Sony pulls firmware 2.40 after it bricks PS3s

Is 'working diligently to isolate the problem" and 'identify a solution'.

After a series of angry forum posts which blamed the new firmware 2.40 for bricking their shiny PS3, Sony Computer Entertainment has taken action and temporarily taken the offending update offline.

In a statement issued via the official PlayStation Blog, Patrick Seybold, director of corporate communications & social media, said: "As has been reported on many gaming blogs and websites, we have temporarily taken Firmware v2.40 offline. We've received a limited number of calls from consumers experiencing an issue with installing the system software update on their PS3. While our consumer services department has seen a low volume of calls on this topic, we are committed to providing the PS3 community with XMB access features delivered in the v2.40 update."

For the time being PS3 gamers that haven't already successfully updated their consoles will have to continue playing games without Trophy support and the ability to access the XMB in-game. This is certainly not what SCE would have had in mind when it was planning for the 2.40 roll-out.

PS3 gamers affected by the problem will be wondering what exactly the platform holder is doing to rectify the situation. According to Seybold SCE is "working diligently to isolate the problem for those few consumers and to identify a solution before we put the firmware back up".

If you've been affected by firmware 2.40 let us know in the comments section below.