PlayStation 3 'Other OS' lawsuit dismissed
Twenty months after Sony disabled the PlayStation 3's 'Other OS' feature, which allowed users to install and run Linux, a US federal court has dismissed the class action suit filed against Sony in protest.
Twenty months after Sony disabled the PlayStation 3's 'Other OS' feature, which allowed users to install and run Linux, a US federal court has dismissed the class action suit filed against Sony in protest. The judge dismissed all but one of the suit's claims earlier this year. Although the class had time to amend the suit, a judge ruled that the class has still failed to show "wrongdoing" by Sony.
The lawsuit was originally filed in April 2010, shortly after Sony released a firmware update disabling Other OS on all PlayStation 3s. Users were given the choice to either install it and lose Other OS, or go without, and be unable to use the PlayStation Network.
The lawsuit (via Gamasutra) accused Sony of an "unfair and deceptive business practice," leveling claims against it from "breach of contract" to "unjust enrichment." Naturally, it sought money from Sony, both in damages and refunds.
However, in February 2011, Judge Richard Seeborg dismissed all but one of these claims. Seeborg did permit the claim that Sony "intentionally caused damage without authorization, to a protected computer," saying himself that Sony had not "conclusively established" that the PS3's license allowed it to disable Other OS, or that downloading the update was authorizing the removal.
The plaintiffs were allowed time to amend the suit but, after that, Seeborg approved Sony's motion to dismiss it. He ruled that they couldn't prove they had a right to expect Other OS support beyond the warranty period, or continued access to PSN, the Courthouse News Service explains.
"As a matter of providing customer satisfaction and building loyalty, it may have been questionable," Judge Seeborg wrote. "As a legal matter, however, plaintiffs have failed to allege facts or articulate a theory on which Sony may be held liable."
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replyAlice O'Connor posted a new article, PlayStation 3 'Other OS' lawsuit dismissed.
Twenty months after Sony disabled the PlayStation 3's 'Other OS' feature, which allowed users to install and run Linux, a US federal court has dismissed the class action suit filed against Sony in protest.-
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That's a bit unsettling... how far does this go? I mean, if all certain PS3 models are outside of warranty how much of an expectation should the average user have of its continued use? Taking this all the way, would Sony be in the clear for just bricking all old enough PS3 consoles so long as they are out of warranty?
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here's a copy of the actual opinion dismissing the complaint. may be a bit difficult to follow if you're not used to reading judicial writing
http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/12/09/PS3.pdf-
good read. thanks for sharing.
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That's actually a good read. I guess I see where they're coming from, but it's still a pretty shitty thing for Sony to do. I'm not sure I agree with the ruling either. It's basically stating that it's ok for manufacturers to take away features from the product they originally sold, so long as they don't force the update on people.
You basically either decide to continue using the device just as it was when they stopped supporting the feature you want and get no further updates, or you give up the feature you want.-
The key take away I think is that services are not guaranteed. PSN is a service and you don't have a right to access it. The conclusion is quite reasonable:
" The dismay and frustration at least some PS3 owners likely experienced when Sony made
the decision to limit access to the PSN service to those who were willing to disable the Other OS
feature on their machines was no doubt genuine and understandable. As a matter of providing
customer satisfaction and building loyalty, it may have been questionable. As a legal matter,
however, plaintiffs have failed to allege facts or to articulate a theory on which Sony may be held
liable"
As you said, arguably shitty and potentially unwise for business reasons, but perfectly legal.-
What about Blu-ray playback?
Some of the new Sony movies out now won't play unless you update the firmware (included on the disc of course).
If we're not to expect to have access to PSN, shouldn't we expect that our Blu-ray player will continue to play movies without disabling features we paid for?
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Except for the ability to connect to PSN.
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What about games that "require" an update? I can understand not allowing access to PSN if you don't update for various reasons, but games? Aren't there games now where if you don't update, you can't play?
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2011, not the year of Linux :(
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