If you know me then you know I’ve always been a bit wary of the digital future, but I’ve bought digital games and hadn’t had a bad experience with the service. That is until around five weeks ago when PSN was taken down for a few days by a “hacker” group. Usually I’ll report on the matter and then as the story dies we move on, and wait for the next story. I thought that would be the case here but a few weeks later the extent of this attack was finally felt.
Before I delve into the problems let me give you a bit of context. I bought a PS4 at launch but had to send it back for a replacement a couple of weeks later because the disc tray wasn’t working. I deactivated that, got my new one and activated it as my primary console. It was my primary console throughout 2014. A similar situation to that of our reviews editor, Dominic Leighton, who followed the same steps.
Problems didn’t arise until I was in the middle of reviewing Saints Row: Gat Out Of Hell, which was digital review code. This is important. I was also playing during a PSN maintenance window and for a while had no problems. Then a warning flashed up saying my console could not connect to the authorisation server, and the game would close in 15 minutes. This was followed by a five minute warning, and then true to the console’s word I was booted out. When I was on the main menu I noticed every digital game I owned and had on the console had a padlock next to it. That’s isn’t all as services like Netflix and Amazon Instant Prime were also locked out.
This also happened to Dom and we both discussed whether our broken PS4s had been refurbished and somehow reactivated, making our current consoles secondary ones. Of course we have no proof and it could be coincidence that both of us lost primary access at the same time, some time after sending back deactivated broken consoles.
This was odd to me as I had never experienced this problem before on a PSN outage, so I logged into my account online to see what was going on. When I checked the devices I owned I noticed consoles I never owned on there, like a second PS4 and second PS Vita. I also saw my PS4 had been deactivated as the primary console. It appeared my account had been compromised so I did what anyone would do, changed my password and called PlayStation Support.
During this conversation I explained what had happened, and asked if these new consoles that had appeared could be removed from my account. The rep on the other side told me that it did look there had been some suspicious activity on my account, but it would have to be escalated upwards. I was told to note a reference number and expect contact in about a week. Fine, I understand there will be people ahead of me in the queue so I can wait a week. Last night I finally got a reply.
As part of our fair usage policy, we are unable to manually deactivate any consoles from your SEN account in order to prevent game-sharing.
So after explaining that my account was potentially compromised and security breached through no fault of my own I’m told I’m basically out of luck. I now can’t deactivate any consoles from my account for six months through the SEN website,due to Sony’s arbitrary time limit that comes into place if consoles are unregistered through its site.
This now means that any time PSN is down I will lose access to my digital library, because the authorisation server can’t be reached. Not just that but I also lose access to Netflix and Amazon Instant on the PS4, as well as every other app. Now a PS Plus subscription isn’t required to access these anyway so I don’t think Sony has any right to restrict my access to a third party service I pay a separate subscription to.
I can’t reset my console authentications for months, Sony won’t help, so I’m locked out of a lot of paid content every time PSN goes down. It wouldn’t be too much of a problem if a PSN outage happened once every six months, but it is down for maintenance monthly. And that doesn’t include when it stops working unexpectedly. PSN isn’t a reliable service at the best of times, so requiring authentication through it makes the situation disadvantageous to users. What if Sony suffers another major breach that takes down PSN for months? Are we supposed to accept that we’re locked out of digital content?
What also gets me is the game sharing excuse, or what used to be lending things to friends and family. The only difference here is the format through which something can be shared, where instead of disc it is a digital copy. It feels like even more of a slap in the face when we now live in a world with Share Play. Sure there is an hour limit per Share Play session, but I could start Far Cry 4 right now, activate Share Play and then let someone else play the game, just resetting the lobby each hour.
I also don’t like how we as a group just accepted primary and secondary consoles, because this wasn’t done for the consumer’s benefit. If I want to a buy a second PS4 for my home to put in another room, I want to know it can do everything the other one can regardless of contacting an authorisation server. When Microsoft suggested a similar practice with Xbox One game discs requiring a connection to the servers to verify authenticity there was a lot of outrage, which led to the company abandoning that particular practice.
The main feeling I’ve got from this situation is that I no longer feel like I own the items I have bought from Sony’s digital store. I own my Megadrive games, I own my PSOne games, I own my Wii games, but because some of my PS4 games are digital I don’t fully own them. No, instead I essentially have to have Sony’s permission to play them regardless of the fact I paid for games like Valiant Hearts and Octodad.
Sony’s policy to activation feels incredibly dated already, and it is really cumbersome too. It doesn’t help myself or Dom claim back our accounts and use our machines as we wish. I seriously advise that you check your PS4 is still your primary one, because something has caused mine and another staff member’s to switch from that, and get locked out every time PSN is down.
The digital future is convenient for two groups. Those who prefer digital over physical and for the companies that own the machines, because they can set high prices and also control what you do with what you purchase. Our power as consumers is steadily being eroded away, and if the future of games is digital only then I will bow out and not look back.
psychobudgie
Absolutely agree with you on most of that. One of the common gripes though, related to the 15 minute check could easily be resolved by Sony by simply increasing it to 6-12 hours which would cover the majority of planned maintenance windows. Can’t help but think that the 15 minute thing was put in place at the request of publishers…EA and Ubisoft….Ubisoft.
blackarts
Most of this is sensationalist lies.
I logged on to Amazon Instant Video when PSN was down with no problems at all.
How much other lies and misinformation is contained in this sensationalist click bait.?????
Starman
BLIIIIGHTYYYY!
Lyts1985
Lol. Did you even read the article? It’s not saying you can’t access things when the network is down, in general, but how the writer has been screwed over by Sony’s own policy regarding system activation and potential illegal access to his account.
Read the article blackarts, then try again!
blackarts
I did read it, and I don’t think I have ever read such a load I’d sensational clickbait..
“That’s isn’t all as services like Netflix and Amazon Instant Prime were also locked out.”
That bit it totally untrue, the rest is just lame click bait. Seems like TSA have payolla
Aran Suddi
Actually it isn’t untrue. And I find it quite insulting that you would insinuate I am lying purely for hits. Once my PS4 somehow became a secondary console after my account was compromised, and I was kicked out from accessing my digital library Netflix & Amazon also became locked out.
They wouldn’t have been locked out had my console remained as a primary while PSN was down.
Aran Suddi
And I don’t expect you to believe me without proof. So here’s my tweet from January 15th.
https://twitter.com/AranSuddi/status/555789805741965313?s=09
blackarts
Well it works for everyone else, so it must be that you don’t know what you are doing…
Yes it does prompt to log in to PSN when you start Netflix or Amazon Instant Video, but it’s not mandatory, if it fails, both still work just fine.
Hoe many other things are lies or simply user error in your ranting clickbait I wonder..
When do we get the corresponding Xbox article? It’s worse there. They have similar amount of downtime, but when maint periods it’s proper down. At least PSN has cached sign in, in that if you were online in the previous 48hrs, the sign in cookie is still valid.
Perhaps go back to board games or something, technology might not be your thing..
blast71
Fanboy much!?
Lyts1985
You’re missing the point blackarts. He’s not saying he couldn’t access it solely because the network was down. He’s saying he couldn’t access it because somebody has set his only PS4 to a secondary unit on his account; secondary units *must* be logged on to the PSN to access downloaded content, as per the PSN T&Cs
Still struggling?
XisTG
Although I’ve only bumped into this issue once, it did make me feel like you; why should I need to connect to PSN to play a single player game that I bought from their store?
Quick question: you say that the 6 month limit is for unregistered consoles only. I thought it was standard for everyone, is there a place to register it and decrease that ridiculous time limit? :)
Aran Suddi
So the way it works is that once consoles get deactivated through your SEN account on the website you can’t repeat the process for six months. I found mine had been deactivated through the site after the account had been compromised. This means I can’t activate my consoles until that time limit is over.
There is no way to get around it.
XisTG
six months… thank you for replying Aran :)
blackarts
So you out set a weak password, or shared that password with another site that got hacked..
Seriously???? And they trust you to log in here and post stories? Did you use the same password here too?
DrDamn
It’s a similar situation on X1 too isn’t it? You have a Home console, if you aren’t on your Home console then you can only play games if you are signed in. Obviously MS network has proven a little more resilient than Sony’s so far and perhaps you can set your console as your home one without de-activating another which you (or someone else) had previously set. The basic principle of the article carries across though.
beeje13
Just checked that mine are ok and thankfully they are.
Some things really need fixing here:
PSN Support’s inability to manually activate/deactivate regardless of time since last activation/deactivation.
The 15 minute time limit is very stingy, should be an hour at least, so you can get sorted out, and It is possible for the PS4 to know when PSN is down isn’t it? So that should cancel any authorisation checks needed.
I’m not a huge fan of digital, I tend to only buy digital-only games digitally, because you can’t get any money back from them. And the high prices (necessary to stop games retailers going out of business). And the doubts over license/ownership.
rossthebassist
In relation to your issue, it’s clearly a secondary console thing, which sucks in general because if you said that the new console is now your primary it should just automatically switch the old console to secondary access regardless.
The reason people kicked off about authentication access from Microsoft was because this was all the time. Disc based, digital, primary console did not matter it needed authentication regardless.
Your issues are unfortunate circumstances due to Sony’s oversight of hardware faults.
If Microsoft had stuck to their original plan then over xmas there would have been people really upset that they couldn’t even install a disc based game because of no authentication.
you probably have done this already but try activating your console as the primary again. and i hope you get sorted soon :)
Aran Suddi
I have. The problem is once I try to reactivate it says my account has another PS4 activated a primary, something I haven’t changed in over a year. It appears someone has got into my account, deactivated my consoles and activated their own. There is now no way to reactivate my own without Sony doing a manual deactivation their end.
Youles
So some scamp basically has your account on their PS4 and can play everything from your library? I guess that’s where those trophy lists appeared from that you mentioned a while back in Twitter?
Sony should be able to trace where your Primary Account is being used, and brick that PS4, particularly if you are able to confirm personal details and verify your PSN account has been compromised (why would you want your own account blocked).
This is a huge worry for me, particularly since I’ve probably accumulated thousands of pounds worth of games, DLC and exclusive content. If someone hacks my account I’m not confident in Sony’s customer services in blocking them and restoring my account to me! As time goes on, the more I buy and the more it becomes a concern.
rossthebassist
aye, sucks like… hope you get sorted soon.
blackarts
All your problems are of your own creation. But you ranting clickbait post blames everyone else but you…
wonkey-willy
Had this a few times myself,unable to access map packs and stuff.. also I can’t watch video content in my ps3 because my old ps3 is still linked to my account but I can’t deactivate for some reason?
SamBeThyName
I had the same problem, have you tried deactivating you ps3 on the playstation website? heres the link
https://support.us.playstation.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2616/~/deactivate-consoles-via-pc%2Fwebsite
Unfortunately you have to deactivate all your PSs – PS Vita, PS3, PS4 etc and then reactivate them on the consoles themselves. A bit of a pain in the arse, but it should short out your PS3 being able to play video
homerjnick
Not to point any blame here as I agree the strange situation with Sony & activations etc but Arran’s SEN account details have been leaked via some means.
Someone, somewhere has got your email address and password for SEN, most likely from either spyware on a PC device, or another hacked website where you use the same credentials so whilst Sony’s silly situation about secondary PS4’s need to call home and getting locked out of your digital content and you cannot deactivate all consoles for months are all true and mental it still doesn’t take the point away that somehow your email address and password have been leaked.
The PS4 that got refurbished is not the cause of it because other Vita devices have been added and you need the password, you cannot get your password off a PS4, you can only reset it.
So therefore common sense must apply. If you return a console change your password…never ever use the same password for other sites, always use a unique password for SEN and change it often…I change mine once a month.
As I say I agree with all the stupid stuff about Sony’s security and digital contents but it still doesn’t take the point away that your account details were leaked.
And that responsibility lies with us.
hazelam
just one of the reasons why, given the choice, i will always go physical over download.
the exceptions being if the title is only available through download or if it’s a lot cheaper.
call me a luddite, but i like to have control over the things i buy and pay for.
if they want to control what i can do with my purchases, then i want to be able to dictate what they can do with the money i paid them.
my internet went down a couple of days ago and while i couldn’t play FFXIV, for obvious reasons, i could still play Minecraft, which i bought off the store and downloaded, so it seems my PS4 is still registered as the primary for my account.
Sadodi
Maybe I didn’t understand the issue clear enough but in order to access digital games while Sony’s servers are down and you’re locked out from your games is to turn off your Internet through Network Settings. One time I couldn’t access one of my digital games because the servers were down so I just unchecked the checkbox for Internet access and then I could play it offline. But as I said, I don’t know if may have misinterpreted that.
Aran Suddi
I tried that but they needed to contact the authorisation since my PS4 has been made secondary without my consent.
Crazy_Del
It is very worrying, I had that conversation with my friends and family. I told them if PS5 will be digital games all the way then consider me finished! PS4 will be my last gaming console! Plus I can return to all my games on PS1, PS2, PS3 and PS4 for replay value as I have kept at least 200 games as they were great and enjoyable. I still fear for PS4 as some games cannot play when offline such as Resident Evil HD (Digital plus my favourite game) and others such as First Light (Free from Plus) as that will annoy me since I paid for RE HD, it should be mine to keep until I die not until Sony stops supporting the PS4 in the future!
homerjnick
Good points…there are already certain PS3 games that users have “bought” but can no longer download from the store even if they are in your Download List…games from CAPCOM like The Simpsons Arcade and XMEN because Sony & Capcom had a disagreement.
It means folks who paid for that game can no longer play it…that’s mental.
Youles
Can you download those games from your Download list though?
I know a licence for GTi Club expired which meant it was no longer available on the Store, but after searching through thousands of items in my Download list I was able to download it still.
…if not, that’s outrageous!
MrYd
Searching the download list? How do you do that then?
I thought the only thing you could do was go through about 10 pages before getting so annoyed with it and loudly declaring “Screw this, I’ve got more enjoyable things to do, like punching myself repeatedly in the testicles”
homerjnick
Nope you cannot, they are in my download list but you cannot download them…Sony’s reply to me was they were removed from the store after a disagreement with CAPCOM…I asked for a refund then which of course I did not get…
I have PS+ but I never buy digital games at all…because you never own them, you simply buy the right to use them and they can revoke that at any point without having to give you back your cash.
It’s like a publisher coming to your house and manually picking up your physical copy of the game and telling you they don’t allow that game on Sony consoles anymore.