Andre Yoskowitz
8 Oct 2009 12:09
Sony has been sued this week by John Kennedy of Florida, over the bricking of his PS3 console by Sony's v3.00 firmware upgrade last month.
The suit is class action, and is for all users who suffered hardware failure or problems after installing the update. The suit "implicates Sony for several complaints, including breach of implied warranty, negligence, unjust enrichment, and negligent misrepresentation," says Arstechnica.
Kennedy had owned his PS3 for 9 months, with no noticeable issues, until September when he installed the system update. From there, his Blu-ray drive began to malfunction, to the point of not playing back games or movies after just a few minutes of playback.
"Thousands of Sony PlayStation 3 ('PS3') video game owners who downloaded a system update required by Sony found that the update caused their PS3 units to malfunction and actually damaged the hardware on many units," read the claim, via Ars. "For owners who sustained hardware damage from the Sony-required update, Sony is charging a $150 repair fee per unit. Sony, responding to the numerous complaints about the unacceptable effects of the defective update, released a further, optional update that it claimed 'improves system stability'—yet performance problems continued, and the new update did nothing to remedy the systems of users who sustained hardware damage."
The only problem with the complaint is the fact that the updates are not really 'required' as stated by Kennedy. You do not have to upgrade although it is usually required, especially if you are always connected to the Internet via the console, and need to access the PlayStation Network.