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.
