Sony Sued for Removing Linux Support in PS3 Upgrade

Sony Computer Entertainment is under fire by PlayStation 3 owners. A class-action suit has been brought against Sony for removing Linux support from PS3 consoles in its latest upgrade.

An attorney for PS3 owner Anthony Ventura filed the suit against Sony in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Wednesday after Sony removed support for Linux in its PlayStation 3.21 software update.

After Sony announced the update on March 28, unhappy PS3 owners took their frustrations to the web by flooding Sony's official PlayStation blog with angry comments. A total of 7,454 comments were posted as of Thursday. While some are upset with losing Linux support, others are more angry with Sony for removing a feature for which they paid.

Ventura, however, took his frustrations straight to a lawyer who filed the class-action suit on his behalf.

No Joke

PlayStation 3 owners were anticipating the PlayStation 3.21 upgrade slated for April 1, but thought Sony was playing an April Fools' Day joke when it said the upgrade would remove support for Linux.

Sony quickly warned users that the upgrade was no a joke and, in fact, was an attempt to protect the intellectual property of the content offered on the PS3 system as well as to provide a more secure system. PS3 owners who chose not to upgrade risked losing other PS3 features, according to Sony, including access to the PlayStation Network, newer games, and Blu-ray movies. Gamers who decided not to upgrade also risked losing playback of copyright-protected videos stored on a media server, the company warned.

If Judge Edward Chen allows the class-action suit, it would include all individuals who bought a PS3 between Nov. 17, 2006, and March 27, 2010, according to reports. The suit does not specify any amount in requested damages, but does state damages will not exceed $5 million.

Julie Han, a spokesperson for Sony, said the company does not comment on pending litigation. Rebecca Bedwell Coll, who is listed as Ventura's lawyer, did not respond to requests for comment.

Little To No Impact

Sony Entertainment has had great success with its PS3, with 12 million units sold in the U.S. to date, according to the company. Except, however, for a few bumps in the legal road.

In October 2009, Sony faced a class-action suit brought by John Kennedy, who said a firmware update caused damage to thousands of PS3 systems. After downloading the update, owners said it caused the system to malfunction. The damage resulted in Kennedy having to cough up $150 in repair fees.

Analysts don't expect the new class-action to negatively impact Sony PS3 sales. "I doubt it'll have much impact -- certainly a nuisance and cost, but having Linux on a PS3 was always way down the list of priorities for most gamers," said Lewis Ward, an IDC analyst.

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