Among the reasons for the very variable good faith of this destruction operation, the players cite a refusal to give the slightest email address to the PlayStation Network for security reasons, even though Sony explains that the fact of linking the Steam and PlayStation Network accounts aims precisely to strengthen this. On the game's Discord server, Arrowhead published an FAQ sent by PlayStation which elaborates on what was already explained in the May 3 press release. “ Account linking provides a consistent and reliable means of reporting, moderation, action, and appeal for ALL Helldivers 2 players. We take online safety seriously and it is our primary way of protecting players against grievance and abuse: by allowing the banning and suspension of players who engage in this type of behavior. By linking accounts, you benefit from our support team's infrastructure for reporting these bad actors (and our appeals process if you get banned/suspended). All of this helps us make Helldivers 2 a safer and more enjoyable space for everyone. »
Another reason used to justify this collective strategy of denigration, the fact that the need to create and link a PSN account was not in place from the launch of the game. The FAQ therefore repeats that the linking of accounts was temporarily made optional in due to the technical problems encountered during the launch of the game. Let us recall in passing that the need to create a PlayStation Network account was clearly indicated on the Steam sheet even before the release of the game as well as in the trailers and even more clearly in the launch screen of the game itself. That this obligation arrives three months later and not on the first day painfully justifies the lamentable spectacle we have been witnessing since Friday. Clearly and unilaterally directed towards Sony, the general animosity is all the more ridiculous since Johan Pilestedt, the CEO of the very active Arrowhead studio and appreciated by the community, admitted Sunday that he himself is at the origin of the decision to deactivate the obligatory link between Steam and PSN accounts at the launch of the game, just as he now blames himself for not having communicated sufficiently on the fact that this The affair was going to come up sooner or later.
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But another reason is frequently put forward to justify this campaign of persecution, which undoubtedly does much more harm to the developers than to the managers of PlayStation, namely the fact that it is not officially Not possible to create a PlayStation Network account in many countries compared to Steam. On paper, the claim seems valid: the protesters rely on an extract from the Terms of Service of the PlayStation Network stipulating that the user of a PSN account must not “ communicate false information » under penalty of seeing Sony « suspend the accounts concerned “.
The idea that has spread is therefore that certain owners of Helldiverse 2 on Steam will be unable to continue playing once linking to a PSN account becomes mandatory, starting June 4, 2024. A good portion of the review bombing is even attributed to supposed solidarity with these players. A very good intention that is difficult to find in the often abysmal level of this surge of negative evaluations.
Except that. Unless you are really new to the PlayStation ecosystem, or want to use fear to agitate people's minds, everyone has known since the days of the PS3 that many players have created accounts (falsely) domiciled abroad , in particular to access content available only in Japan or the United States, without ever having had their account suspended, and this has been the case for almost 20 years since PSN existed. Let us recognize, however, that the Discord server FAQ remains ambiguous on this question. On the one hand, it states that “ PSN requires users to register in their country or territory of residence “. On the other hand, she recognizes that there is real flexibility because “ People who travel, work or study abroad can create an account in a different country or territory than where they are currently located. » In a recent tweetJohan Pilestedt explains that discussions are underway with Sony to “ find solutions », in particular on the question of countries not supported by the PSN. A problem that the publisher should clearly have been able to anticipate in cooperation with its partner developer, but which again does not justify the scale of what is happening.
In any case, everyone saw that the argument of the difference in geographical coverage between Steam and PSN was at the center of the protest speech. A radical change therefore took place during the night from Saturday to Sunday: the Steam version of Helldiverse 2 is now no longer available for sale in over 100 territories, namely those not offered when creating a PSN account. You will find the list on SteamDB, but it includes many African and Asian countries as well as the Antilles and the Caribbean. If we assume that Sony Interactive Entertainment is indeed at the origin of this change (some think that it could be an initiative from Valve), this decision may seem radical and above all unnatural for a publisher whose the goal, when releasing its games on PC, would normally be to reach as many people as possible. But it would be the one he chose to comply with his own rules and stifle one of the central reasons for this protest… even if it did not represent a real problem: once again, a Steam player based in Jamaica could easily create a PSN account by selecting any other country.
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Above all, if it is indeed its decision, this decision seems to show that Sony Interactive Entertainment has no intention of capitulating on the issue of linking Steam and PSN accounts, regardless of the virulence of the opposition. Word to the wise, Sucker Punch took the opportunity to clarify that the Steam version of Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut, which will be released on May 16, will not require a PSN account to play solo, but one will be required to indulge in the Legends multiplayer mode and use the PlayStation interface ( including in particular compatibility with Trophies). Steam players have been warned, but we trust them to find other equally judicious fights to take on.
- Also read | Review bombing Helldivers 2: linking the Steam account to the PlayStation Network account will become mandatory