Sony sued again over their decision to remove PS3 'OtherOS' feature

In late April, Sony was sued in California over its recent firmware update that removed the "OtherOS" feature of the PlayStation 3, a feature that had allowed for the installation of Linux on an HDD partition.

This week, two more class action lawsuits have been filed against the company, one in Georgia and the other in California.

Both cases claim that Sony has made features consumers paid for "inoperable" with the release of firmware version 3.21. The firmware update is "voluntary," but those that do not cannot sign into the PlayStation Network, or play their games online.

Both suits also state that Sony did not properly disclose that they reserved the right to remove built-in features, and that any removal of the "OtherOS" feature was not disclosed in the PS3 TOS, or SSLA (System Software License Agreement).

The second suit specifically says plaintiffs "lost money by purchasing a PS3 without receiving the benefit of their bargain because the product is not what it was claimed to be - a game console that would provide both the Other OS feature and gaming functions."

The class action suits include anyone who purchased the PS3 console between November 17th, 2006 and March 27th, 2010.

IGN has the full PDFs of the filings, here: Todd Densmore v. Sony and Antal Herz v. Sony

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 9 May 2010 22:08

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28 comments

biglo30

Yup looks like were getting that feature back.

9.5.2010 22:14 #1

hikaricor

Suck it sony!

9.5.2010 23:05 #2

KillerBug

Originally posted by biglo30: Yup looks like were getting that feature back. No, looks like sony is going to pay a handful of people a token amount that hardly covers the lawyer fees.

10.5.2010 00:02 #3

bridgerbot (unverified)

Can't guarantee the feature back, but I seriously doubt all 3 of these lawsuits will loose.

10.5.2010 01:56 #4

elbald90

can somebody do something similar in the uk please

10.5.2010 02:22 #5

PantherM

I want my OS back!

10.5.2010 08:25 #6

Mysttic

I never bothered with the updates as my games still play and Sony stated months before hand it was coming, if you want the feature don't upgrade. It doesn't justify what they did, but so far I can play new titles; I just can't access all the advantages of the system. But what constitutes as advantages I prolly won't even use anyways, but it does say on my box and manual advertising how this feature will be supported with no time-line or expiry date. Sigh...

10.5.2010 08:50 #7

glassd

Should the OS be returned to the PS3, it will be gimped and holes welded shut. It will be a legless race horse.

10.5.2010 10:19 #8

trevermah

i think the users that still have the older models should still be able to access it. if they want to phase it out like they did with their newer models, then that's how it should happen. we can keep paying for repairs of our older models if it's that necessary for us.

10.5.2010 10:36 #9

Canucker6

I am sorry but this is just sad, I mean I bought my PS3 for gaming, who cares about the operating system. This is just a bunch of bullcrap if you ask me, anyone can sue for way too much now a days. I mean I bought mine and was like awesome, a blu ray player and a gaming console...I wasn't "oh cool, a gaming system that I can change the operating system!".

10.5.2010 10:47 #10

Paula_X

but say you bought a dvd player which can play mp3 cd's.. and then one day because of a compulsory firmware "upgrade" that feature was removed without your choice...

or I sell you a car and a few months later come round and take the back seat out claiming "you don't use it, you might carry passengers against my wishes" .. same thing.. removing something which buyers have paid for..

http://en.windows7sins.org/

10.5.2010 11:09 #11

Canucker6

It also says on the box that they have the right to change any specifications even without notice. Also are you really comparing a dvd player to a PS3, I dont ever recall having to update my dvd player over the internet!

10.5.2010 11:18 #12

Paula_X

not yet you don't.. but ask a BR player owner about that.. they have to or they lose potential "features" .. on some of them.. this will become more common as these scum corporations see that the public don't stand up to them when they do something illegal.

seriously.. this is about owning what you have bought and paid for.. It doesn't matter what I compare it to.. the principle of first ownership is the same, whether it is a burger or a nuclear submarine.. the "right to change specifications at any time" applies to items now on sale, not those which have already been sold and do not belong to them any more... and even then advertising and fair trading laws will be brought down on any company selling a product which is significantly not as advertised.

http://en.windows7sins.org/

10.5.2010 11:24 #13

Canucker6

On my box that I bought when it first came out, did not advertise about other operating system, and when I read that they have the right to change stuff when they want too I understand that, and yes I may own the machine but I DO NOT nor do you own the playstation network which is owned by Sony. As for other people that buy blu ray players and have to connect to the internet, they should research that before hand and know what comes with it. This is just a case of people being babies, and just live with it because guess what Sony does not have to give us free online gaming at all. Stop complaining. If you wanted a different operating system to get on the internet, buy a laptop or a pc.

10.5.2010 11:35 #14

mitchst

10.5.2010 13:11 #15

slickwill

Imagine if Sony lost the Lawsuit and right after they re-enabled Other OS, the PS3 gets fully hacked. Sony would be the laughing stock of the world.

10.5.2010 14:51 #16

Joshewah

X360 - iXtreme1.4 ||| Xbox - EvoX Dash ||| PS2 - CC 2.0 PRO SLE ||| Dreamcast ...lol ||| PSP - 5.00 M33-3 ||| NDS - M3 Simply/EZ Flash 3-1 ||| Rooted HTC Hero

10.5.2010 16:55 #17

oappi

lol @ Canucker6. Sure no-one has better things to do than check every detail of their console before buying...

Well it seems i made good decision when i decided not buy anything from sony after that rootkit episode they had. I mean back in 90�s sony made good products, now they threat customers like thiefs and product quality is way down from those days.

10.5.2010 18:54 #18

blueboy09

Originally posted by Paula_X: but say you bought a dvd player which can play mp3 cd's.. and then one day because of a compulsory firmware "upgrade" that feature was removed without your choice...

or I sell you a car and a few months later come round and take the back seat out claiming "you don't use it, you might carry passengers against my wishes" .. same thing.. removing something which buyers have paid for.. Exactly, don't stifle your features you had in the first place: backwards compatibility, Linux (OtherOS) support. At least we still have where we can swipe the hard drive w/a bigger one. Whoops. (closes mouth/spoke too much)

Life is about walking on thin ice, if you make too much drama, youll crack under pressure. - BLUEBOY

10.5.2010 19:44 #19

Paula_X

and can you access PSN with linux?.. NO.. so what does that have to do with anything?.. does loading linux allow you to boot copied games??.. no.. so that's pointless as well.. only a custom firmware hack allows those things, not linux which is .. a pc type operating system... can you access PSN from a pc?.. nope..

You obviously didn't read the original ps3 adverts when they came out.,. "alternative linux os support" was listed clearly in ALL the uk gaming and trade magazines.. Not my fault you buy without checking what something will do now is it? .. wouldn't send you shopping for anything I need .. I had a friend like that a long time ago.. would go to the shop with a list.. and come back with nothing he went out to get..

Guess this lawsuit has a real point.. you know I like legal matters and have done some "customer" rights representation against big business.. took on a multi-million business and hammered them into the ground over fairness and terms of sale. It's funny how often judges will stand behind a lawyer with a reasoned and logical argument, when they haven't been bought off that is.

The only logical legal outcome is $ony lose.. they do not have the right to strip capabilities from something which is not their property any more.. they also do not have the right to use commercial blackmail to force owners of equipment to accept a downgrade (removal of function) of their property to continue to access an advertised feature.
They can only change the "terms and conditions" on equipment supplied after the date of the change, not before. That retains all the features it was sold with.. IF they force an update on threat of disconnection from an advertised service that's illegal. It isn't up to them what you do with your property as long as you don't break the rules of their network they can't punish you. I think they have got too involved with the cartel activities of the music and films branch.. who seem to think first ownership property rights don't exist...

Do you like buying something only to find out a couple of years later you have only been renting it?.. Just think about the implications of that.. IF you rent something and your house gets broken into and the item is stolen who pays?.. your insurance or theirs?.. and are you entitled to a replacement.. after all you have paid your rental fee to them because the item certainly doesn't belong to you, so claiming it on your insurance would be fraud.. and the rental business owes you a device you have paid for. You learn this stuff when you get involved with the second hand phone trade in a country where contract phones are very common. A phone supplied as part of a fixed time contract doesn't belong to the customer until the end of the contract period.. a ps3 is a little different.. you pay for it all at once, so you would think that makes it yours outright... seems not as $ony think they can strip features at will just like a contract phone supplier can during the time of the contract.. so either you own the thing or you don't.. which is it?

This kind of tactic is why a lot of us boycott $ony and Micro$hite .. the only way keep your rights and to avoid being tied in and abused is not to play in the first place.

http://en.windows7sins.org/

10.5.2010 20:15 #20

VENOM79

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA fu&k sony and ps3 the only way i would get a ps3 is if the local crack head stole it, then sold it to me dirt cheap, im talking pennys on the dollar , and if it could be hacked.

well the crack head came through waiting on the hackers

10.5.2010 20:35 #21

Mysttic

Well said Paula_X

11.5.2010 22:24 #22

Scaldari

Im really surprised everyone has not learned their lesson with sony.
WHO here can be honestly surprised at this tactic considering they are also in the Music and Movie Biz.

13.5.2010 09:55 #23

jvwheel

Originally posted by Canucker6: On my box that I bought when it first came out, did not advertise about other operating system, and when I read that they have the right to change stuff when they want too I understand that, and yes I may own the machine but I DO NOT nor do you own the playstation network which is owned by Sony. As for other people that buy blu ray players and have to connect to the internet, they should research that before hand and know what comes with it. This is just a case of people being babies, and just live with it because guess what Sony does not have to give us free online gaming at all. Stop complaining. If you wanted a different operating system to get on the internet, buy a laptop or a pc. You can't possiby believe that Sony is giving anybody anything. If you think the online gaming is free you are the one behaving like a, "Baby." This is Sony being proactive and over-reaching to protect their profits. It is simply Sony negotiating in the public arena for the least cost to forceably buy back the Other O/S Feature from the owners of the Fat PS3s. I also think Sony's extreme behavior demonstrates to Hackers that they are very close to breaking the PS3 and was not a well executed strategy for protecting the machine it's current owners. Once a machine is Hacked, it's dead to game developers and we all lose.

13.5.2010 12:04 #24

Mr-Movies

Quote:"Both suits also state that Sony did not properly disclose that they reserved the right to remove built-in features, and that any removal of the "OtherOS" feature was not disclosed in the PS3 TOS, or SSLA (System Software License Agreement)." This won't hold up Sony isn't taking anything away as you have a choice here, don't upgrade and loose the right to online game play and possibly playing new games, or upgrade and loose the right to run Other OS's.

And as to the lose of money argument good luck on that as well.

It sucks that Sony has taken the Other OS feature away for those that use it and it was a very poor decision to even provide that option in the first place as they should have known it would get exploited with the history of the console world.

Sony will come out on top of these law suits unless they get a good lawyer that can come up with better points.

13.5.2010 14:17 #25

snoop5023

Not trying to funny, but what good is the Linux system on the PS3? Really, I just want to know. I bought one that had the "other operating system" feature and I have not even bothered to check if it is missing after the latest update. Which update took that feature away, the latest one or one or two before that one?

13.5.2010 15:24 #26

Bozobub

Linux on a PS3, among other things, lets you build dirt-cheap, incredibly powerful networked supercomputers. Or, you simply have an inexpensive, rather powerful home computer. Both sound pretty good to me, for two very different types of end-user.

If Sony loses money when any person (or group) buys their hardware - a prime reason for killing "OtherOS" - they should simply raise the price of their hardware to at least break-even cost, or bite the bullet and accept their pricing gamble for what it is: A GAMBLE. Not every user will buy a ton of games.

Wahh. Snivel. Oh, poor, poor Sony. Boo-hoo.

13.5.2010 17:05 #27

DryQuLa (unverified)

Originally posted by Canucker6: I am sorry but this is just sad, I mean I bought my PS3 for gaming, who cares about the operating system. This is just a bunch of bullcrap if you ask me, anyone can sue for way too much now a days. I mean I bought mine and was like awesome, a blu ray player and a gaming console...I wasn't "oh cool, a gaming system that I can change the operating system!". It doesn't matter if YOU care about it, it matters that some people do use it, and were forced to choose between one type of functionality and another. This is not legal in any developed country.

15.5.2010 11:48 #28

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