Sony Reverses Decision of Mandatory PSN Account for Helldivers 2 After Negative Feedback

[Tahagomizer]

Reverses or just pauses it until heat dies off? No worries, they will find ways to make the experience worse for people who don't want to sign their lives to the corporation. Malicious compliance is the name of the game nowadays.

 

[duraz0rz]

Next game will have it baked in, so they will still have it their way eventually.

It's already baked into the game, but was disabled at launch to reduce server load.

One of the major problems was Sony making the game available in countries that do not have PSN. I don't have a skin in the game because I can get (and do have) a PSN account, but to announce that a PSN account is required after selling the game in a country that doesn't have PSN support is really shitty. Sony should've thought of that way ahead of time when they allowed Arrowhead to disable PSN linking (if Sony had a say in that).

 

[Slizzo]

Pilestedts excuses are so funny. You cannot add requirements after you signed a deal. You can ask for it not demand it. Damn man even every trekkie knows a deal is a deal It's the 16th rule of acquisition

From the outset, Steam's page has had the notification that a PSN account is required. Of course, they did have to turn it off right at launch because no one could play. It's been off since then, so people have been able to play in regions where PSN is not a thing.

Obviously that caused an uproar.


But, he did sign the deal with Sony predicated on the fact that PSN would be required. Of course Sony would be "yo, wtf?" about it.



Players did get their voices heard, which is good.

 

[Zendou]

From the outset, Steam's page has had the notification that a PSN account is required. Of course, they did have to turn it off right at launch because no one could play. It's been off since then, so people have been able to play in regions where PSN is not a thing.

Obviously that caused an uproar.


But, he did sign the deal with Sony predicated on the fact that PSN would be required. Of course Sony would be "yo, wtf?" about it.



Players did get their voices heard, which is good.

This somewhat obfuscates Arrow Heads other problems in regards to the release. Why was the game sold in those countries in the first place? Why was the game localized for those regions? There are a lot of signs of malfeasance on both the dev and Sony. The sheer lack of consistent and clear communication between them and the abhorrent community managers are not a sign of a well run/organized company.

 

[Space Lynx]

Yeah, nothing justifies that. Don't like it, boycott it but don't go making f'king death threats to people.

Not really, PR damage is done but people will continue to play the game because it is still a good game.

In fact:
View attachment 346423
View attachment 346421
Arrowhead's CEO:
View attachment 346424
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Also, as some people already mentioned, this would have gone much smoother if they opted for something like this:
View attachment 346420

You summed up my entire thread much more succinctly.

the OG thread

 

[AdmiralThrawn]

I have a bit of a doomer take on this. I don't think Sony learned anything from this and I don't think it will change anything in gaming. People can make a big fuss about the game all they want, and talk about how horrible Sony is. When the next Spider-Man game comes out. They will all be preordering it. All Sony did to appease players was rollback a horrible decision. That is not enough for them to gain my trust. Sony did not make any promises about future games, or even apologize directly for it.

 

[ExcuseMeWtf]

That's why we have to hold corporations accountable with appropriate backlash.

 

[Random_User]

And that will be fine. Requiring a PSN account to play a Sony game on PSN servers is annoying maybe but also ok if that is what the game requires from the start. The reason for the uproar is that they implemented it retroactively.

I'm sorry, but, I think, that any game that come to the gaming storefront, like Steam, GoG, EGS, etc, shouldn't have any of the third party accounts or launchers, like Sonny, EA, Ubi, or any others. Yes, the games designed that way, yes that will compromise the crossplatform gameplay, if one has the place. But having those thrird party accs and apps, removes the sole reason of buying it on such platforms, and hampers the storefront ecosystem badly. Not to mention, it contradicts the market penetration of the storefront itself, as most of them are miles more widespread, than tiny MS Xbox, or PSN. MS has somewhat learned their mistake, and many old games, still being patched with removal of old GFWL even decades later. I think the EA/Ubi/Rockstar/ etc accounts should have the same fate as GFWL, if they are sold such big stores like Steam etc. If that have happened earlier, the less problems the buyers/gamers would have encountered by this time.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Also, as some people already mentioned, this would have gone much smoother if they opted for something like this:
View attachment 346420

It's never been about integrating the game into a Sony ecosystem or providing value to players, it is and has always been exclusively about control. The moderation thing is an excuse, as Steam provides all tools necessary for moderation and ToS enforcement, if that's what they're uppity about. They want to strong-arm people into being locked into the PlayStation brand, even if they're not using PS consoles. In the mindset of the executives, PC players can be at least herded, if not forced into the brand worship cult that the PS loyalists take part of.

The only words I've had for Sony since the PlayStation 3 are contained in a famous scene from a great movie called Tropic Thunder, and those would be: take a big step back...

 

[R-T-B]

Isn't it the game's all about?
Democracy !

Managed Democracy. Don't forget the M.

They can always do it again when nobody is looking

Someone is always looking, my man.

So the ban tools are still coming to the game.

Well duh. It's a PVE squad-based game where you are expected not to do certain things (ie spawnkill your squadmates). It needs ban tools for all sorts of reasons.

Pilestedts excuses are so funny. You cannot add requirements after you signed a deal. You can ask for it not demand it. Damn man even every trekkie knows a deal is a deal It's the 16th rule of acquisition

Unless of course, the contract allows for it. Hint: it nearly always does with big publishers like this.

Every Star Wars fan knows in onesided deals Lord Vader reserves the right to alter the bargain.

 

[colossusrageblack]

Clearly most of the commentors here haven't actually played the game and only read the headline. Let's be clear, the PSN requirement was always stated on the store page, everyone who bought the game knew it could eventually happen. However, where the dev and Sony messed up is allowing for everyone to get the game, regardless of whether or not PSN was available in their country. This was done because the dev asked Sony to hold off on the requirement for 6 months, so more players would play. Thus, it resulted in those who purchased the game to no longer be able to play the game once the requirement was established.

Those saying the game will never bounce back from this have not been playing the game. The player count didn't really change over the weekend likely since PlayStation players didn't seem to care about the requirement for PC players. Thus, it really should've only affected Steam/PC. However, if you look at SteamDB the player count barely moved. Clearly the loud minority won out on this one since most didn't seem to care. This game isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Sony will likely change how it implements PSN requirements in the future, maybe just requiring them from the start and not giving a 6 month opening to begin with.

 

[Frick]

I'm sorry, but, I think, that any game that come to the gaming storefront, like Steam, GoG, EGS, etc, shouldn't have any of the third party accounts or launchers, like Sonny, EA, Ubi, or any others.

Absolutely. I also don't think there should be wars, but here we are. Do note that the thing people in this case was really upset about is how they introduced it after the fact. Had this been part of the game at launch the number of complaints would have been negligible.

 

[R-T-B]

Clearly most of the commentors here haven't actually played the game and only read the headline.

Yeah I'm getting that vibe as well.

 

[scottslayer]

I really did not like seeing the ArrowHead staff begging on Reddit/Discord/Twitter for people to rebuy the game and remove their negative review.
Like it was immediately after Sony released the decision so it was obviously coordinated.

 

[cvaldes]

It's already baked into the game, but was disabled at launch to reduce server load.

One of the major problems was Sony making the game available in countries that do not have PSN. I don't have a skin in the game because I can get (and do have) a PSN account, but to announce that a PSN account is required after selling the game in a country that doesn't have PSN support is really shitty. Sony should've thought of that way ahead of time when they allowed Arrowhead to disable PSN linking (if Sony had a say in that).

My guess is this incident will prompt SIE to alter PSN to allow for account registration in "outside" markets. So even if PSN isn't available in your country, players will be forced to create some sort of placeholder account that gives them none of the PSN features, just the ability to play the title itself.

In the same way, Meta created Meta accounts a couple of years ago for people who don't want to register for a normal Facebook account or don't want to associate their FB account with their gaming/VR activities. As an Oculus Rift S owner, I was forced to migrate from an Oculus account to a Meta account to keep using this VR HMD (I do not have a FB account).

One thing that is damned clear is that Sony will not give up their attempts to collect more user activity data. All this does is force Sony to be more crafty about the way they go about doing it.

 

[Makaveli]

The fact that it took bombing this game until its review score on steam looked like that of a shoddy pc port or an unfulfilled promise from a lying developer, it does not inspire confidence in the future on this game.
I don't think people will be eager to support sony in the future.

As long as I keep getting PC Ports of sony games that support Ultrawide displays on PC I will 100% be buying their games.

Something as silly as this won't stop me.

Too little and too late given many people have started to take refunds(looks like 2hr game play limit for refund has been removed).

Doesn't look like it made a difference at all.

This was a PR nightmare for Arrowhead and Sony. First they told people from non-PSN countries to break the PSN TOS by setting up accounts in countries that are on the supported list, then they got review bombed on Steam, delisted the game on Steam in countries that do not have PSN, only to then backtrack on the changes after the weekend? Nobody saw it coming? I wonder how many people actually refunded the game on Steam in the past few days, since Steam was granting full refunds due to changes in TOS even if people were already way past the refund window. They should have kept it the way it was setup from the start - only require PSN account if you want to have crossplay with PS5.

This is the only group that actually had a legit bone to pick if you were in one of these countries.

Clearly most of the commentors here haven't actually played the game and only read the headline. Let's be clear, the PSN requirement was always stated on the store page, everyone who bought the game knew it could eventually happen. However, where the dev and Sony messed up is allowing for everyone to get the game, regardless of whether or not PSN was available in their country. This was done because the dev asked Sony to hold off on the requirement for 6 months, so more players would play. Thus, it resulted in those who purchased the game to no longer be able to play the game once the requirement was established.

Those saying the game will never bounce back from this have not been playing the game. The player count didn't really change over the weekend likely since PlayStation players didn't seem to care about the requirement for PC players. Thus, it really should've only affected Steam/PC. However, if you look at SteamDB the player count barely moved. Clearly the loud minority won out on this one since most didn't seem to care. This game isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Sony will likely change how it implements PSN requirements in the future, maybe just requiring them from the start and not giving a 6 month opening to begin with.

This i've been playing HD2 since launch day and I had to link my steam account to PSN before I could play.

 

[Romoredux]

LOL Everyone commenting on fighting "corporate greed"... 90 percent of the "Noise" was from "Youtube Greed". I'm just Jaded with this Community (mainly the Youtubers that ONLY STARTED COVERING HELLDIVERS 2 WHEN THEY REALIZED IT WOULD BE INSANELY GOOD FOR THEIR CHANNEL). Don't get me wrong I'm VERY HAPPY IF SONY KEEPS THEIR WORD, for the Genuine People who would have been Region Locked or not been able to buy the game. I'm also Happy for the PEOPLE THAT GENUINELY DIDN'T WANT TO MAKE A PSN ACCOUNT. I'm NOT HAPPY with the VAST MAJORITY that decides to take any type of "video game news" and then "Twists" it to fit a Narrative that will make them MORE MONEY. Let's be real some Youtubers/Social Media Influencers are WORSE THAN THE CORPORATIONS.

 

[sethmatrix7]

This i've been playing HD2 since launch day and I had to link my steam account to PSN before I could play.

No you didn't. You missed a small skip/cancel button along the bottom of the screen. Source: Been playing since launch day without linking to PSN, and never will.

 

[TechLurker]

Those saying the game will never bounce back from this have not been playing the game. The player count didn't really change over the weekend likely since PlayStation players didn't seem to care about the requirement for PC players. Thus, it really should've only affected Steam/PC. However, if you look at SteamDB the player count barely moved. Clearly the loud minority won out on this one since most didn't seem to care. This game isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Sony will likely change how it implements PSN requirements in the future, maybe just requiring them from the start and not giving a 6 month opening to begin with.

Really, the funniest bit was playing some random battles with individuals, and having some of them rant about Sony even as they continued to play the game. Sure, they left a negative review, but then proceeded to continue playing. They couldn't bring themselves to abandon the game. The most hypocritical was one of them then talking about buying the battle pass.

And given that there isn't another game like this out there (and unlikely won't be without some considerable backing, which will lead back to a similar issue like this, just from a different publisher wanting the data), Sony still has them in their grip in the end. But I agree, Sony will figure out a means to mandate it on new sign-ups at some point unless a player is from a PSN-denied region (probably cross-validate the location based on the Steam profile's location, which is used for content availability and pricing anyway), while offering juicy carrots to get others to bend and create a PSN. It worked in the past, it worked for others, and it'll end up working when it does occur.

 

[HisDivineOrder]

No you didn't. You missed a small skip/cancel button along the bottom of the screen. Source: Been playing since launch day without linking to PSN, and never will.

Not necessarily. Arrowhead added the skip button after the tsunami of players made it unable to keep up and made disabling PSN the only way anyone could log in a few hours after launch.

 

[Makaveli]

No you didn't. You missed a small skip/cancel button along the bottom of the screen. Source: Been playing since launch day without linking to PSN, and never will.

I know you can play it by skipping I just didn't do that hence why I didn't have any issues with this announcement.

@HisDivineOrder covered the rest that I was going to write

I was on this game literally like 10 mins after launch.

 

[moob]

Clearly most of the commentors here haven't actually played the game and only read the headline. Let's be clear, the PSN requirement was always stated on the store page, everyone who bought the game knew it could eventually happen. However, where the dev and Sony messed up is allowing for everyone to get the game, regardless of whether or not PSN was available in their country. This was done because the dev asked Sony to hold off on the requirement for 6 months, so more players would play. Thus, it resulted in those who purchased the game to no longer be able to play the game once the requirement was established.

No. It wasn't. That was only on the Steam storefront. If you bought the game from sellers like GMG or Humble, there was no mention of the PSN requirement. You know who else failed to mention a PSN requirement? Sony. They modified the verbiage elsewhere over the weekend to cover their ass, but they never changed the requirements if you bought the game directly from them: https://direct.playstation.com/en-us/buy-games/helldivers-2-pc

Do I need a PSN account to play PlayStation games on PC?

No, you currently do not need a PSN account to enjoy PlayStation Studios games on PC, but you will need a Steam account to redeem your voucher code. Some of our PlayStation Studios titles also offer incentives for linking your Steam and PSN accounts.

So even if Sony's intent were to add the PSN requirement eventually, they flat out lied on their own store page. They easily could have said that you would eventually need one for Helldivers 2, but they didn't.

 

[80-watt Hamster]

Really, the funniest bit was playing some random battles with individuals, and having some of them rant about Sony even as they continued to play the game. Sure, they left a negative review, but then proceeded to continue playing. They couldn't bring themselves to abandon the game. The most hypocritical was one of them then talking about buying the battle pass.

And given that there isn't another game like this out there (and unlikely won't be without some considerable backing, which will lead back to a similar issue like this, just from a different publisher wanting the data), Sony still has them in their grip in the end. But I agree, Sony will figure out a means to mandate it on new sign-ups at some point unless a player is from a PSN-denied region (probably cross-validate the location based on the Steam profile's location, which is used for content availability and pricing anyway), while offering juicy carrots to get others to bend and create a PSN. It worked in the past, it worked for others, and it'll end up working when it does occur.

Not another game like this? Caveat that I don't play, but it looks for all the world like the love child of HD1 and Deep Rock Galactic (which is itself the love child of Left4Dead and Minecraft). There's also Darktide, plus Starship Troopers Extermination in the pipeline. None of those are an exact analog and STE is admittedly an Early Access dumpster fire right now, but HD2 isn't exactly un-replicable. If it does implode, somebody else will pick up the formula and release something that scratches the same itch within a year or two. Hell, that's exactly how we ended up with Cities: Skylines in the wake of SimCity's hard flop.

 

[starfals]

Who knew complaining would actually do something. I sure didn't see this coming. Sony is usually pretty tone-deaf, for many reasons too... not just PlayStation related.
What a big victory this was, and best of all - it didn't take 1 year for them to fix the issue.

 

[cvaldes]

Who knew complaining would actually do something. I sure didn't see this coming. Sony is usually pretty tone-deaf, for many reasons too... not just PlayStation related.
What a big victory this was, and best of all - it didn't take 1 year for them to fix the issue.

It was a small victory not a big one.

The next time SIE will enforce the PSN login requirement from the game's launch. They will no longer temporarily waive it due to server load as they did for Arrowhead.

If a new game has server load issues as Helldivers 2 did, it'll be the Bataan Death March for the game devs until the problem is resolved to SIE's satisfaction.

I am certain that PlayStation PC LLC has informed all of its contracted developers that there will be no more exceptions given. Game studios who don't like this will need to read the contracts very carefully before signing them, whether it's with SIE or any other publisher. Developers always have the option of self-financing and self-publishing their own IP.

All this incident did was harden SIE's resolve.