The PlayStation 5 - Page 16

A US law firm has filed a class action against Sony over alleged PlayStation 5 DualSense drift.

This week Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith (CSK&D), the firm behind the ongoing class action against Nintendo over Joy-Con drift, asked affected customers to get in touch via an online form.

Clearly, that call to action did the trick. The DualSense lawsuit has now been filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of a plaintiff called Lmarc Turner, of Virginia, and other affected customers in the US against Sony Corporation of America and Sony Interactive Entertainment.

The complaint, filed on 12th February and seen by Eurogamer, claims the DualSense is "defective".

"Specifically, the DualSense controllers that are used to operate the PS5 contain a defect that results in characters or gameplay moving on the screen without user command or manual operation of the joystick.

"This defect significantly interferes with gameplay and thus compromises the DualSense controller's core functionality."

The complaint cites multiple online reports of DualSense drift on reddit and social media, including the tweet below that includes a clip of apparent drift while playing Rogue Company:



The complaint goes on to accuse Sony of being aware of this alleged DualSense drift via online consumer complaints, claims the company equipped the DualSense with "virtually the same analog components" as the DualSense 4, which reportedly suffered from drift, and that options for repair are "slim".

"Customers are experiencing long wait times and having to deal with a maze of pre-recorded phone prompts before finally speaking with an agent concerning repairs for DualSense controller drift," reads the complaint, which points out customers must pay for shipping the controller to a Sony repair center even for in-warranty repairs.

Turner is said to have bought a PS5 on 5th February 2021 and experienced DualSense drift on the same day. He contacted Sony customer service and was advised to reset his console, which didn't work. Turner ended up buying another DualSense controller priced $69.99 a few days later.

"Had Plaintiff been aware of the drift defect prior to purchasing his PS5, he otherwise would not have purchased the PS5, or would have paid substantially less for it," reads the complaint.

The complaint claims Turner agreed to Sony's PlayStation terms of service and user agreement upon setup of his PS5, but wrote to Sony expressing his intent to opt out of resolving any disputes with the company through individual arbitration.

This is an important point in the context of CSK&D's ongoing case against Nintendo over Joy-Con drift. CSK&D filed a class action against Nintendo of America in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington back in 2019 over Joy-Con drift after a similar call for affected customers to get in touch. The Court compelled the case to arbitration, although it declined to dismiss the case. CSK&D says it's currently working to pursue the case through the arbitration process. Clearly, it's hoping to avoid going down that route with the DualSense case.

The complaint demands a jury trial, with the plaintiff seeking monetary relief "for damages suffered, declaratory relief, and public injunctive relief". Sony has yet to comment.

Controller drift has become a significant issue in recent years. There's an ongoing class action against Microsoft for "stick drift" on Xbox One controllers, which also includes specific reference to the company's most recent Elite controller, the Elite Series 2.

And in January 2021, the European Commission confirmed plans to consider potential action against Nintendo over Joy-Con drift, prompted by calls for it to act from its own European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), which received more than 25,000 complaints from numerous countries.

Thought this was worth a separate thread. This's as of Q3 so any deals done in Q4 (Jan-March 2021) could increase this further, and since this covers a period of 7 years it means some of these projects have obviously not been announced yet.

Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida appeared this week on the Tokyo FM radio show One Morning, where he briefly talked about the development of the upcoming game. Much like Final Fantasy XV and Final Fantasy VII Remake, the latest chapter in Square Enix's long-running RPG series will be more "action-oriented," but not at the expense of its story.

"Final Fantasy XVI is quite action-oriented. It's a Final Fantasy featuring story and action," Yoshida said during the radio show as translated by Gematsu. "We really want players to enjoy the story, so we're preparing a mode for players who want to focus on story. Since we have quite the substantial support actions, we're of course preparing something easy to operate and smooth to play."

As for the actual storyline, Yoshida hinted at a tale of hardship that adults could relate to, as he felt that certain challenges could only be understood by an older generation that had experienced "the good and bad of reality."

"I'm from the generation that has been playing the Final Fantasy series from the first game in real-time. I'm almost in my 50s," Yoshida said. "I believe there are certain hardships that are experienced when becoming an adult, so I want to make the main theme of this game something that those who grew up playing Final Fantasy and understand reality can still enjoy, get something out of, and think about."

Development on Final Fantasy XVI appears to be going smoothly, as its reveal at last year's PlayStation 5 showcase had plenty of gameplay footage to show off. In a new recruitment page for Final Fantasy XVI, Square Enix mentioned that basic development and scenario production had already wrapped up, with the team seeking new recruits to work on specific set-pieces using large-scale resources.

More than four years ago, we launched PlayStation VR to offer a transformative new way to play games on PS4, providing a much stronger sense of presence and deeper immersion to players compared with traditional games. In that time, we’ve seen tremendous experiences that have propelled virtual reality gaming forward, including highly acclaimed titles like Astro Bot: Rescue Mission, Tetris Effect, Blood & Truth, Moss, Beat Saber, and Resident Evil 7 biohazard. We’ve also enhanced the experience for some PS VR titles when played on PS4 Pro and PlayStation 5.

Today I’m pleased to share that our next-generation VR system will be coming to PlayStation 5, enabling the ultimate entertainment experience with dramatic leaps in performance and interactivity. Players will feel an even greater sense of presence and become even more immersed in their game worlds once they put on the new headset.

We’re continuing to innovate with our new VR system so that our fans can continue to enjoy the unique experiences that are synonymous with PlayStation. We’re taking what we’ve learned since launching PS VR on PS4 to develop a next-gen VR system that enhances everything from resolution and field of view to tracking and input. It will connect to PS5 with a single cord to simplify setup and improve ease-of-use, while enabling a high-fidelity visual experience.

One of the innovations we’re excited about is our new VR controller, which will incorporate some of the key features found in the DualSense wireless controller, along with a focus on great ergonomics. That’s just one of the examples of future-proof technology we’re developing to match our vision for a whole new generation of VR games and experiences.

There’s still a lot of development underway for our new VR system, so it won’t be launching in 2021. But we wanted to provide this early update to our fans, as the development community has started to work on creating new worlds for you to explore in virtual reality.

We also want to thank all of our PS VR players for your continued support — with upcoming games like After The Fall, Sniper Elite VR, and Humanity, there’s much more to come for PS VR whether you’re playing on PS4 or PS5. With both PlayStation VR and the next-generation VR system we’re building, our commitment to virtual reality as a medium for games is stronger than ever. We look forward to sharing more details in the future!

The real-life island of Tsushima will be honouring the work of Sucker Punch Productions by making both the game director and creative director of Ghost of Tsushima permanent tourism ambassadors. Tsushima mayor Hiroki Hitakatsu said this is being done because the pair have "spread the name and history of Tsushima to the whole world in such a wonderful way", making them the first ambassadors to be awarded for sharing the name and history of the island through their works. Sony will now collaborate with Tsushima island to set up a new tourism campaign, designed to teach fans about the place and its historic landmarks.

In a statement, Hitakatsu said: "Even a lot of Japanese people do not know the history of the Gen-ko period. When it comes to the world, the name and location of Tsushima is literally unknown, so I cannot thank them enough for telling our story with such phenomenal graphics and profound stories." Nate Fox (game director) and Jason Connell (creative director) will receive an award and letter of appreciation to mark their efforts.

The mayor then goes on to explain that he didn't appoint them as ambassadors to ensure any sort of collaboration in the future — this is all about Ghost of Tsushima. "I did not appoint them for the purpose of having them do anything in the future. Thanks to the two of them, Sucker Punch Productions, and SIE, I have heard from people all over the world who have learned about Tsushima through their works, and now want to see, know, and go to Tsushima." One example of this would be the fanbase's pledge to help restore a damaged Torii Gate on the island, which went on to surpass its funding goal by more than 500 per cent.

That campaign finished this past Sunday after more than 2,000 contributions. Yuichi Hirayama, one of Tsushima Watatsumi Shrine's priests, said: "We have received a great deal of support from the players of the Ghost of Tsushima game set in Tsushima, and I feel that it is God’s guidance. I am very grateful for the support of so many people during a cramped life due to the coronavirus and the challenging economic situation."

It’s been a strange and difficult past 12 months. The pandemic, social injustice, and job elimination have impacted many of my closest friends, family, and co-workers. All of these factors, paired with an inability to see friends and family face-to-face, lulled me into a kind of self-reflective cocoon where I had to ask myself some tough questions about what really matters.

I’ve been making games for a long time — over 25 years now! I’ve had the opportunity to lead the creation of two highly successful original IPs and build multiple teams and studios from the ground up. Some of these adventures have been more successful than I could have ever imagined, and others less so.

Several people have asked me recently: “After all of these experiences, do you still want to be in the games industry?” The answer is always an unwavering YES! The games industry is where I belong!

Whether it’s playing Settlers of Catan with my kids or Valheim with my team, games continue to bring me joy. They’re a way to relax, connect, and share experiences with people I care about. And the act of making games is, in many ways, even more fulfilling. Getting to bring together experts across so many different creative fields – from music composers, to concept artists, to programmers (yes! programmers are creative too!) into a perfectly synched orchestra that delivers new worlds for players to explore. For me, there is nothing more fulfilling or rewarding I can imagine doing.

As I took stock of my career over the last few years and started to think about what to do next, I came to a very simple conclusion: I need to get back to what I love doing most, and do so in a way that gives our team the freedom to explore, inspire, and create.

And so today I’m announcing Haven, an independent studio where many of the talented game developers I have worked with for years (and love dearly!) are coming together to do what we are most passionate about. It’s time for us to refocus on GAMES in a place where we can practice our crafts without any barriers or impediments. We want to create worlds where players can escape, have fun, express themselves, and find community. We want to pour our passion into a project. We want to make something wondrous for people to experience. Because we believe in the power of games to bring joy to people’s lives. And Sony does, too. Their commitment to excellence is unmatched. It’s why I couldn’t be happier for their backing and support.

Together, we want to create games that are a haven for players, and we want to build a studio that is a haven for developers. So, while we don’t have many details to announce today, I want the PlayStation community to know that Haven Studios is already hard at work on an unannounced IP. We can’t wait to show you more!