Is Sony liable to third parties for PSN outage? Ars explores the damage

The PlayStation Network is still down, and Sony isn't giving the press or customers any idea of when we can expect to play online. While this doesn't make the gamers happy, the only thing we have on the line is the cost of the games and our time. For third-party developers it's a matter of business, and selling games that rely on online support on a system where the online play has been disabled is an uphill battle.

Third-party publishers are losing out, and it's hurting their bottom lines. Would they have a case against Sony?

[gaffyh]

Seriously doubt it. Any court case would side with Sony because they were a victim of a hack an had to take the service down to protect users.

[sdtarm]

because this inconvenience has been happening every day since the very start of PSN meaning that the service is not reliable at all right?

[Psychotica]

Someone could sue them for being careless with their security.

[gaffyh]

Well that's already happening, I doubt the publishers could sue Sony for anything.

[DragonKnight]

Such a lawsuit would fail because Sony's security has been proven to not be lax, unlike what the FUD would tell you.

FACT: CC info. was encrypted.
FACT: Apache software was up-to-date and a firewall was in place.
FACT: Sony was still hacked anyway.

[Raendom]

I agree but not because of that. I assume all developers-- big and small, signed an agreement (essentially a EULA, but backwards) that said "Sony are not liable if PlayStation Network has an outage" or something along those lines.

[Roper316]

I would hope they would help the exclusive PSN developers. Screw the companies like Acti & Capcom. But Sony should definitely take care of the smaller exclusive PSN devs.

[LOGICWINS]

Yes, of course, Sony should screw the publisher behind the best selling game on the PS3. Genius!

[HardCover]

Yeah, like Activision is going to really stop making PS3 ports. They're too greedy to boycott Sony because Sony didn't hand them blank checks after they got unfortunately hacked.

[ziggurcat]

No.

[DragonKnight]

*Sigh* Everyone's always looking for a way to blame Sony for this and get blood from a stone aren't they?

[Cobra1]

A better idea would be for those 3rd party developers to join Sony in their criminal pursuit of those responsible. Unite, don't divide.

[mrv321]

Ok, Sony is also liable for all the profits they make on their service.

[A LIVING LEGEND]

the submission history tells a sad tale indeed.
Borderline obsessive tendencies but hey....it's N4G

[Achemki]

Sony liable to 3rd parties? What a stupid thing to even insinuate, especially under the circumstances. What next, suing eachother over exclusives, lol? Why not just sue Activision for monopolising sales every November (COD) while we're at it. There ya go Ninja Theory.

[JMyers]

No. Sony is not liable for any of this or to anyone actually. PSN would not be allowed to operate without meeting the security requirements by LAW. These were met and in place. There has been a lot of misinformation and misreported news by sites seeking hits.