop playing Blu-ray discs.
In related news, the PlayStation 3 made headlines in February when Netflix announced that it would be ending app support for the lowest-selling PlayStation home console on March 3.
Netflix became available on the console in 2009, but because a deal between Xbox and Netflix made the digital version of the app exclusive to the Xbox 360, PS3 users had to request a Blu-ray disc to access the service. The deal ended in 2010, allowing PlayStation 3 owners to finally download and use the Netflix app.
Image credit: Nikita Kostrykin