Sony, Square-Enix Sued Over PS3 Final Fantasy XIII

[John Funk]

Sony, Square-Enix Sued Over PS3 Final Fantasy XIII

Sony and Square-Enix have been slapped with a lawsuit over charges that the PS3 version of Final Fantasy XIII bricked systems.

The class-action lawsuit, Final Fantasy XIII [http://ps3movies.ign.com/ps3/document/article/109/1094916/SquareEnix.pdf] will cause the PlayStation 3 to freeze and occasionally render the system permanently inoperable - more commonly known as "bricking." It also blames Sony and Square-Enix for refusing to accept responsibility for the issue, with Sony laying blame on the software and Squeenix pointing fingers at the hardware.

"Both Defendants are eminently aware of the damage being cause by their defective products, and have chosen to do nothing about it," claims the lawsuit. This seems reasonable enough, right? I mean, I haven't had any problems with my PS3 and FF13 myself, but sure, it could happen.

The terms, on the other hand, are a bit less reasonable. The suit, which claims to represent over 100 PS3 owners, is seeking $5 million from Sony and Square-Enix in damages. So ideally, the plaintiffs are seeking approximately $50,000 per person, when the cost of a PS3 (and FF13) is $660 - at most, if you got the PS3 when it was first released.

What, are they suing for emotional damages or something? Are they all going to replace their PS3s with five-grand gold ones [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/96682-Be-the-Man-With-the-Golden-PS3-for-Just-5000]? Really, guys? Really?

(Via GI.biz [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/sony-square-enix-hit-with-USD5m-ffxiii-lawsuit])

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[Stabby Joe]

IF this IS true, then glad I never bought it... IF of course.

Although I am getting really annoyed by the increase in lawsuits... if the games industry is an "industry" that's what happens.

 

[Soulgaunt]

I have a feeling that this will have no effect on Sony or Square Enix. Nothing at all....

 

[Mr. Grey]

I have a feeling that if they don't have a warranty they're out of luck. What happens to the product in your hands is your fault, whether or not they - the company that produced said product - knew ahead of time. The only time this changes is when it endangers a life, such as cadmium jewelry and glasses.

So long as it worked for a period of time then the product did its job... or that's how the courts see it anyways. It's also easy to slide this under "Isolated Incidents", so very easy...

Example: One hundred consoles out of thousands only got affected you say? Yet this is a concern? If it was, wouldn't nearly all of the consoles "brick" as you say? Yet they didn't... I wonder why, could it be that these were Isolated Incidents?

 

[Mookie_Magnus]

Hahahahahahahahaha! Oh my God...
I can't believe they think they'll get anything near that amount of money. That's just ridiculous.
I suppose this is a time when XBox360 users can feel smug for once, though.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I've never had this problem. Then again, I stopped playing the game after the first 2 days.

So in that sense, I'd say the game bricked itself.

 

[Brad Shepard]

See? Thats what they get for booing the 360 version

 

[Waif]

I find myself wincing at this post. Largely because I've seen other games (like Sacred 2) freeze on a PS3, it does happen but it's never broken the PS3. I am unsure what the lawsuit is suing for, normally there is some shred of rationality that I can follow. Though here, there isn't any, I just hope a judge looks at it the same way. That being said, how can these people prove that the game freezing was not caused by their own negligence? This lawsuit seems to be based on greed, rather than common sense. Maybe they are hoping that Sony will just settle out of court, rather than spending a lot more money on legal stuff.

 

[thethingthatlurks]

Hahahahahahahahaha! Oh my God...
I can't believe they think they'll get anything near that amount of money. That's just ridiculous.
I suppose this is a time when XBox360 users can feel smug for once, though.

You mean when they aren't busy chugging their RROD-ed xboxes out of the nearest window?

Yeah, $50,000 is beyond excessive. What the hell did they do to deserve that much cash? Have they built their PS3 into a shiny new car, which is now also brick'd?

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

This isn't going anywhere and by some idiotic chance that it does at least hit a trial they plaintiff's will not be rewarded that money and if they are then people should be executed in the judicial department for allowing such a thing.

 

[squid5580]

I have a feeling that this will have no effect on Sony or Square Enix. Nothing at all....

Yes it will. It will provide both companies enough toleit paper to last them years. Think of the savings.

Wasn't FF13 released around the same time as that nasty update?

 

[Outlaw Torn]

Fair enough if they want to try and get some money back and buy a new system, even if you throw in a bit more money to cover any 'inconvenience' or terrible mental suffering at not being able to play games $50,000 each is just being greedy.

 

[Jared]

Intresting but doubt it's going anywhere. If it's been this low key then I bet it's more of a PR stunt

 

[Soulgaunt]

I have a feeling that this will have no effect on Sony or Square Enix. Nothing at all....

Yes it will. It will provide both companies enough toleit paper to last them years. Think of the savings.

Wasn't FF13 released around the same time as that nasty update?

Ah yes, good point. You and your avatar get a donut.

 

[GonzoGamer]

I suppose this is a time when XBox360 users can feel smug for once, though.

I don't see 360 owners being too smug about bricking systems. It's not like 50% of ps3s bricked.

I may be overreacting but I'm taking ff13 off my rental que right now.

 

[Danpascooch]

I suppose this is a time when XBox360 users can feel smug for once, though.

I don't see 360 owners being too smug about bricking systems. It's not like 50% of ps3s bricked.

I may be overreacting but I'm taking ff13 off my rental que right now.

50% is an outrageous rate to claim.

Sony seems to be the target of a lot of lawsuits lately, these guys would have a case if these allegations are true, but not for the outrageous sum they are suing for (unless that's punitive and not compensatory)

 

[F-I-D-O]

I have a feeling that if they don't have a warranty they're out of luck. What happens to the product in your hands is your fault, whether or not they - the company that produced said product - knew ahead of time. The only time this changes is when it endangers a life, such as cadmium jewelry and glasses.

So long as it worked for a period of time then the product did its job... or that's how the courts see it anyways. It's also easy to slide this under "Isolated Incidents", so very easy...

Example: One hundred consoles out of thousands only got affected you say? Yet this is a concern? If it was, wouldn't nearly all of the consoles "brick" as you say? Yet they didn't... I wonder why, could it be that these were Isolated Incidents?

Or if they were due to people modding the console, which voids the warranty. They could have also tried to download something for the game off of the internet browser, causing a fatal freeze.
They probably are just suing because Sony has been hit by so many other lawsuits recently.