• Re: Helldivers 2 to require Playstation subscription even bought on Ste

    From Justisaur@21:1/5 to Spalls Hurgenson on Fri May 3 15:32:08 2024
    On 5/3/2024 1:38 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    On Fri, 3 May 2024 11:43:45 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
    wrote:

    Helldivers 2 was looking like a pretty good squad Co-op game, I was
    somewhat interested, but so many things to play, not enough time. It
    won't affect me if I were to play it, but there's regions where it was
    sold that the PSN isn't available.

    <snip>

    Account linking plays a critical role in protecting our players and
    upholding the values of safety and security provided on PlayStation and
    PlayStation Studios games. This is our main way to protect players from
    griefing and abuse by enabling the banning of players that engage in
    that type of behaviour. It also allows those players that have been
    banned the right to appeal.

    Here's the stuff Sony left unsaid:

    "More importantly, onboarding people into a new service
    is possibly the hardest step of getting new customers. Even
    if it's free, there is a huge amount of inertia to overcome
    getting people to sign up. By tying our newest, most popular
    game to the service, we force people to choose between
    quitting the game, or signing up. We're fairly sure that
    most people will choose the latter rather than give up a
    product they enjoy and already paid for.

    "And once their subscribed to PSN, the likelihood of their
    buying further products through the service - magnitudely
    increases. We feel this more than outweighs any downsides,
    such as losing the few customers who don't want to sign up,
    or any ill will earned by this move.

    "The stuff about the 'protecting the player'? That's all
    secondary to this move. Sure, it helps with that, maybe.
    It doesn't really matter. Heck, by putting everyone under
    our service's aegis, it even help us better comply with
    various laws around the world dealing with privacy and /
    or moderation laws. We might even make a bit of a profit
    from collecting and reselling your data! But, really, none
    of that stuff is the important bit. What we really want
    is to finally get you onto PSN, because that's how we're
    gonna make the real money. After all, it worked for Valve
    with Half-Life 2 and Steam; it worked for Epic with Fortnite
    and their Epic Game Store. So why shouldn't it work with us?"


    Yes of course. Sony's quite known for their lack of care about their
    customers at least since their 2005 rootkit scandal.

    --
    -Justisaur

    ø-ø
    (\_/)\
    `-'\ `--.___,
    ¶¬'\( ,_.-'
    \\
    ^'

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Dimensional Traveler@21:1/5 to Justisaur on Fri May 3 18:09:59 2024
    On 5/3/2024 11:43 AM, Justisaur wrote:
    Helldivers 2 was looking like a pretty good squad Co-op game, I was
    somewhat interested, but so many things to play, not enough time.  It
    won't affect me if I were to play it, but there's regions where it was
    sold that the PSN isn't available.

    *********************************************************

    From "The Verge":

    Attention, Democracy Defenders: Helldivers 2 will soon require players
    on Steam to link their account to a PlayStation Network account.
    According to the announcement, all new players on Steam will be required
    to link to a PSN account starting May 6th, while current players will
    have a little bit longer, with mandatory enforcement delayed until June
    4th.

    According to Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Game Studios, linking to a
    PSN account was always going to be a requirement for Steam players, and
    the policy is there to ensure players are protected from griefing and
    other in-game abuses. But the game’s community isn’t buying it, vociferously protesting the decision on social media and on Steam itself.

    Shortly after the announcement, the game saw a flood of negative
    reviews, receiving over 14,000 negative reviews today alone on Steam.

    Though PSN accounts are free and quick to make, players do have reason
    to be upset. PSN isn’t available everywhere, and this move could potentially lock players in certain countries out of their game
    permanently. Players have also expressed concern about the security of
    their data. Sony recently suffered a data breach, though the information stolen was connected to employees and not customers.

    Hell, even if their data was secure why would I want THEM to have it in
    the first place?

    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From JAB@21:1/5 to Justisaur on Sat May 4 09:09:18 2024
    On 03/05/2024 19:43, Justisaur wrote:
    Helldivers 2 was looking like a pretty good squad Co-op game, I was
    somewhat interested, but so many things to play, not enough time.  It
    won't affect me if I were to play it, but there's regions where it was
    sold that the PSN isn't available.

    The part I don't like about it is it being done respectively*, so not
    giving customers the option to choose before they decided to buy it.
    That's just a bit scummy.

    *My understanding is that's technically not true but the statement
    saying this was going to happen wasn't made particularly clear upfront.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Dimensional Traveler@21:1/5 to Spalls Hurgenson on Sat May 4 09:04:44 2024
    On 5/4/2024 6:31 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    On Fri, 3 May 2024 15:32:08 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
    wrote:


    Yes of course. Sony's quite known for their lack of care about their
    customers at least since their 2005 rootkit scandal.

    Let's not forget when the Playstation Network got hacked and all the
    user data was stolen. But I'm sure they've beefed up their security,
    and there's no WAY that could EVER happen again, right?







    Are those crickets?


    No. Even the crickets are staying far away from this.

    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Justisaur@21:1/5 to Justisaur on Sat May 4 09:19:16 2024
    On 5/3/2024 11:43 AM, Justisaur wrote:
    Helldivers 2 was looking like a pretty good squad Co-op game, I was
    somewhat interested, but so many things to play, not enough time.  It
    won't affect me if I were to play it, but there's regions where it was
    sold that the PSN isn't available.

    ***** UPDATE! SONY GASLIGHTS CUSTOMERS! *****

    Sony and Arrowhead (the dev) were saying that the fact it wasn't
    required was due to a 'server issue' and it was communicated that it was
    a temporary thing. However screenshots of the requirements from other countries where PSN isn't available show it says that PSN is "optional."
    Presumably they haven't updated all their requirements for all the
    foreign pages yet.

    They've been caught in a bold faced lie and gaslighting. The review
    bombing has greatly increased after this was found and now Helldivers 2
    has been dragged down to 'mixed' for all time reviews. I'm not sure if
    this will have any real legal repercussions due to the usual "subject to
    change at any time" clauses present everywhere, and Japan's corrupt
    legal system's favoritism.


    --
    -Justisaur

    ø-ø
    (\_/)\
    `-'\ `--.___,
    ¶¬'\( ,_.-'
    \\
    ^'

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Ant@21:1/5 to Dimensional Traveler on Sat May 4 19:41:35 2024
    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

    Yes of course. Sony's quite known for their lack of care about their
    customers at least since their 2005 rootkit scandal.

    Let's not forget when the Playstation Network got hacked and all the
    user data was stolen. But I'm sure they've beefed up their security,
    and there's no WAY that could EVER happen again, right?

    Are those crickets?

    No. Even the crickets are staying far away from this.

    And ants. :P
    --
    "[The Lord's Messiah] will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace." --
    Micah 5:4. May da 4th, 5th, & 6th B with U as always!
    Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
    /\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://aqfl.net & http://antfarm.home.dhs.org.
    / /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
    | |o o| |
    \ _ /
    ( )

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From candycanearter07@21:1/5 to Ant on Sun May 5 05:40:05 2024
    Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote at 19:41 this Saturday (GMT):
    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

    Yes of course. Sony's quite known for their lack of care about their
    customers at least since their 2005 rootkit scandal.

    Let's not forget when the Playstation Network got hacked and all the
    user data was stolen. But I'm sure they've beefed up their security,
    and there's no WAY that could EVER happen again, right?

    Are those crickets?

    No. Even the crickets are staying far away from this.

    And ants. :P


    And me. (bc i dont have a playstation :D)
    --
    user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From candycanearter07@21:1/5 to Justisaur on Sun May 5 05:40:05 2024
    Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> wrote at 16:19 this Saturday (GMT):
    On 5/3/2024 11:43 AM, Justisaur wrote:
    Helldivers 2 was looking like a pretty good squad Co-op game, I was
    somewhat interested, but so many things to play, not enough time.  It
    won't affect me if I were to play it, but there's regions where it was
    sold that the PSN isn't available.

    ***** UPDATE! SONY GASLIGHTS CUSTOMERS! *****

    Sony and Arrowhead (the dev) were saying that the fact it wasn't
    required was due to a 'server issue' and it was communicated that it was
    a temporary thing. However screenshots of the requirements from other countries where PSN isn't available show it says that PSN is "optional."
    Presumably they haven't updated all their requirements for all the
    foreign pages yet.

    They've been caught in a bold faced lie and gaslighting. The review
    bombing has greatly increased after this was found and now Helldivers 2
    has been dragged down to 'mixed' for all time reviews. I'm not sure if
    this will have any real legal repercussions due to the usual "subject to change at any time" clauses present everywhere, and Japan's corrupt
    legal system's favoritism.


    I wonder if they'll hit "Overwhelmingly negative" at some point.
    --
    user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From JAB@21:1/5 to Spalls Hurgenson on Sun May 5 09:58:01 2024
    On 04/05/2024 14:34, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    On Sat, 4 May 2024 09:09:18 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

    On 03/05/2024 19:43, Justisaur wrote:
    Helldivers 2 was looking like a pretty good squad Co-op game, I was
    somewhat interested, but so many things to play, not enough time.  It
    won't affect me if I were to play it, but there's regions where it was
    sold that the PSN isn't available.

    The part I don't like about it is it being done respectively*, so not
    giving customers the option to choose before they decided to buy it.
    That's just a bit scummy.

    *My understanding is that's technically not true but the statement
    saying this was going to happen wasn't made particularly clear upfront.


    I assume you mean retroactively. There's no respect here from Sony.

    Yep.

    They saw their game was popular, and decided to try and leverage that popularity into getting their network a bigger marketshare. It's all
    about what is good for Sony; it has nothing to do with benefitting the customers.

    It certainly feels that they were always going to do it but didn't want
    to at launch in case of any lost sales. That is a bit scummy because if
    the reasoning they are using as to why it's being activated now is true
    then why didn't they have it a launch.

    I'd love it if Valve started offering all Helldiver 2 players the
    ability to return/refund the game, no matter how long it has been
    since they purchased it, since this seems a fairly significant change
    to the requirements box.

    Tricky one as it's still fit for purpose (as long as you can continue to
    play it in your region) just not quite what a buyer may have wanted. If
    it was me, I'd be really peeded off as I try and avoid any additional
    game launchers. That's why I still haven't got anything from the Epic
    store, oh and who owns it doesn't help. It's not fair you have a
    monopoly as I want it.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Justisaur@21:1/5 to Spalls Hurgenson on Sun May 5 09:10:20 2024
    On 5/5/2024 8:20 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    On Sat, 4 May 2024 09:19:16 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
    wrote:

    On 5/3/2024 11:43 AM, Justisaur wrote:
    Helldivers 2 was looking like a pretty good squad Co-op game, I was
    somewhat interested, but so many things to play, not enough time.  It
    won't affect me if I were to play it, but there's regions where it was
    sold that the PSN isn't available.

    ***** UPDATE! SONY GASLIGHTS CUSTOMERS! *****

    Sony and Arrowhead (the dev) were saying that the fact it wasn't
    required was due to a 'server issue' and it was communicated that it was
    a temporary thing. However screenshots of the requirements from other
    countries where PSN isn't available show it says that PSN is "optional."
    Presumably they haven't updated all their requirements for all the
    foreign pages yet.

    They've been caught in a bold faced lie and gaslighting. The review
    bombing has greatly increased after this was found and now Helldivers 2
    has been dragged down to 'mixed' for all time reviews. I'm not sure if
    this will have any real legal repercussions due to the usual "subject to
    change at any time" clauses present everywhere, and Japan's corrupt
    legal system's favoritism.

    Update to the Update!!!!

    Helldivers 2 has been delisted from Steam in 177 territories*, and - according to reports - Steam is offering refunds on the game far past
    it's usual 2-hour limit.

    Nice to hear they got off their duffs and did something.

    * read here:
    https://www.pcgamesn.com/helldivers-2/steam-delisting

    I'd love to believe this is Valve taking the side of the end-user, but
    more likely it is more a response against Sony trying to push gamers
    towards its competing PSN network. Sony wants to onboard people on
    PSN, because once they have an account there, they are far, far, FAR
    more likely to make future purchases on that network. Valve,
    obviously, doesn't want this. They don't want people to even be aware
    of the competition. They want all purchases to be through Steam.

    This isn't Valve being on the side of gamers. It's a warning shot to
    Sony.

    It's nice when a market owner's self interest and consumer interest align.

    They don't seem to have any problem with tons of other companies
    requiring a separate account. I'd guess it's more about protecting their
    ass on the bait and switch, Sony may be able to get away with that being
    a Japanese company, but Steam is in the US.

    Still good on them.

    --
    -Justisaur

    ø-ø
    (\_/)\
    `-'\ `--.___,
    ¶¬'\( ,_.-'
    \\
    ^'

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Werner P.@21:1/5 to All on Mon May 6 10:42:45 2024
    Am 05.05.24 um 18:10 schrieb Justisaur:

    They don't seem to have any problem with tons of other companies
    requiring a separate account. I'd guess it's more about protecting their
    ass on the bait and switch, Sony may be able to get away with that being
    a Japanese company, but Steam is in the US.

    Still good on them.

    Frankly spoken, PSN unless you have a playstation where it really makes
    sense, to get one of the higher tiers, is absolutele worthless for PC
    gaming only. If sony wants to push people towards psn, they should try differently...

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Justisaur@21:1/5 to Spalls Hurgenson on Mon May 6 09:18:16 2024
    On 5/5/2024 8:20 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    On Sat, 4 May 2024 09:19:16 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
    wrote:

    On 5/3/2024 11:43 AM, Justisaur wrote:
    Helldivers 2 was looking like a pretty good squad Co-op game, I was
    somewhat interested, but so many things to play, not enough time.  It
    won't affect me if I were to play it, but there's regions where it was
    sold that the PSN isn't available.

    ***** UPDATE! SONY GASLIGHTS CUSTOMERS! *****

    Sony and Arrowhead (the dev) were saying that the fact it wasn't
    required was due to a 'server issue' and it was communicated that it was
    a temporary thing. However screenshots of the requirements from other
    countries where PSN isn't available show it says that PSN is "optional."
    Presumably they haven't updated all their requirements for all the
    foreign pages yet.

    They've been caught in a bold faced lie and gaslighting. The review
    bombing has greatly increased after this was found and now Helldivers 2
    has been dragged down to 'mixed' for all time reviews. I'm not sure if
    this will have any real legal repercussions due to the usual "subject to
    change at any time" clauses present everywhere, and Japan's corrupt
    legal system's favoritism.

    Update to the Update!!!!

    Helldivers 2 has been delisted from Steam in 177 territories*, and - according to reports - Steam is offering refunds on the game far past
    it's usual 2-hour limit.

    * read here:
    https://www.pcgamesn.com/helldivers-2/steam-delisting

    I'd love to believe this is Valve taking the side of the end-user, but
    more likely it is more a response against Sony trying to push gamers
    towards its competing PSN network. Sony wants to onboard people on
    PSN, because once they have an account there, they are far, far, FAR
    more likely to make future purchases on that network. Valve,
    obviously, doesn't want this. They don't want people to even be aware
    of the competition. They want all purchases to be through Steam.

    This isn't Valve being on the side of gamers. It's a warning shot to
    Sony.


    Update the Third!!!!

    Sony has removed the requirement for those playing on playstation that
    are outside of PSN countries (which no one seemed to realize what even a thing.) They're working on what to do with PC/Steam whatever that means.


    --
    -Justisaur

    ø-ø
    (\_/)\
    `-'\ `--.___,
    ¶¬'\( ,_.-'
    \\
    ^'

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Justisaur@21:1/5 to Justisaur on Mon May 6 09:42:41 2024
    On 5/6/2024 9:18 AM, Justisaur wrote:
    On 5/5/2024 8:20 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    On Sat, 4 May 2024 09:19:16 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
    wrote:

    On 5/3/2024 11:43 AM, Justisaur wrote:
    Helldivers 2 was looking like a pretty good squad Co-op game, I was
    somewhat interested, but so many things to play, not enough time.  It >>>> won't affect me if I were to play it, but there's regions where it was >>>> sold that the PSN isn't available.

    ***** UPDATE! SONY GASLIGHTS CUSTOMERS! *****

    Sony and Arrowhead (the dev) were saying that the fact it wasn't
    required was due to a 'server issue' and it was communicated that it was >>> a temporary thing.  However screenshots of the requirements from other
    countries where PSN isn't available show it says that PSN is "optional." >>>   Presumably they haven't updated all their requirements for all the
    foreign pages yet.

    They've been caught in a bold faced lie and gaslighting.  The review
    bombing has greatly increased after this was found and now Helldivers 2
    has been dragged down to 'mixed' for all time reviews.  I'm not sure if >>> this will have any real legal repercussions due to the usual "subject to >>> change at any time" clauses present everywhere, and Japan's corrupt
    legal system's favoritism.

    Update to the Update!!!!

    Helldivers 2 has been delisted from Steam in 177 territories*, and -
    according to reports - Steam is offering refunds on the game far past
    it's usual 2-hour limit.

    * read here:
    https://www.pcgamesn.com/helldivers-2/steam-delisting

    I'd love to believe this is Valve taking the side of the end-user, but
    more likely it is more a response against Sony trying to push gamers
    towards its competing PSN network. Sony wants to onboard people on
    PSN, because once they have an account there, they are far, far, FAR
    more likely to make future purchases on that network. Valve,
    obviously, doesn't want this. They don't want people to even be aware
    of the competition. They want all purchases to be through Steam.

    This isn't Valve being on the side of gamers. It's a warning shot to
    Sony.


    Update the Third!!!!

    Sony has removed the requirement for those playing on playstation that
    are outside of PSN countries (which no one seemed to realize what even a thing.)  They're working on what to do with PC/Steam whatever that means.


    Apperantly I completely misread that, they are dropping the requirement
    for the Steam PSN requrement. I got confused about the bit where
    they're still learning what's best for PC. Here's their announcement:

    "Helldivers fans -- we’ve heard your feedback on the Helldivers 2
    account linking update. The May 6 update, which would have required
    Steam and PlayStation Network account linking for new players and for
    current players beginning May 30, will not be moving forward.

    We’re still learning what is best for PC players and your feedback has
    been invaluable. Thanks again for your continued support of Helldivers 2
    and we’ll keep you updated on future plans."

    --
    -Justisaur

    ø-ø
    (\_/)\
    `-'\ `--.___,
    ¶¬'\( ,_.-'
    \\
    ^'

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Dimensional Traveler@21:1/5 to Spalls Hurgenson on Mon May 6 17:58:42 2024
    On 5/6/2024 9:59 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    On Mon, 6 May 2024 09:18:16 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
    wrote:

    On 5/5/2024 8:20 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    On Sat, 4 May 2024 09:19:16 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
    wrote:

    On 5/3/2024 11:43 AM, Justisaur wrote:
    Helldivers 2 was looking like a pretty good squad Co-op game, I was
    somewhat interested, but so many things to play, not enough time.  It >>>>> won't affect me if I were to play it, but there's regions where it was >>>>> sold that the PSN isn't available.

    ***** UPDATE! SONY GASLIGHTS CUSTOMERS! *****

    Sony and Arrowhead (the dev) were saying that the fact it wasn't
    required was due to a 'server issue' and it was communicated that it was >>>> a temporary thing. However screenshots of the requirements from other >>>> countries where PSN isn't available show it says that PSN is "optional." >>>> Presumably they haven't updated all their requirements for all the
    foreign pages yet.

    They've been caught in a bold faced lie and gaslighting. The review
    bombing has greatly increased after this was found and now Helldivers 2 >>>> has been dragged down to 'mixed' for all time reviews. I'm not sure if >>>> this will have any real legal repercussions due to the usual "subject to >>>> change at any time" clauses present everywhere, and Japan's corrupt
    legal system's favoritism.

    Update to the Update!!!!

    Helldivers 2 has been delisted from Steam in 177 territories*, and -
    according to reports - Steam is offering refunds on the game far past
    it's usual 2-hour limit.

    * read here:
    https://www.pcgamesn.com/helldivers-2/steam-delisting

    I'd love to believe this is Valve taking the side of the end-user, but
    more likely it is more a response against Sony trying to push gamers
    towards its competing PSN network. Sony wants to onboard people on
    PSN, because once they have an account there, they are far, far, FAR
    more likely to make future purchases on that network. Valve,
    obviously, doesn't want this. They don't want people to even be aware
    of the competition. They want all purchases to be through Steam.

    This isn't Valve being on the side of gamers. It's a warning shot to
    Sony.


    Update the Third!!!!

    Sony has removed the requirement for those playing on playstation that
    are outside of PSN countries (which no one seemed to realize what even a
    thing.) They're working on what to do with PC/Steam whatever that means.


    Update to the Update to the Update to the Update
    (wait... is that one too many updates, or one too few?)

    Anyway, Sony has backed down on the PSN requirement for all Steam
    users, regardless of region.

    From their Twitter account*:

    "Helldivers fans -- we've heard your feedback on the
    Helldivers 2 account linking update. The May 6 update,
    which would have required Steam and PlayStation Network
    account linking for new players and for cirrent players
    beginning May 30, will not be moving forward.

    "We're still learning what is best for PC players and
    your feedback has been invaluable. Thanks again for your
    continued support of Helldivers 2 and we'll keep you updated
    on future plans."

    Apparently, the review bombing on Steam and elsewhere was intense;
    like, WW2 Dresden intense! Supposedly 250,000 negative reviews dropped
    on the game in three days. Gamers were /not/ happy.

    Although I doubt that had much to do with Sony's change of direction.
    More likely, it was Valve's displeasure that had a lot more of an
    effect.

    I suspect, though, that the next big releases will all have PSN
    requirements from the start, and Valve will be fine with that. Sadly,
    most gamers will probably roll over and accept it too. It was
    retroactively changing the deal that cost Sony.

    "I am altering the deal, pray I don't alter it any further."
    "This deal is getting worse all the time."

    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Dimensional Traveler@21:1/5 to Justisaur on Mon May 6 17:55:14 2024
    On 5/6/2024 9:42 AM, Justisaur wrote:
    On 5/6/2024 9:18 AM, Justisaur wrote:
    On 5/5/2024 8:20 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    On Sat, 4 May 2024 09:19:16 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
    wrote:

    On 5/3/2024 11:43 AM, Justisaur wrote:
    Helldivers 2 was looking like a pretty good squad Co-op game, I was
    somewhat interested, but so many things to play, not enough time.  It >>>>> won't affect me if I were to play it, but there's regions where it was >>>>> sold that the PSN isn't available.

    ***** UPDATE! SONY GASLIGHTS CUSTOMERS! *****

    Sony and Arrowhead (the dev) were saying that the fact it wasn't
    required was due to a 'server issue' and it was communicated that it
    was
    a temporary thing.  However screenshots of the requirements from other >>>> countries where PSN isn't available show it says that PSN is
    "optional."
      Presumably they haven't updated all their requirements for all the
    foreign pages yet.

    They've been caught in a bold faced lie and gaslighting.  The review
    bombing has greatly increased after this was found and now Helldivers 2 >>>> has been dragged down to 'mixed' for all time reviews.  I'm not sure if >>>> this will have any real legal repercussions due to the usual
    "subject to
    change at any time" clauses present everywhere, and Japan's corrupt
    legal system's favoritism.

    Update to the Update!!!!

    Helldivers 2 has been delisted from Steam in 177 territories*, and -
    according to reports - Steam is offering refunds on the game far past
    it's usual 2-hour limit.

    * read here:
    https://www.pcgamesn.com/helldivers-2/steam-delisting

    I'd love to believe this is Valve taking the side of the end-user, but
    more likely it is more a response against Sony trying to push gamers
    towards its competing PSN network. Sony wants to onboard people on
    PSN, because once they have an account there, they are far, far, FAR
    more likely to make future purchases on that network. Valve,
    obviously, doesn't want this. They don't want people to even be aware
    of the competition. They want all purchases to be through Steam.

    This isn't Valve being on the side of gamers. It's a warning shot to
    Sony.


    Update the Third!!!!

    Sony has removed the requirement for those playing on playstation that
    are outside of PSN countries (which no one seemed to realize what even
    a thing.)  They're working on what to do with PC/Steam whatever that
    means.


    Apperantly I completely misread that, they are dropping the requirement
    for the Steam PSN requrement.  I got confused about the bit where
    they're still learning what's best for PC. Here's their announcement:

    "Helldivers fans -- we’ve heard your feedback on the Helldivers 2
    account linking update. The May 6 update, which would have required
    Steam and PlayStation Network account linking for new players and for
    current players beginning May 30, will not be moving forward.

    We’re still learning what is best for PC players and your feedback has
    been invaluable. Thanks again for your continued support of Helldivers 2
    and we’ll keep you updated on future plans."

    "What's best for us as customers is to not get shafted by companies we
    buy from."

    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Ross Ridge@21:1/5 to justisaur@yahoo.com on Tue May 7 15:00:55 2024
    Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> wrote:
    Sony and Arrowhead (the dev) were saying that the fact it wasn't
    required was due to a 'server issue' and it was communicated that it was
    a temporary thing. However screenshots of the requirements from other >countries where PSN isn't available show it says that PSN is "optional."
    Presumably they haven't updated all their requirements for all the
    foreign pages yet.

    I think you've somehow conflated two different things. The Steam store
    page for Helldivers 2 has always said PSN was required for Helldivers 2,
    even before it was released, and there's only two Steam store pages for
    the game, one for Japan and one for everywhere else. However a help
    page on the Sony's website said that PSN account linking was optional
    for Sony's PC games (in general, not just Helldivers 2), and this was
    probably the screenshot you saw. After the whole controversy errupted
    this page was changed.

    Despite some conspiracy theories here, the plan was always for Helldivers
    2 to require PSN. It wasn't a result of the game's suprise success,
    just the opposite. Because it was a smash hit, they disabled the
    PSN requirement soon after it launched because it was preventing
    people from playing the game. The PSN servers couldn't keep up with
    the load. Ultimately Helldiver 2's success may keep it from ever being
    a requirement, but Sony hasn't quite promised that.

    --
    l/ // Ross Ridge -- The Great HTMU
    [oo][oo] rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
    -()-/()/ http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca:11068/
    db //

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From JAB@21:1/5 to Spalls Hurgenson on Wed May 8 09:35:56 2024
    On 06/05/2024 17:59, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    I suspect, though, that the next big releases will all have PSN
    requirements from the start, and Valve will be fine with that. Sadly,
    most gamers will probably roll over and accept it too. It was
    retroactively changing the deal that cost Sony.

    Unfortunately yes, I'm more forgiving when it's a live service game but
    it does pee me off with single player games as what happens in five or
    ten years when you want to fire up a game only to find the server is no
    longer available. It adds zero value for the customer so I don't want it.

    The issue in general, yes I agree and even worse you find people
    actually defending Sony for their actions, it's like turkeys voting for
    Xmas. You used to see it on the WoT forums where players would air
    legitimate grievances and other players would tell them to stop moaning
    and suck it up. It's very much in the same category of if I don't have a problem with it then your opinion is by definition invalid.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Xocyll@21:1/5 to All on Wed May 8 20:18:23 2024
    JAB <noway@nochance.com> looked up from reading the entrails of the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:

    <snip>
    The issue in general, yes I agree and even worse you find people
    actually defending Sony for their actions, it's like turkeys voting for
    Xmas.

    Well some people do have Christmas Hams instead.

    More like Turkeys voting for Thanksgiving (a far more Turkey centric
    holiday.)

    For some of these people they've been purchasers of Sony games for so
    long they have Stockholm syndrome.

    Sonyholm syndrome?

    Xocyll

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From JAB@21:1/5 to Xocyll on Thu May 9 07:56:17 2024
    On 09/05/2024 01:18, Xocyll wrote:
    JAB <noway@nochance.com> looked up from reading the entrails of the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:

    <snip>
    The issue in general, yes I agree and even worse you find people
    actually defending Sony for their actions, it's like turkeys voting for
    Xmas.

    Well some people do have Christmas Hams instead.

    More like Turkeys voting for Thanksgiving (a far more Turkey centric holiday.)

    For some of these people they've been purchasers of Sony games for so
    long they have Stockholm syndrome.

    Sonyholm syndrome?

    Xocyll

    Ham is for Boxing day, everyone knows that!

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)