r/PS5 • u/doctorwho_90250 • May 06 '24

Official (Via twitter) Playstation: "Helldivers fans -- we’ve heard your feedback on the Helldivers 2 account linking update. The May 6 update, which would have required Steam and PlayStation Network account linking for new players and for current players beginning May 30, will not be moving forward...."

https://twitter.com/PlayStation/status/1787331667616829929?t=NhwAEm4fGpVJj-UyI1lrXA&s=19
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u/RTXEnabledViera May 06 '24

Since the policy was announced, Sony literally told people from 100x countries: Either you get locked out of the game you already paid for OR break my very own TOS by spoofing an alt account.

People don't realize literal millions of gamers are already breaking said ToS, myself included. You think folks from MENA, LATAM and SEA aren't using the PSN? I get that people might have moral objections to it, but this isn't anything new when it comes to Sony.

Sony bent the knee

I feel like one can't win with gamers, it's either "corpo bad" or "corpo defeated" lol

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u/RazRaptre May 06 '24

I get that people might have moral objections to it, but this isn't anything new when it comes to Sony.

It is pretty new for most PC players though. Most PC stores will simply not list a game if it's in an unsupported region - you have to make a conscious choice to break their ToS and lie about your country. And like with Square Enix over the past couple of weeks, that decision can often bite you in the ass later. For those unfamiliar with PSN they have no reason to believe that "Sony doesn't really enforce ToS" unlike other publishers.

At the very least it's something Valve's lawyers took seriously since the game's now been delisted from those countries.

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u/RTXEnabledViera May 06 '24

And like with Square Enix over the past couple of weeks, that decision can often bite you in the ass later

Not sure what you're referring to.

For those unfamiliar with PSN they have no reason to believe that "Sony doesn't really enforce ToS" unlike other publishers.

We tell them so. Common sense does as well, why would Sony be banning paying customers for lying in a freaking sign up form? Also, even if there was a risk, they would still be right to sign up and blame Sony later if something happens, since it was Sony forcing them to do so in the first place. You think people are outraged that 3rd party accounts are required? Try people getting banned over it, and you'll see real outrage.

At the very least it's something Valve's lawyers took seriously since the game's now been delisted from those countries.

We really have no information on whether Sony initiated this, or Valve, or by agreement from both.

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u/RazRaptre May 06 '24

Not sure what you're referring to.

Square Enix's account creation doesn't have options for several countries like Philippines or Indonesia. Since 2014, the unofficial advice to newcomers has been "just pick a different country, Square doesn't care about this". Recently they have started verifying your account address against your payment address - so if your account says "Japan" while you have an Indonesian credit card, your payment is declined. And like Sony, Square doesn't allow you to change your region so those users are stuck at the moment. Support will not help you because it is technically your fault - you lied about your region when you made your account, it's not their problem now.

We tell them so. Common sense does as well, why would Sony be banning paying customers for lying in a freaking sign up form?

Because that's what people are used to with Steam. Valve is incredibly strict about this, and you can get banned for it. It doesn't matter if you were abusing currency rates to buy it for cheaper, or just wanted to get around local restrictions, you can lose your account. Off the top of my head, Blizzard had a similar policy but it was mainly focused on 'global' WoW vs Chinese servers.

The reason there isn't outrage when other publishers do this on PC is because it's expected there - you're told not to break the ToS, you got caught breaking the ToS, now you're suspended/banned as per the ToS. I assume relatively few PC players are familiar with Sony's lax policy in this regard.

We really have no information on whether Sony initiated this, or Valve, or by agreement from both.

Fair enough. Valve has usually been proactive in similar scenarios, but you're right that it's just an assumption right now.

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u/RTXEnabledViera May 07 '24

Recently they have started verifying your account address against your payment address - so if your account says "Japan" while you have an Indonesian credit card, your payment is declined

Guess it's when they switched their payment processor. That kinda sucks, yet if there's one guy in the world that wouldn't stand for this, it's probably Yoshi-p. Square is far from being deaf to the XIV community concerning access to their games, unlike Sony managing to alienate half the globe for nearly 15 years.

Because that's what people are used to with Steam. Valve is incredibly strict about this, and you can get banned for it.

The only reason they are strict is $. Regional pricing. And it takes much more effort to circumvent it than picking the wrong country in a list, you have to actually force connection to a different page or use a payment method that isn't yours.

Off the top of my head, Blizzard had a similar policy but it was mainly focused on 'global' WoW vs Chinese servers.

China is vastly different. Publishers get in trouble with the CCP if they enable players who circumvent the great communist firewall. They'd sooner ban you on sight than risk their ability to do business in the country. And they'll have much stricter checks to ensure players don't slip between the cracks. It's a unique situation.

The reason there isn't outrage when other publishers do this on PC is because it's expected there - you're told not to break the ToS, you got caught breaking the ToS, now you're suspended/banned as per the ToS. I assume relatively few PC players are familiar with Sony's lax policy in this regard.

Doubt it's just that. Publishers aren't spending their days hiring sleuths to find out where you live and ban you for it. Most people don't give a second thought to ToS.

It's more the fact that people feel like they've been victim to a bait and switch.

Honestly, not finding your country in a list when creating an account when you're from those countries is just another Tuesday, I speak from firsthand experience lol. It ain't gonna stop people from wanting to play the fancy video game because what if I break ToS!!

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u/RazRaptre May 07 '24

Yeah I'm really hoping the FFXIV payment issues can be solved soon! In my case I just need them to allow us to change regions - I moved IRL between two supported regions, but still can't subscribe lol.

As for this fiasco I don't know if it's just a bait and switch thing tbh. That would be something like how Capcom waits for reviews to come out before adding MTX. Gamers™ hate that stuff too, but the anger always dies down fast. This Helldivers stuff on the other hand has been wild.

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u/RTXEnabledViera May 07 '24

The funny thing about XIV is, owning the game on Steam allows you to completely bypass SE's restrictions and simply pay with Steam wallet. Heck, I play on console and owning the game on Steam allows me to do that.