A spate of PlayStation 3 shutdowns Wednesday prompted Sony Corp. to pull the latest firmware update for its game system.

Version 2.40 went out late Tuesday, and almost immediately word circulated that systems everywhere were turning to bricks just after installing the update. Now, Sony has stopped circulating the update, reverting to Version 2.36 instead.

The website Joystiq was the first to report the problem. Since then, Sony has said it will look into it.

Some excitement prefaced 2.40’s release because the update included such features as in-game access to system controls and a new trophy-award feature for game performance. But as soon as the update installed, PS3 users complained of getting a start-up screen minus icons — and nothing else.

It’s not known how many PS3s were affected or whether they can be salvaged. Sony insists the problem is not widespread despite the dozens of complaints from users on the official PS3 message board.