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Arrowhead Studios confirm PSN Account Requirement decision was on Sony - Game received over 15,000 negative reviews and is now 'Mixed' on Steam

FunkMiller

Gold Member
I hate needing to use extra accounts to play games, it's annoying. I just don't see the big deal since they have always said this is needed (it's still annoying) and Arrowhead only didn't force it because there were issues at launch which I would assume are now fixed.

The big deal is that Sony can say whatever it likes... the fact is a PSN account is clearly not needed to play Helldivers 2.

The only (real) reason they now want you to have one is so they can sell their shit at more people.
 

lifa-cobex

Member
Well a start would be that the reviews should at least be true instead of alot of people making up stuff to make their point.
What do you mean by making stuff up?

Tones of memes on the negative reviews, granted.
So far the arguments have been
-I didn't need a PSN account to play this game before.
-I can no long play this game as I can't have a PSN account in my country.

Now either the store page once stated that you had to have one or it was optional is now on debate.
But we do have evidence of Sony changing it's TOS on it's page from 'optional to 'some are required.

From personal experience. I purchased the game on steam and I haven't need a PSN account up to this point.
I don't play it anymore. Fantastic game but I've had my fill so I don't have much of a dog in this fight.
But I can be empathetic and can see why Steam users don't want yet another third party log in.

People keep comparing to "oh what about Rockstar, EA, GOG etc etc"
Nobody is championing that. I certainly don't have EA or Epic apps on my comp and I don't play their games.
GOG is a good front and games pass had a good deal. That's why it's more accepted.
Those company's also have a good reason to do it. They want you to go to their stores and purchase directly.
Sony doesn't have a store on PC (yet). It's putting the cart before the horse.
Sell data, make stokes look good and a step towards PC store.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Would you rather they stopped people from being able to play? Or disable it until its fixed?

Ideally they shouldn't have added the mandatory requirement knowing full well that it's gonna restrict a certain userbase (we can't accurately say how much) will be blocked from playing the game. I'm sure they can pull up the analytics of which countries people are logging from.

On forums, we can tell each other that sure use VPN or make an account for a different country. But that's likely not something Sony will officially message to player.
 
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*Nightwing

Member
I think the point being it wasn't much of a requirement... until the game became wildly popular and they wanted to maximise their profits, and prove high engagement for their shareholders.

But then... if they'd have actually required the PSN sign in right from launch, it probably wouldn't have become popular on PC.

All this is driven by Sony's greed, and I'm perplexed that more people can't see this and condemn it.

But it clearly wasn't required, because people have been playing the game for months without one.

The big deal is that Sony can say whatever it likes... the fact is a PSN account is clearly not needed to play Helldivers 2.

The only (real) reason they now want you to have one is so they can sell their shit at more people.

Absolutely correct it was about money and profit: they would have had to spend money to increase server capacity to handle the unexpected launch success, rather than temporarily removing the restrictions until the player base shrinks to within the expectations they allotted server capacity for.

Absolutely incorrect about the evil genius motives in stealing user data after it’s a success: They were literally always going to steal user data as per the notifications everywhere stating PSN will be required
 
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xHunter

Member
But it clearly wasn't required, because people have been playing the game for months without one.
This can be said about any game though. Do you need an Epic account to play Fall Guys through steam? Didnt need one when it launched on steam, so why do i have to use one now? But the difference here is, it was stated from before launch that you will need to link your accounts.
 

Mr Moose

Member
Ideally they shouldn't have added the mandatory requirement knowing full well that it's gonna restrict a certain userbase (we can't accurately say how much) will be blocked from playing the game. I'm sure they can pull up the analytics of which countries people are logging from.

On forums, we can tell each other that sure use VPN or make an account for a different country. But that's likely not something Sony will officially message to player.
Now this is the actual issue here. We'll have to wait and see how this works out.
 

Fabieter

Member
What do you mean by making stuff up?

Tones of memes on the negative reviews, granted.
So far the arguments have been
-I didn't need a PSN account to play this game before.
-I can no long play this game as I can't have a PSN account in my country.

Now either the store page once stated that you had to have one or it was optional is now on debate.
But we do have evidence of Sony changing it's TOS on it's page from 'optional to 'some are required.

From personal experience. I purchased the game on steam and I haven't need a PSN account up to this point.
I don't play it anymore. Fantastic game but I've had my fill so I don't have much of a dog in this fight.
But I can be empathetic and can see why Steam users don't want yet another third party log in.

People keep comparing to "oh what about Rockstar, EA, GOG etc etc"
Nobody is championing that. I certainly don't have EA or Epic apps on my comp and I don't play their games.
GOG is a good front and games pass had a good deal. That's why it's more accepted.
Those company's also have a good reason to do it. They want you to go to their stores and purchase directly.
Sony doesn't have a store on PC (yet). It's putting the cart before the horse.
Sell data, make stokes look good and a step towards PC store.

I read alot of "psn is hacked every other day that's the reason I don't make a 2 min accounts and I have more reason to bitch about this than any other account.
 

lifa-cobex

Member
I read alot of "psn is hacked every other day that's the reason I don't make a 2 min accounts and I have more reason to bitch about this than any other account.
Pass. I've no idea as I've not seen that but I'll just take your word.
I don't know if PSN is hacked every other day. Highly doubt and a silly argument as it's nothing to do with the issue.

However I still stand by my points listed.
 

Fabieter

Member
Pass. I've no idea as I've not seen that but I'll just take your word.
I don't know if PSN is hacked every other day. Highly doubt and a silly argument as it's nothing to do with the issue.

However I still stand by my points listed.

No the only valid critism is that psn isn't available in every country and that their communication was soo soon bad.
 

lifa-cobex

Member
It's a purely publisher driven change, I feel bad for the Arrowhead guys. They're getting the brunt of the responses and negative feedback here. Their CEO yesterday said he just wants to make good games and understands why people are leaving thousands of negative reviews.
Completely agree. They got thrown under the bus on this.
 

lifa-cobex

Member
No the only valid critism is that psn isn't available in every country and that their communication was soo soon bad.
So you can't concede that Steam users have yet another third party app to have that is interlay pointless to them and only benefits Sony in selling user data and make stocks look good?
 
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Fabieter

Member
So you can't concede that Steam users have yet another third party app to have that is interlay pointless to them and only benefits Sony in selling user data and make stocks look good?

Not excusing anything of this but if you truly believe this is such an big issue stop using the internet.
 

DrFigs

Member
The clear solution is that if you already bought the game in a region where psn is not available, sony should just waive the requirement for those users. but clearly that's not what bothers the majority of people complaining, because they probably live in regions with psn. it's a dishonest argument.
 
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lifa-cobex

Member
Not excusing anything of this but if you truly believe this is such an big issue stop using the internet.
internet seriously GIF
 

Bumblebeetuna

Gold Member
Review bombing is cool and all but Sony won’t give a flying fuck about that, all they will care about is engagement and money from the war bonds or whatever the battle passes are called. Time will tell whether those are affected or not. Could very easily be a “MW2 boycott group” type situation.

Although, one could easily assume that a review status of “mixed” could certainly affect future sales of the game.

It’s worked fine for months without any need of a PSN account, and a lot of people who bought it after it blew up likely had no idea an account was needed. Bad move by Sony to reinstate it after all this time and sales. Especially since PSN isn’t supported everywhere.
 

Topher

Gold Member
The clear solution is that if you already bought the game in a region where psn is not available, sony should just waive the requirement for those users. but clearly that's not what bothers the majority of people complaining, because they probably live in regions with psn. it's a dishonest argument.

No, they just don't like the change and they don't like how Sony has implemented it. That's not being "dishonest".
 

DrFigs

Member
No, they just don't like the change and they don't like how Sony has implemented it. That's not being "dishonest".
i'm saying bringing up how people who bought the game in China, the phillipines, or afghanistan won't have access to the game because psn isn't available there is a dishonest argument. there are ways that sony can address this that won't affect other players and the majority of the people complaining (at least in english) don't live in these countries. People saying they don't want this because they don't like change or they don't want to sign up for an additional service are of course giving their opinions.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
ah man.....I just saw that. I did not know hyperbole was iilegal in some countries.

Trying Not To Laugh Rooster Teeth GIF by Achievement Hunter


Does this look like hyperbole to you, good sir?


April 2011: Hackers Access Personal Data of 77 Million Sony PlayStation Network Users
May 2011: Personal Details on 25 Million Sony Online Entertainment Customers Stolen
June 2011: Sony Pictures Website Hacked, Exposing One Million Accounts
November 2014: Hackers Steal 100 Terabytes of Data from Sony Pictures
August 2017: Hacker Group Accesses Sony Social Media Accounts
September 2023: Sony Investigates Alleged Hack
October 2023: Sony Notifies Employees of Data Breach
 

Topher

Gold Member
Does this look like hyperbole to you, good sir?


April 2011: Hackers Access Personal Data of 77 Million Sony PlayStation Network Users
May 2011: Personal Details on 25 Million Sony Online Entertainment Customers Stolen
June 2011: Sony Pictures Website Hacked, Exposing One Million Accounts
November 2014: Hackers Steal 100 Terabytes of Data from Sony Pictures
August 2017: Hacker Group Accesses Sony Social Media Accounts
September 2023: Sony Investigates Alleged Hack
October 2023: Sony Notifies Employees of Data Breach

Come with me sir

Bye Bye Boss GIF by FTX_Official
 

Topher

Gold Member
i'm saying bringing up how people who bought the game in China, the phillipines, or afghanistan won't have access to the game because psn isn't available there is a dishonest argument. there are ways that sony can address this that won't affect other players and the majority of the people complaining (at least in english) don't live in these countries. People saying they don't want this because they don't like change or they don't want to sign up for an additional service are of course giving their opinions.

I disagree. It is a legit argument as to why this is a bad move by Sony even if it isn't directly relevant to the person posting the review. People are absolutely allowed to make arguments based on principle. And how would we know if the people making these arguments are not directly affected in the first place? How do we know if they do not have friends in those countries who they play the game with?
 

Three

Member
How am I limiting my choices buying directly from EA, Ubi, etc...?
So you sign up to all the different accounts and install all launchers to not limit your options? So what you're saying is that it would be better for Playstation to have a PC launcher where you sign up and buy their games rather than just signing up. Am I reading this right?
 
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ergem

Member
So...why is this such a big deal? Literally takes like 1 to 3 minutes depending on if you have a psn account already or not. Can only add future benefits I imagine also.

Is this people just crying just for the sake of crying?

Legitly asking.
there are many xboxers/playstation haters who already migrated to pc
 

rodrigolfp

Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
So you sign up to an account and install a launcher to not limit your options? So what you're saying is that it would be better for Playstation to have a PC launcher where you sign up and buy their games rather than just signing up. Am I reading this right?
The option to buy on Steam is still there. My Options are still there.

Yes. I would prefer another launcher instead of needing to have to log in on 2 accounts at same time for 1 game. It is idiotic. It is already like that for EA, Ubisoft, etc games.
 
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Three

Member
The consequences of chasing that MAU number.


Weren’t there also some opposition when Minecraft and Microsoft required Xbox live login for Minecraft on the PlayStation?
Nope, i don't think it even needed it as it wasn't a MS published game on PS at the time even when they owned it (not sure about now) just look at SoT on OS though.
 

RyanEvans21

Member
Absolutely correct it was about money and profit: they would have had to spend money to increase server capacity to handle the unexpected launch success, rather than temporarily removing the restrictions until the player base shrinks to within the expectations they allotted server capacity for.

Absolutely incorrect about the evil genius motives in stealing user data after it’s a success: They were literally always going to steal user data as per the notifications everywhere stating PSN will be required
They did though!

 
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