New PS3 firmware update coming June 27 to fix bug in update v4.45

A new PlayStation 3 system software update will be available June 27 to fix the "bricked" consoles caused by update v4.45 earlier this week, Sony Computer Entertainment announced today.

The company released PS3 firmware v4.45 on June 18 to add notification options for PlayStation Network Trophies and "improve system stability." But reports of users unable to load the system's main menu soon inundated the PlayStation forums, and Sony pulled the update down while it investigated the problems and searched for a solution.

"We have identified the issue related to the PlayStation 3 software update (version 4.45) that impacted a small number of PS3 systems earlier this week," said Morgan Haro of the PSN community team today. "A new PS3 system software update is planned to be released on June 27 that resolves the issue. Thank you for your patience and understanding and we apologize for the inconvenience."

Haro added that Sony will provide details along with the new update on how users with bricked systems can implement the fix.