KBM on console, against the rules?

I dont get it, i know its up to developers on xbox but since when the same aplies to PS4?

Jeff openly hates MnK on consoles, he would already ban it… or what is the problem now?

Yeah, I just noticed it after I had already posted. Fixed it, my bad!

When I get home, I’ll link in the conversation I had with Sony this morning (at school atm; hurray for immediate access to computers in college :yum:).

I asked about who one should contact if they were to get banned in a given game.
Spoiler to this answer: If a person can’t access PSN on their account, they contact Sony. If they can still access PSN, but can’t access the online game they want to play, they contact the developers of said game. [I used Call of Duty as my example here since that was the easiest example I could give; but the same logic applies regardless of the game.]

I also asked about the case of whose decision it is to decide what is and isn’t allowed in a given game.

Thats very interesting, always when Jeff had comment on this situation, he said he would remove it but he cant and its up to sony…

what is the problem now then?

I can only speculate this, so take this post with a grain of salt.

I think it’s always been the case, but they just didn’t want to admit it to us.

That or Jeff was flat out lying in that post of his on January 18th (linked above). I wouldn’t want to think this myself though, because I really hope that this statement isn’t true.

Either way, the lack of response since then most certainly does not help (Jeff’s response from that day was the last time any member of the development has replied to any Console-Watch specific thread on the main Overwatch Forums). Like I said though, I’ll link the Web Chat I had later.

Well it wouldnt be first time when they lied, report system was apparently impossible to add on consoles for a over a year but suddenly when afk xp farmers appeared and tilted Jeff, they added it instantly from nowhere.

Sad that some things are fishy, hopefully this wont be the case.

It’s at least as bad as players using larger than 20 inch TVs/monitors with better than HD resolution, which gives an advantage to picking out enemies and landing headshots.

(Agent) (4/16/2018, 9:06:46 AM): Hello, My name is (Agent) how may I assist you today?

Me (4/16/2018, 9:07:11 AM): Greetings!

Me (4/16/2018, 9:07:13 AM): As I noted, my question is with regards to 3rd Party Game Developers. So, let’s take a typical online game as an example, like Call of Duty. Let’s say that someone gets banned in-game because of, say, Cheating. The banned user wants to appeal a ban. Do they have to file a ticket with the Game Developers/Activision, or do they have to file a ticket with Sony?

(Agent) (4/16/2018, 9:08:23 AM): Hi (Me)! greetings.

(Agent) (4/16/2018, 9:09:32 AM): This will depend, if the account has been suspended from the PSN it’s with us, but if you are still able to use it and the issue only comes at the moment you try to play online that game, then is Activision.

Me (4/16/2018, 9:09:57 AM): Gotcha.

Me (4/16/2018, 9:10:04 AM): I actually have another question as well.

(Agent) (4/16/2018, 9:10:24 AM): No problem, please go ahead.

Me (4/16/2018, 9:10:29 AM): Now, I know that Online Games on PS4 are hosted on Sony’s Servers. Whose decision is it for a given game (we’ll use Call of Duty as an example again) to decide what Controller(s) are or are not allowed? Is that decision on you guys on Sony, or do you guys empower the Game Developers to manage their game how they want to?

(Agent) (4/16/2018, 9:11:25 AM): Developers are the ones that will take care of this directly, no control from our end, however they also need to think that if is going to be compatible with the PS4.

Me (4/16/2018, 9:13:16 AM): So say a developer does not want Mouse and Keyboard support allowed in their game on PS4 (Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch is a great example of this).

Me (4/16/2018, 9:14:03 AM): They would ask you guys about it, and provided it’s alright, they remove Mouse and Keyboard support?

Me (4/16/2018, 9:14:42 AM): (For example, I know the Hori Tac Pro allows the use of Mouse and Keyboard on PS4, since it’s sold by you guys)

(Agent) (4/16/2018, 9:15:36 AM): I do not understand what you mean? you mentioned above that if the developer does not want?

Me (4/16/2018, 9:16:17 AM): Right. So if the developer does not want Mouse and Keyboard being used in their game, such as from something like the Hori Tac Pro.

(Agent) (4/16/2018, 9:18:20 AM): I understand now, correct, it won’t work, because it’s strictly decision of the developers, even though we have accessories such as the Hori Tac Pro that are compatible with the console.

Me (4/16/2018, 9:18:56 AM): Excellent. Thank you for your time!

(Agent) (4/16/2018, 9:19:36 AM): You are very welcome (Me), take care and wish you the best, Thank you for using the PlayStation Chat

Any instance above of the name of the Agent that assisted me today was replaced with (Agent), and any instance above showing my irl name was replaced with (Me).

And here you guys go! Feel free to read the conversation at your leisure.

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Blizzard doesn’t like it, but it’s not against the rules so I’d say go for it.

Wouldn’t it be cheaper to just go to PC though?

Lack of response? How about the bloody response I got from Game master Eciaya that said it was totally fine and that Blizzard had no plans to action people for doing it?

Oh wait, you don’t like that being a reality so you’re ignoring it while you continue to lie.

Sure, it may very well be the decision of the developer, but they’ve clearly indicated there is no plan to action people over doing it.

Not to burst your bubble, but let it be known that the game masters never have given two cents about Console. They’ve so stated this from 1 of the tickets that I filed with them myself that they only handle PC issues. If you want the real answer, you need to hear it from the Overwatch Development Team themselves; which they still don’t have an official answer on this per say. Jeff even stated “FOR NOW”, which implies this.

Why else are we unable to appeal our bans IN-GAME? (capitalized ‘in-game’ intentionally so as not to confuse with account-wide bans) They tell us to file a ticket with Microsoft/Sony.

Take note of the specific part that I replied to you about above.

I know that for a fact because I know Blizzard LEGALLY can’t action anyone over it.
If Blizzard actioned someone for using a licsened Sony product, Blizzard and Sony would end up in court asking for MILLIONS of dollars.

^This part is what I’m referring to. Because yes, they very much CAN LEGALLY action it if they want to, and neither Sony, Microsoft, or Blizzard would go to court because of it.

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Generally speaking games that release on both PC and console sell about 3 times more on console.
So blizzard should really care about the part of their audience that made Overwatch a reality in the first place.
All I have really taken away from this is that once a console player gets banned for say, improper reporting, Sony and Blizzard are going to just send them back and forth “appeal your ban with the other company.”

I think the other part you sort of touched on was the clause in the terms and conditions everyone has to agree to before anyone starts anything. “Termination of service,” that the owner of the service, in this case a video game, reserves the right to terminate whatever account that want whenever they want.

Which is a thing on every game, legally you can be banned at any point without even being given a reason.

That’s like a last resort sort of thing, no developer sits up at night being evil and locking peoples accounts for no reason.

Which is why they have rules. It’s why they communicate what is acceptable, and they have done just that.
They have said it isn’t against the rules.
That it isn’t a form of cheating, that they currently see it the same as using a controller on a PC.
They also said there is no plan to action people for doing it.

The legalities come into play if blizzard specifically stated that you were banned from Overwatch for using Sony’s HORI tac, that’s what gives ground for legal action.
Unlawful disruption of service.

I’m also not entirely sure why you believe that you can only be banned by Sony?
You can be banned from your PSN account and you can be banned from specific games depending on how severe your actions were.

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The reason why I asked Sony with regards to this bit was intentional. I asked them on this because their answer on this removes any excuse for Blizzard to say that it’s on Sony to handle in-game bans for Overwatch. Especially if one is still able to use their account just fine otherwise (aka the issue is only with the one game; not PSN-wide). And I don’t need to ask Microsoft on this same bit because Mike Ybarra (Corporate VP of Microsoft) stated himself that Microsoft’s approach is to let the developers manage their game they want to.

Having been on the Appeal and Report handling side of ban cases for user accounts, I know from experience that this is true.

There’s an easy workaround that can prevent this in theory. “You were banned because you used Mouse and Keyboard on Console, which we don’t allow in our game.”

Like I said, it’s just theory though.

I think you might have misinterpreted this. Because I know full well that one can be banned by the developers of a game on Console, and by Sony itself. (Though I’ve already covered why I asked the guys at Sony this question at the beginning of this post).

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