Today, as part of a nationwide class-action lawsuit, Garden City Group LLC reached out to several customers who purchased their original PlayStation 3 console between November 1, 2006 and April 1, 2010. According to Polygon, the lawsuit (known as In re Sony PS3 “Other OS” Litigation) was filed back in 2010 by gamer Anthony Ventura of Santa Clara with the US District Court of Northern California. This past June, six years after the suit was filed, the two sides came to an agreement, and today Sony has begun to allow those PS3 owners who purchased a PS3 within that given time-span to file claims in the class-action lawsuit.
Back in 2010, Sony began adding features to the PS3 like on-demand, streaming videos. They also went back on their promise to offer alternate operating systems that would be able to be installed on to the console. When the Slim was released in 2010, however, a PS3 firmware update (v3.21) removed the ability to install the Linux operating system and it lacked the “Other OS” feature, causing many PS3 owners from the Linux community to be outraged. Sony cited security concerns as the reason for the removal.
In the lawsuit, Ventura claimed that Sony breached its sales contract, as well as “the covenant of good faith and fair dealing,” by not including the Other OS feature on the PS3. He alleged that the removal of the Other OS was unlawful and sought compensatory damages, restitution, injunctive relief, attorneys’ fees, and other costs associated with filing. Under the terms of the settlement, Sony agreed to pay as much as $55 to as many as 10 million PS3 owners.
However, the process to get the full $55 is a bit lengthy. Under the terms of the agreement, customers who can provide proof of purchase and proof of use of OtherOS features, are known as Consumer Class A and will be eligible to receive the full $55. And the customers who can only provide proof of purchase are known as Consumer Class B, and will only be eligible for a payment of $9 each.
For claimants seeking payment, a claim form must be filled out and submitted to the settlement website, along with the proof of purchase and/or use of OtherOS features, a PlayStation Network ID used on that PS3 before April 1, 2010. The deadline to file a claim and receive payment is December 7th. On January 24th, 2017, the court will hold a hearing to decide if the settlement is approved and if there are no appeals. Once approved the payments will then be sent out approximately 40 days afterwards.
(For more details, see the FAQ on the settlement website)