PS3 downloads are now a reality for just about every PS3 owner in the world, the only exceptions being those that have no internet access. If you own a PS3 and don’t have internet, it’s probably about time you made the step up, as you don’t know what you are missing – PS3 downloads can seriously lengthen your enjoyment of your console.

The PS3 has a few tricks up its sleeve that can really make you understand why the console itself is so expensive, namely the HDMI 1080p output and also the inbuilt BluRay player, and now when you add to that the ability to buy PS3 downloads directly from Sony’s own site, and you can really start to understand what an entertainment powerhouse this machine is going to be over the next few years.

It doesn’t take too long however before most PS3 owners start asking how or where can they get some free PS3 downloads, or namely free PS3 game downloads. The answers to this question are many, and actually it’s a complicated situation.

The easiest route is the downloads directly from Sony – they aren’t quite free, but you can get the latest games on the day of release and usually save yourself some money on the price in stores. Pretty cool but not exactly free.

The bottom line though, is that you CAN download free PS3 games, if you are willing to go to the various P2P and torrent sites. If you check it out you’ll see what I mean, just about every game you’ve heard of is basically there waiting to be downloaded. But, (and it’s a big but) chances are you won’t be able to use these games at all. The PS3, with it’s complex internal architecture and impregnable firmware has as yet proved to be uncrackable to the hackers of the world, which means you literally can’t use the games you download. Why anyone has copied the contents of the discs to their PC and uploaded them to the torrent sites is anyone’s guess, but for the vast majority of us, playing these free PS3 downloads like this remains somewhere in the future.

There is talk of people being able to remove the PS3s hard drive and attach the hard drive to their computer, and transfer the games across this way, which would apparently allow a smart hacker to bypass the hyper-secure firmware. In theory this would then give any PS3 owner the ability to enjoy all the free PS3 downloads they could want, but as yet successful results from this are hard to find, if any exist at all.

As you’ve seen, obtaining free PS3 downloads is a bit of a gray area at the moment, with some people claiming it’s possible and others claiming not, with no real proof either way. Your best bet until something new develops is to enjoy the Sony downloads, and check out the links below.