Sony woes: sued for PSN ban and mistakenly blamed for Nazi ad
There has been a couple of interesting developments in two controversial bits of gaming news recently. A gamer actually sued Sony for banning him from PSN, indicating that the service was paid for. Also, the bizarre Nazi ad everyone thought Sony created apparently has nothing to do with the company. The details are after the jump.
According to Kotaku, a man sued Sony after he was banned from PSN after becoming a public nuisance while playing Resistance: Fall of Man. He alleges that Sony is depriving him of paid services, which is hilarious. He also claims that since he is agoraphobic (which means he has a fear of large crowds), PSN is his only avenue to interact with other people.
The judge quickly threw out the suit as Sony clearly indicated that there is no violation of First Amendment since PSN is not only a free service but also a private accommodation. Considering that the PSN is free the gamer’s suit really had no grounds to stick. Although, if he may want to check out XBL on the Xbox 360 as you actually do pay for the service and Microsoft is a bit more liberal towards online jackassery.
A PS3 print ad showing a man giving blood to the famous Nazi Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox himself, created some controversy by the fact it had something to do with a Nazi. For those who may not know, Rommel was part of Operation Valkyrie a plan to assassinate Adolf Hitler. However, you can’t expect that an average gamer would know anything about Valkyrie unless they watched Tom Cruise’s movie.
Well apparently it seems that Sony had absolutely nothing to do with the ads as it was created independently by BBDO Chile staff and submitted to various competitions and festivals without notification or approval from Sony. The president of BBDO Chile issued a formal apology to everyone and Sony. I’m sure that after the strange European ads from Sony last year, the company wants to steer clear of unusual ads for quite some time.
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25 Responses to “Sony woes: sued for PSN ban and mistakenly blamed for Nazi ad”
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October 2nd, 2009
“you can’t expect that an average gamer would know anything about Valkyrie unless they watched Tom Cruise’s movie.”
lol… ah, nice one Mike. As for the ads, Sony in general is pretty well known for going over the heads of the masses in more than a few of it’s early commercials and ads ( destructoid.com/three-new-ps3-tv-spots-sony-s-getting-better-about-this-sort-of-thing-56664.phtml )… and offending many… for instance the evil baby world series ad… perhaps the fact that most of the people who would fully understand some of these ads don’t play videogames, watch tv, or read the periodicals these are printing in might have given them a hint since then, considering their vast improvement as displayed at this year’s E3.
October 2nd, 2009
Just to save somebody else the trouble of inevitably going off topic, here is the latest on the PS3 firmware issues:
eurogamer.net/articles/ps3-blu-ray-issue-not-firmware-related
This would suck, but fortunately I’m not one of the affected few, as the issues I had were fixed just by reinstalling the game data for one game and getting a new disc for another. I have been happily playing bd’s since.
October 2nd, 2009
LOL this is the nazi thing dickhead… I mean Kev was talking about?
Shows how people believe everything they see or read online.
October 2nd, 2009
who cares about a stupid comercial…I’ve seen worse
October 2nd, 2009
Sony has always had issues with marketing… Usually they are unnecesarily bizarre and even creepy (remember the one with the red eyed laughing baby? Or the random alien looking girl?).
I believe they should look for a less artistic perspective. How about a cosmopolitan look? Like sports cars´publicity? The message should be “Playing PS3 is cool and beyond” or stuff like that but instead most of them tell me: “Play PS3! Be a freak! (Twisted circus music and whispers for background)”.
Sole exception: David Lynch´s deer comercial. Talk about Ultimate Bambi!
October 2nd, 2009
“…an average gamer would know anything about Valkyrie unless they watched Tom Cruise’s movie”
Did anyone watch that piece of crap?
Even knowing what the add is about, I’m still not sure I get it and see how it relates to gaming. Anyone care to interpret?
“play on the PS3 to help take down the Nazis in a passive, roundabout way”??
October 2nd, 2009
*staring at picture*
Is it maybe “today’s youth helping to inject life into the Nazi resistance”?… WWII games?
I just don’t get it. It would work as art maybe, but not an add.
October 2nd, 2009
with each day it seems like more ppl stop coming to blorge.
MIA list:
KNIGHTHAWK
Ivan
Happy
Rimmer
DWH
Kevo
Harry
Spidey
lock_down
fallen_angel
Andrew
I’m pretty sure there are more!
October 2nd, 2009
ncaissie, calm down. I noticed it was the same thing, but I’m not sure kev ever believed it.
October 2nd, 2009
Barnabe, if you follow the link you can also see the one with Joan of Arc getting a heart transplant in a similar scene…
It could be something like being able to relive any great person’s life through the console game, or actually give that person life or a second chance through your actions in a virtual reality, recreate history with alternate choices, etc. The artist had some things in mind, but it still depends on the viewer, their knowledge, and their personal experience as to how they interpret it.
October 2nd, 2009
nah i still read but have been busy with a whole lot of nothing lol but the super bowl with janet jackson was 10 times worse but whatever
October 3rd, 2009
Yes, they should’ve picked someone with a perkier rack.
October 3rd, 2009
haha true that SW
October 3rd, 2009
welcome back Kevo….
October 5th, 2009
@ ncaissie
Kev believes in everything thats anti-Sony. like that BBC show.
another example. he believed in the 10% PS3 failure rate from a survey. but he said the 360 55% from the same survey was BS. haha
October 5th, 2009
ROCA – it’s official…sony’s being sued for the ps3…
h**p://www.courthousenews.com/2009/10/05/Sony_Software_Update_Crashes_PlayStation_3_Class_Action_Claims.htm
how’s that for “anti sony”? lmao….
October 5th, 2009
uhmmmmmmm ok??? and you point is….
but hey look! I can do the same and be a dick about stuff that does not affect me at all.
***** Xbox 360’s NXE patch births RRoD *****
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/02/06/nxe_patch_rrod/
October 5th, 2009
‘ROCA – it’s official…sony’s being sued for the ps3…’
Will you come back to say sorry to Roca if Sony wins?
Thought not.
October 5th, 2009
Kev believed it. That is why he calls PS3 owners Nazi’s.
October 5th, 2009
Xbots are just too stupid to sue MS.
Probably because MS lawyers are good at protecting them after the billions they have lost in law suits.
October 6th, 2009
ncaissie – that was one mighty weak excuse..
roca – the point is, and has always been, “NO CONSOLE IS PERFECT”… understand it now?
SW – let’s not congratulate sony just yet…..
October 6th, 2009
“roca – the point is, and has always been, “NO CONSOLE IS PERFECT”… understand it now?”
I hear ya. The PS3 is just a lot closer to perfect than the 360…
October 7th, 2009
did I ever say the PS3 was perfect Kev. you really need help
October 8th, 2009
phrance – we’ll never know for sure since sony refuses to talk about any concrete numbers for breaking ps3. then again, i wonder what the class action suit against sony for their brick-making “updates” will have to say…
October 9th, 2009
roca – so far, the 360 is the ONLY console you claimed to have problems this gen… so, to paraphrase, apparently you do think the ps3 is perfect.
just like you claim kaz is implementing “perfect” damage in GT5 as he claims….