Games Cheats and Reviews

This article only applies to those of you who recently purchased a PS3 Phat.  Sorry PS3 Slim owners, but you never had the “Other OS” option to start.

Here is the skinny.  Sony has recently released firmware 3.21.  This firmware has taken away the PS3 Phat owners ability to install software such as Yellow Dog Linux on their systems.  While this feature might be a small part of the PS3, it was also an advertised feature.

Amazon is just one such retailer that advertised this “Install other OS” feature.  So, you just might be entitled to some retribution for Sony yanking this feature.  Here is a breakdown of the US False Advertising Code:

• To prove that an advertisement is false, a plaintiff must prove five things: (1) a false statement of fact has been made about the advertiser’s own or another person’s goods, services, or commercial activity; (2) the statement either deceives or has the potential to deceive a substantial portion of its targeted audience; (3) the deception is also likely to affect the purchasing decisions of its audience; (4) the advertising involves goods or services in interstate commerce; and (5) the deception has either resulted in or is likely to result in injury to the plaintiff. The most heavily weighed factor is the advertisement’s potential to injure a customer. The injury is usually attributed to money the consumer lost through a purchase that would not have been made had the advertisement not been misleading. False statements can be defined in two ways: those that are false on their face and those that are implicitly false.

This just might be worth looking into if you have recently purchased a PS3 Phat.  You will need your receipt, and the PS3 needs to be within the warranty period.  We hopped onto Amazon this morning and noticed they removed the fact that you could install another OS onto your PS3.  It might be time consuming, but you just might be entitled some money back on that hefty purchase.  It never hurts to try.

One upset gamer in Europe already laid claim to a similar law.  They did not have to send their PS3 back.  They cited their law and got a credit back to their account.  You can read the full story here.

Sony, you screwed us on feature removal.  It is time we stand up and get a few bucks back.

Sharing: It’s Win/Win

ProductReviews Writes: You may remember us informing you about this last month, but now we have an update from Sony, who reiterate that 3D games on the PS3 will be coming before Summer – thanks to a simple firmware update.

Owners of bricked systems file suit on behalf of everyone who downloaded system update 3.0 or 3.01; demand unspecified damages.

The ability of console makers to update their systems’ firmware has a number of benefits, as evidenced by the continually expanding capabilities of the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii. However, the updating of firmware on all three platforms is sometimes associated with reports of systems being broken by the updates, or "bricked."

In some cases, the owners of ruined consoles do more than make angry message board posts about their misfortune. In late 2006, an Xbox 360 owner sued Microsoft over a system update rendering his console inoperable. That suit was dismissed in mid-2007 when Microsoft and the plaintiff reached an agreement out of court.

Now it’s Sony’s day in court, as last week a pair of PlayStation 3 owners who had their systems bricked by the September 3.0 and 3.01 firmware updates filed suit agianst the company. The two gamers–one from Texas, the other from Iowa–allege that the updates caused PS3s to malfunction, with problems including loss of controller use, malfunction of the Blu-ray drive, and bricking of consoles. When they contacted Sony’s customer service representatives, the pair were told that the system failures were coincidental and unrelated to the system update. Furthermore, Sony would charge them a repair fee of $150 in order to fix the systems.

Sony today released firmware v6.0 for the PSP. Not many major new features, but one unadvertised change makes upgrading your portable firmware much easier. You no longer need to fully charge your PSP and have it plugged in to update the firmware.

Examiner: As promised, Sony just released firmware 3.0 for the PS3. Revealed during their GamesCom conference a couple weeks back, Sony really plans on showcasing some new ideas with this newest firmware and improving current features, too.

Newly introduced will be a new ‘What’s New’ status bar. This bar will show you news, new releases, and your recently played games. This new feature will be located under the PlayStation Network icon. Also new to the scene is a status indicator. This indicator will show your user icon, friend icon, number of friends you have online, messages, and alert you when you get a new message.

QJ.net reports from PSPGen.com : "With the PSP Go release date just around the corner, it seems Sony is pretty determined to prevent the hacking community from tinkering their brand new handheld by releasing various firmwares. Now PSPGen is reporting that Sony has already released a brand spanking new beta version of PSP firmware 6.0 for official developers to test their games and adapt with the brand new firmware."

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced details of the next system software update (v. 2.70) for PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3) system, which includes several new features that enhance how PS3 users communicate and interact with their online friends. The system software update 2.70 will be available soon and delivers a new Text Chat feature that will enable users to chat with their online PlayStation®Network friends. Other updates include enhancements to the Friends list on the XMB (XrossMediaBar) and improvements to the video delivery service on PlayStation®Store.

IncGamers has learned from Sony it is unlikely there will be a firmware update for the PS3 this week.

After rumours the 2.70 firmware will be available, a Sony spokesperson refused to comment on the legitimacy of the source.