PS4 Battery Time-Keeping Time-Bomb Silently Patched By Sony; PS3 Consoles Still Waiting

from the tick-tock dept

Over the past several months, there have been a couple of stories that certainly had owners of Sony PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 consoles completely wigging out. First came Sony's announcement that it was going to shut down support for the PlayStation Store and PlayStation Network on those two consoles. This briefly freaked everyone out, the thinking being that digitally purchased games would be disappeared. Sony confirmed that wouldn't be the case, but there was still the question of game and art preservation, given that no new purchases would be allowed and that in-game purchases and DLC wouldn't be spared for those who bought them. As a result of the outcry, Sony reversed course for both consoles specifically for access to the PlayStation Store, nullifying the debate. Except that immediately afterward came word of an issue with the PS3 and PS4 console batteries and the way they check in with the PlayStation Network (PSN) to allow users to play digital or physical game media. With the PSN still sunsetting on those consoles, the batteries wouldn't be able to check in, and would essentially render the console and all the games users had worthless and unplayable.

But now that too has been corrected by Sony, albeit in a completely unannounced fashion.

PlayStation owners wanting to preserve their PS4 libraries well into the future can breathe a sigh of relief, as the system's latest firmware update reportedly fixes a time bomb found inside every console.

While Sony's official patch notes for the 9.00 update strangely make no mention of the CMOS fix, that lack of mention may point to a change in its attitude about PlayStation's legacy platforms. With PS5's backward-compatibility limited (so far) to PS4 titles and in the absence of a major overhaul to its PS Now streaming library of games, taking the step to push an update that nixes the CMOS issue on PS3 as well would be a welcome shift.

So now PS4 owners are off the hook, though whether they know it or not appears to be a matter of whether they read the news about this on sites like this. PS3 owners, meanwhile, don't currently have a fix in place. And that really does highlight a continuing messaging and transparency problem when it comes to Sony and how it treats its PlayStation customers.

Sony has, far too often, had to either reverse course on its plans when its own fans go apeshit, such as when it finally enabled cross-console play for PlayStation games, or instead has had to weather tough public relations and legal storms when it kept to its plans, such as when it removed useful features from the PS3 via firmware update after the public had already bought the console.

It's great that the company fixed this problem for the PS4 owners, but what about everyone else? Why not let people know the fix has been made? Why can't this company communicate?

Filed Under: battery, battery bug, dlc, patching, ps3, ps4
Companies: sony

PlayStation Y2K-Like Battery Bug About To Become A Problem As Sony Shuts Down Check In Servers

from the tick-tock dept

We've had a couple of discussions now about video game preservation with the impetus being Sony's shutdown of support for the PlayStation Store for PSP, PS3, and Vita owners. The general idea there was questioning what happens to games for those systems in the very long term if suddenly nobody can get to them anymore and the developers and publishers are not always retaining the source code and assets for these games on their end. That sort of thing is probably primarily of interest to us folks who look at these games as a form of art and culture, very much worth preserving.

But Sony may well have a much bigger issue on its hands. As a result of a strange internal time-check issue that exists on PS3 and PS4 consoles, there is the very real possibility that those consoles will be unable to play any purchased game soon if the end user replaces the battery on the device. It's, well, it's a bit like Y2K, but for real.

The root of the coming issue has to do with the CMOS battery inside every PS3 and PS4, which the systems use to keep track of the current time (even when they're unplugged). If that battery dies or is removed for any reason, it raises an internal flag in the system's firmware indicating the clock may be out of sync with reality.

After that flag is raised, the system in question has to check in with PSN the next time it needs to confirm the correct time. On the PS3, this online check happens when you play a game downloaded from the PlayStation Store. On the PS4, this also happens when you try to play retail games installed from a disc. This check has to be performed at least once even if the CMOS battery is replaced with a fresh one so the system can reconfirm clock consistency.

But if support for PSN goes away on these systems, so does the system's ability to check in to reconfirm the correct time. And if that happens, well, then suddenly any PS4 game will no longer be playable, nor will any PS3 game bought as a digital download. Sony, in other words, can essentially render these consoles mostly or totally useless for playing games just by shutting down PSN support for these consoles.

Now, why did Sony create this problem for itself in the first place? Well, the answer is different for each console. On the PS3, it was used to enforce "time limits" on digital downloads. For the PS4, it appears to have been used more to keep gamers from messing with how trophies are shown, specifically for when they were earned. Either way, neither of those is so important at this point that Sony should risk bricking bought consoles as a result.

Interestingly, the fix for this should be a simple firmware update... except that Sony hasn't said a word about whether one is coming.

Sony could render the problem moot relatively easily with a firmware update that limits the system functions tied to this timing check. Thus far, though, Sony hasn't publicly indicated it has any such plans and hasn't responded to multiple requests for comment from Ars Technica. Until it does, complicated workarounds that make use of jailbroken firmware are the only option for ensuring that aging PlayStation hardware will remain fully usable well into the future.

I can't imagine a single reason why Sony would want this looming customer crises on its hands... unless it's part of a plan to push the public to buy more, new-generation consoles and get their games back from there. If that is indeed the plan, the PR fallout is going to be insane.

Filed Under: battery, cmos, playstation, ps3, ps4, psn
Companies: sony

After All That, Sony Unceremoniously Rolls Out PS4 Remote Play To All Android Devices

from the too-late dept

Remote play capability for the Playstation 4 has been something of a twisted, never ending saga. One of the most useful features of the gaming console, Sony has jealously guarded the ability to play its flagship console remotely on all kinds of devices. Originally, the only way you could connect to your PS4 was if you bought a Playstation Vita, a product all but abandoned at this point, or a Sony Xperia Android phone, a line of products the public almost universally ignored. When tinkerers on the internet went about making their own remote play apps that would work with Android phones and PCs, Sony worked tirelessly to update the console firmware to break those homebrew apps. Then Sony came out with its own PC remote play app. Subsequently, some months ago, Sony released remote play functionality for iOS devices only. The explanation at the time was that Sony was likely still trying to push Xperia phones, despite the complete lack of traction.

And now, unceremoniously via yet another firmware update, Sony has given up the game and enabled remote play for all Android devices.

Fortunately, 7.0 expanded the feature, making it compatible with most Android devices. This means that anyone with an Android-compatible phone in their pocket can play PlayStation 4 games on the go. The new update also coincides with a small quality-of-life patch for iOS remote play, the game streaming app itself having been available since March of this year on the platform.

Now, the post goes on to note that there are some aspects of the remote play app that are janky, some of which weren't issues with the homebrew Android app. But the more frustrating aspect is just how long a walk Sony took in getting here. Again, enabling more remote play functionality for the PS 4 makes the console more valuable. It could have been used as a selling point for the PS4, an already immensely popular device, rather than remote play being used as selling points for the Vita and Xperia phones, which were barely adopted by the public. And what was with the odd steps in enabling all of this? Sony already had a working Android app when it decided to release remote play for iOS first, sitting on the Android version it already had for several months, seemingly for no reason.

The source post calls this what it was: a hostage situation.

That said, it’s nice to see Sony finally give up on the remote play first-party hostage situation they’ve kept up for most of the generation. With Apple Arcade, Xbox Game Pass, and Google Stadia all making moves, gaming is once again shifting away from the television, and Sony is smart to make an attempt to capitalize on this trend. This console generation may be swiftly coming to an end, but this may indicate that features of this sort will be available on day one when the PS5 drops next December.

You would really, really hope that Sony wouldn't have to learn this lesson all over again with the Playstation 5. On the other hand, it is Sony.

Filed Under: android, playstation 4, ps4, remote
Companies: sony

Sony Caves: The PS4 Will Soon Begin Supporting Cross-Console Play

from the advertising-works dept

Back in June, we talked about a fun little bit of trolling that Xbox and Nintendo teamed up for at the expense of Sony and its PlayStation 4. At issue was Sony's longstanding stance against inter-console play for multiplayer games that would otherwise allow for it, whereas Xbox and Nintendo players all over the world were happily playing MineCraft and Fortnite against one another. The end result of Sony's stance has been both a decent level of frustration by gamers that expect modernity in their console's features, and several YouTube videos and Twitter exchanges between Xbox and Nintendo highlighting that their own consoles had inter-console functionality. In that post, we said it was an open suggestion whether or not this public ribbing would change Sony's stance on the subject.

Narrator: it changed Sony's stance on the subject.

After what it calls "a thorough analysis of the business mechanics required," Sony announced on Wednesday the first crack in the PlayStation Network's walled garden approach to cross-console functionality. Starting today, Fortnite on the PS4 will allow for "cross-platform gameplay, progression, and commerce" with versions on the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One (in addition to the Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac platforms where such support was already integrated).

By all accounts, the thorough analysis mostly consisted of high level executives sitting around a table, asking one another if the Playstation should finally support inter-console play, and then sort of staring blankly at one another for days on end until one of them quietly muttered, "Yes?" And this isn't the account of pissed off gamers without an understanding of how this works on the backend. Rather, publishers and developers have basically been screaming at Sony about this for several years now.

Sony has kept the PlayStation Network stubbornly closed off from other consoles' online platforms, despite complaints from multiple game developers that Sony's policy was the only thing stopping them from adding such support to their games.

Things started coming to a head earlier this year, when Fortnite players found that merely linking their game accounts to the PS4 version of the game locked them out from using that same account on the Nintendo Switch version. More recently, Bethesda issued what it called a "non-negotiable" demand that any pending console version of its Elder Scrolls Legends card game must have full cross-console support.

So, while Sony can't credibly take credit for listening to fans, it can be said to have happened indirectly, with developers being the ones wanting to bring these features to their customers, and then pushing and threatening Sony over it. Now, of course, Sony will want platitudes for giving its customers what they've wanted for two or so years, but it likely won't get them.

By stubbornly choosing protectionism in the form of a walled garden, Sony has made even its eventual good moves come without reward.

Filed Under: cross console, playstation, ps4, video games
Companies: sony

Microsoft And Nintendo Team Up To Troll Playstation In Ads For Not Giving Gamers What They Want

from the trolling-as-advertising dept

Buckle up, because this seemingly mildly interesting story has a ton of intersections on topics we typically talk about here at Techdirt. As a preface, you should recall that we firmly believe that content is advertising and advertising is content. By this we mean that every bit of content a producer makes serves to advertise that producer's wider content library and that advertisements, in order to be engaging, must be useful and/or entertaining every bit as much as more traditional content typically is. We've also talked a great deal about how content producers in the digital spaces must connect with their fanbases, treat them well, and provide them what they want, or risk backlash. Add to that, finally, that we think restrictive protectionism in the name of wider profits often achieves the opposite of that goal.

Which brings us to Microsoft and Nintendo somewhat suprisingly teaming up to push out a bunch of ads centered on the ability for users of either to crossplay games across both systems.

For those of you who cannot see the video embed, it's an ad put out by both Nintendo and Microsoft pointing out that gamers on both systems can crossplay with one another on some games, including the example shown in Minecraft. Frankly, it's quite jarring to see these combo-ads (there are more) put out by two rivals in the console space. If you weren't well-tuned to the video game industry, you'd probably be left wondering what the hell was going on here.

The answer is that these ads are rather entertaining trolling attacks targeting Sony's Playstation 4, which has been the subject of some recent backlash coming out of E3 over the platform's lockdown on its system's games. While there is pretty much no such thing as a Playstation user that does not want crossplay enabled, and there are many who want it very much, Sony has gone the protectionist route. This is an attempt to convince friends of friends to buy Playstations so that they can play together, I suppose, but it's stupid and awful.

Some of the world's biggest games, from Fortnite to Minecraft to Rocket League, all support some variety of crossplay, allowing people with PCs, Xbox Ones, mobiles and Nintendo consoles to play on the same servers. Yet Sony continues to refuse to allow PlayStation consoles to get in on the fun when it comes to playing with Microsoft or Nintendo consoles.

In the wake of E3 and the disappointment of Fortnite's account locking, then, two of the companies that do allow crossplay have teamed up to take a swing at the PlayStation 4 with this commercial for Minecraft, a game that's also available on PS4.

A couple of reactions. First, Sony made this shit-sandwich for itself by not giving its customers what they want for no other reason than protectionism, so it's not without fun to see them have to eat it up. Second, the combo-ads put out by Microsoft and Nintendo are both useful and, if you enjoy watching huge companies troll one another, fairly entertaining. And the companies have kept this up as a coordinated effort, rather than just limiting it to a one-off video ad.

And the Xbox Twitter account responded, of course, happily saying they're ready to build something together. While this might have flown right past many gamers, enough will realize that both companies are going out of their way to rub Sony's nose in crap to make this all a bit fun. Whether Sony will respond to the ribbing by finally unlocking its garden remains to be seen.

In the meantime, though, this is a great example of advertising as content.

Filed Under: advertising as content, content as advertising, crossplay, games, openness, ps4, sharing, trolling, xbox
Companies: microsofty, nintendo, sony

Bug Related To HDCP DRM Is Giving New Playstation PS4 Pro Owners Headaches

from the first-do-no-harm dept

"HDMI 1.4 can handle 4K resolution, but its 4K support is limited to video signals at 30 Hz (or 30 frames per second). HDMI 2.0 is required in order to handle the increased bandwidth required by a 4K feed at 60 Hz. And although all PS4s — including non-Pro consoles — can deliver HDR as of mid-September’s v4.0 firmware update, HDR technically requires HDMI 2.0a and HDCP 2.2.

"The issue appears to be related to HDCP, the digital copy protection that’s built into the HDMI connection between the PS4 Pro and the TV. Sony launched the PS4 in 2013 with HDMI 1.4, the then-current HDMI specification. The introduction of HDR has brought forth HDMI 2.0a along with HDCP 2.2, the latest version of the port and its copy protection. That’s why the PS4 Pro box includes a high-speed HDMI cable that supports HDMI 2.0."

Filed Under: drm, hdcp, playstation, ps4
Companies: sony

Sony Apparently Issuing Takedowns To Facebook For News Articles About PS4 Slim Leak

from the why? dept

Recently, Sony had let it be known that it would soon be announcing some new offerings for its PlayStation 4 console. While most of the media coverage had focused on what is suspected to be a new, more powerful version of the console, a leak this week instead revealed a different console offering, consisting of a newly slimmed down form factor PlayStation 4 with a slightly redesigned controller. As an owner of a PS4, I can join others' interest in this design, with the original console being somewhat bulky. I can also join others in having only a mild bit of surprise as a reaction, given that Microsoft had already announced a slimmed down version of its Xbox product, and given that Sony has done this with previous versions of the console as well.

But I was slightly surprised to learn that Sony has apparently been setting its lawyers on spooking gaming media sites and taking down news articles from social media accounts about the leak. Reports of the latter have just started coming in.

Now, Forbes has an annoying restriction on access to its site if you are sensibly using an ad-blocker, so I won't include the link for which the takedown was reportedly issued. That said, the post references the work Eurogamer did in visiting the leaker of the image to confirm the console is for real (it is), as well as generating its own image and even video of the console working for its story on the leak. But if you go today to the Eurogamer post about the leak, the video has been replaced by the following update.

UPDATE, 7.30pm: Upon taking legal advice, we have removed the video previously referenced in this article.

Left unsaid is whether or not any contact had been made by Sony with Eurogamer, thus prompting this "legal advice," but one can imagine that being the case, particularly given Sony's threats to social media users sharing images and reporting of Sony leaks and, more to the point, threats against any media that might report on those leaks. One can understand why a gaming website might blanch in the face of Sony's legal hounds, but it's still disappointing to see the tactic work.

Which brings us to this very moment. I imagine that the entire point behind these legal threats was to keep the news of a slimmed down PS4 from spreading prior to its official announcement. But, thanks to the Streisand Effect, here we are talking about it anyway, while simultaneously discussing the attempted coverup and questionable threats to fans and media that Sony has undertaken. So...mission accomplished?

Filed Under: journalism, playstation, ps4, takedowns
Companies: sony

Sony Finally Releases PS4 Remote Play For PC App That Isn't As Good As A Modder's App Is

from the modify-your-expectations dept

Late last year, we discussed how an application modder named Twisted had managed to push Sony, the megalith corporation, into producing a remote play PC application for its Playstation 4 console. Twisted had previously managed to crack open Sony's Android remote play application, originally designed to work only on Sony brand smartphones, so that any Android user could play the PS4 on the go. This, of course, made the PS4 product more useful and added a feature to potential console buyers that Sony had, for some reason, decided to restrict. Xperia phones, it should be noted, aren't exactly jumping off the shelves at stores, but Playstation 4 consoles certainly are. Then Twisted announced he was going to release a PC version of the app. Sony had not released any PC version of its remote play functionality. But shortly after Twisted's announcement, Sony too announced it would be releasing a remote play for PC application.

And with a PS4 update that was released on April 6th, Sony's remote play for PC is here. I've tried it out. And it's...okay? Strangely, it appears to do much of what Twisted's application does, but not everything. It's starts with the requirements:

-Windows 8.1
-Windows 10 or later
-OS X 10.10
-OS X 10.11

You can use one DualShock 4 as the controller for Remote Play, which needs to be connected to your PC / Mac via a USB cable.

Filed Under: modding, ps4, video games
Companies: sony

Modder/Hacker's Work Pushes Sony To Release Its Own PS4 Remote Play For PC App

from the push-it-real-good dept

Yoshida is the President of Sony's Worldwide Studios and the clamor over remote play for PCs was loud enough that he decided to say publicly that Sony was working on its own release. Would this be happening without Twisted's work? Please. One modder, even with some outside help, got this done after the better part of a year of development. Sony makes the Playstation 4, which was released two years ago. If it had wanted to embrace customer demand on its own, it would have done so long ago.

So, when you gamers out there are remote playing your PS4, make sure you give a mental note to Twisted and modding in general for pushing this along.

Filed Under: hacking, innovation, modding, ps4, remote play
Companies: sony