Sony
Contents11
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1946 |
| Legal Structure | Public |
| Industry | Conglomerate, Photography equipment, Audio equipment, Home electronics, Video games |
| Also known as | |
| Official website | https://sony.com/ |
Sony Group Corporation is a Japanese Zaibatsu (or mega corporation) headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.[1] The Sony Group Corporation owns over 100 companies including, but not limited to Sony Semiconductor Solutions, Sony Entertainment (including Sony Pictures and Sony Music Group), Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Financial Group, and Crunchyroll.[2]
Sony was established in 1946 as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita.[3] The young company distinguished itself in the consumer electronics market with transistor radios, home video tape recorders, portable audio players called the Walkman, and compact disk players.[4][3] In 1988, Sony acquired CBS Records.[5] Later, in 1989 it acquired Columbia Pictures.[5] The company also introduced the home video game console PlayStation in 1994.[5]
Consumer impact summary
Sony has found itself involved in many controversies in the past, most commonly consumer rights and management of digital content issues. They have included instances such as Sony BMG rootkit in 2005, where copy protection software tracked users in secret and added security holes, which were the target of lawsuits and recalls. Sony has also had run-ins with digital content access, like trying to close down the PlayStation Store on older systems and removing "forever" licenses on Funimation content, which was met with pushback and reversal.
More recently, the PlayStation Network (PSN) account requirement mandated by Sony in Helldivers 2 and binding arbitration provisions in Crunchyroll's terms of service have been criticized as restrictive of user choice and access.
Incidents
This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the Sony category.
Sued by Texas state over ACR data collection (2025 - Present):
On 15 December 2025, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Sony,[6] alleging that the manufacturer failed to adequately disclose the data collection capabilities of automatic content recognition (ACR) technology in their smart televisions[7]. The lawsuit, filed under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, allege that ACR technology captures screenshots of television displays at frequent intervals and that the resulting viewing data is sold to advertisers and data brokers without meaningful consumer consent.[8]
Controversies
| Controversy | Year | Background Info | Aftermath | Related Article | Related Video(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sony BMG CD copy protection rootkit | 2005 | Sony BMG distributed about 20 million discs preloaded with copy protection software that tracks the users listening habits (even if the user did not agree to the EULA), hides itself, and introduces exploitable bugs. As such it has been classified as a rootkit.
Furthermore, they released an uninstaller tool later that merely un-hides their original rootkit and installs more un-removable software, all while extracting more personal information (e-mail addresses) from users. |
Class action lawsuits in 2005-2006 forced Sony to recall about 10% of affected CDs. Sony stopped their copy protection attempts in 2007.[9][10][11] | ||
| Mandatory data collection on PC ports | 2020-ongoing | ||||
| Revocation of "Forever" licenses to Funimation digital content | 2024 | After merging Funimation with Crunchyroll, Sony revoked all licenses to digital content that had been advertised as "forever" licenses without providing a refund or reimbursement. | Some users received free months of service for the new Crunchyroll platform, but only if they submitted a ticket.[12] | Funimation "Forever" Content License Revocation | |
| Crunchyroll January 2025 Terms of Service Update | 2025 | Sony forced users of Crunchyroll into binding arbitration by updating their terms of service and without providing an easy way to opt-out. | TBD | Crunchyroll January 2025 Terms of Service Update | |
| Camera monitor on Xperia phones turned into subscription | 2025 | Sony disabled External Monitor feature with software update on Xperia phones and turned it into subscription | TBD | Sony Xperia turns camera monitor into subscription | [Video References 1] |
Sony's Playstation controversies
| Controversy | Year | Background Info | Aftermath | Related Article | Related Video(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warranty void if removed stickers | 2004 | Warranty void if removed stickers are illegal under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975., but are nonetheless used by the company.
Such stickers existed at least on PlayStation 2 models to prevent users from opening the console (the sticker was on top of a screw). |
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| PlayStation 3 "Yellow Light of Death" | 2006-2009 | Due to a likely defect in the 90nm graphic processing units (GPUs) of early PlayStation 3s,[13][14][15] these models are extremely prone to GPU failures.
Affected models (with a 90nm GPU) include: CECHA, CECHB, CECHC, CECHE, and CECHG. |
TBD; Sony never made a response beyond dodging and denial of the issue.[16] Consumers whose consoles had this problem- even when Sony was supporting the console- had to pay out of pocket to repair it.[13] | Bumpgate | |
| PlayStation 3 Blu-Ray AACS License Renewal | 2006 | The Advanced Access Content System (AACS) encryption key of Sony PlayStation 3 devices must be renewed every 12 to 18 months via software updates.[17] | TBD. At some point, software updates will no longer be released, which will eventually lock out users from this functionality. | ||
| PlayStation 3 Removal of OtherOS with System Update 3.21 | 2010 | PlayStation 3 systems supported a feature known as "OtherOS" until system update 3.21 on April 1, 2010 with Sony stating it was removed due to "security concerns".[18] Prior to the release of the PS3 slim in November 2009, Sony stated that the slim would not support this feature that was available on the current PS3 models still available for sale.[19] | Class action lawsuit, with a $3.75 million settlement in 2018, with people receiving up to $10.[20] | PlayStation 3 Removal of OtherOS with System Update 3.21 | |
| Sony Playstation hardware bans | 2011-ongoing | Sony is banning gaming consoles on hardware level from accessing Playstation Network online services for "violation of terms of service", which makes modern game consoles useless piece of junk | Sony Playstation hardware bans from online services | ||
| Helldivers 2 PSN Account Requirement post launch | 2024 | Sony added a PSN account requirement for Helldivers 2 after the game had become popular, including for countries where you can't create a PSN account. | The requirement was removed,[21] however the game was removed from sale in countries without PSN.[22] | PlayStation Network Account Requirement for PC Games | [Video References 2] |
| PlayStation Store Shutdown | 2021 | Sony intended to shut down the PlayStation Store on its PS3, PS Vita, and PSP consoles, despite many of the content offerings not being available on newer consoles. | Sony walked back the decision for the PS3 and PS Vita, citing the negative response from customers.[23] | ||
| Removal of Discovery titles | 2023 | Sony intended to remove customers' access to "purchased" Discovery Channel content at the end of their licensing agreements. | Sony reversed the decision, allowing customers to continue accessing the content.[24] | Sony's attempted removal of "purchased" content | [Video References 3] [Video References 4] |
| PSN Account Requirement for PC Games | 2024-ongoing | Sony requires a PSN account be made or used for Playstation games ported to PC and sold on the PC, including games that were solely single player such as Last of Us Part 2[25][26]. | In January 2025 Sony removed this requirement for some games and instead offered players benefits to use PSN. However the restriction remains for other Sony games such as Until Dawn.[27] | PlayStation Network Account Requirement for PC Games | |
| PlayStation restricts how developers can give upgrades to "PS5" editions | 2025 | Sony have restricted how and what developers can offer people upgrading from a PS4 edition to a PS5 edition of a game post launch. | Sony has continued this practices without a proper response | PlayStation restricts how developers can give upgrades to "PS5" editions | |
| PlayStation dynamic prices | 2025 -ongoing | Sony has been reportedly testing dynamic pricing on the PlayStation Store for months.
That's according to PSPrices, which claims that Sony has been running an A/B testing experiment that shows different prices to different users since November 2025. In the first four months, the experiment grew from just 50 games in 30 regions to now over 190 games in more than 70 regions. overall some users are paying 27% more for the same game. |
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| PlayStation Lease with Flex | 2026 | Unlike traditional installment purchases that lead to eventual ownership, Flex and other leasing models do not result in the consumer owning the console outright. Once the contract term ends, the hardware must be returned regardless of payments already made, or the consumer must enter a separate purchase negotiation. If payments stop early, the consumer loses access to the device without having worked toward ownership | PlayStation Lease with Flex |
Products
Audio:
- Sony WF-1000XM4
- Sony WH-1000XM5
Televisions:
Consoles:
- Playstation
- Playstation 2
- Playstation 3
- Playstation 4
- Playstation 5
References
- ↑ "Access & Map Template:Webarchive." Sony Global. Retrieved 2 April 2021. "1–7–1 Konan Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0075, Japan" – Map – Address in Japanese Template:Webarchive: "〒108-0075 東京都港区港南1–7–1"
- ↑ "List of acquisitions by Sony". Wikipedia. Archived from the original on 20 Mar 2025. Retrieved 16 Mar 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "History". Sony. Archived from the original on 4 Feb 2026. Retrieved 16 Mar 2025.
- ↑ "Sony History". Sony. Archived from the original on 14 Oct 2025. Retrieved 16 Mar 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Corporate History". Sony. Archived from the original on 8 Jan 2026. Retrieved 16 Mar 2025.
- ↑ "State of Texas v. Sony Electronics Inc., Original Petition" (PDF). Office of the Texas Attorney General. December 15, 2025. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 Jan 2026. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Texas sues biggest TV makers, alleging smart TVs spy on users without consent". Ars Technica. December 16, 2025. Archived from the original on 28 Dec 2025. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Attorney General Paxton Sues Five Major TV Companies, Including Some with Ties to CCP, for Spying on Texans". Office of the Texas Attorney General. December 15, 2025. Archived from the original on 23 Jan 2026. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Sony's DRM protected CDs install Windows rootkits". Wikinews. Archived from the original on 8 Jul 2025. Retrieved 16 Mar 2025.
- ↑ "Revisiting the Sony Rootkit". fsfe. Archived from the original on 6 Apr 2025. Retrieved 16 Mar 2025.
- ↑ "CD's Containing XCP Content Protection Technology". Sony BMG. Archived from the original on 24 Dec 2008. Retrieved 16 Mar 2025.
- ↑ Parrish, Ash (26 Feb 2024). "Funimation's solution for wiping out digital libraries could be good, if it works". The Verge. Archived from the original on 26 Feb 2024. Retrieved 16 Mar 2025.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 HelpForPS3 (Reuploader); BBC (17 Dec 2009). "Sony PS3 Yellow Light of Death - BBC". YouTube. Archived from the original on 4 Feb 2026. Retrieved 3 Jun 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ RIP Felix (15 Jan 2024). "A 360 Story - The RED Ring of Death & the 7th Generation Console War". YouTube. Retrieved 2 Jun 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ RIP Felix (23 Dec 2022). "A PS3 Story: The Yellow Light of Death". YouTube. Retrieved 2 Jun 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ BBC (18 Sep 2009). "Sony rebuts BBC PlayStation claim". BBC NEWS. Archived from the original on 19 Feb 2025. Retrieved 4 Jun 2025.
- ↑ "Renewing the AACS encryption key". PlayStation. Archived from the original on 19 Mar 2025. Retrieved 16 Mar 2025.
- ↑ "PS3 Firmware 3.21 Coming April 1st". PlayStation Blog. Archived from the original on 28 Aug 2025. Retrieved 16 Aug 2025.
- ↑ "SCEE PS3 Slim press release". Archived from the original on August 22, 2009. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
- ↑ "Sony sending $10 settlement checks for PS3 "Other OS" lawsuit". Archived from the original on November 14, 2018. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
- ↑ https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/553850/view/4196868529806518741 (Archived)
- ↑ Serin, Kaan (11 May 2024). "Helldivers 2 gets delisted in more countries without PSN access, blindsided devs call for it to be "available worldwide"". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on 11 May 2024. Retrieved 16 Mar 2025.
- ↑ Ryan, Jim (19 Apr 2021). "PlayStation Store on PS3 and PS Vita Will Continue Operations". PlayStation Blog. Archived from the original on 19 Apr 2021. Retrieved 16 Mar 2025.
- ↑ "Legal update notice". PlayStation. Dec 2023. Archived from the original on 1 Dec 2023. Retrieved 16 Mar 2025.
- ↑ Ariyasinghe, Pulasthi (2024-11-09). "PSN account requirement on PC is there to keep gamers safe, explains Sony". Neowin. Archived from the original on 9 Nov 2024.
- ↑ Ruiz, Michael (2024-09-25). "Sony Not Backing Down on PSN PC Requirement Despite Backlash". PlayStation Lifestyle. Archived from the original on 25 Sep 2024.
- ↑ Qizilbash, Asad (2025-01-29). "New in-game content incentives coming to PlayStation games on PC". PlayStation Blog. Sony - PlayStation Blog. Archived from the original on 29 Jan 2025.