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Megacorps are bad for gaming; Sony, EA, Activision, MS, and their ilk
Topic Started: Oct 24 2006, 09:29 AM (6,741 Views)
sheath
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While I am not a fan of piracy, I am a fan of what some pirates represent. In this case, I support a group without megacorp resources taking a horrible company down a notch or twelve.

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/14/massive-co-founder-worries-effects-of-ps3-piracy-could-be-worse/

Wondering why there's such a hullabaloo over that PS3 security breach? According to Martin Walfisz, who co-founded Massive Entertainment (but left the company shortly after its purchase by Ubisoft to focus on development of new DRM strategies), it's because it's the end of the world. Well, okay, maybe it's not that bad -- but Walfisz paints a pretty grim picture for Sony, telling GamesIndustry.biz, "If that hack works as reported, I don't believe that Sony can regain any control."

Walfisz predicts that Sony could employ a system similar to Microsoft's anti-piracy measures through Xbox Live, blocking hacked PS3s from connecting to the PlayStation Network; though if the hack works as reported, and doesn't require a mod chip to function, Walfisz worries Sony won't be able to detect which users are playing pirated games -- though Sony claims it can and will shut down "jailbroken" consoles. What's worse, Walfisz adds, "I would assume that pirated copies can be stored on the HDD as well, making it so easy to use that PS3 piracy, given time, might even surpass the handhelds." Piracy is pernicious enough on exposed systems, but super convenient piracy? Yikes.
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sheath
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I love it when a megacorp franchise finds is place in the world.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-01-17-us-epic-mickey-sales-around-1-3-million

Various sources have alluded to NPD sales figures which apparently indicate that Disney's Epic Mickey sold 1.3 million copies in the US in December 2010, whilst Gran Turismo 5 sold 565,500.

The numbers for Epic Mickey don't come directly from NPD, which doesn't tend to release specific figures, but the LA Times has cited "people familiar with the data". The Gran Turismo numbers, however, were apparently released to Industry Gamers by NPD itself.

Whilst Epic Mickey failed to make any impact on UK charts after mediocre reviews, the Wii exclusive made number 6 in NPD's North American chart for December 2010. Above it were two other Wii exclusive titles: Donkey Kong Country Returns at fifth, and Just Dance 2 in second.

Gran Turismo 5 failed to make the top ten with its December total of 565,500 - less than the 579,000 which were sold in North America during the game's first few days of release from 24-28 November.
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sheath
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Okay, this just is Sony's fault.

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/17/ps3-hackers-make-modern-warfare-2-unplayable-infinity-ward-ca/

"It's in total shambles and unplayable." That's how one Joystiq reader describes Modern Warfare 2 on PSN. With PS3 system security in disarray, hackers and cheaters have run rampant on Infinity Ward's Call of Duty games. Players unwittingly placed into a hacked server can meet the unfortunate consequence of losing all their stats and, unfortunately, it doesn't appear a fix is in sight.

"Games rely on the security of the encryption on the platforms they're played on," Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling explained on the game's official forums. "Unless the security exploit itself is resolved on the platform ... updates to the game through patches will not resolve this problem," he admits, adding, "at this time, we do not have the ability to restore or adjust individual stats."

Although Bowling adds that "we are looking at every option available to us to help any user affected," it appears the situation is quite dire, especially when one considers the workarounds Bowling suggests. You can submit a PSN grief report, play exclusively with friends via private matches, or play Black Ops, which does "not rely solely on platform security" -- something Infinity Ward promises to learn from in future games.
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sheath
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All that time and money being spent to ruin each other's franchises when they could just be making better games. Shame on all consumers who continue to fund these con artists.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-01-21-activision-accuses-ea-of-delaying-cod-map-pack

Activision has accused EA of asking Vince Zampella to delay the release of the Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package in order to maximise sales of rival FPS Battlefield: Bad Company 2, naming the rival publisher as a co-defendant in the ongoing Zampella/West case.

The claim is part of the ongoing suit between Activision and Vince Zampella and Jason West, centred around alleged impropriety during the dismissal of the ex-Infinity Ward bosses by Activision, and their subsequent formation of Respawn entertainment, a studio which EA has signed up to a publishing deal.

In this latest twist, Activision has submitted mails to the court which it claims show evidence of a direct collaboration between EA executives and Zampella, resulting in a delay to the release of the Stimulus Package until after Bad Company 2 was on shop shelves.

Zampella and West had previously tried to block Activision's efforts to involve EA in the case, claiming the delays were damaging their livelihoods.

The court documents, as obtained by Gamasutra, feature a message from Lincoln Hershberger, EA's senior director of global marketing, to EA executives Jeff Karp, Sean Decker, Patrick Soderlund and Frank Gibeau. Also copied in to the mail was Battlefield executive producer, Karl-Magnuss Troedsson.

"A couple months ago, I asked Vince to hold back their map pack until after we launched (he owes me one). Given that they've already made a billion, he was cool with that, obviously Kotick took it as being belligerent," the mail allegedly reads.

Bad Company 2 was released on 2 March, 2010 and the Stimulus Package was available for download on 30 March. The news of Zampella and West's sacking was made public on 3 March, the day that the mail was apparently sent.

EA maintains that the exchange was merely a light-hearted joke, and does not indicate any wrongdoing. In a statement to press, EA's Jeff Brown accused Activision of reading too much into it.

"This was obviously sarcasm," Brown told Gamasutra. "It's clear from the email this was a joke and they never spoke. We explained this to lawyers at Activision - who apparently don't have much of a sense of humor."

Activision's lawyers are certainly focusing on the serious side. The cross complaint is part of a $400 million lawsuit which accuses EA of "unlawful conduct" at "the highest levels", claiming that "to interfere with Activision's contracts by extricating West and Zampella and gutting Infinity Ward, Electronic Arts worked to subvert the Call of Duty franchise from the inside out." The case continues.
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sheath
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Step 1: Collect Developers who make one successful title. Step 2: Force them to make the same title every year with no creativity. Step 3: Close them because the game's public demand wasn't for repurchasing every 13 months.

I would have added Guitar Hero/DJ Hero developer and TrueCrime developer to the "Devs you should know/Morn thread", but seriously, they didn't even have their own names?

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-02-09-activision-cuts-500-jobs-but-claims-cod-blizzard-investment-will-preserve-headcounts

No more music games for you! Added Guitar Hero, DJ Hero

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-02-09-activision-cuts-500-jobs-but-claims-cod-blizzard-investment-will-preserve-headcounts

Activision Publishing boss Eric Hirschberg has shone further light on the publisher's "difficult decisions" to axe divisions including its music games.

Guitar and DJ Hero "demand declined at a considerable pace" despite strong critical reception. "We simply cannot make these games profitable based on current market and demands."

Also cut was True Crime: Hong Kong, with Hirschberg claiming that it was "not going to lead to a title at or near the top of the open world genre. To be blunt it just wasn't going to be good enough."

Hirschberg felt that these were "the right decisions being made for the right reasons" and would lead to a "leaner, more focused organisation."

500 jobs were due to be lost as a result of the cuts, with other internal developers believed to have been affected.

In its results filing, the publisher claimed that "the plan is expected to be implemented in the quarter ending March 31, 2011, resulting in a net pre-tax charge in the first two quarters of 2011, which is expected to total between $35 and $50 million, comprised of severance costs, the costs of other separation benefits and other exit costs."

However, Activision Blizzard CFO claimed that, because the publisher would be more heavily investing in Blizzard and Call of Duty games, "net head count at end of year is probably not going to be materially different.

One of these initiatives is a new Call of Duty studio and online platform, Beachhead, and a free to play CoD spin-off for China. "After all is said and done I don't think our headcount will be that materially different. It will just be more profitably attributed."

The publisher is also persisting in a number of licensed titles, including Spider-Man, Transformers and X-Men, and has promised a new "broad entertainment franchise which brings together toys, games and online in an unprecedented way." This will be revealed at at Toyfair next week, and released in the latter months of 2011.
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sheath
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Ah electronic arts, why in the world are you so afraid of competition?

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-02-15-ea-renegotiates-nfl-license

EA has secured 2011 rights to the exclusive NFL license and allegedly been granted relief in its fees for this year's license, following player disputes which place the next season of American football in doubt.

A work stoppage is believed likely if the NFL cannot reach an agreement with its players before March 4. As such, its licensing contract with EA has been rethought, reports SportsBusinessDaily, apparently reducing "contractual obligations" for the troubled upcoming season but promising an additional year.

EA has previously seen competition for the NFL license from 2K, but has held the exclusive rights since 2005.

Commented Wayne Weaver, chairman of the NFL's business ventures committee, "For one of our core partners in a difficult environment, we say let's look at this, and maybe it makes some sense to extend something out longer and give our partner some relief in the short term but gain something on the back end."

An earlier Wall Street Journal report offered unconfirmed claims that EA had requested a $30 million reduction in its licensing fees because of the turbulence.

EA is believed to pay between $30 and 40 million per year for the rights to use NFL team names, logos and colours; this is apparently the NFL's most valuable contract outside of TV.

Madden NFL 12 is still scheduled for August, despite the possible strikes.
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sheath
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Looks like Sony might have to take their own medicine after all.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-03-01-european-customs-ordered-to-seize-playstation-3-shipments

European customs ordered to seize PlayStation 3 shipments

PlayStation 3 units imported into the UK and Europe will have to be seized by customs for at least 10 days, after electronics giant LG won a preliminary injunction against Sony.

The civil court in the Hague ruled in favour of LG over a dispute involving Blu-ray patents.

According to a report by The Guardian, tens of thousands of PlayStation units were seized in the Netherlands last week, leaving retailers and Sony in the UK with around two to three weeks worth of stock. Sony typically imports around 100,000 units a week.

Sony has the right to appeal to the European patents office to get the ban lifted, although LG has the option of extending the ban beyond 10 days. If Sony is found to have infringed LG's patents, it could be forced to pay compensation for every unit sold around the world.

LG has not commented on the situation, and Sony has only acknowledged that it is "looking into the matter."

Korean firm LG took action against Sony last month to have the PlayStation 3 banned in the US, along with Bravia televisions that feature Blu-ray support.
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sheath
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Just to confirm what everybody already knew, Nintendo doesn't want to do business with garage developers.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-03-18-nintendo-draws-line-between-independent-developers-and-hobbyists

Reggie Fils-Aime has said that Nintendo will not be doing any business with what he called "garage developers" in the near future, seemingly underlining the company position set out in Satoru Iwata's GDC keynote earlier this month.

Whilst the Nintendo of America president was keen to point out that Nintendo very much wants to engage with indie devs, he drew an analogy with the music industry to deliniate between small, professional studios and part-time developers, calling them "hobbyists."

"I would separate out the true independent developer vs. the hobbyist," Fils-Aime told Gamasutra. "We are absolutely reaching out to the independent developer. Where we've drawn the line is we are not looking to do business today with the garage developer. In our view, that's not a business we want to pursue.

"Look at the music industry. There are certainly highly talented people who work other jobs and have a passion to be in the music industry. They work at it. There are reality TV shows that revolve around this concept. I love it when there's a game that's found that captures people's imagination, just like that...singer toiling in a factory."

The attitude seems to fly in the face of the efforts of Microsoft's attempts to engage up and coming developers with the likes of XNA and the newly released Kodu. It also seems like something of a contrary position against the background of the success of the App Store.

What it does echo is Iwata's GDC keynote, in which he took a thinly-veiled swipe at Apple and the App Store by insinuating that Apple had not exercised the proper quality control which a responsible platform holder might in order to protect its developers, instead allowing quantity to swamp quality in its market.

"We make platforms designed to demonstrate the high value of high quality videogame software," said Iwata. "But, there is a second, entirely different way to consider the value of software. The objective of smartphones and social networks, and the reason they were created, are not at all like ours.

"These platforms have no motivation to maintain the high value of videogame software - for them, content is something created by someone else. Their goal is just to gather as much software as possible, because quantity is what makes the money flow - the value of videogame software does not matter to them."

Fils-Aime seemed keen to reiterate that in his comments.

"When we talk about the value of software, it could be a great $1 piece of content or a $50 piece of content," he said. "The point is: Does it maintain its value over time or is it such disposable content that the value quickly goes to zero? We want consumers to see value in the software, whatever that appropriate value is. And we want to see that value maintained over time."

It's not a completely isolated stance. Recently both Trip Hawkins and Chair Entertainment's Donald Mustard have passed comment on Apple's quality control policy, although neither in such unrepentant terms.
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sheath
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Burn baby burn:

To view this email as a web page, click here.
GEOFFREY PECOVER and ANDREW OWENS v. ELECTRONIC ARTS INC.
U.S. District Court (N.D. Cal. - Oakland Div.)
Case No. 08-cv-02820 CW

If You Purchased Certain Electronic Arts Brand Football Video Games
Between January 1, 2005 to the Present
You May Be a Class Member.

Membership as a class member in the Electronic Arts Litigation is the result of a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, Oakland Division (Case No. 08-cv-02820 CW).

What Is This Class Action About?
The class action lawsuit alleges violations of California's antitrust and consumer protection laws in connection with the sale of certain football video games. Plaintiffs, purchasers of Electronic Arts' football video games, claim that Defendant Electronic Arts entered into a series of exclusive licenses with the National Football League (NFL), National Football League Players' Association (NFLPA), National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), and Arena Football League (AFL), which Plaintiffs claim foreclosed competition in an alleged football video game market. Plaintiffs allege that this series of exclusive licenses caused customers who purchased certain football video games to be overcharged.

Defendant Electronic Arts has denied any liability and all allegations of misconduct. The Court has not decided whether the Defendants did anything wrong, and this Notice is not an expression of any opinion by the Court about the merits of any of the claims or defenses asserted by any party to this litigation.

Who Are Class Members?
The Class includes all persons who, during the period January 1, 2005 to the present, purchased the Madden NFL, NCAA Football, or Arena Football League brand video games published by Electronic Arts with a release date of January 1, 2005 to the present. Excluded from the class are purchasers of software for mobile devices, persons purchasing directly from Electronic Arts, persons purchasing used copies of the relevant football video games, and Electronic Arts' employees, officers, directors, legal representatives, and wholly or partly owned subsidiaries or affiliated companies.

What Should I Do? (Getting Further Information)
If you believe that you may be a class member (see above "Who Are Class Members"), you should get more detailed information about the class action and its potential effect on you and your rights. Further information can be obtained by going to the following website: www.easportslitigation.com. Additional information about the lawsuit may be obtained from Plaintiffs' Counsel website at www.hbsslaw.com, or by calling Plaintiffs' Counsel at 1-206-623-7292.

To Remain a Class Member
If you are a class member and you do nothing, you will be bound by the court's rulings in the lawsuit, including any final Settlement or Judgment.

To Exclude Yourself from the Class
(Deadline to Request Exclusion: June 25, 2011)
If you are a class member and you want to exclude yourself from the class and keep your right to sue Defendant, you must take further action before June 25, 2011. By that date, you must request exclusion in writing to this address:
Electronic Arts Litigation Exclusion
P.O. Box 8090
San Rafael CA 94912-8090

Or submit a request for exclusion electronically at the following website: www.easportslitigation.com

For further information about excluding yourself from the class go to the following website:
www.easportslitigation.com

Please do not telephone or address inquiries to the Court.
April 6, 2011. By Order of the U.S. District Court (N.D. Cal. - Oakland Div.).
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DarcSeven
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I'm gonna sing the DOOM Song.
FUCK! I know you guys don't use this shit, but a lot of people (including myself) just got screwed. Now I have to go un-fuck my bank account and get a new debit card. >_<

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/04/sony-admits-utter-psn-failure-your-personal-data-has-been-stolen.ars

Sony admits utter PSN failure: your personal data has been stolen

Sony has finally come clean about the "external intrusion" that has caused the company to take down the PlayStation Network service, and the news is almost as bad as it can possibly get. The hackers have all your personal information, although Sony is still unsure about whether your credit card data is safe. Everything else on file when it comes to your account is in the hands of the hackers.

In other words, Sony's security has failed in a spectacular fashion, and we're just now finding out about it. In both practical and PR terms, this is a worst-case scenario.

What did they get?

Here is the data that Sony is sure has been compromised if you have a PlayStation Network Account:

Your name
Your address (city, state, and zip)
Country
E-mail address
Birthday
PSN password and login name
"It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. If you have authorized a sub-account for your dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained," Sony announced. While the company claims that there is "no evidence" that credit card information has been compromised, it won't rule out the possibility.

Their advice is to be safe, rather than sorry. "If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained."

What can you do?

You are warned to keep watch over your accounts, and to be aware of your heightened risk of fraud due to the security breach. "For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of e-mail, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information," the company said. "Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email, asking for your credit card number, social security number or other personally identifiable information."

Sony has also provided a wealth of sources for data and protection against identity theft.

You may wish to visit the web site of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.gov/idtheft or reach the FTC at 1-877-382-4357 or 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580 for further information about how to protect yourself from identity theft. Your state Attorney General may also have advice on preventing identity theft, and you should report instances of known or suspected identity theft to law enforcement, your State Attorney General, and the FTC. For North Carolina residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; telephone (877) 566-7226; or www.ncdoj.gov. For Maryland residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; telephone: (888) 743-0023; or www.oag.state.md.us.
To be fair, Sony does apologize for the inconvenience. There is still no update on when service will be restored, but that is the least of your concerns if you have a PlayStation Network account. It's time to change your passwords, at the very least, and if you're like to be completely safe it's not a bad idea to cancel your credit or debit cards and request replacements.

We'll continue to follow this story as it develops.
And because I'm still feeling spiteful, here's something for sheath. Enjoy! :)

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Edited by DarcSeven, Apr 26 2011, 04:13 PM.
Just call me Steve. ;)
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sheath
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
You beat me to it! I was just going to post this link I found from the Playstation blog.

Quote:
 
Valued PlayStation Network/Qriocity Customer:
We have discovered that between April 17 and April 19, 2011, certain PlayStation Network and Qriocity service user account information was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into our network. In response to this intrusion, we have:

1. Temporarily turned off PlayStation Network and Qriocity services;
2. Engaged an outside, recognized security firm to conduct a full and complete investigation into what happened; and
3. Quickly taken steps to enhance security and strengthen our network infrastructure by re-building our system to provide you with greater protection of your personal information.

We greatly appreciate your patience, understanding and goodwill as we do whatever it takes to resolve these issues as quickly and efficiently as practicable.

Although we are still investigating the details of this incident, we believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. If you have authorized a sub-account for your dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained. While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility. If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained.

For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information. Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email, asking for your credit card number, social security number or other personally identifiable information. If you are asked for this information, you can be confident Sony is not the entity asking. When the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services are fully restored, we strongly recommend that you log on and change your password. Additionally, if you use your PlayStation Network or Qriocity user name or password for other unrelated services or accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them, as well.

To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, we encourage you to remain vigilant, to review your account statements and to monitor your credit reports. We are providing the following information for those who wish to consider it:

U.S. residents are entitled under U.S. law to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit bureaus. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free (877) 322-8228.

We have also provided names and contact information for the three major U.S. credit bureaus below. At no charge, U.S. residents can have these credit bureaus place a “fraud alert” on your file that alerts creditors to take additional steps to verify your identity prior to granting credit in your name. This service can make it more difficult for someone to get credit in your name. Note, however, that because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you, it also may delay your ability to obtain credit while the agency verifies your identity. As soon as one credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the others are notified to place fraud alerts on your file. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, or should you have any questions regarding your credit report, please contact any one of the agencies listed below.

Experian: 888-397-3742; www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
Equifax: 800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
TransUnion: 800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

You may wish to visit the web site of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.gov/idtheft or reach the FTC at 1-877-382-4357 or 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580 for further information about how to protect yourself from identity theft. Your state Attorney General may also have advice on preventing identity theft, and you should report instances of known or suspected identity theft to law enforcement, your State Attorney General, and the FTC. For North Carolina residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; telephone (877) 566-7226; or www.ncdoj.gov. For Maryland residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; telephone: (888) 743-0023; or www.oag.state.md.us.

We thank you for your patience as we complete our investigation of this incident, and we regret any inconvenience. Our teams are working around the clock on this, and services will be restored as soon as possible. Sony takes information protection very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that additional measures are taken to protect personally identifiable information. Providing quality and secure entertainment services to our customers is our utmost priority. Please contact us at 1-800-345-7669 should you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,
Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Network Entertainment


My condolences to Sony consumers, but to Sony themselves I can only say this:
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Belpowerslave
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Wow, I heard about it...but just kept reading that Sony didn't know what they accessed. I guess they found out. Jeez!

Bel
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sheath
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Playstation 3 owners should all make sure they are in on the class action lawsuit against Sony at this point. You should also all have your credit frozen and monitor your credit card accounts.
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benstylus
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with class action lawsuits, often everyone's in unless they opt out. And also as often, they're generally worthless. The only folks that really make money on class action lawsuits are the lawyers. after the lawyers get their cut, after paperwork and administrative fees are paid, after taxes are taken out, I'd wager most plaintiffs will receive a few bucks from any potential settlement at best. Although in this case, since it seems that credit card and other personal info was stolen, you might end up with a year of free credit monitoring or something like that. Yay.
Electronic Arts - We put the 'suc' in success!
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sheath
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Yes, but it could cost Sony billions of dollars! That alone is worth watching the proceedings for, and if you're a Sony consumer a $20 gift card in the mail would be worth much more if you knew what it cost Sony. ;)
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sheath
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I am honestly shocked at the cascade of negativity regarding the Sony leak. This is the first time they've done something horribly stupid and everything has progressed the way it would for any other corporation.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-05-03-u-s-and-australian-governments-question-sony

U.S. and Australian governments question Sony

As the security crisis which racks Sony grows ever more serious, the corporation has been firefighting on many fronts to contain the potential damage.

Firstly, Sony has vigorously denied reports that hackers have attempted to sell the stolen information back to the company.

"To my knowledge there is no truth to this report of a list, or that Sony was offered an opportunity to purchase the list," said Patrick Seybold, senior director of corporate communications & social media on the official PlayStation Blog.

But Sony's woes do not end with the consolation of its customers, governments have also been making their unhappiness apparent.

Following the initial involvement of U.S. senator Richard Blumenthal, a House of Representatives subcommittee has also sent a letter to Sony asking for information about the attack.

The letter is addressed to Sony chairman Kazuo Hirai and asks 13 questions regarding when Sony first discovered evidence of the attack, who was responsible, and what steps it is taking to mitigate the effects of the breach.

The UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has also already indicated it is to quiz Sony over the breach, but it is not yet clear if other government agencies will also become involved.

In Australia the scandal has inspired the federal government to announce plans for a law forcing companies to disclose privacy breaches. Newspaper WA Today reports that 1,560,791 Australian accounts were affected as a result of the Sony attack, with 280,000 credit card details compromised.

Although there is no indication of when the law might come into use, the Australian government has also questioned Sony over their actions and security, with privacy minister Brendan O'Connor commenting that he is, "very concerned" over the data loss.

"Sony isn't alone. We've seen serious privacy-related incidents in recent months involving other large companies," said O'Connor. "All companies that collect customers' personal information must ensure that the information is safe and secure from misuse."
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sheath
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Hmm, it looks like Sony fans actually do have their limits for taking it you know where.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-05-13-playstation-3-trade-ins-mount-at-retail

PlayStation 3 trade-ins mount at retail

Reports suggest that trade-ins for PlayStation 3 consoles are beginning to rapidly increase in the wake of PSN downtime, as online gamers in particular become more frustrated at the situation.

Sony has offered no further update on the service since Tuesday, May 10, when it was warned that it would be "at least a few more days" before services would be restored - including Sony Online Entertainment MMOs such as DC Universe Online.

A study of PlayStation 3 resale prices since the outage, by website Video Game Price Charts, shows that the average price of PlayStation 3 software in the U.S. has decreased by 7.4 per cent since April 20, when the PlayStation Network was switched off. At the same time Xbox 360 prices have increased by 0.7 per cent.

A report by Edge Online also suggests that trade-ins for the console itself have increased, as the price of PlayStation Network point cards has slumped and new game pre-orders have trended away from Sony's format.

"In the first week of downtime we did not really see any major change in sales or trades," claimed one retail source in the UK. "However from the second week onwards we have seen an increase of over 200 per cent on PlayStation 3 consoles being traded in, split almost 50/50 between those trading for cash and those taking a 360 instead."

Other retailers have reported a similar percentage increase in PlayStation 3 console sales, with customers regularly citing a lack of download play, particularly for titles in the Call Of Duty series, as the main reason for the trade-in and for acquiring an Xbox 360 instead.

Although Sony is still not able to offer a specific date for when the PlayStation Network will return, Sony senior vice president of publisher relations Rob Dyer has written a letter to publishers and developers - apparently the first major communication on the subject.

Currently the only positive news comes from rumours on website NeoGAF, where a moderator named Kagari states that: "The internal PSN developer network is online again, at least it seems for some, although things are still a bit shaky at the moment such as lack of new account sign up".

"Looks like the full network, at least the online play/account part of it, will be back soon," suggests Kagari.
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Only since cloud based gaming is gaining momentum do they start mentioning the thing that has been killing my gaming enjoyment for ten years, controller lag. Gamesindustry.biz and Gamesutra has published several articles now on the issue that has been plaguing games for the previous two generations. Just to get out "cutting edge" graphics gamers have been forced to play games that auto aim or script every movement to create the illusion of responsiveness. Anybody who cut their teeth on Arcade-Action games or 8-bit and 16-bit consoles could see it from the beginning, but nobody cared and now their are no Action games without lag!

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/digitalfoundry-tech-focus-battle-against-latency

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1942/programming_responsiveness.php

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3725/measuring_responsiveness_in_video_.php?print=1
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If only it didn't take the death of Arcades and dozens of great game developers for Nintendo to finally look like the leader of an antiquated regime in the eyes of the media. It is just too bad that the media will never go back and look at history with fresh eyes, they'll always support the mega publisher(s) that controlled most marketshare. I guess history really is written by those with the power of publication.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-07-20-iwatas-views-no-reflection-of-what-consumers-want

Tenshi Ventures' Ian Baverstock has claimed that Satoru Iwata's GDC keynote is a "shocking indictment" of the way Nintendo views the industry.

In his keynote address, Iwata claimed that craftsmanship in game development was dying due to the abundance of smaller, less expensive games on new digital platforms

Speaking at the Develop conference, Baverstock, who co-founded Kuju Entertainment, vehemently disagreed, saying that these new platforms have expanded the traditional skill-set required to make games.

The rise of Facebook, iOS and Steam have shifted the emphasis away from pleasing retail partners – something that Nintendo's business is built upon - and given developers more control over what they create and who they create for.

"I just don't agree," he said. "This lack of craftsmanship is really a reflection of Nintendo's point of view – they are completely obsessed with retail, and have been very successful in that."

However, by ceding so much power to their retail partners, the platform holders have led the industry towards a "narrow distribution pipe, with huge inventory risks and huge inventory costs." Baverstock believes that retail buyers don't make decisions based on craft or quality, but on who has "the biggest sign" at E3.

As he left Iwata's keynote, it was "abundantly clear" that the majority of the audience couldn't relate to its content. They were making games for Facebook, Steam, Android and iOS, yet the message was that console platform holders are still the key relationship for all developers.

"Ultimately for Mr Iwata to be able to sit there and say that we're losing craftsmanship, we're losing skills... at the same time that Minecraft comes out, sells millions and makes one man lots of money and creates a huge public buzz, is a shocking indictment of his view of the world that we all see."

Baverstock posited that we are in the "second great age of independent development" - the first being the late Eighties - and developers now need to rise to the challenge, and broaden their skills so they don't need to rely on the support of publishers and platform holders.

"We're not very far away now from the beginnings of next generation [of technology] from Sony and Microsoft. I don't know when that will come, but at that point... the idea that there are going to be many independent developers with either their own money, or even publishers money, making games on those platforms – there are going to be very, very few."

Developers must take advantage of the opportunities offered by the internet and social media to independently manage the PR, community management and marketing of their games – the sort of services that used to be done "forcibly" by publishers.

The real message of Iwata's talk, he claimed, was one of control, an attempt to preserve the system that allows platform-holders and giant publishers to exist.

"In the end, once you get past that preachy title of why developers need to change, the reason why I'm so riled by Mr. Iwata's point of view is that fundamentally it's smack talk: 'You, Mr. Developer, stay in your box, you stay down there, we'll do with this other stuff, you just carry on making games.'"

More importantly, the opportunity is there for developers to do a better job of these aspects than a company like EA was able to do.

Baverstock venerated a more personal approach to the marketing, and suggested that developers begin to look at their content as just a facet of an ongoing relationship with the consumer. The truth is that the games Iwata claimed were hurting the industry have created enormous new demand, but it's a demand that Nintendo is not well placed to satisfy.

"I think that, fundamentally, Mr. Iwata's view of this market from a value creation and number of title point of view was skewed entirely to his interests as a successful platform holder, and is in no way a reflection of what ordinary consumers want."

Baverstock believes that the games industry is at the forefront of dealing with consumers in "intangible goods", something that an enormous number and variety of industries want to know more about.

"That... personal relationship [with consumers], the games industry is absolutely leading that. Everyone you talk to in a marketing department wants to talk to game developers, because they want to understand what we know about this."

"To come back to my Mr. Iwata point, it's shocking that he can't see that we're leading the world - off the platform he has created - in this way. There is a lot going on; it just hasn't happened in his space, and realistically can't."
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Every one of these fine public servants should be knighted.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-08-09-sony-hit-by-london-riots

Sony hit by London riots

A fire at a Sony warehouse in Enfield could could delay deliveries of Sony products. The entertainment company is just one of the many buisnesses hit by the recent London riots.

No injuries have been reported, but the 20,000 square metre storage facility, which is operated by subsidiary Sony DADC and handles distribution of Blu-rays, CDs and DVDs, was still in flames this morning, with fire fighters on the scene.

"There will likely be some impact on deliveries," Yoko Yasukochi, a Sony spokeswoman told Reuters.

"We cannot determine the cause of the fire or the extent of the damage yet because it's not possible to enter the building," she added.

Reports from the scene suggest the warehouse was looted before being set alight by youths with petrol bombs.

The news caused a two per cent drop in Sony share prices.
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