So, a few days ago, we reported that Sony was planning on having a very convoluted setup to enable players in the UK another chance to get their hands on that sexy 20th Anniversary Edition PlayStation 4, that looks so much like the first PlayStation.
Well, it appears that the entire process, apart from being contrived as heck, was also fundamentally flawed, as people ended up exploiting the entire process and getting systems when other people were technically the ones who should have gotten them.
How, exactly, did this happen?
Well, a disgruntled PlayStation fan who was a software engineer published an exploit that let players answer the ‘clue’ and get the chance to fill in a form for the console way before the clue even went live.
“I’ve published this information because this competition has been a complete scandal with people cheating and sharing the links on forums and Twitter,” he said.
“My goal is to force Sony to shut down this shambles and distribute the consoles in a fairer way. Of course, they might just plug the hole so don’t be surprised if this exploit stops working.”
Sony has responded to this exploit:
“We launched #20YearsofCharacters on http://eu.playstation.com/20yearsofcharacters with the intention of giving our true fans the best opportunity of purchasing the PS4 20th Anniversary Edition console,” Sony said in a statement made to Eurogamer.
“Following feedback from the PlayStation UK community we would like to remind everybody that the daily link for this activity won’t be live until seconds before the clue is announced on twitter.com/PlayStationUK.
“Unfortunately we are now aware of some users attempting to run programmes to reveal the URL early and give themselves an unfair advantage. Users we identify as using these tactics will be disqualified from the process and will continue to be. Since reports of this behaviour surfaced we have been adding additional encryptions and will continue to do so in advance of the final clue tomorrow.”
Alright, Sony, but… maybe next time, you can have a process that isn’t so asinine.