After many months of rumors and wishful thinking, Sony finally released their legendary v2.40 firmware update for the PS3 late last night. Less than 24 hours later however, it can no longer be found because it could cause your system to become a vegetable. If you haven’t downloaded the firmware yet, you’re probably better off.

Reports from the PlayStation boards harbor numerous complaints from people stating they can no longer reach the XMB on their consoles. Instead, they can only see the wave effect as if the system is loading. The only known solution to the problem involves reformatting the PS3’s hard drive. But of course, if you do this, you’ll lose everything you had on your console.

Sony’s PR department has given a short statement to Joystiq, stating they are “looking into it right now and will work with those customers directly to address any issues they may be experiencing.” It’s kind of ironic isn’t it? Sony’s long-awaited answer to the Xbox 360’s features, turning out to be their own red ring of death. I’m sure they’ll come up with a solution rather quickly though, but this is a bit of a PR nightmare for the company regardless.