Rockstar Games caused a hell of a stir yesterday when it theorized PlayStation 3's latest firmware update, version 3.61, was causing older iterations of the hardware to overheat and lock up L.A. Noire.

The company has just released a joint statement with Sony backing off that claim, however.

"We have received a very small number of customer support questions about PS3’s overheating or shutting down while playing L.A. Noire," reads the statement. "At this time, Rockstar Games and Sony can confirm that neither L.A. Noire or firmware update 3.61 are causing the PS3 hardware to overheat. We are both committed to working hard to find solutions to this and any issues that may arise."

A patch is currently in the works for both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of L.A. Noire, meant to address various complaints of technical issues. As of this writing, there is no timeframe for either patch.

Speaking personally, L.A. Noire locked up my PS3 a few times last night. I've had issues with my 60GB PS3 in the past, though, which I've been unable to correctly diagnose, despite cleaning for dust.

Rockstar Games caused a hell of a stir yesterday when it theorized PlayStation 3's latest firmware update, version 3.61, was causing older iterations of the hardware to overheat and lock up L.A. Noire.

The company has just released a joint statement with Sony backing off that claim, however.

"We have received a very small number of customer support questions about PS3’s overheating or shutting down while playing L.A. Noire," reads the statement. "At this time, Rockstar Games and Sony can confirm that neither L.A. Noire or firmware update 3.61 are causing the PS3 hardware to overheat. We are both committed to working hard to find solutions to this and any issues that may arise."

A patch is currently in the works for both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of L.A. Noire, meant to address various complaints of technical issues. As of this writing, there is no timeframe for either patch.

Speaking personally, L.A. Noire locked up my PS3 a few times last night. I've had issues with my 60GB PS3 in the past, though, which I've been unable to correctly diagnose, despite cleaning for dust.

Man is Sony have is having one hell of a year so far....

I could imagine Sony paying Rockstar to make this statement.   Dumbasses.

Yeah, one heck of a year for sony.

Damn Sony really needs to announce a new system this E3, the sales of the ps3 must be plummeting fast.

Heheh... right.

They should just slash the prices of the PS3. Then I'll buy one.

I'd be worried for Sony if they weren't such a diverse company.

Wow- all of this makes me thankful for an xbox and slow framerates?  Though last night it locked up on me once.  But I did something I thought of later as complex:
I died in a side case.  I reloaded- asked my partner to drive to our objective, and the screens telling me how to restart the side quest came  up, and the game locked as it began the conversation bit.  That makes sense- I did something highly unusual.

when it comes to the overheating and turning off, I think it's just people's ps3 breaking down (it happens, electronics die) and it just so happens to coincide with people turning on their ps3 for the first time in a long time and getting a new firmware = that must be the reason.

the locking up should be fixable with a patch though.

The only time that it's locked up for me is when I was trying to access the PSN from within the game. It seemed repeatable though, which makes me suspicious.

Jesus people, lay off Sony. 

BUYER BEWARE!!

@patrickklepek What sorts of problems are you having Patrick? I have a 60GB PS3 as well but to date I haven't really had any issues with it.

Seems to me the problem is your 60gig PS3. If you would have bought an Xbox 360 instead you wouldn't be having this problem. That's because you would have had to replace your console with a newer model by now.

I want to hear the phone call from Sony to Rockstar that prompted this release. I hope it started with, "You ignorant slut."

My PS3 sounds like a vacuum cleaner whenever I play LA Noir...

I could imagine Sony paying Rockstar to make this statement.   Dumbasses.

Keynote at E3 is going to be brutal to watch.

Why are we only talking about Sony here?

There have been people saying that the 360 version of L.A. Noire has been causing problems too.

The only time that it's locked up for me is when I was trying to access the PSN from within the game. It seemed repeatable though, which makes me suspicious.

Memo to self:  Could you PLEASE STOP buying things day 1?  Idiota!

Why are we only talking about Sony here?There have been people saying that the 360 version of L.A. Noire has been causing problems too.

"Watch faces."
Fantastic.

@ChristianCastillo: The LAST thing Sony needs to do is rush a new console to market before it's ready. We wont hear anything about a new Sony console for at least another couple years.

And the award for best use of a picture in a news article goes to....

When the villains of Sony strike:

'God's sake Sony are so shit'

The Sony Defence Force come to play!

'Your mum!'

To be continued next time...

Why are we only talking about Sony here?There have been people saying that the 360 version of L.A. Noire has been causing problems too.

I've had no lock-ups so far on the 360.  But im only on the second disk so well see how the rest goes.

I wonder if Sony executives threaten to sue Rockstar like they did GeoHot?

The 360 one has some pretty bad framerate at times, its not ruining the game for me yet since its always right when you get to a scene and not when you're inside (which seems weird). 

I wonder if Sony executives threaten to sue Rockstar like they did GeoHot?

@npeterson08: I think part of the problem is that they are such a diverse company.  They make a ton of things but do none of them well.   They really just try to compete on price.

Why are we only talking about Sony here?There have been people saying that the 360 version of L.A. Noire has been causing problems too.

Sounds like Sony got on the phone to Rockstar and said "HOLY CRAP WE GOTTA TELL EVERYONE ITS NOT US OR WE'LL GET SUED!....AND WE DON'T NEED NO MORE SUED!!!"

See, it had nothing to do with the PS3 patch update. And BTW my L.A. Noire is still running well.

I haven't had any problems with the 360 version except for one glitch where Cole was standing up in the driver's seat with his upper body poking through the roof for like three seconds.

Well, aside from the "problem" of the low framerate on face textures, which I assume is result of the compromise to fit the game onto 3 discs of ~6.8 gigs instead of one disc of ~47 gigs. It sure does look ugly when the models open their mouths before the texture changes though.

It's simple really, it's just too much for the ps3's gpu and will overheat it.

When the villains of Sony strike:'God's sake Sony are so shit'The Sony Defence Force come to play!'Your mum!'To be continued next time...

The first thing I did when I booted LA Noire was to press the button that said PSN Store, even though I know the PSN store is down. My PS3 froze and I had to restart it. I thought I deserved it.