Report: PS4 Bug is Erasing Save Games, Bricking Consoles

[Buizel91]

Good thing this is a bug and not a hardware issue, means they can sort it out pretty quickly.

Heres hoping "quickly" is in the next few weeks and not months

 

[Flippincrazy]

Dayum. Wonder what ended up causing this? Hopefully they'll fix this soon, I can only imagine how awful it'd be to have such a snazzy, expensive new console die on you.

So far, users have reported seeing it in NBA 2K14, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, and Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag.

So it affects every single game released on the PS4 to date? How unfortunate.

But seriously, whilst such errors are expected in the initial year of launch, this sucks for those who've encountered the issue. Hope Sony get right on this.

 

[bluegate]

Makes me wonder what's causing all of this and why it would suddenly popup now, there hasn't been a firmware update recently, has there?

 

[ckam]

Oh, that sucks for people who forked out $400 only for that to happen.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Apparently no one here know what a bricked device means, including the article author. Not being able to launch applications does not mean the console is bricked. If you can still start it up, you can still install a fix or run a factory reset.

And by design it's impossible to brick a PC. There is just no way, you can always remove the battery from the bios and reset to plug and play settings, if you don't have hardware fault (witch is a different thing altogether) you're good to go.

Ever had a Motherboard Firmware update go horribly wrong? I have. And it DOES happen and CAN brick a PC. Granted you just pull out said mobo and put in a new one, but its annoyingly frustrating. So yeah, it can and does happen from time to time.

 

[Church185]

Because consoles are so much more user friendly than PCs right guys? At least if my PC gets bricked I can fix it myself, I don't need to send it away.

Because you totally won't have to RMA replacement parts, amiright?

Consoles are still more user friendly than PCs. People buy them so they won't HAVE to take the steps to fix/build their own device.

 

[TiberiusEsuriens]

Oh boy, another bout of bricking for the PS4. I'm afraid to turn mine on until the problem has been solved. I still haven't bought the 3 year warranty... perhaps I should do that, if I'm still able to.

Yeah, they really need to sort this one out since Infamous and Watch_Dogs are finally about to come out. Until then, I'm going to avoid my PS4 also. Good thing I just picked up XCOM on the last Steam sale... gonna be scratching that itch for a good while ^.^

 

[Gorrath]

Yeah right. I bet if this happened with the XOne, no one would ever let Microsoft hear the end of it. This error completely erased a bunch of save games and sometimes corrupted the entire console for who knows how many people. But hey, it's OK because it's Sony, guys. They just made a little boo-boo is all.

Why would that not be the case? People put up with issues from, and tend to be forgiving toward, companies that they like. People would rip Xbone a new one over this exact same issue because they don't like the company that produced it in the first place. Microsoft tried to treat console buyers like drooling humunculi and are still reaping the whirlwind from that. This is not in any way surprising.

 

[SinisterGehe]

The new and glorious console generation seems to have few birth defects. It almost feels like they rushed these things out... THEY HAD YEARS TO PERFECT THIS!

PCs might cost more but they can be fixed easier, you don't need to send it back to retailer and wait months for replacement. And more user friendly my ass - it is not user friendly if the user can't even use it.

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

See? Consoles really ARE just shit PCs.

Except y'know. I can fix mine right away, and even people with limited know-how, can just surf google for a while.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Huh, bit worrying that there's already been a couple of big issues with the PS4 since it launched. I know it's to be expected, but it doesn't help. Hopefully these problems can be sorted out as quickly as possible.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

Why would that not be the case? People put up with issues from, and tend to be forgiving toward, companies that they like. People would rip Xbone a new one over this exact same issue because they don't like the company that produced it in the first place. Microsoft tried to treat console buyers like drooling humunculi and are still reaping the whirlwind from that. This is not in any way surprising.

And that's where they're wrong. It isn't about liking or disliking a company, it is simply a business of whether the product that they're selling right now is worthy of your money. Some people say yes, some people say no. But the people that say no only because they 'want to make Micro$oft pay' are acting incredibly ridiculous.

Also, for the record, the system Microsoft wanted to implement had a lot of cool benefits too, you know. For example, you could now sell all your digital games, something you couldn't even do with Steam and, in fact, still can't do. You could be able to play ANY your games at ANY time on ANY One console as long as you had an internet connection. Anyone that was linked to your account could play any of your games if you gave them permission. The digital system that they had ready was pretty sweet as far as they go. Unfortunately, Microsoft did a terrible job selling it and of course, people just saw the negative things about it instead.

 

[Cid Silverwing]

You had one job, Sony.

One. Goddamn. Job.

And you fucked up.


Not that I needed another reason to avoid the new generation like the Bubonic Plague that it is.

 

[Quellist]

Yet again i find myself glad i cancelled my preorder scant days before Amazon would have dispatched my PS4. Another bullet dodged.

I just hope its fixed by the time FF XV comes out

 

[Gorrath]

Why would that not be the case? People put up with issues from, and tend to be forgiving toward, companies that they like. People would rip Xbone a new one over this exact same issue because they don't like the company that produced it in the first place. Microsoft tried to treat console buyers like drooling humunculi and are still reaping the whirlwind from that. This is not in any way surprising.

And that's where they're wrong. It isn't about liking or disliking a company, it is simply a business of whether the product that they're selling right now is worthy of your money. Some people say yes, some people say no. But the people that say no only because they 'want to make Micro$oft pay' are acting incredibly ridiculous.

Also, for the record, the system Microsoft wanted to implement had a lot of cool benefits too, you know. For example, you could now sell all your digital games, something you couldn't even do with Steam and, in fact, still can't do. You could be able to play ANY your games at ANY time on ANY One console as long as you had an internet connection. Anyone that was linked to your account could play any of your games if you gave them permission. The digital system that they had ready was pretty sweet as far as they go. Unfortunately, Microsoft did a terrible job selling it and of course, people just saw the negative things about it instead.

Just to be clear, as you and I converse on this, I am not a fanboy of any manufacturer of electronic goods. I own a 360 because I felt its value at the time I purchased it was greater than that of Sony's offering. I only mention this because I want to make certain it is well understood that I am not an enthusiastic supporter of Sony and dislike Microsoft axiomatically. I also looked in detail at the information released for both consoles as the information came out on this website and others, and my comments here are based on that.

With all of that said, it is my, and many others opinions that the system MS was trying to implement was blatant, half-baked garbage that was engineered for the convenience of the publishers, not the consumers. I take form your comment that you do not agree with this assessment of that system, and that's fine. You saw the value proposition of the system and thought it had merit, many others saw the same proposition and thought it was horse-shit. We could argue individual merits and drawbacks, but that subject has been beaten on these forums at length and I think you and I both understand the arguments well, so no need for a retread.

So, those that saw that proposition, not just as a bad product, but as one that was designed to create convenience for the publisher at the cost of the paying customer's experience, are certainly going to bash the company that wanted to implement that system harder for the same issues than its competitor. Is that fair? One could argue that the issues are what they are and both should be viewed as equals. On the other hand, one could also argue that continued punishment of MS for its dirty dealings is warranted because it will continue to send the message that we recognized the BS for what it was, and we will not accept it. Obviously because you liked the value prospect, this continued punishment, or any punishment, may seem unreasonable, but for people like myself who feel like MS was trying to package garbage and sell it as gold, it seems fair. So at the end of the day, I think this is a disagreement based on perspective.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

Just to be clear, as you and I converse on this, I am not a fanboy of any manufacturer of electronic goods. I own a 360 because I felt its value at the time I purchased it was greater than that of Sony's offering. I only mention this because I want to make certain it is well understood that I am not an enthusiastic supporter of Sony and dislike Microsoft axiomatically. I also looked in detail at the information released for both consoles as the information came out on this website and others, and my comments here are based on that.

With all of that said, it is my, and many others opinions that the system MS was trying to implement was blatant, half-baked garbage that was engineered for the convenience of the publishers, not the consumers. I take form your comment that you do not agree with this assessment of that system, and that's fine. You saw the value proposition of the system and thought it had merit, many others saw the same proposition and thought it was horse-shit. We could argue individual merits and drawbacks, but that subject has been beaten on these forums at length and I think you and I both understand the arguments well, so no need for a retread.

So, those that saw that proposition, not just as a bad product, but as one that was designed to create convenience for the publisher at the cost of the paying customer's experience, are certainly going to bash the company that wanted to implement that system harder for the same issues than its competitor. Is that fair? One could argue that the issues are what they are and both should be viewed as equals. On the other hand, one could also argue that continued punishment of MS for its dirty dealings is warranted because it will continue to send the message that we recognized the BS for what it was, and we will not accept it. Obviously because you liked the value prospect, this continued punishment, or any punishment, may seem unreasonable, but for people like myself who feel like MS was trying to package garbage and sell it as gold, it seems fair. So at the end of the day, I think this is a disagreement based on perspective.

Actually, we may be more in agreement than you think. Here, I can summarize the Xbox One with three basic ideas. Great concepts but SHODDILY executed and POORLY timed. They didn't market the ideas they had for crap and they jumped the gun way too soon for an always-online console. This is what happens when the good ol' people in Redmond get so disconnected with reality that they release products who only they think would be good. That's what happened. They probably honestly thought that a fully digital console would be the cats pajamas but they forgot in their bubble that not everyone can or want to be constantly plugged in as they are. We're simply not there yet both in attitude and basic internet infrastructure. Even I didn't support the One at the time even though I saw its advantages.

 

[AgedGrunt]

Was expecting someone to demonstrate statistics by now. Well, here goes:

Due to human nature people generally don't register feedback unless something goes wrong, and negativity is almost always louder than positive review. To be sure, criticism is usually attention-grabbing.

Anyway, let's put things into perspective:
At CES 2014, Sony has announced that the PS4 has sold 4.2 million units as of December 28, 2013.
http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/174239-ps4-sells-4-2-million-units-in-2013-beating-the-xbox-one-comfortably

In the OP, the link takes you to what looks like a massive thread of problems, yet there are (at the time of this posting) fewer than 400 messages (which almost certainly means even fewer unique complaints than that). But just to make a point let's be generous with an assumption No, how about really, really, generous: 10,000 unique cases of this bug.

10,000/4,200,000 = 0.24%

In other terms, 99.76% of PS4s sold would be unaffected in light of a quaking 10,000 problematic systems.

This isn't to dismiss the bug, it's important that owners are aware. But it's not worth a freak-out nor is it really significant. It's embarrassing and damaging to the company/console's reputation only in so far as fans being outraged and throwing epic fits when their expensive toys don't work flawlessly. From an engineering standpoint the figure above is noteworthy but far from an unacceptable rate.

Sucks for those who became a statistic, but you just can't make a perfect product.

 

[NiPah]

Because consoles are so much more user friendly than PCs right guys? At least if my PC gets bricked I can fix it myself, I don't need to send it away.

I was wondering when the PC fan brigade would come in and preach the gospel of the personal computer.
I'm actually getting somewhat skeptical about just how good PCs are... surely if they were so amazing you wouldn't have wasted so much time posting on forums and actually been, you know, enjoying your godlike system.

 

[Foxbat Flyer]

I had this problem on my ps4, it got to the point of looping into safe mode, had to fully reinitialise the console before it would work, lost all my saves... but its working again now, and im back to where I was before the crash

 

[Something Amyss]

Hm, part of me is wanting to bet that this might have been caused by an update that Sony did, but I don't have a PS4 yet.

It would fit the pattern with the PS3 issues of similar nature.