14 DAY TRIAL // Firmware updates for the consoles allow the manufacturer to keep its products up to current standards and make all sorts of small improvements and tweaks. As the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii showed, the firmware updates kept the platforms alive for a longer period of time and made sure they were not becoming outdated in just months from their release. But software updates have a habit of slipping up, and, instead of fixing past mistakes or improving the system, all they do is harm. Console users have given this accident a specific term, and a broken system is refereed to as “bricked,” since that's what the console really becomes, dead weight.
Usually, all that users can do is complain to the manufacturer and share their misfortune with the rest of the world, looking to find some solution by themselves. But some decide that it's time to stop crying over spilled milk and kill the cat that climbed up on the table. Towards the end of 2006, Microsoft was sued by an Xbox 360 owner for issuing an update that “bricked” his console. Half way through 2007, the two parties reached a consensus and the charges were dropped. But, now, it's time for Sony to get the short end of the stick, as one of its firmware updates caused problems with some of its PlayStation 3 systems.
Two American gamers, one from Texas and one from Iowa, filed a lawsuit against the company, accusing it that the September 3.0 and 3.01 updates Sony released rendered their PS3s inoperable, by causing a loss of controller use, the Blu-ray drive to malfunction and a total system shutdown. What drove these users to file a lawsuit was actually Sony's customer support reply, when they contacted it about the problem. Apparently, the guys over at tech support said the malfunction was strictly coincidental, and that they'd charge $150 for the repairs.
The official charge is that the “defendant's unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business practices include, but are not limited to, misrepresentations regarding the fitness of the PS3 and software updates, failing to disclose defects in the system and software updates, and refusing to repair PS3 systems free of charge,” but it also mentions that Sony renders some pieces of software inoperable until the firmware has been downloaded and installed on the system. The two gamers are seeking unspecified damages and restitution from Sony, which has not offered an official comment up until now.