730°

Prolific "spokesman" for Anonymous leaves the hacker group

Barrett Brown, the man who assumed the role of Anonymous' spokesman, has stepped down, citing the PSN hack (OpSony) as an a reason for his decision to disassociate himself.

Read Full Story >>
arstechnica.com
M-Easy4732d ago (Edited 4732d ago )

"But as things like OpSony arise, you attract a lot of people whose interest is in f***ing with video game companies-which is not to say that there aren't legitimate reasons for OpSony or that the majority involved aren't quality people, but to the extent that someone sits things out when we're working to promote liberty and fight dictatorships but then hops on board when we start going after an electronics firm that's perpetrated far lesser villainy, one has to question those peoples' priorities."

Wow what an adult thing to say. I'm sure anyone with the mental capacity of a person over the age of 13 had to be thinking the same thing.

Soldierone4732d ago

Still involved. Still guilty. Unless he comes clean, releases names of all involved, then I won't "forgive" him or respect him "stepping down." Fact of the matter is these kids will still go after him no matter what because they are scared he will do just that. They didn't listen about OpSony, so nothing is going to stop them unless they start getting busted.

I respect his words and I do agree anyone that made it through high school will be thinking the same.

LightofDarkness4732d ago

You'd respect him more if he was a rat? Selling out former friends and colleagues, probably real-life ones at that, just to make life easier for himself and deliver some sort of vindication for the little fan-kiddies? Get over it, man.

Perkel4732d ago (Edited 4732d ago )

"these kids"

I see people still believe that most of them are 13 year old kids living in a basement roll eyes >.>

Those guys are mostly adults and what is more imposibble to you probably they earn more than you. have a family or GF.

And those involved in Sony data leak probably are swimming in money now, banging girls on Bali, living life you will never achieve in lifetime.

This prejuice is like football Hooligans. People to this day think that fhooligans are young people after elementary school with no future.

IRL they are people from all areas. Some are as above some are CEOs, some are menagers, some are normal people.

Edit:

Lol @ disagrees,

You know how much is in money 40 mln of people emails and data ? No ?

My firm where i work bought 200k of people emails form other firm for 900k $. And those were only emails...

dragonelite4732d ago

How can he know who are involved i could bring down live and say anamynous did it while im not part of it. What they did is they made themselves a sort of get out of jail card for blackhat hackers.

Wh15ky4732d ago

@ perkel

Why do some people get so upset when other people refer to these people as kids?

The hackers motivations behind hacking PSN were childish, that's what makes them kids, doesn't necessarily mean they are all 13 year olds.

tehpees34732d ago

I honestly don't care. I just want to see the back of these articles

Soldierone4732d ago (Edited 4732d ago )

Yeah I could cheat my way to riches too. It isn't hard to go to school to learn these things then do things on your own. You hack a few things and find communities, maybe create your own, and learn from each other.

Do you know how many people are just as rich as them doing the same things in a legitimate job? They don't steal things and ruin things for other people, they help instead. Build products of our future, and secure holes so these idiots can't get in.

I call them kids because they act like kids. If they don't want this image then don't do it. When they were attacking companies with legitimate reasons I was fine with that, they had reasons to do it and an issue backing their decisions. But to attack a company and ruin service for millions of users all because they can't steal games? give me a break.

I wouldn't sell out a friend. But a friend wouldn't be stupid enough to go on with a decision like this behind my back, even when I told him not to. You know very well the people that did it were sitting their laughing everyday PSN was down, thus the image of kids comes to mind. The very least he could do is talk to them into coming clean and leave it up to them. Meanwhile telling Sony how it was accomplished so future attacks can be avoided.

MrBeatdown4732d ago

"You'd respect him more if he was a rat? Selling out former friends and colleagues, probably real-life ones at that, just to make life easier for himself and deliver some sort of vindication for the little fan-kiddies? Get over it, man."

You say that as if protecting criminals is any more noble than reporting them. You're just twisting it to make it sound like he's doing it for himself, but Soldierone is suggesting he do it for the right reason... Because they are criminals.

Eamon4732d ago

lol at you naive little n4g users arguing.

You guys have no idea how difficult it is to bypass software security made by some of the most powerful and smartest firms on this planet.

To call them kids only reflects on yourself really. There are definitely loads of 13 year olds who try to hang around the anonymous crowd because it sounds cool to them. They may probably be responsible for DDoS attacks too but did you know that to do a DDoS attack you just download a simple program and press click and it does it all for you. They even made a web version. All of this was readily available on their websites and IRC channels during the wikileaks incident.

You have to be very very smart to be able to hack into these security systems and usually the person who did it would be doing a related course at university or at least have already done it.

The guy disassociated himself from OpSony because he feels that there are people there who are only taking advantage of the cause for their own personal interests. I think it's a bit stupid to leave over something like that but it's his decision.

@ Soldierone, he's not expecting you to forgive him nor does he want your forgiveness nor does he even know you to even think of wanting it. His moral standards and ideals are far surpassing than your sheepish and blind brand loyalty.

Perkel4732d ago

@ Soldierone

Who said i agree with them ? Especially with stealing data :>

I just want to make clear people that they are not 13year old basement dwealer, but people who probably are no diffrent than we and with their knowelage they can earn a lot more than we. Some of them can even work for security firms.

As of childish reasons..

So thief who stole your money is childish ?
Your neighbours who hates you is childish too ?

No dude, childish reason is when you steal your friend cup of coffe.

Hate and buisness is not childish.

Sorry i don't see anything childish in their idealogy.

They don't brake law (with DDOS attacks) and they teach firms that they are not invulnerable as they want to be for cammon people.

Idealogy is right, method for doing it, is wrong. Also i don't see any other diffrent way to realize their idealogy which is sad.

Wh15ky4732d ago (Edited 4732d ago )

Perkel: "As of childish reasons..

So thief who stole your money is childish ?
Your neighbours who hates you is childish too ?

No dude, childish reason is when you steal your friend cup of coffe.

Hate and buisness is not childish.

Sorry i don't see anything childish in their idealogy."

What the hell are you on about?

I believe the motives for attacking PSN were childish as they were selfish and did nothing to promote any cause or "idealogy" although I think you mean ideology...

"but to the extent that someone sits things out when we're working to promote liberty and fight dictatorships but then hops on board when we start going after an electronics firm that's perpetrated far lesser villainy, one has to question those peoples' priorities."

And it seems that this chap, of which you appear to hold in such high regards, thinks so too.

X-DominusRebellis-X4732d ago (Edited 4732d ago )

These fucking hacker POS just can't stand being in the dark eh? They love to have attention for being apart of something big. This dumb shit loser no longer is associated with those homos, okay great, so why does he have to go public about it and tell the whole world? No one gives a shit about him, no one cares about who he is or what he does so stop covering this asshole and leave him and all hackers where they belong, in the dark! Stop giving them the attention they never got in school, from girls, or maybe too much attention from their daddies. Giving them attention and covering them makes these losers feel like they belong and are something special to be talked about. Fuck it! Fuck them in the spooky dark!

Dee_914732d ago (Edited 4732d ago )

@ Perkel now your just being stubborn because those examples made no sense
Their antics were very childish ..
Your beginning argument was that they werent kids now that someone pointed out that they dont mean age wise when they call them children you want to change up and say they werent acting childish .. there arent many things that get under my skin on the internet or in life in general but when someones too stubborn to admit they misunderstood its just dumb and childish .. especially on the internet

+ Show (10) more repliesLast reply 4732d ago
M-Easy4732d ago

@Perkel
LMAO you seriously think anyone made any cheese of the Sony hack? In the real world when you commit a crime and then flaunt your spoils that's the FASTEST way to get caught. And that's assuming anyone would want to buy the sure to be flagged (high profile case) info of the PSN users. The very same info that is available get legally 100 other ways.

RioKing4732d ago (Edited 4732d ago )

Yeah because if you sell some email addresses,you know the feds are gonna wanna know where you got them from...right? Not really, they're smart...if they can infiltrate psn, they can probably make money from it. You people disagreeing with Perkel are retarded.

And the info is not flagged, it would have to be released by Sony to be flagged, and Sony won't release that info.

Ignorance is bliss.

Speakindatruth4732d ago (Edited 4732d ago )

We all know they're not thirteen, you guys. What we do know is that they have the mental capacity of a thirteen year old--they're probably much older.

They can't follow a cause and only seek personal gain. If they're CEOs, they probably suck at their jobs--like a shitty boss who's stressed out all the time and can't handle... well, jack shit. If your most sharpened talent is hiding behind a computer screen to avoid real life, these people are definitely losers in real life--pawns in an operation and aren't going to get paid for what they did. They were probably funded by a corporation that steals e-mails, birthdays, addresses and names to sell them for money. This probably means the e-mails will be used to quadruple your spam box. Those dirty corporations will be living the dream. Those hackers will go home with a small bonus.

What will they do with a bonus? Nothing special. I mean, if you and I know game hackers as the losers they are--we know they'll go home and buy a new gaming PC to play more Rapelay and other Japanese porn games. Not a sports car. Not a vacation in Bali. They're nothing special--hackers never are the lead in an operation. They're always just pawns. So don't worry guys. And no, they didn't get are damn credit card information, they just suck ass at being human beings. Waste of space if you ask me.

RioKing4732d ago (Edited 4732d ago )

"If they're CEO's, they probably suck at their jobs."

Do you know how naive that comment is? And YOU"RE the one talking about the mental capacity of a 13 year old...aaahahahahaH!!!! No one becomes a CEO, "sucking at their job" idiot.

BlackTar1874732d ago (Edited 4732d ago )

RIO king get a life dude. why are you sticking up for these kids. Its even more immature to see cheerleaders like yourself trying to justify there cause or highlight your assumptions of what they are.

You can report me but ill never be as sad as you are right this moment

all your comments reak of ignorance

You know what kind people try and assert there assumption over others is called?

ill give you 2 guess's and the first 2 don't count.

"No one becomes a CEO, "sucking at their job" idiot." Thats not true at all. For you to believe its not possible is incredibly showing

hiredhelp4732d ago (Edited 4732d ago )

The 'Face' of Anonymous Steps Down

Step down what like hes a important part to the world. Hes still a hacker buy useing such a headline you making out this kid like some important boss to a large company.

UnbiasedGamer4732d ago

@ Perkel

Remember the strike at Sony Stores where just one fatso nerd with anonomous mask came into the store, and sat down watching a Sony Tv? Oh were where your adults then....

Andronix4732d ago

Did he do this to avoid possible prosecution charges?

Also, if he knew Anonymous was breaking various international laws does that mean he is an accessory to these crimes, or does the fact he didn't do any hacking protect him ?

BattleAxe4732d ago

Well at least he's got some integrity. Anonymous had my respect when they were trying to help Julian Assange, but this whole thing with Sony is the dumbest cause that they could have come up with.

mcslick1014732d ago

It's unfair and ignorant to call them 'kids'. Their act was childish. Don't be so short-sighted and benighted,they are major whistle blowing community and activist group that have contributed a myriad of righteousness to justice.

pixelsword4732d ago

"But as things like OpSony arise, you attract a lot of people whose interest is in f***ing with video game companies-which is not to say that there aren't legitimate reasons for OpSony or that the majority involved aren't quality people, but to the extent that someone sits things out when we're working to promote liberty and fight dictatorships but then hops on board when we start going after an electronics firm that's perpetrated far lesser villainy, one has to question those peoples' priorities."

He's talking about fanboys...

Even if the doesn't know it.

Therealspy034731d ago

I'm sure anyone with the mental capacity of a person over the age of 13 SHOULD realize that this guy is a self-proclaimed spokesperson for a group that isn't officially even a group, and that his word and his position mean absolutely nothing.

CryofSilence4731d ago

I've been thinking since the first hack that OpSony would be the undoing of Anonymous. It seems that's starting to come true. Good riddance.

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 4731d ago
cyclonus0074732d ago

Believe me, he needs the media attention. Because as soon as it's gone, here come the unmarked vans and men in black to whisk him away to an "undisclosed location".

ThanatosDMC4732d ago

Feds gonna bust him up bad...

BDSE4732d ago

You're celebrating living in a police state? Are you dumb?

ThanatosDMC4731d ago

It's not a police state. Are YOU dumb?

Therealspy034731d ago (Edited 4731d ago )

good call. and look at your balance of agrees to disagrees. scary that so many ppl are welcoming this prison planet with open arms.

@thanatos, yeah it is. wake up

BDSE4731d ago

@ThanatosDMC You actually believe that don't you?

@Therealspy03 Yeah its pretty worrying that people can't see it.

ThanatosDMC4731d ago (Edited 4731d ago )

Wiki def: "The term police state describes a state in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic and political life of the population. A police state typically exhibits elements of totalitarianism and social control, and there is usually little or no distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the executive.

The inhabitants of a police state experience restrictions on their mobility, and on their freedom to express or communicate political or other views, which are subject to police monitoring or enforcement. Political control may be exerted by means of a secret police force which operates outside the boundaries normally imposed by a constitutional state."

I live in the country that loves its freedoms. You're telling me i live in a police state in which a country ran by some thugs waving their guns to hurt people without reason? It's scary that you think that. I hope you're living in an island by yourself so can pleasure yourself with the thought of a prison planet.

link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4731d ago
NRG4732d ago

The moment somebody claims they are the face of Anonymous is a fail.

BubbleSniper4732d ago

I see shit is hitting the fan.

Krimson-Rage4732d ago

"Anonymous spokesman"..? Aren't they anarchists?

Perkel4732d ago

we don't even know if he is in Anon or just attention whor$

Redempteur4732d ago

it's probably the latter

Biggest4732d ago

They are one and the same. You can't seperate Anonymous and attention whore.

Show all comments (97)
150°

Sony Patents To Prevent You From In-Game Harassment By Reading Your Emotions

A new patent recently published by Sony wants to gather biometric data of gamers to track whether one is being harassed using AI tools.

Profchaos8d ago (Edited 8d ago )

I hope this is one of those patents that never comes to fruition.

I already dislike the fact you can pay a significant amount for a online service buy associated games and content on said service and get banned from that service over potentially a misunderstanding the bans are already handed out for flimsy reasons

I'd rather see money invested in a ban that simply removes the offensive players ability to communicate with unknown players allow them to continue party chats with friends but not with Joe blow on cod.

exputers8d ago

Agreed. Blizzard recently banned a college Overwatch 2 player who's dependent for saying "shit." Pretty harsh.

Profchaos7d ago (Edited 7d ago )

How rediculas really. You can't say a word that's allowed in most PG films and prime time TV but the game is based around killing the enemy team using guns, explosives etc.

It's just backwards.

just_looken7d ago

What your talking about is called block list

In 2006 a spaceship dropped of the playstation 3/xbox 360 i say that that generation was the last great gen with game functions/tech that has yet to comeback

Anyhow the playstation 3 if you block listed a id they could not talk to you in chatroom with either text or voice. But that was pre mind fucked 2018 when people were more human than sheep.

But hey gta 6 is coming out billion dollar budget without a single player custom character creator and without singeplayer coop off/online something saints row 1-3 had on the xbox 360.

z2g8d ago

Take my social security and bank account numbers too! Here’s a picture of my wife and our address.

phoenixwing8d ago

Cmon where's the pictures of your children. Don't hold out on them.

H98d ago

At this rate I feel Sony will eventually sell a room to play games in it where they can monitor your every breath

jambola8d ago

I genuinely get a bit worried sometimes when a friend says something that could be offensive In a party
Because I have no trouble believing some bans would happen when in a private party for saying something wrong

SegaSaturn6698d ago

I want them to censor erotic content by measuring my groin temperature so i dont get too distracted while playing black ops 2.

Popsicle8d ago

Terrible idea. Not only do I not consent to providing my biometric data, the potential for mishandling biometric data is almost a certainty. Positive stress and negative stress can produce similar changes in biometrics. Interpreting the precise emotion a person is feeling is not only invasive but could be easily misconstrued. I hope this never comes to fruition.

Show all comments (14)
130°

Sony Could Increase Your Game's Difficulty If It Sees You Complain About It

Sony has recently published a new patent that wants to dynamically handle the games' difficulty and gameplay based on the player's emotions.

jznrpg8d ago

This is something I might use. Sometimes I play some good games but they don’t have difficulty option and are a little too easy.

Profchaos8d ago

Souls games will be like that players struggling make it harder

PassNextquestion8d ago (Edited 8d ago )

I think if used correctly it could work well

jambola8d ago

cool idea
cool idea for horror games especially
the way it's explained here sounds like it could never be forced hopefully, so that's ok with me

Show all comments (8)
280°

Sony Taps Bungie's Head of Revenue to Lead Live-Service Games

Sony has recruited Bungie's head of revenue Jaremy Rich to head up its live-service gaming division, Rich has announced on social media.

Read Full Story >>
techraptor.net
ChasterMies29d ago

Please do not put Destiny’s monetization into Sony’s first party games. The monetization is what’s driving players away from Destiny.

just_looken29d ago

The new temp boss is the sony cfo bean counter so i can see this being a thing get every penny.

Cacabunga29d ago

PlayStation officially losing it.. fans will never support gaas games

just_looken29d ago

@car

The new boss did a interview in japan he wants to tap into the mobile market like nintendio so he give 0 fucks about gamers/fans

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

Redemption-6428d ago

@Cacabunga
You only speak for you and those who think like you, but most fans will support what they want. Playstation and PC fans are literally supporting Helldivers 2 and that is a gaas. Maybe you wouldn't, but many more would if they like it.

Huey_My_D_Long28d ago

@Redemption-64
Look, Im not making any judgement calls about this guy, but I will say that Helldivers 2 GaaS model is unique to Helldivers, and legit the only other game I can think of thats similiar was the Avengers game except HD2 pass is still better.
The fact that you can earn in game currency in a way that doesnt make you feel like you have to grind forever, as well you being able work on that pass that you bought...on your own time without a time limit...that right there is fucking huge to me, and I can't name any game other than avengers that avoided trapping players with FOMO logic...I think GaaS on HD2 shouldn't be compared to the rest of the industry...it should be copied.

Einhander197228d ago

Cacabunga

Helldivers 2...

Redemption-64

In Europe it's a 60 40 split favoring PC.
In the US its a 60 40 split favoring PS5.

So PlayStation owners supported the game just fine, it's not getting carried by PC or anything like that.

FinalFantasyFanatic28d ago

@just_looken,
I'm perfectly fine with the way Nintendo entered the mobile market, I never touched their mobile games, meanwhile, the console/handheld stayed the way it is. As for being a bean counter, he's probably going to reel in these massive budgets that Sony's studios have had lately, I haven't played Spiderman 2, but I cannot see how they almost tripled the budget for that game.

@Redemption-64,
That's an exception to the rule, I'm expecting a lot of these GAAS games from Sony to fail, to be fair, they only need a few to succeed, but I would have preferred that they put more of their resources into other types of games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 28d ago
DivineHand12529d ago

True their monetization is driving players away and at the same time, their decision to chop out content and convoluted systems is keeping new players away from the game.

Joe91329d ago

I don't think that will happen based on how things worked out at Naughty Dog now that we know what we do, seems they had the option to fully commit to live service games or stay making single player experences so they gave up on their live service game. We are not sure how things came about with Bend making a live service game but I hope that was not a forced situation. Sony doesnt seem like they are forcing studios to switch up but we will see, Sony's bread and butter is single player games it is how they dominated the console market.

Obscure_Observer28d ago

Yeah, I though Sony learned something from all their failures in the LS segment under Bungie´s disastrous leadership and supervision which led to games been cancelled, studios closed and all the people laid off.

Looks like Bungie still plays a major role in Sony´s LS initiative and Sony is not backtracking on their GaaS plans.

S2Killinit28d ago (Edited 28d ago )

Are we forgetting that Destiny is also a highly successful franchise? I feel like that definitely deserves mention here.

Besides, there is no reason why a person cant learn from past experiences.

Joe91328d ago

I agree, people act as if Destiny flopped when it came out lol it took 9 to 10 years for the numbers to fall yet people are still playing it add the success of Helldivers 2 no wonder Sony is going forward down this path.

S2Killinit28d ago

Personally, I see no problem with Sony also having service games as long as they make good ones, and more importantly they deliver the AAA story driven games that they are known for. So yeah, I agree 100% with you.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 28d ago
Christopher29d ago

I mean, this person made some pretty bad decisions at Bungie. I hope they've learned from them because I definitely don't see those type of ideas as good for PlaySation in general.

CrimsonWing6928d ago (Edited 28d ago )

Honestly, what’s to learn from? How to make people happily continuously dump money into a single game over its life-time? Buy season passes continuously for several years with a smile on our faces?

GaaS is a design decision that is everything wrong with this industry. The fact that Helldivers 2 did so well and people defend the monetization because it was $40 and is a fun game, scares the sh*t out of me to see that the door is open and all shift will probably be to replicate that in future games. We already know the ROI for traditional game dev cost isn’t doing it for them.

I thought with Jimbo leaving we’d see a change for the better… I’m not so sure now.

S2Killinit28d ago

Service games are being offered by everyone. Sony cannot afford to only create single player AAA games. No one can. They already said they will be doing both.

Abnor_Mal29d ago (Edited 29d ago )

Ps5 gamers in 2023 seemed to play more live service types of games, so regardless to how people feel about them, numbers don’t lie and Sony is going where the money is. I mean look at the excitement around Helldivers2, people are showing that they want live service games.

Christopher29d ago

They play long-time existing live service games like CoD, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and the like. Mass majority of new live service games are considered failures and aren't moving gamers away from older games.

just_looken29d ago

Yep the huge issue with live service is they need paid players along with a reason to play them.

You forgot mobile market that also taps into that player base as well as the eve online style games there is only a certain amount of krakens/whales blind supporters compared to the amount of live service games we have its not sustainable math wise.

700 restaurants making food for every seat for 1000-3000 eaters just does not work out

Einhander197228d ago (Edited 28d ago )

Christopher

I am not a big live service fan and literally own zero of the games you listed, but that is not true, unless you call games that aren't the top games to be failures.

There are tons of live service games that are profitable.

Games don't have to be the biggest game ever they just need to make more than they cost.

I challenge you to show professionally prepared data that shows that more live service games fail than make enough to keep going.

Because all the data that I have seen shows that live service is less of a gamble than making a big AAA budget game which needs to survive off retail sales.

FinalFantasyFanatic28d ago

I sometimes wonder if we're at saturation point, where it's hard for a new game to join those ranks unless it's particularly exceptional, people only have so much time and money to devote to these types of games.

romulus2329d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218328d ago

Lol it's not even a quarter of the ps5s sold. Helldivers may have been a hit but let's not say most are enjoying it because truth is most(the real most ) don't care about it.

S2Killinit28d ago (Edited 28d ago )

I play what is fun. If a live service game is good I’ll play it as long as its not a money scheme which Helldivers is not.

And Im a single player gamer.

mastershredder29d ago

How do you kill a franchise that already been killed?
Destiny’s grind, cash-in-on-playbass-cha-Ching, and pop-culture-insertion mainstream-me-too bs totally killed any rep Bungie had. Sony/Bungie, if you are doing this to ward-off players, it’s already working.

crazyCoconuts29d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

Show all comments (43)