Sony Sued Over PS3-Destroying Firmware 3.0

[John Funk]

Sony Sued Over PS3-Destroying Firmware 3.0

Sony is being served with a class-action lawsuit over its poorly-received 3.0 firmware update, which is said to have "irreparably damaged" thousands of PlayStation 3 consoles.

Some might say the launch of the mandatory firmware 3.0 was reports Courthouse News [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/94487-Sony-Looking-Into-PS3-Firmware-3-00-Issues].

[blockquote]Thousands of Sony PlayStation 3 owners say they downloaded a mandatory software update that irreparably damaged their machines, causing the consoles to freeze and the controllers to stop working. In a federal class action against Sony Computer Entertainment America, disgruntled gamers say their PS3s crashed after they installed Firmware 3.0, which Sony claimed would add "a number of great new features" and "changes that improve navigation on (their) PS3."[/blockquote]

The lawsuit further alleges that the followup "fix" update (which, despite what Courthouse News says, did not come out "months" after 3.0's early September release) resulted in further problems, rendering Blu-Ray drives inoperable. According to lead plaintiff John Kennedy, Sony told him it would cost him $150 to repair his broken console.

Kennedy and the other members of the class-action suit are demanding "declaratory relief, compensation and restitution for breach of implied warranty, negligence and unjust enrichment."

(Via Edge [http://www.edge-online.com/news/sony-sued-over-ps3-crashing-firmware])

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[Casual Shinji]

I'm sure Sony has some juggernaut lawyers who smooth things over.

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

I think sony has a boo-boo.
Oh well, I think they can get over it.
Kinda like the RROD, really. they'll find a way to get past it.

 

[VincentX3]

Serves them right. They could "at least" test the firmwire update to see if it works.

 

[Spirultima]

Hm, well at least i can take this as it not being worse then the RRoD, but on a less fanboy note, Sony made a mistake, as long as they fix it, i won't lose too much respect for Sony.

 

[manaman]

Serves them right. They could "at least" test the firmwire update to see if it works.

A small company, with limited resources I can see them not fully testing an update.

Sony I am sure tested the crap out of that update. Not everyone has the same version of firmware they are updating from, the problem may lie in the fact that someone is updating from a very old version, rather then the tested newer version. They may not have tested with all the programs a user is likely to have. They may not have also tested with every single version of every component part they used. I am sure that this mammoth sized company at least did normal testing.

Hm, well at least i can take this as it not being worse then the RRoD, but on a less fanboy note, Sony made a mistake, as long as they fix it, i won't lose too much respect for Sony.

They haven't fixed it, and the only solution they have offered so far is for the effected people to send in their PS3's and pay a repair cost. Hence the lawsuit, which may actually be a little out of hand as they have tried to release a fixed update, and the $150 repair cost might be before word filtered down to the people on the phones that this was Sonys fault, and the customer should not have to pay for it.

 

[Simalacrum]

first an update for the Wii destroys consoles, now firmware 3.1 is doing so too? Blimey, suddenly this whole 'system update' business is looking rather risky!

 

[Eldarion]

I'm sure Sony has some juggernaut lawyers who smooth things over.

Made me think of Juggernaught in a business suit holding case papers.

lol.

Seriously though you are right, the company will smooth things over.

 

[JoshGod]

have microsoft been sued for RROD? seriously i dont know. anyway i hope they are.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Not surprising, you can't force an update on someone, break the console in the process then turn around and say they owe you $150 without expecting some kind of backlash.

Now to wait for the Nintendo one when they refuse to repair someone's 'modded' console...

 

[Woodsey]

Hm, well at least i can take this as it not being worse then the RRoD, but on a less fanboy note, Sony made a mistake, as long as they fix it, i won't lose too much respect for Sony.

To be fair to Sony, they released a fix for it pretty quick (like you said). To be unfair to Sony, they should of tested it beforehand and this is their fault.

Surely this is an equivalent to the RRoD (ignoring the ridiculous failure rate)? I mean, these are both complete hardware failures.

I'm sure they've got enough money in the piggy-bank to settle this over without too much damage though.

 

[asinann]

All I know is that half my games haven't worked since 3.0 came out and I'm getting a touch tired of it. With Sony they will sit and deny the problem until they are blue in the face while trying to charge for repairs that don't fix the problem.

have microsoft been sued for RROD? seriously i dont know. anyway i hope they are.

They haven't and won't be, they pre-empted the lawsuits by extending the warranty to cover the repairs for it as opposed to trying to charge for them. Hell, they even pay shipping.

 

[mattag08]

Hmm...yet again we see the superiority of PC gaming? I know my rig inside and out and have personally done every ounce of construction and installation of software. I think that this knowledge allows me to more properly patch and update to my personal needs. I can also fix driver and software compatibility issues extremely quickly because of this first hand knowledge. Console gamers seem to be regarded as non-thinking wallets who are at the mercy of the hardware and software developers.

 

[Kollega]

Hey,guys at Sony! This just in: you have millions of users,and a great responsibility!

No,seriously. Couldn't they just test it extensively? In war,redundancy is your friend,even if it's console war.

 

[Vlane]

Console gamers seem to be regarded as non-thinking wallets who are at the mercy of the hardware and software developers.

Wrong. Correct would be: "Some console gamers seem to be regarded as non-thinking wallets who are at the mercy of the hardware and software developers.".

 

[Croaker42]

I've never before seen a console generation with so many fatal flaws. It's appalling. And despite all this bricking, criticism of PC elitism is at an all-time high.

I reall makes me sad.

Thought I dont think elitism is a flaw in itself if its true. What makes it better is if my PC bricks I know who did it. (ME) I also know who is going to fix it. (ME) No selfimportant lawsuits that actually hurt everyone.

 

[IamQ]

They're suing Sony over a problem that's already fixed?


Whyyyyyyyy?

 

[Trotgar]

Serves them right. They could "at least" test the firmwire update to see if it works.

A small company, with limited resources I can see them not fully testing an update.

Uhh... a small company? And of course they have limited resources, who doesn't?