PlayStation 3 Other OS lawsuit dismissed by judge
Class action fails to build a case against Sony.
A US court has thrown out a class action suit brought against Sony following its decision to disable the PlayStation 3's Other OS feature in April last year.
According to Gamasutra, district judge Richard Seeborg ruled that the plaintiff had not sufficiently supported its claim that the PS3 firmware update that removed it constituted a breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and false advertising.
"[Almost] all of the counts are based on plaintiffs' fundamental contention that it was wrongful for Sony to disable the Other OS feature, or, more precisely, to [force PS3 owners to decide between] permitting the Other OS feature to be disabled or forgoing their access to the PSN and any other benefits available through installing [the firmware].
"The flaw in plaintiffs' [argument] is that they are claiming rights not only with respect to the features of the PS3 product, but also to have ongoing access to an internet service offered by Sony, the PSN."
The judge argued that Other OS continues to work unless users deliberately disable it by installing the new firmware. Any owners who decided not to install the update still have fully-functioning PS3s that can play games and utilise Other OS features.
"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," added Seeborg.
"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."
Sony had originally countered the claims by arguing that its user agreement provide PS3 owners "with a license, not an ownership interest, in the software and in the use of the PSN, and provide that SCEA has the right to disable or alter software features or terminate or limit access to the PSN, including by issuing firmware updates."