Sony Gets the Ban Hammer!


Today in our regular surfing of the Playstation Blog we came across this snippit of information regarding what Sony refers to as “circumvention devices”. Don’t worry your wife is still safe to be on birth control and they won’t steal away your internet gamings, however, Sony did release this statement.

Notice: Unauthorized circumvention devices for the PlayStation 3 system have been recently released by hackers. These devices permit the use of unauthorized or pirated software. Use of such devices or software violates the terms of the “System Software License Agreement for the PlayStation 3 System” and the “Terms of Services and User Agreement” for the PlayStation Network/Qriocity and its Community Code of Conduct provisions. Violation of the System Software Licence Agreement for the PlayStation 3 System invalidates the consumer guarantee for that system. In addition, copying or playing pirated software is a violation of International Copyright Laws. Consumers using circumvention devices or running unauthorized or pirated software will have access to the PlayStation Network and access to Qriocity services through PlayStation 3 system terminated permanently.
To avoid this, consumers must immediately cease use and remove all circumvention devices and delete all unauthorized or pirated software from their PlayStation 3 systems.

The Playstation Blog then goes onto explain what that could mean to us gamers. And to be honest if you’re not stealing from Sony you have nothing to fear. Personally if you get involved with video game piracy and don’t expect the manufacturers and developers to find ways to prevent your efforts than you’re simply an idiot. Not that I believe those who pirate or game on back ups are idiots, I simply believe that expecting them to be ok with it is a broken ideology.

Circumvention devices and game piracy damage our industry and can potentially injure the online experience for you, our loyal PlayStation customers, via hacks and cheats.
Many PlayStation.Blog readers have asked how we intend to deal with these incidents that they have been reading about in the gaming press, and this is our initial response.
By identifying PlayStation 3 systems that breach our guidelines and terminating their ability to connect to PlayStation Network, we are protecting our business and preserving the honest gameplay experiences that you expect and deserve.
Rest assured, this message does not apply to the overwhelming majority of our users who enjoy the world of entertainment PlayStation 3 has to offer without breaching the guidelines detailed above, and we urge you to continue doing so without fear.

Anyway, if you’ve been using circumvention devices on your PS3 look out, I don’t think this ban wont be fixable by buying a new account. We have contacted SCEA about the matter and will update you if any information is provided.