PS3 just got a new system update, a month before its store was originally set to go offline

A new PS3 system update is out now, proving that Sony still isn't done supporting the console as it rapidly approaches its fifteenth birthday.

PS3 update 4.88 rolled out today, June 1, 2021, and according to its official patch notes, it "improves system performance" - you can check out the PS3 Developer Wiki entry on the patch if you want more details, and if terms like "lv2_kernel.self" have any meaning to you. This patch arrives at a more momentous time for PS3 than its last few predecessors, as Sony just recently reversed its decision to shut down the PlayStation Store on PS3.

If all had gone according to Sony's original plan, the PS3 PS Store would have gone offline just over a month from now. However, Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan confirmed that the company "had made the wrong decision" after seeing how many people still wanted the option to purchase and download new (old) games on their PS3 consoles. It's an important issue for people who are interested in preserving the history of video games, though it does seem to only be a delay of Sony inevitably pulling the plug at a later point.

The PS3 was released in 2006 and was Sony's first home console with a significant online infrastructure (you could play some PS2 games online, though if you had the original hardware version you'd have to screw in a big network adapter to the back first). While it's now two generations behind, it looks like the PS3 will stick to a rough update cadence of a couple patches a year, at least for the time being.

It's tempting to see PS3 as a low spot for Sony's console efforts between the halcyon days of the original PlayStation and PS2 and the modern success of the PS4 and PS5. But as our list of the best PS3 games handily demonstrates, even rival consoles from Nintendo and Microsoft eating up more and more of the spotlight didn't keep it from delivering plenty of its own high notes.

Look ahead after all that looking back with our guide to the biggest upcoming PS5 games, and check your cupboards for these most valuable PS3 games.