Or so say users of Final Fantasy XIII for the Playstation III.  You can find a copy(non-verified) of the lawsuit here. 

More information and links after the jump….

Here is a news source from Courthouse News. The California case, alleging Final Fantasy XIII causes some PS3s to stop functioning,  is described, and includes primary and alleged anecdotal stories.

Very informative article from Gamesradar which includes forums threads, Youtube videos, and various unsusbtantiated claims from PS3 AND Xbox users.  Unsubstantiated, but A LOT.

The usual sarcasm-infused response from Kotaku games-magazine.

A short article with background from 1UP  gaming magazine.

Related: A very good background story from Gamasutra on the emotional attachment (or lack thereof) for Final Fantasy XIII.

Author’s commentary: Another class-action filed in California.  This time by a Florida plaintiff.  (Have to wonder; is Sony’s contract so great as to require California filing, or are California’s protections so wonderful as to lead to this?  Not a California lawyer….only Tennessee, so I’ll have to take their word on it.)  The one thing you have to notice about these lawsuits, the plaintiffs are getting a whole lot more anecdotal and real-life stories to supplement their own experiences.  One day one of these lawsuits will succeed, maybe next year, maybe in 5 years, and we’ll see a flood of them.  Sorry, we’re seeing a flood of them already and we’re still just waiting to see how they turn out. 

Do you think that hopefully Sony/Square Enix and other publishers and big companies will change their policies and comment on these lawsuits?  Are their merits to them, or is it just a natural result of big games on a huge number of game-systems that it’s going to cause death by natural causes to a large number of the systems?  Or have all the updates, changes, and new types of game development just pushed the limit for the systems and caused a breakdown of a very, very tiny percentage (but still a substantial number) of the systems?  Finally… does Sony even have access to that specific data?  If so, would, or could they share it?  I wonder.. but not aloud.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kelloggphotography/3498982867/ ; Flickr; Attribution required, some rights reserved.

Jay Moffitt is a Tennessee attorney. This blog is for entertainment and educational purposes only and does not consitute legal advice or create an attorney/client relationship. Jay Moffitt is not certified as a specialist in this area by Tennessee and Tennessee does not certify specialists in this practice area. All comments will be answered promptly and courteously as long as they are germane to the discussion and do not contain specific game names or incidents.

The Escapist reports Sony being sued over PS3 firmware update, the article focuses on the gamers perspective.

The Edge reports about Sony being sued in class-action because of PS3 update, be careful if you’re on a slow connection, it has an embedded video clip.

The original story that the gaming magazines refer to in Courthouse News, reporting the class-action filed in the Northern District of California.

The lawsuit vital statistics are as follow: termed CV 09 4791, filed in N.D. of CA, SF Div, on Oct 2, 2009. The complaint (linked here) alleges:

1. Breach of Implied Warranty

2. Negligence

3. Negligent Misrepresentation

4. Unjust enrichment

5. Trespass to chattels

6. California Unfair Competition Law, Business and Professions Code Section 17200

7. California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, Civil Code 1750

Jury Demand

If you’re interested in all the foundations of the allegations and complaint for relief, you can read that in the 18-page complaint mentioned above. Notable allegations include #12 “Although, as a general rule, Sony “encourages” PS3 owners to install the latest versions of system software, Sony required users to install the Firmware 3.0 update.” And another important factor, #21 “Upon information and belief, the class consists of at least tens of thousand of members in diverse locations throughtout the United States…” is listed.

This case is to my knowledge the first of this exact type, and I will be following it as events warrant.

Jay Moffitt is a TN attorney. The statements here are not legal advice, and no attorney/client relationship is created. Jay Moffitt claims no certification in this specialty, and TN does not offer a certification in this area of law. Copyright, Jay Moffitt, 2009. Comments are welcomed and will be answered promptly and courteously.