LOL, what a surprise! Long live Lik-Sang!!!

ok, Sony deserves the hate for the reasons many people have mentioned. (Rootkits, Exploding Batteries, Lik-Sang, Arrogance, AllIWantForXMas, etc). It doesn't matter if it's Sony/BMG or SCEA or whatever, it's still Sony and all comes under the Sony brand. If the management allows Sony/BMG to install rootkits on people's computers and then helps cover it up ("most people don't even know what a rootkit is, why should they care?") then they will allow other unsightly and illegal horrors on their other products. Companies that do these sorts of things should be punished, but instead they're given a slight slap on the wrist and people still come here saying that "Sony has never let them down".

 Most people here know Microsoft's shady business practices (anti-trust lawsuits, patent FUD, Halloween documents, etc), and for the same reason they should be avoided. They get the same deal as Sony, I'm sorry. Even if it's an unrelated division, it's still impossible to trust them. Their gaming division doesn't seem to be as bad as Sony's but I still try to avoid their products as much as possible (unfortunately, it's slightly harder for them as for Sony)

Nintendo has also screwed up, most famously for their crappy treatment of third-party developers, and they were punished for it, third party developers left them in droves on the release of the PlayStation.

It would be good for everyone if consumers started punishing companies who treat them like shit in the same way third party developers punished Nintendo for treating them like shit. Otherwise companies like MS and Sony will keep doing the same thing over and over because they know people will just sit back and accept it.

 i dont think you realize how shady ninty used to be. They were convicted in several countries for price fixing. However ninty ousted the old managment for such misconduct and sony tries to find excuses and keeps the same shady characters employed.

 Rootkits were a horible idea but everything else that you mentioned is not really a sore point. The batteries were made a certain way (to maximise life) and the companies who purchased them knew of the increased risk. Do you know that you are more likely to get struck by lightning than to have had one of those batteries explode on you?

We had a full blown discussion about lik sang. Sony was in their full rights and lik sang was doing something wrong...... otherwise the courts would not have ruled in sony's favor. Arrogance has been attributed to hyperbole and confidence. Sony reps know what they have coming down the pipe (features like home) and it adds to how they speak. If you watch any of the phil harrison interviews I find them far from arrogant. And a failed viral marketing campaign shows how evil sony is? They hired a company.... the company sucks.... sony had to take the blame. You do know major corporations hire different advertisment companies to market their stuff right?

 Any arguement made against Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are pretty damn weak. How does it affect you? Nothing that has gone down (except for MS) has affected me but I am not going to avoid their quality products for mistakes they have made... many of which didn't even affect me.

This deserved hatred.... is nothing more than weak reasoning to support fanboyism and FUD. 

Editorial choice huh. I understand... it bothers me when I see a 360 or PS3 game get marks down for poor multiplayer/internet play. But then I sat back and thought about it. It is a feature comparison. And I think that you calling them for handing out PS3 scores is quite humorous. The PS3 scores for multiplatform games are generally lower even by a point or a few than the 360 ones. Does that mean that IGN has a 360 bias?...... I don't think so. They rate their games based off of their standards of expected marks and the merit of the games themselves. I have played alot of games for each system and I am pretty sure they get fair reviews. The wii games have been rated poorly because they actually are very poor games. It gets worse when you start to comparisons.

It has nothing to do with difficulty it has to do with the game itself. Burnout scores very high and I consider it to be very unrealistic (except for the crashes) and arcade like. Same for titles like Ridge racer. Exite truck is not a great title. It is satisfactory for some and was rated as such. 

I guess success breeds hatred. I mean Sony absolutely dominated two generations of console gaming. EA is the biggest video game software manufactuer in the world (though Nintendo will soon suprass them at this rate). Well I'm not sure why Nintendo is only at a few percent. Probably when the Wii becomes more mass market that will go up. My most hated personally is Microsoft. All they've done is paid their way into the video game industry. The 360 is a solid system, I won't denie that, but I hope in the end they come in last.

The courts ruled in Sony's favour over Lik-Sang? Funny, I don't even remember it going to courts, all I remember is Sony deciding to star a lawsuit in every single country in EU simultaneously and Lik-Sang being unable to respond due to the massive legal costs. The case never went to court. Lik-Sang were sued for selling Sony's product and not allowing them to exploit European customers, maybe illegal but doesn't make them less of a bunch of arseholes.

Arrogance as a company is obviously required but Sony took it to the point of insulting its customers, and the customers of other companies. Telling us we will buy the playstation even without games, and we will take out a second job to pay for it? Sorry Sony, but I don't like being insulted. 

What makes you think Sony hasn't effected me? Besides, that's not the point. Since when do we live in the world where it is "ok" to just sit back and watch someone screw over someone else? I don't want to live in a world where I can be mugged on the street and people will just sit and watch saying "it doesn't effect me". I'm sorry but I can't just accept that. Besides, if Sony/Microsoft aren't punished for their immoral/illegal behaviour then what's to stop them doing it again? Why should I trust them?

I hate to invoke Godwin's law but let's not forget our history:

"When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out."