Following through on a promise made in February, Sony released a PS3 firmware update that lets members of its pay service, PlayStation Plus, save data on cloud servers, negating the need for monstrous hard drives to contain game saves.

Engadget reports the update also has a little something for “freeloaders,” letting all PS3 gamers who get the mandatory update set the length of time they’d like the system to wait before it shuts off their Bluetooth-connected controllers.

Sony’s pay service is less relevant than Microsoft’s ultra-popular Xbox Live because Microsoft had the foresight/cruelty to stick online gaming behind the paywall. The PS3 lets both paying and non-paying players game online, and offers Plus members myriad unexciting perks, such as discounts on downloadable games and add-ons, as well as occasional free games that go away when your subscription expires. The cloud saving capability is the most valuable addition to Plus so far.

If you play PS3 games, is your hard drive sufficiently stuffed to entice you to subscribe to the $50-a-year service?

PS3 firmware update v3.60 live, adds cloud storage and turns off controllers at intervals of your choice [Engadget]

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