Sony Equals Full of Baloney

Sony: The Rise and Fall of a Criminal Gaming Empire

Sony, as a gaming company, was created on crooked bullying tactics; and now that Sony is in severe debt and facing many legal difficulties, they could be ending as an entire company in the same manner. I am here to tell you that if you support Sony, you are supporting criminal business and the eventual downfall of gaming.

Sony, first and foremost, is a criminal company

Settles Disc-Read Error lawsuit

PS2 was manufactured so poorly that many ended up commonly with disc-read errors (DRE). A class-action lawsuit was filed, and now PS2 owners who have this problem are entitled to $25, a free game, free repairs, or a replacement system.

www.gamespot.com...

Settles lawsuit over fake movie critic

Sony was sued because it completely made-up a movie critic to praise movies from Sony. They had to settle the lawsuit, but never admitted fault, and continually called it "freedom of expression". The settlement class includes anyone who, between Aug. 3, 2000, and Oct. 31, 2001, purchased a ticket to "Hollow Man," "Vertical Limit," "A Knight's Tale," "The Animal" or "The Patriot" in the United States

abclocal.go.com...

Loses lawsuit over patent infringement in dual-shock controllers

Sony was sued by the company Immersion over patent infringement in Sony's dual-shock controllers. Sony eventually lost 82 million dollar lawsuit and had to pull all PS2s from shelves.

www.gamespot.com...

Settled lawsuit over illegal use of Pac-Man sound-effect

Sony music was sued by Namco over copyright infringement in certain songs. Namco claimed that sounds from its game Pac-Man were used without consent or royalties. Sony settled the lawsuit out of court.

www.gamespot.com...

Sued over rootkit spyware in music CDs

Sony has recently been sued in a class-action lawsuit over hidden rootkits in their CDs. When played, digital rights management software is secretly installed, and can do serious damage to a computer.

www.gamespot.com...

Accused of price-fixing online retailers in the U.K.

Sony was just accused of price-fixing in the U.K. in an attempt to keep online prices higher than elsewhere.

www.joystiq.com...

Aside from legal fiascos, Sony knows how to kick-it totalitarian style.

Sony's no 2D game policy

Sony has, or at least had, a strict no-2D games policy on its game systems not long into the life of the PlayStation brand. This was combined with Sony's "more mature" ad campaign. This could have been an omen to the lawsuit over Grand Theft Auto (that lawsuit was not listed above because it was ridiculous and dismissed).

www.earth-2.net...

Policy affects PSP and disallows a 2D Castlevania

forums.spong.com...

Sony runs offensive ad campaign "10 years of passion"

Obviously, some people still managed to salvage some respect for Sony, so Sony felt it was time to try being immoral in another way -- a more spiritual way. An ad campaign in celebration of 10 years of the PlayStation brand showed a teenage male wearing a headpiece reminicient of Jesus at his crucifiction but remodeled with PlayStation button symbols and featured the tag-line "10 years of passion". After being insulted by the Pope himself, Sony pulled the ad.

www.joystiq.com...

Why Sony is considered a thief when "all companies 'borrow' ideas"?

Let's take a look back at the history of the Playstation controller, shall we?

PS1 Controller
Directional buttons on the left, four buttons on the right. Addition of handles and 2 additional shoulder buttons. Very reminicent of the SNES controller. That's not really that big of a deal. The problem comes with new models.

PS1 Dual Analog Controller
Shortly after the Nintendo 64 release, Sony re-releases its controller with analog sticks -- two of them. To think of analog as a must for 3D gaming, one must then wonder why Sony didn't include it in the first place. Right now the only thing that Sony has added themselves are more of other's ideas -- another shoulder button, another analog stick.

PS1 Dual Shock Controller
As if one re-release wasn't enough, Nintendo releases the rumble pack, and Sony scraps the Dual Analog and releases the Dual Shock controller with rumble functionality.

PS2 Dual Shock Controller
PS2 keeps the same design as the PS1's Dual Shock controller, but adds analog buttons, which Nintendo had never done before...but Nintendo hadn't released its console or its controller, yet. Sega had, and the Dreamcast had analog triggers; the first of its kind.

PS3 Dual Shock Controller
Sega dropped out of the console race, Microsoft kept its controller basically the same as the Xbox Controller S, and Nintendo was waiting to release its controller. What did Sony bring to the table? Nothing. The controller's functionality remained exactly the same.

I'm not going to say Sony brought nothing to the table in terms of input concepts. They added the additional shoulder buttons, the dual analog set-up, analog buttons for every button, and clickable analog sticks. The problem is that with the exception of the clickable analog sticks, the other ideas in some facet had been done.

Conclusion? It's not that other companies don't borrow ideas, it's the fact that Sony has been very brash when it comes to others' ideas with the controller design. Every time a new idea was brought to the market when it came to input, Sony immediately went out of its way to implement it itself. Can't really fault them; it's worked out perfectly for them. It has simply brought them a bit of an unfavourable reputation.



Aside from the controller, there are also...

Obvious rip-off of WarioWare games

Why bad-mouth Nintendo when you can be more repugnant? Steal their ideas! Just like this obvious rip-off of the WarioWare games made by Nintendo.

www.geekonstun.com...

Logos, anyone?

Sony copied everything else when it came to the SNES, so why not the logo? Take a look for yourself.



For those who say Nintendo is at fault for their part in Sony's entry into gaming and their current position in the marketplace

Nintendo "backstabbing" Sony was simply Nintendo not being stupid. Sony demanded royalties on every console, and complete manufacturing rights which would allow them to produce the add-on themselves while paying Nintendo nothing. Furthermore, the SNES had a Sony audio chip, which Sony tried to use as a bargaining chip -- who backstabbed whom?

Better games on the PlayStation brand? Sony does well namely off of third-party support -- almost anyone will agree with this. If Sony hadn't used CDs -- which were easily bootlegged -- they would not have won over the third-parties who weren't as pleased with Nintendo's cartidge format. Sony lost money with the PlayStation in order to get those third-parties. The PS2 sold because of those same third-parties, and the fact that it was out earlier and bought largely in part of it being a cheap DVD player. Meanwhile, Nintendo being snubbed by many third-parties, still manages to do well. Says a lot for what games they can produce on their own.

Nintendo should have supported online the same as Sony? Nintendo DID support online the same as Sony -- down to a T. Buy an adapter, ahve broadband Internet and away you go -- providing games are made with online in mind -- which games weren't because third-parties didn't support online for Nintendo consoles. Either way, Microsoft led the way with online, and even then only 10% of Xbox owners had Xbox Live accounts.

And why Sony -- and also Microsoft -- indeed are less about the games than Nintendo

Repeatedly an argument that comes about is that Nintendo is the only one that is all about the games, and the rebuttal being that all companies are only out to make money. Here's the catch;

Sony and Microsoft are electronics and computer companies. Their other divisions influence their console design. Why would Sony push for HD? Because they make HDTVs. Whether it is or is not good for gaming -- I am not going to argue either way -- it is more likely the fact that Sony makes HDTVs, so using the PS3 to influence buyers is only natural.

Nintendo is entirely comprised of its game divisions -- they want to make money off their games and consoles, and they do. They will do what they can to sell their console, which for the most part, is to balance the price and hardware to appeal to the most consumers. That also goes for the games -- which having rated E games allows for the widest possible audience.

If there were to be another videogames crash, Sony and Microsoft have other divisions (although Sony is apparently in financial shambles right now) and would have other outlets of revenue, while Nintendo would have serious trouble -- so Nintendo has the best reason to maintain the gaming industry as it is. Meanwhile, similarly, Sony and Microsoft make electronics and computers, so if the gaming were to merge with these difference areas of technology, it would benefit them; but Nintendo would have no reason to want that. Sony also makes high-end electronics, so pushing more functionality at a premium price is more towards their business design.

This was just a summary of what "All about the games" is supposed to mean, and not that every company isn't out to make money in whichever way it can.

Additionally, ever take a look at the hype lead up to the PlayStation consoles? What does it have to do with gaming? The original PlayStation featured images of Final Fantasy and stunning 3D graphics. Then PlayStation 2 rolled around and the "Emotion Engine" had all the hype. Tech demos of facial animations and the Final Fantasy VIII ballroom scene. Neither came close to living up to what were "representations of what should be possible". Now comes the PlayStation 3 and again, we have these theoretical cinematic trailers. And of course, it wouldn't be a PlayStation launch without an over-the-top, clearly-not-gameplay video of Final Fantasy (gametrailers.com...). Well, don't be surprised when what you get is minimally better than Call of Duty 2 for the Xbox 360 or whatever games are available at launch for the Nintendo Revolution.

Go ahead and argue that Sony is the best games company -- no matter what argument you come up with, it won't match what one could make for Nintendo. If people hadn't bought into the false hopes that Sony provided them, then third-parties would have stayed with Nintendo and all the franchises that make Sony #1 in the console market with them. If you support Sony because of the games, so be it; but I find it hard to support them when it is clear that there is absolutely no moral conscience in the company.

SONY, YOU HAVE BEEN PWNT.

[edit on 20-11-2005 by Yarcofin]

I jsut thought I'd clear up a couple things.

Originally posted by Yarcofin

Settled lawsuit over illegal use of Pac-Man sound-effect

Sony music was sued by Namco over copyright infringement in certain songs. Namco claimed that sounds from its game Pac-Man were used without consent or royalties. Sony settled the lawsuit out of court.

www.gamespot.com...

But this wasn't sony rather Lil' Flip. Sony was just the label and for that they were the ones held accountable. All the blame for this one cannot fall on sony.

Aside from the controller, there are also...

Obvious rip-off of WarioWare games

Why bad-mouth Nintendo when you can be more repugnant? Steal their ideas! Just like this obvious rip-off of the WarioWare games made by Nintendo.

www.geekonstun.com...

If you read the forum, aside from the fact that very few in there present themselves as anything but respectful and worth listening too, this froum page you provided is nothing but a fake story spun to get a bunch of playstation haters riled up.

Additionally, ever take a look at the hype lead up to the PlayStation consoles? What does it have to do with gaming? The original PlayStation featured images of Final Fantasy and stunning 3D graphics. Then PlayStation 2 rolled around and the "Emotion Engine" had all the hype. Tech demos of facial animations and the Final Fantasy VIII ballroom scene. Neither came close to living up to what were "representations of what should be possible".

Actually my personal take on FFX is that it was a DVD playing as a game in many respects. Of course there is cg animation to sell the product. It is unfortunate that many of the games never did meet the expectations, though tthere were several good games with excellent stories. Did all of them meet thier potential no, but that doesn't mean they are less than nintendo. They had failures in gaming as well.

Also not that it should make any difference I own both GC and PS2 and enjoy games for both systems. Now I won't buy sony CDs anymore and will wait to see what quirks they put into the ps3 before I buy one. Especially after this rootkit and the idea that they could implement the "no used games" tech.


[edit on 20-11-2005 by silentlonewolf]

this froum page you provided is nothing but a fake story

It's an actual game from Sony. I don't recall the title any longer, but it's a Japanese title.

Did all of them meet thier potential no, but that doesn't mean they are less than nintendo. They had failures in gaming as well.

And it's not a matter of game quality when promises are made about a system's capabilities. In terms of that, the N64 for example, provided the analog control and 3D capabilities promised. Not videos of graphics beyond the capability of the system. If Sony were to say that the PS3 could equal the Matrix and hook up to your mind -- and then released a system with slightly better anti-aliasing than we have now -- would that still just be a failure made by everyone? Right now all the hype about the PS3 has been based around these "real-time tech demos". And if gamers wait and buy PS3 instead of the Xbox 360, but get only what the 360 offers, is that just fair marketing?

Anyway, I'm just sick of the pointless trailers that blind gamers go ga-ga over, meanwhile there is no idea what the gameplay is like.

sony would have alot of designs similar to nintendo as the original playstation was going to be a cd drive for the snes. cant remember the full story but 1 side pulled out midway. but now you can also say microsoft is copying controllers with the 4 shoulder buttons.

Originally posted by madmartinez
sony would have alot of designs similar to nintendo as the original playstation was going to be a cd drive for the snes. cant remember the full story but 1 side pulled out midway. but now you can also say microsoft is copying controllers with the 4 shoulder buttons.

The point is not simply the "borrowing of ideas". It's Sony's disregard for image or respectability. When Microsoft entered into gaming, the dual-analog with 2 shoulder buttons layout was established as the standard. When Nintendo introduced the analog stick and rumble pack, those were far from standard. Sony immediately (within a year) re-released its controller. Not just once, but twice. And yet, their arrogance was not punished by the consumer.

Hmmm...plenty of sony hating going around. Some of those law suits were the fault of sony and as mentioned before not all blame can lay soley on sony for some of those. Plus sony has done some great things, I mean not all of their lawsuits were the playstation. Sony made some great games that were magnificent graphics wise for their times IE Gran Turismo. Sony now has a good system coming out. And when people are bashing sony for all the wrongs that they have commited and how crappy the playstation system is dont just sit there and bash ps and sony. Its not like nintendo and microsoft are the perfect companies and systems.

All of the console companies have their strong points. All of the game companies show amazing cinematic trailers that don't live up to the actual gameplay. I have owned many systems... Here we go... NES, Sega, Dreamcast, SNES, N64, PS1, PS2, Xbox and soon I will have Xbox 360. They have all been good and at times bad. Everyone likes different types of games and each system showcases certain types of games. So the fanboys can fight over which system can piss further and it will never end. But think about this. While everyone is sitting around fighting, we could be playing Halo, Final Fantasy or Mario Party.

Off to play Halo2 online...Cya

Sony now has a good system coming out.

People are bashing sony for all the wrongs that they have commited and how crappy the playstation system is...

I fail to see what is so great and "new" about PS3, besides a very minor graphical upgrade. They can't even come up with a new system name, for god's sake. It's the same thing just being remarketed with minor improvements over and over.

There are also some rumors going around that the PS3 will also only be compatible with TV's that have HDCP. Which is very few out there right now. And guess who most of them are made by... Sony! :O. Plus Blu-Ray is going to be the next Beta, and my most hopeful shot at them finally going bankrupt.

Its not like nintendo and microsoft are the perfect companies and systems.

They aren't grossly negligent and fraudulent either, though. In fact, Nintendo actually has a "SEAL OF QUALITY".

While everyone is sitting around fighting, we could be playing Halo, Final Fantasy or Mario Party.

I agree. I just hate to see people settling for crap, and loving every minute of it. I made this thread mostly in hopes of having it be the end-all debate against every Playstation owner as to why Sony sucks and that there are much better (non-defective, non-spyware-filled, legal) products out there, but I guess there just isn't any convincing.

And, although I cannot prove this besides the circumstantial evidence, it was also an attempt to show that everything Sony ever did was a rip-off of Nintendo. From the controller design, to Krash Bandicoot Racing and beyond. The most recent system war comes up.... Xbox and PS3 release products but Nintendo lays back in secrecy, and what does Playstation come out with? Not much new really...

"SOOOOONYYYYY"

Conclusion: Sony does nothing but "Lie, Cheat and Steal" just like Eddie Guerrero did, and Sony will soon meet the same fate. Okay, so that one was harsh. Sorry for making it sound like Sony is anywhere near as good as Eddie Guerrero was .

external image
I challenge you to find a worse-looking GIF.
Oh wait.. they stopped making wrestling games for PS! :O. Ouch.

[edit on 23-11-2005 by Yarcofin]

Well, after reading all that - Soul Calibur 3 only came out for the PS2. I don't care about the why's and the who's, If sony has games like Tekken 5 and Soul Calibur 3 I will continue to support them, because I like playing the games. It's so simple.

The Gamecube I have goes mostly unused because, for the large part, the games get boring very fast. I had some fun with Mario Sunshine (not a spot on 64 though), and the Zelda game was average at best, I prefered replaying Orcarnia of Time again. Apart from that, the games haven't been to my liking, so the PS2 get's played instead.

Also, the Gamecube doesn't have Pro Evolution Soccer 5, so it might as well be in my cupboard gathering moss. Point being, when all the Fanboys have worn themselves out and are shaking with anger, everyone else will be playing the games they like. If the PS3 come sout and people like the games, they will buy it, wether Sony is nefarious or not.

Well, after reading all that - Soul Calibur 3 only came out for the PS2. I don't care about the why's and the who's, If sony has games like Tekken 5 and Soul Calibur 3 I will continue to support them, because I like playing the games. It's so simple.

But those are third party games. Ironically, if more people didn't buy Sony's system, they wouldn't get the most third-party support which perpetuates more sales. Sony got the third party support when people bought into their first cinematic trailer campaign with the original PlayStation. That coupled with the use of easily pirated CDs. Basically, just as if people didn't shop at Wal-Mart, then the store wouldn't be killing small businesses, if people didn't buy PlayStation, Sony wouldn't have more third-party support.

Originally posted by Zurahn

But those are third party games. Ironically, if more people didn't buy Sony's system, they wouldn't get the most third-party support which perpetuates more sales. Sony got the third party support when people bought into their first cinematic trailer campaign with the original PlayStation. That coupled with the use of easily pirated CDs. Basically, just as if people didn't shop at Wal-Mart, then the store wouldn't be killing small businesses, if people didn't buy PlayStation, Sony wouldn't have more third-party support.

Yes, but your average Joe doesn't want to go without third party games for 2 or 3 years in the hopes of putting Sony out of business, they just want to play games, and you can't blame them, thats what they are made for.

You can't expect everyone to boycott Sony, they've got the Games and thats that. A few people not buying them isn't going to make much difference.

[edit on 23-11-2005 by chebob]

Originally posted by chebob

Originally posted by Zurahn

But those are third party games. Ironically, if more people didn't buy Sony's system, they wouldn't get the most third-party support which perpetuates more sales. Sony got the third party support when people bought into their first cinematic trailer campaign with the original PlayStation. That coupled with the use of easily pirated CDs. Basically, just as if people didn't shop at Wal-Mart, then the store wouldn't be killing small businesses, if people didn't buy PlayStation, Sony wouldn't have more third-party support.

Yes, but your average Joe doesn't want to go without third party games for 2 or 3 years in the hopes of putting Sony out of business, they just want to play games, and you can't blame them, thats what they are made for.

You can't expect everyone to boycott Sony, they've got the Games and thats that. A few people not buying them isn't going to make much difference.

[edit on 23-11-2005 by chebob]

It's not as if Sony has all of the third-party support, just more; much because of the afforementioned shady tactics, which have strangely been met, for the mostpart, with open arms by the consumer. That's not a suggestion that people will just abandon them, though.

Another lawsuit in the rootkit issue was filed Monday.

"Online advocacy group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which was joined by two leading national class action law firms, filed a lawsuit against Sony on Monday."

www.scmagazine.com...

quick note, i do hate many of the tactics that sony is using, but i hate console fanboys more than anything else

before i go into my rant, sega invented the analogue stick for the saturn game nights into dreams
also nintendo has been relying on ONE man for the majority of their existence as a gaming entity, hint hint: italian stereotype plumber man's creator

microsoft has realeased what i'm hoping will be an amazing console, and, strictly from a hardware standpoint, sony will be realeasing an even better one.
nintendo has a "revolution" in controller design, but they're still banking on the nostalgia factor by putting their entire history of games on the one console.

from here it's getting random

people have wanted sony to fail ever since they started

nintendo is the gaming world's sweethart, but only because they dodge controversy so well

sony had two analogue sticks, something you could hardly think of playing a game without, in a setup that fit so well, while nintendo had a setup that made it nearly impossible to use the stick and the d-pad and press the buttons at the same time

nintendo always feels like it needs to do something new, but they don't keep what people like about their previous systems

VIRTUAL BOY
('nuff said there)

sony's logo was made as a parody to "stick it" to nintendo for shafting them

nintendo sold network adapters to people hoping to play mario kart online, but they went unused

nintendo put a handle on the gamecube A HANDLE

if you want to talk about repackaging, talk about the gameboy advance, then the SP, then the micro, same system, different package, higher price :shk:

sega invented the analogue stick for the saturn game nights into dreams

They rereleased their controller in respnose to the N64's analog stick shown at the unveiling of the system. Sega actually managed to get the controller to retail before Nintendo released the N64, though (I'm pretty sure, anyway). But for the actual invention, that goes back to the Vectrex.

www.axess.com...www.axess.com...

nintendo always feels like it needs to do something new, but they don't keep what people like about their previous systems

VIRTUAL BOY

('nuff said there)

Not really 'nuff said, considering the Virtual Boy was intended to be a handheld. I'm not really sure to when Nintendo has ever not kept what people liked about its previous system in releasing a new one. When it came to specific things, I can only think of the games and pricepoint.

nintendo sold network adapters to people hoping to play mario kart online, but they went unused

Yes, they sold the network adaptors separately, but not for Mario Kart (that was online by a separate source called Warp Pipe). Basically it came down to being for Phantasy Star Online.

if you want to talk about repackaging, talk about the gameboy advance, then the SP, then the micro, same system, different package, higher price :shk:

Actually, I don't see any talk about "repackaging" (and Micro is sold separately from the SP and not as a replacement, so not really repackages although it plays the same games).

please stop hating on sony, it's not nice until you recognize the flaws of all of the big 3 and state all of them

--------------------

seperate note, the original playstation was an amazing system, and i still pull it out to play some of my ps1 games because it just feels right to use that instead of my ps2

Throw another one in the pile

Having defecated all over its own doorstep with its rootkit DRM spyware, Sony is now plastering excreta on the walls of buildings in LA and elsewhere.

"Residents of Lincoln Heights Los Angeles are pissed about what they suspect is a corporate graffiti campaign sponsored by Sony to promote the PSP," says popgadget. "Other flickr users claim to have spotted the same PSP-centric stencils in Silver Lake (LA) and San Francisco."

p2pnet.net...