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.
Result for: partition
Starting on April 1st, with the PlayStation 3 firmware update v3.21, Sony will kill off the “Other OS” feature which had given “fat” PS3 owners the ability to install Linux on a second partition.
Patrick Seybold, Sr. Director, Corporate Communications & Social Media says the move was made “due to security concerns.”
Seybold says the update is optional but if users choose not to update they will lose:
* Ability to sign in to PlayStation Network and use network features that require signing in to PlayStation Network, such as online features of PS3 games and chat
* Playback of PS3 software titles or Blu-ray Disc videos that require PS3 system software version 3.21 or later
* Playback of copyright-protected videos that are stored on a media server (when DTCP-IP is enabled under Settings)
* Use of new features and improvements that are available on PS3 system software 3.21 or later
That means the update is pretty much required more than “optional.”
Result for: partition
Joystiq is reporting today that “USB Mass Storage Device Support” should hit the Xbox 360 console sometime within 2010, most likely with the upcoming Spring 2010 dashboard update.
Citing a document written by a “senior software development engineer,” the support will allow gamers to save and consequently load game data from USB devices, a much wanted feature.
With the support available, gamers can download Arcade games, DLC or other content right to their storage device, although it is unclear what capacity cards will be made available (minimum must be 1GB and max must be 16GB). The source also claims that “installation of a full disc-based title” is also a possibility, although the disc will still need to remain in the tray, for authentication purposes.
In regards to the minimum and maximum posted above, the document says: “The system partition occupies 512 MB of space, and by default the consumer partition occupies the remainder of the device capacity, or 16 GB, whichever is smaller.”
