210°

PSVita forces firmware updates, spies on you

Your little, $250 handheld won't let you manage your own files until you are deemed worthy enough of the feature, by updating your firmware. Certainly, everyone has internet in this day and age- that's why if you connect your Vita to a networkless PC you'll find, like Wololo did, that it won't work. Like, at all. It won't connect.

...And it shall always look at you, watching you, spying on you, and writing your daily life on a database (let it be pornography usage and view, screenshot sharing, and other interesting, perhaps illegal information sharing...), like the monster it is.

Like, seriously, Sony?

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pspslimhacks.com
Abash4520d ago

Wow a bitter article from a site called "pspslimhacks.com"? Shocking. Sony is playing hardball with piracy and the very same people complaining are the reason why Sony are this way with piracy now.

blumatt4520d ago (Edited 4520d ago )

Yeah, I mean as much I'd like to just download and pirate all my games, I don't. I pay for my games. And the whole "gotta download certain firmware to use certain features" thing...Well, what do you expect? lol

The fact that piracy was rampant on the PSP is why Sony is taking a much more defensive approach with lots of protective measures in place.

Gamers should BUY their games. And preferably, buy them new, if possible. Of course, I know that's not always possible because no one can afford to buy them all new, but at least some of them. Sony doesn't want piracy to mess up the Vita.

And, regardless of how you want to justify it, piracy IS stealing. If you obtain something for free and it's not given to you, then it's stealing. I used to be the exact opposite. Limewire was my best friend, but I learned that it's robbing the music industry and I started buying all my music.

EDIT: Wow, guys! 5 Disagrees so far for advocating buying your games instead of stealing them. And not one of them had the courage to tell my why. lol

Krew_924519d ago

I agree that we have to buy games, but the only reason you got so many disagrees is because people don't like being told what to do. You sound like a hardcore preacher advocating for anti-piracy.

Also people have different world views, with different set of morals, and principles. One person can see piracy as an evil vile act, while others may see it as something trivial.

SynGamer4519d ago (Edited 4519d ago )

I fully agree with the first two comments. If you can afford to but the system, lay down the money and buy the games. I, for one, am glad Sony is tracking just about everything we do with the Vita. They have the right to try and protect it from the hackers.

Props Sony :)

Is it February yet? I can't wait much longer for my Vita!

EDIT: regarding legal issues, I would imagine that as soon as you boot the PS Vita for the first time, there is likely a Terms and Conditions. I would venture to say that if one doesn't accept that, they can simply return the PS Vita.

smashcrashbash4520d ago (Edited 4520d ago )

The people who usually get the most upset and angry about things like this are the very same people who are itching to see the VITA hacked. Forced updates sound good to me. You won't have to force me to do that on my fully legal VITA.I have no sympathy for cheaters, thieves and liars. Spare me the long sob stories about how a hacked VITA will be better.

viperman2404520d ago

So let me get this straight, just cause the Vita doesn't let you transfer files when your computer isn't connected to the internet. You automatically assume its spying on you.

Great detective work.

And like smashcrashbash said, only the people who want to hack the Vita are pissed about this.

On a side note correct me if I'm wrong, isnt the ipod the same?

danielle0074519d ago

Sorry, scb, replying to viperman240.

Correcting you since you're wrong, iPods aren't the same. It doesn't require an internet connection to add/remove files, and it doesn't force every update on you.

kevnb4519d ago (Edited 4519d ago )

this is pretty draconian. I dont pirate and dont want to be spied on. worst part is the pirates will defeat this but legit users will suffer.

SynGamer4519d ago

How will the legit users suffer? You assume that SPYing is bad. What if I changed that to LOGging? Not so evil now. Guess what, just about ever tablet and cellphone LOGs data at some level to better diagnose issues when they arise. No personal information is gathered (usually) but this logging gives them an idea of what was happening when issues arose, that way they can better help the customer.

If you aren't doing anything illegal, you have nothing to worry about. :)

kevnb4519d ago

what if I dont have internet access. What if I dont trust the company who put rootkits on music cds?

SynGamer4519d ago

No internet? Really? you're posting on a website...if you have no internet but are spending $250+ on a portable gaming device, I think it's safe to say you have internet.

As far as rootkits, Sony paid for their mistake. I don't foresee that happening again.

farhad2k84519d ago

Sony is doing what should have been done 5 years ago with the PS3.
This will stop the hackers from doing some nasty shit to Sony.

I really can't wait to get my hands on the PSV. :(

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4519d ago
Silly gameAr4520d ago

Not sure I care what a site with hack in the name has to say about anything gaming related.

rezzah4519d ago

even if it was something hacksucks.com?

=p

Silly gameAr4519d ago

@rezzah

I'm sick of hacks/hacking/hackers period. White hat, black hat, sh*t hat I don't care.

resistance1004520d ago

......next story please. As Silly gameAr said i'm don't really care for a site's gaming opinion when they have Hack in their name.

Noticeably_FAT4520d ago

This shouldn't be a surprise, Sony pushes updates as it is if you want to play online.

Lots of negative Sony in the new lately. Cant say it's been their best year.

DonaldBeck4520d ago

it HAS been there best year. uncharted 3 got a 10/10
we got tons of exclusives ect
the only people who cant see that are trolls.
and negative press for ign giving ps3 the best console of 2011? seriously...

anyways any troll can make 50 websites bashing sony, it does not mean its true, and it isn't, not by A loooong shot buddy.

BX814519d ago

Tons of exclusives? Doesn't mean that they are worth buying. The last game I purchased for the PS3 was Uncharted 3 and before that I can't recall. I don't like the idea of sony recording what I'm doing on my system but I also didn't see any proof in the article where sony is actually doing this. Damn hackers! Just leave things alone!

blumatt4519d ago (Edited 4519d ago )

So you're telling me that Uncharted 3 was the only one worth buying out of all 10 or more exclusives that came out this year? lol I could understand if there were only like 2 or 3 (I'm looking at you...well you know who) exclusives. But the PS3 had 10 or so this year and I know that most of them were quality.

Titanz4520d ago (Edited 4520d ago )

I want my Vita to see me looking hot! :P

badz1494519d ago

How many birthday suits do you have?? I know everybody has 1 but you have more? Do you even understand what's "birthday suit" in the 1st place?

danielle0074519d ago

... ARE YOU GOING TO SKIN OTHER PEOPLE SO YOU CAN HAVE MORE THAN ONE BIRTHDAY SUIT ?!

BX814519d ago

Maybe he rocks tassles one day, a bow tie the next, etc...

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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.

Profchaos18d ago (Edited 18d 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.

exputers18d ago

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

Profchaos17d ago (Edited 17d 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_looken17d 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.

z2g18d ago

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

phoenixwing18d ago

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

H918d ago

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

jambola17d 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

SegaSaturn66918d ago

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

Popsicle18d 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.

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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.

jznrpg18d 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.

Profchaos18d ago

Souls games will be like that players struggling make it harder

PassNextquestion18d ago (Edited 18d ago )

I think if used correctly it could work well

jambola18d 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

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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
ChasterMies39d 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_looken38d ago

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

Cacabunga38d ago

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

just_looken38d 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-6438d 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_Long38d 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.

Einhander197238d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic38d 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 38d ago
DivineHand12538d 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.

Joe91338d 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_Observer38d 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.

S2Killinit38d ago (Edited 38d 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.

Joe91338d 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.

S2Killinit38d 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 38d ago
Christopher38d 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.

CrimsonWing6938d ago (Edited 38d 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.

S2Killinit38d 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_Mal38d ago (Edited 38d 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.

Christopher38d 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_looken38d 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

Einhander197238d ago (Edited 38d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic38d 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.

romulus2338d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218338d 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.

S2Killinit38d ago (Edited 38d 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.

mastershredder38d 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.

crazyCoconuts38d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

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