ClassActionLawsuits
Latest
Sony taken to court over PS3 'Other OS' removal
Sony forced PS3 owners into a tough decision with the mandatory 3.21 firmware update: either lose online play, or forgo Linux support. On Tuesday, Anthony Ventura chose door number three -- and filed a lawsuit in California, asking the judge for class-action status. The complaint quotes Sony executives on numerous occasions saying how vital and important the "Install Other OS" feature was to the game console (it's a computer, remember?) and claims breach of contract, false advertising, and several other causes of action against the entertainment giant. Sure, a lawsuit was bound to happen, given the number of angry PS3 owners out there, but here's the thing: there's no telling whether the court will grant a class-action certification here, and even if the case gets that far it's pretty unlikely to force Sony to turn the feature back on -- instead, customers will probably receive a token amount in damages while the lawyers get their full fees. For example, a rare, successful class-action suit against Palm -- filed in 2004 -- got Treo 600 owners only $27.50 in store credit, five years later. Meanwhile, we hear European PS3 owners just have to ask for their money back -- which, we promise you, is the fastest way to put an end to your Linux-based PS3 nightmares. Either that, or just wait for Geohot to make it all better.
Nintendo faces class-action lawsuit, hotter-than-ever sales for Wii
Nintendo's fended off class-action lawsuits over "defective" Wiimote straps in the past, and if you remember, they also replaced about 3.2 million of the straps (a/k/a "all of them") around the same time too -- way back in December of 2006. Well, the same lawyer's back for round two with a new, nearly identical suit, but this one also alleges that Nintendo knew that the defect existed and was negligent in their failure to report the problem to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Nintendo's probably not stoked about the news -- but we've got a feeling that the company's record-breaking sales will balm the wounds a little. According to NPD data just released, the company sold 2 million Wiis and 1.56 million DS units in November, an all-time hardware sales record for a month other than December. Yeah, who cares about a few busted up TVs and black eyes in the face of those numbers?[Via Gamecyte]Read - Nintendo Slapped with Strap Lawsuit Once AgainRead - Wii and Nintendo DS Set Historic New US Sales Records
