Sony and its PlayStation line have also experienced many ups and downs to succeed as it is now.

No one can deny the success Sony has with the PlayStation. PS2 is the best-selling console in history, although the PS3 encountered a bit of trouble and a stepping stone for Sony to make a breakthrough with the PlayStation 4 generation. It can be said that Sony is dominating the console market. Fans are waiting for the next generation of consoles, PlayStation 5, to succeed, further expanding the PlayStation empire.

Những khoảnh khắc tưởng chừng như đã nhấn chìm Sony và PlayStation

However, no success is full of roses. Since the development of the PlayStation line, the company has encountered so many bad situations. The culmination of scandals costing the company tens of millions of dollars and losing fans’ trust.

Free 7554: Lesson worth 17 billion and the story “If only …” Hiker Games has officially let gamers experience the free game 7554, which was released at the end of 2011. However, when 7554 again, gamers cannot help but regret and regret a historical stature project in the home game market.

While waiting for the PS5 release, let me look at the moments that sank Sony and PlayStation in disappointment.

Sony’s bitterness with Nintendo

The cooperation between Sony and Nintendo seemed to be forgotten, but it was the origin of the PlayStation’s birth. If Sony and Nintendo came to unity that day, we would not have the PlayStation empire. It was the story of more than 20 years ago.

Những khoảnh khắc tưởng chừng như đã nhấn chìm Sony và PlayStation

A prototype game console, a product of Sony and Nintendo, was born. At that time, this combination was that Sony brought the technology to read CD-ROM onto SNES. However, the issue of terms and money between the two parties is not consistent.

More specifically, the agreement was that Sony would help Nintendo create an add-on reader, fit into a legacy SNES system, similar to Mega Drive’s Sega Mega-CD. This new CD format will be used for game development. Sony will get a profit when developers make games and publish them in this CD format. This partnership created a machine called the Nintendo PlayStation. It was not until 30 years later that this prototype became known. The main reason is that this cooperation clause also prohibits Sony from developing its system. And of course, Sony refused, and it canceled its newly cooperated device and brought the technology of the CD player to create an independent system called Nintendo PlayStation.

Nintendo also showed no sign of giving in, so it had to cooperate with Philips to create a new CD drive in secret. While Sony is still happy to perfect its machine, their goal is to enter the gaming industry.

Sony began to recognize the deal with Nintendo as a conspiracy to keep them from entering the console market when they saw Nintendo working too slowly. Sony decided to stop working with Nintendo. They created their own PlayStation not only to enter the gaming market but also for a more important purpose: PAY NINTENDO PAYMENT.

That’s it; if the agreement between Sony and Nintendo went smoothly, surely we would not have the great PlayStation generations like now.

Class action filed against PlayStation 2

We all know that PS2 is the most successful console in console history. However, to achieve that success, Sony struggled to resolve the class action lawsuit, targeting PlayStation 2 itself. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claimed that Sony’s PS2 could not read the game disc and made them broken inside right.

Những khoảnh khắc tưởng chừng như đã nhấn chìm Sony và PlayStation

If you compare this issue with the Red Ring of Death situation on the Xbox 360, the status of not reading the PS2 disc is still too gentle. But at the time of the launch, PS2 users were so upset with this situation that they had to file a lawsuit.

PSP faces racist allegations

Sony’s PSP game console has encountered many problems in expanding markets outside of Japan. Sony has always been known as a very artistic advertising agency. However, it seems that they did not investigate thoroughly before starting the marketing campaign for the PSP.

Những khoảnh khắc tưởng chừng như đã nhấn chìm Sony và PlayStation

Specifically, in 2006, a poster introducing Sony’s PSP in the Netherlands showed a white person clutching a black man’s jaw with sharp provocative eyes. Although with Sony, this may be just an analogy, highlighting the colors of the PSP system. But for Westerners, this image has touched on one of the most sensitive issues, which is racism with black people.

As a result, Sony had to withdraw from this marketing campaign. They had to apologize for their actions. Fortunately, their apologies have been accepted. Although not causing too serious consequences, Sony has also caused the whole world to wave.

PlayStation 3 – the frustration of the whole community

If you say the PlayStation 3 is one of the most disappointing things Sony has ever done, it’s not wrong. What makes people most unhappy is the high price of the PS3. $ 600 for a console in 2019 still needs to be considered by the community as of 2006.

Những khoảnh khắc tưởng chừng như đã nhấn chìm Sony và PlayStation

The high price is because Sony has also brought the whole system of PS2 and PS3, for backward compatibility between the two systems. Besides, when placed on a scale with rival Xbox 360, the processor performance of the PS3 is significantly inferior in all games.

In the end, Sony had to redirect, focusing more on PS3 exclusive games such as the Uncharted series, The Last of Us, Demon’s Souls, … to salvage the situation. It took four years for the PS3 to make a profit for Sony. In addition to the success of complete projects, the PS3 still brought significant revenue and earnings to Sony, though the first time, it was disappointing.

Pay millions of dollars for the removal of Other OS features.

With the PlayStation 3, Sony once intended to turn it into a PC when it released the Other OS feature. This feature allows users to install Linux or any operating system that supports Power PC. However, for unknown reasons, the company removed Other OS in an update.

Những khoảnh khắc tưởng chừng như đã nhấn chìm Sony và PlayStation

It was Sony’s action that led to a lawsuit in 2010. A user filed a lawsuit claiming that Sony violated the contract’s terms by removing the Other OS feature. It took up to 6 years for this lawsuit to be resolved. As a result, Sony has offered a $ 55 compensation to any US user who proves they own a PS3 that has used Other OS. Even if you need to prove that you intend to install Other OS when you buy PlayStation 3, the user is compensated for 9 USD.

However, in February 2017, this settlement was rejected by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez due to its barriers to proving users. By September 2017, Sony answered that it would increase the settlement amount to 65 USD, instead of dividing the two levels of 55 USD and 9 USD as before.

In November 2018, Sony finally sent compensation payments. But the actual amount the user received at that time was just over 10 USD only. The total amount of money Sony spent on compensation was $ 3.75 million. In particular, $ 400,000 is sent to lawyers involved in this lawsuit, $ 3.5 thousand is for plaintiffs, and the rest is for those who file the complaint.

Scandal to reveal information of more than 70 million users

In 2011, Sony’s PSN became the victim of the Anonymous hacker group. This is the “punishment” that Anonymus for Sony filed a lawsuit against the famous hacker George “Geohot” Hotz for successfully breaking the PS3. Anonymous successfully hacked Sony.com and Playstation.com with a message that they wanted Sony to pay.

Những khoảnh khắc tưởng chừng như đã nhấn chìm Sony và PlayStation

What is the price here? Sony got involved in one of the biggest personal information scandals in history. The PlayStation Network was shut down, all personal information of more than 70 million users, even the bank account numbers, was revealed. But it is worth mentioning that it took Sony nearly two weeks to begin notifying users of such a severe incident.

More than 70 million users had to change their passwords after the announcement, re-check their bank accounts and transactions to see if it was affected. This will be a lesson that Sony needs to remember forever. Many criticize this scandal in part because the security of the PSN system is too weak.