The end of console backwards compatability?

Microsoft have revealed their future console the boring titled "XBox One" which is only slightly more original than Sony's revealed (or more like hinted at) Playstation 4. What both platforms have in common (besides using Blu-ray, rechargeable and vibrational controllers etc.) is their lack of backwards compatibility. So what? The current Xbox360 will only play some old Xbox games and the backwards functionality was totally removed from the PS3 - what's the difference here? Architecture.

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Charging a PS3 controller with a mains wall charger

My new phone charges via USB so I gained a generic wall plug charger that accepts a standard A-type USB plug. Huzzah not only can I charge my phone, but also my wireless headset and my PS3 controller without having to leave the PS3 on.

Yeah of course that didn't work.

It charges the phone of course, and my Sony PS3 wireless headset; what it won't charge is the controller. Nothing wrong with the cable, nothing wrong with the controller. Looking around the 'net others have posed the same question and the consensus answer is surprisingly moronic (on Sony's part).

A USB cable has four internal wires - the outer two for power, the inner two for data. My wall socket charger only uses the outer two wires as it has no requirement to share data with my electrical wiring; and I'd be a little Skynet level of worried if it did. This is fine for my phone and headset, but it seems Sony's controllers won't accept a charge unless it can also accept a handshake/connection on the data lines.

Any reason why? Hmm beyond being able to sell special charging stations I can't think of any, but I guess that's enough.

So when it comes to charging it's all Animal Farm - 4 connectors good, 2 connectors bad.

PS3 games - Disparity between age certification and Parental level

Given the Battlefield Bad Company 2 kerfuffle, in that a game is being sold at an age level of 16 yet had an internal restriction of 18, I thought to check through all my games to see if there are any more out there.

I'm using Sony's own guidelines on European age certification and how they match up to Sony's own parental restriction level. Now there are gaps for example a 12-age is matched to a 5-level, but a 16-age to a 7-level. So what's a 15-age? Logically I have to add it as a 6-level; there's also no PG-age rating shown so I'll match it to around the 3 or 4-level mark 5-level at a push. So how do they match-up?
The good news is that every single 18-age game I own has the correct 9-level rating. Likewise every
3, 7, and 12 age game I own. PGs and U-certificated games don't have an exact match, but again they're close enough by my standards.

The problem comes with the 15 and 16 age certificated games.

[Update - as per the comment I'll also show the US ESRB rating along with the level that should make it]

Firstly the ones who get it right:

Assassin's Creed 2; age 15; level 7 [Mature 9]
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood; age 15; level 7 [Mature 9]
Batman Arkham Asylum; age 15; level 7 [Teen 5]
Batman Arkham City; age 15; level 7 [Teen 5]
Dungeon Siege 3; age 16; level 7 [Teen 5]
Enslaved; age 16; level 7 [Teen 5]
Heavenly Sword; age 15; level 7 [Teen 5]
Infamous; age 16; level 7 [Teen 5]
Infamous 2; age 16; level 7 [Teen 5]
Mercenaries 2; age 16; level 7 [Teen 5]
Mirror's Edge; age 16; level 7 [Teen 5]
Oblivion; age 15; level 7 [Mature 9]
Overlord; age 16; level 7 [Teen 5]
Overlord 2; age 16; level 7 [Teen 5]
Prince of Persia Trilogy; age 16; level 7 [Teen 5 & Mature 9]
Red Faction: Guerrilla; age 16; level 7 [Mature 9]
Sacred 2; age 16; level 7 [Mature 9]
Star Wars 2: Force Unleashed; age 16; level 7 [Teen 5]
The Orange Box; age 15; level 7 [Mature 9]

Well done to all of you. Now the ones who get it wrong:

Alice: Madness Returns; age 15; level 9 [Mature 9]
Assassin's Creed; age 15; level 9 [Mature 9]
Assassin's Creed: Revelations; age 15; level 9 [Mature 9]
Brutal Legend; age 15; level 9 [Mature 9]
Call of Duty World at War; age 15; level 9 [Mature 9]
Darksiders; age 15; level 9 [Mature 9]
Deus Ex: Human Revolution; age 15; level 9 [Mature 9]
Kingdoms of Amalur; age 15; level 9 [Mature 9]
Mass Effect 2; age 15; level 9 [Mature 9]
Rage; age 15; level 9 [Mature 9]
Resistance: Fall of Man; age 15; level 9 [Mature 9]
Silent Hill HD Collection; age 15; level 9 [Mature 9]
Skyrim; age 15; level 9 [Mature 9]

[So although all the incorrect ones would be correct in the US some of the correct wrongs would be incorrect; so it can't be used as an absolute guide]

As can be seen both the Assassin's Creed and Elder Scrolls series change despite the fact their age rating doesn't. Also on the odd note they're all 15s which doesn't have an exact match with Sony documentation, did the publishers just guess or default to level 9? I decided to do a little test. As these were all PAL European releases what are the age-certification for their German counterparts.

To pick a couple Infamous is listed as an 18; so does the German Infamous share our level 7 or has it been corrected for them to level 9? On the other hand Assassin's Creed is close to our 15 with 16; so again is theirs incorrectly posted to level 9? 16 is an age match for Sony so if it's some automated software matching age to restriction I'd guess the German version of Assassin's Creed should be a 7, if there is anyone who knows someone with the German version I'd be very interested to find out.

It may seem pointless, but in essence these games are being mis-sold in the UK. They are clearly stating they are for those of age 15, or 16 and above yet internally restricted to age 18. Sure they can still be played, but only after the input of a parental code.

For comparison imagine buying a universal remote control that states it will work with your TV, but you discover that you need to use the original remote in conjunction with it for the first time every time you turn the TV on. How irritated would you be?

It's the same with these games. The companies have got it wrong, need to be told, and need to do something about it. So why aren't they? Why when I do a search do I not find a horde of 15,16, or 17 year-olds complaining about having to have their parents tap in a code to play a game that they are legally able to play?

Because no-one uses the parental control systems?

Battlefield Bad Company 2: Sony PS3 Parental Restrictions.

Bratus Major bought "Battlefield Bad Company 2" recently to go with his new Playstation 3. No problem with buying it as it is quite clearly a 16 certificated game. Problem when he sticks the disc in as it prompts him for the parental control PIN code.

How odd as this is, to state again, a 16 game and his restriction level is 7 which according to Sony's own documentation is the correct level for that age; why would it be having problems?

Because the disc is set to a restriction level of 9 (i.e. 18-age). Why is this the case - contact EA and boy do you get the runaround.

Firstly they knew nothing about it. Then it was because he was trying to play it online and you have to be 18 or over to play online due to EU directives except a) that's crap* b) there's a single player game aspect to it and c) it asks when you stick the disc in regardless of whether you're even connected to the internet.

Next they said that level 7 was for 13 year-olds and that the restriction level should be bumped up to 9 I pointed them to Sony's own documentation and asked them what would the purpose of parental restrictions be if we just set the level to the equivalent of 18 for a 16 year-old?

Finally they insinuated that it couldn't be a UK bought game and thus required proof in the form of photos of the box and disc.

Well proof has been emailed to them and they say they'll respond within 2 weeks; let's see what excuses they try to pull this time.

*So all those Little Big Planet players and PS Home users are doing so illegally?

Update here.

List of other titles that also get this wrong here.

Playstation 3's Parental Control Levels

If I seem to be smacking Sony about at the moment it's because this is the first time I've had to deal with their complete screw-up of their parental control system on the PS3.

I've dealt with how a child will forever remain a child in the eyes of Sony's Playstation Network; and how it's completely easy to bypass said controls. But what if you try to use them?

Sony allows you to set two different scales for watching videos or playing games. This should be fairly easy - set game and film content to 16 and they'll be able to play or watch anything with a 15 certificate or under. Of course Sony don't do that, they use their own scale.

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Words with Sony

I recently pointed out the ease with which a child could bypass the Playstation 3 parental controls and the incentive for them to do so.

But simply pointing that out here doesn't really accomplish anything, so I sent an email to the head of Sony UK; sadly he was Out of Office until yesterday, but he's obviously passed it on as I had a personal rather than stock reply from someone one rung down, which I was kind of impressed with.

The short answer was 'You're right - you can't upgrade, but your points are appreciated and I'm forwarding it on for review'

So who knows maybe (soon even) it will be possible to upgrade accounts.

The way around this seems to be to set up a normal account by lying to Sony about his DOB and then setting a PIN on the parental controls for that account. In theory this should restrict him as to what he can see or play, but ironically perhaps not what he could buy (i.e. rent an 18 certificate film from the Playstation Store, but not be able to watch it) or spend.

Annoyingly this could still be deactivated by reseting to factory default which resets the PIN to 0000; though that would be highly obvious.

Still a ridiculous situation that I even need to think about how to do this.

Sony Playstation 3 parental control failure

I've already dealt with Sony's stance on updating a PSN sub-account to a master account; but it gets worse.

The responsible adult sets up a PS3 user and associates a PSN account with it; they then create another PS3 user for their child and associate a PSN sub-account with it. They set the parental controls and walk away secure in the knowledge that they can't access the internet or 'adult' games or movies.

That is until the child creates a brand new user on the PS3 and associates that with a different PSN account with a fake birthday in which case they've by-passed the lot.

In there any way to stop this? According to Sony, whom I spoke to directly, no.

So what's the point of the parental controls?

Sony's insane stance on PSN sub-accounts

If you buy a PS3 and want to buy things from their store or play online you need to set up an account. Seems obvious and it's easy, unless you're under 18.

If you are you can't create a normal account; a parent or guardian does that and then adds you on as a sub-account. As a sub-account holder you can't add money directly and they can use parental controls to restrict your actions - this is a good thing.

Until the sub-account holder hits 18, because as it stands it is impossible to upgrade a sub-account to a regular account. So what? Well the only way to get out of the shadow of sub-accounthood is to create a brand new account.

No problem there in itself except you can't transfer your sub-account to this new account either.

Say bye-bye to all your trophies

Say bye-bye to anything purchased using the sub-account

None of these things can be transferred to your new "I'm 18 now" account

It appears that in Sony's universe no-one ages.

Their unofficial advice - lie about your age. Seriously when confronted by a problem and the only response possible is to advise cheating the system I think a serious rethink of said system is in order.

Sony PS3 7.1 Stereo Wireless Headphone review

As I play games that often require me to be sneaky knowing if an enemy if on my left or right makes a large difference. Given that I've not set my television up with multiple speakers a pair of headphones seemed the logical choice; that and not wanting to disturb my neighbours.

Looking at all the headphones around that advertise themselves as working with the Playstation 3 was an education. So many required connecting wires. Me I don't like loose wires between me and expensive bits of equipment - too easy to forget about them, get up and pull things down. Restricting myself to wireless headsets narrowed the field considerably, even more so when I removed all the single mono headsets and ones without microphones. Pretty much came down to Sony and Turtle Beach.

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How the PS3 internet browser sucks

It's nice having access to the wider internet via the PS3 rather than just those applications the manufacturer thinks we should have access to ([cough] Microsoft XBox360), but boy does the PS3's browser suck if you want to do anything beyond passive viewing of static screens.

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PS3 EULA tangle

Another update from Sony for the PS3 that (about time too) updates the browser; and amazingly it does seem more stable even it is still rubbish with javascript handling.

However yet another one came out shortly afterwards. Checking the changelogs nothing exciting, but I did notice the following:

When I download directly I have to agree to the EULA as we've all come to except. For the most part it's remained unchanged since version 1.4 of December 2009 with the latest version on display here.

Visit Sony's own site to download and install manually and you have to agree to version 1.3 instead.

Oops

Playstation Gamer cards

I've given up on the official Playstation Network Personal Trophy cards on the grounds that they never seem to update themselves except when I manually tell them to and that I can't manually update them from the PS3 browser.

PSNProfile's cards, on the other hand, appear to update themselves and amusingly (or not) provide the extra kind of information that would naturally be collated and available to Sony should they bother to get their thumb out of their arses and use it.

As such I now know my standings as compared with every other PSNProfile sign-up; the milestones (my first Platinum, my 500th trophy etc.) and, for me, most interestingly the rarest trophies I've managed to acquire.

Sure it's not perfect; it tells me I'm currently ranked number 7,579th but neglects to mention out of how many (7,580? No it's 54, 077). It tells me my three rarest trophies, but doesn't allow me to see all my trophies in rarity order. Likewise I can't see my trophies in order of achievement. It also tells me my l337 (Elite) trophy without explaining exactly what makes it so.

Nevertheless it's still miles better than the official version.

inFamous 2 competition

The UK Playstation site is currently running a competition  - post your review of inFamous 2 to Facebook and you could win goodies.

The nature of said goodies - A Dualshock 3 controller in red or blue that's been bundled with... a copy of inFamous 2; which would be the game you needed to review.

I suppose they're going after the rental market, but it does seem to be spitting in the faces of those who actually bought the game.

The Sony Welcome back package

With a 24 day outage Sony are offering us gamers some free games for keepsies to say sorry yay! Select two from the following five:

Dead Nation (top down zombie shooter)
InFamous (I already own on disc)
LittleBigPlanet (I already own on disc)
Super Stardust HD (souped up Asteroids)
Wipeout HD + Fury (racer)

Hmm the 6/10 Dead Nation or two 9/10 games. Gosh I feel so spoilt for choice here. I mean sure I could take InFamous and LBP then trade in my physical copies, but this offer is likely to drop their resale value. Besides as I've said before I own the discs and can trade them in if I so choose; can't do that with digital copies.

Yup looks like Stardust and Wipeout for me. That's assuming the store comes back on line.

Oh wait silly me that's the US rewards we in Europe don't get offered Stardust but Ratchett & Clank Quest for Booty instead.... which I already own.

So out of five I own three and I can choose two; yeah that's going to be hard.

PSN

The bad news is that the Playstation Network is still down; the good news is that Sony won't have to field any flack on their blogs any more because the sign-in uses the same network and the cookies that have been maintaining users identities are expiring.

So you know swings and roundabouts :-)

PSN what a mess

Six days after Sony took down the Playstation Network they've posted that account information may have been compromised. Understandably some patrons are venting on the official blog while others are defending Sony's actions.

The actions they took I agree with. Shut everything down so you can assess the damage and gather evidence to identify the culprits. Their PR efforts, however, left a lot to be desired. From their own blog entries they state they took the network down on the night of the 20th April however the first official notice of this came at 09:15 via a tweet claiming it was down for maintenance. This tweet has now been deleted!

An hour later the EU blog caught up and posted the same information regarding maintenance. This entry was then modified to state that they were investigating the cause of the "Network outage".

Except we know the cause of the outage you told it us it was for maintenance.

It took until the 23rd to admit that they'd been an "external intrusion".

The night of the 26th we are told that account information may have been compromised.

Now here's the thing according to the latest blog entry they " learned there was an intrusion 19th April and subsequently shut the services down" except as I've just said that didn't occur until the 20th or the early morning of the 21st. Now I can understand that taking the entire network offline is a major decision and needs some time to think about it; but they then lied to us by stating it was for maintenance and then seem to have tried to hide the fact that they lied to us by deletion and modification of such entries.

They should have told us as soon as they knew they'd been an attack. They should have told us that they were currently investigating whether account information had been compromised or not. Instead they waited until they had definite evidence and then told us. Whether true or not it seems that Sony were providing only the minimum of information they needed to and their first instincts seemed to be to 'massage the information'.

Not the best way to engender trust.

[As an aside I'm really not that panicked. The email address I use for the Playstation I don't use for anything else likewise the password. They may have an address and DOB as well as my credit card number but they don't have the security code (supposedly) so there's less they can do with it]

PSN still down

Since Wednesday evening it seems every continent's Playstation Network has been down. At first we were told it was maintenance (yeah right) and then Sony finally admitted it was because of an external intrusion. While it's down they have allegedly taken the opportunity to update some stuff. Of course none of us know that because it's still down. That's five days complete shutdown - ouch.

One other amusement is that the one supposedly up-to-date official news source is their twitter feed which can't be viewed using the PS3 browser.

EU PSN down for 'maintenance'

There has been some fun signing in this week and now it's down completely, Just to make note that it was down at 7am this morning and the notification of this came through via the PS3 twitter feed just past 9am. Yeah  'maintenance' right.

I don't think even Sony are stupid enough to down the network on Portal 2's official release date especially without any warning.

PS3 Support

Yet another attempt to get my old PS3 deactivated. As I've mentioned previously you get 5 activations for games (so I'm using three) and none will be deactivated until you exceed that number. However you only get one activation for video content and that's on the defunct PS3, which obviously means I can't deactivate it on that.

So after another attempt to activate my new PS3 failed I gave them a call.
'Do I have the PS3 with me at the moment?'
'Why?'
'Because we need the serial number'
'You mean the serial number that I registered it with on your site using my PS Identity that is tied to my unique support reference number that I've already given you?'
'Yes'
'Here you go'
'And when did you purchase it'
'On the date listed on the registration Here you go'
'And where did you purchase it from'
'The place as listed on the registration Here you go'

Seriously it's not as if there's some Data Protection in place for this it's my account with my name, address, DOB, email etc.

Anyway as before they'll let me know when it's done [sigh]

PS3 Still downloading

Nine items to go mostly Dragon Age Origins and Fallout 3, but I've turned it off for the time being after yesterday. Speed had reduced to pitiful amounts I'm talking about getting bored watching Kbs tick over. As this is happening with all the downloads I don't know if it's the Sony Store side or if Orange have got annoyed over this trickle and throttled my connection.

Even though I've an Unlimited plan I'm still bound by Orange's Fair Usage document, however it states that they should inform me if they think I'm abusing the system.

As I've had no contact from them and I'm abiding by their terms to restrict usage outside the peak hours I have to conclude that either they're breaking their own terms or it's Sony's side. Either way I'm going to give it a rest for a bit and see what happens in a day or so.