Sony may owe original PlayStation 3 owners you $55 as part of a 6-year-old class-action lawsuit.
Those who purchased the original launch PS3 console between Nov. 1, 2006 and April 1, 2010 from an authorized US retailer can now submit claims to receive a cash payment, according to a settlement notice issued this week. The lawsuit involved a console firmware update that disabled the “Other OS” function, ending support for Linux.
Those who wanted to maintain the “Other OS” feature to continue running Linux on their console could opt not to upgrade to 3.21, but that would disable access to the PlayStation Network. Sony said it was a security-related move and permissable under its terms of service, but detractors said it was just an anti-piracy play.
Sony was sued, and while a California judge threw out the case in 2011, it was revived on appeal in 2014. Sony and the plaintiffs finally reached a settlementearlier this year; the tech giant has agreed to pay PS3 users while maintaining that it didn’t do anything wrong.
Note that if you want that $55, you’ll need to provide proof of purchase for the console and proof that you used the Other OS feature. Acceptable proof of PS3 purchase includes a receipt, credit card statement, or other documentation showing the date and location of your purchase or the serial number of your console plus the PlayStation Network sign-in ID that you used with it. To verify that you used the Other OS functionality, you’ll need to dig up your Linux proof of purchase, a screenshot showing Linux on your PS3, or some other documented proof.
Those who submit a claim and don’t have proof they used the feature, but say they intended to use it will get $9.
