Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Sony Agrees To Pay Millions To Gamers To Settle PS3 Linux Debacle (arstechnica.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the time-to-pay-up dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: After six years of litigation, Sony is now agreeing to pay the price for its 2010 firmware update that removed support for the Linux operating system in the PlayStation 3. Sony and lawyers representing as many as 10 million console owners reached the deal on Friday. Under the terms of the accord, (PDF) which has not been approved by a California federal judge yet, gamers are eligible to receive $55 if they used Linux on the console. The proposed settlement, which will be vetted by a judge next month, also provides $9 to each console owner that bought a PS3 based on Sony's claims about "Other OS" functionality. Under the plan, gamers eligible for a cash payment are "all persons in the United States who purchased a Fat PS3 model in the United States between November 1, 2006, and April 1, 2010." The accord did not say how much it would cost Sony, but the entertainment company is expected to pay out millions. On March 28, 2010, Sony announced that the update would "disable the 'Install Other OS' feature that was available on the PS3 systems prior to the current slimmer models." This feature, Sony claimed, would be removed "due to security concerns." Sony did not detail those "concerns," but the litigation alleged piracy was behind the decision. A gamer can get the $55, but they "must attest under oath to their purchase of the product and installation of Linux, provide proof of their purchase or serial number and PlayStation Network Sign-in ID, and submit some proof of their use of the Other OS functionality." To get the $9, PS3 owners must submit a claim, at the time they bought their console, they "knew about the Other OS, relied upon the Other OS functionality, and intended to use the Other OS functionality." Alternatively, a gamer "must attest that he or she lost value and/or desired functionality or was otherwise injured as a consequence of Firmware Update 3.21 issued on April 1, 2010," to get $9.

4 of 232 comments (clear)

  1. Lawyers get millions by Geoffrey.landis · · Score: 5, Informative

    So, basically, the lawyers get a fee of millions, but they have made it so hard to actually register for the fifty-five dollar rebate that pretty much all the users will get: zero.

    Horray for America.

    --
    http://www.geoffreylandis.com
    1. Re:Lawyers get millions by mrchaotica · · Score: 5, Insightful

      So instead of claiming $55 from Sony, I will pledge never to give them another dime.

      You hadn't already done that six years ago, when the removal of OtherOS happened? Or before that, when they released the rootkit CDs? Or before that, when they pushed proprietary DRM'd MemorySticks instead of MMC? Or before that, when they pushed proprietary MiniDiscs?

      (I might have gotten those out of chronological order, and I'm sure I missed a few entirely... Sony is evil in so many ways it's hard to keep track!)

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    2. Re:Lawyers get millions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That's how it's meant to work. A class action is not for making money - it's a way to challenge a company's behaviour without spending years of your life in court, without spending a fortune in legal fees, and without assuming personal risk. You're barely involved at all, while the lawyer does all the work, takes on the financial burden and isn't even guaranteed to get paid at all. If you're looking into making profit from suing people then you have plenty of other options to use instead.

    3. Re:Lawyers get millions by LostMyBeaver · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The joys of law.
        - Sony loses lawsuit regarding a change they made in 2010
        - Six years later, you have to show proof that you bought a game system probably 7 years earlier... which you didn't keep because you bought the slimmer model or a PS4 or traded it in for something at the game store.
        - The terms required to collect the $55 recompense are more or less unachievable except for that one guy who got the PS3 for Christmas and his mom actually saved the receipt for her accounting.
        - The amount of time required to earn the $55 is about the same as McDonalds pays their french fry cooks.

      So... for the $55... who would give a shit? This will cost Sony $2,000 in recompense and $1,000,000-$10,000,000 in legal fees.