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Sony targeting PlanetSide 2 'scumbag' cheaters

SOE president John Smedley says company is "aggressively" banning those found using hacks in new free-to-play shooter.

166 Comments

Sony is going to war with PlanetSide 2 hackers. In a series of tweets last night and this morning, Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley said the studio is "aggressively" seeking out and banning those found using hacks in the new free-to-play game.

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"I want to make some very clear statements about hacking in PlanetSide 2," Smedley said. "We are aggressively banning people. As they develop hacks, we will break the hacks. We have time and great people. Trust that this is a top priority. Hackers will not win."

Smedley called out one specific gamer, saying each of his three accounts had been banned, but not before firing off some harsh words. "Goodbye you scumbag. Find a new hobby or get good at the game," he said.

PlanetSide 2 launched last month exclusively on PC. For more, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

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Avatar image for Anteares
Anteares

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Hax or not this game is totally sucky for beginners unless you're willing to pay or play a hell alot. The gameplay is absolutely awful especially with the starting weapons and it takes forever to get enough points to buy another one. If you're going to do some kind of leveling system like this there needs to be some kind of separation for newbs to level up until they have the firepower and communication skills to actually compete. PS2 is a failed opportunity for the sake of the pay to win model imo. After playing good fps's with top notch controls, gameplay, and weapons, there's no way I could play PS2 long enough to make a difference.

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ManuKey25

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Cheaters & hackers needs to burn in hell

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doktron

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Edited By doktron

cheaters and hackers are crap at most things in life that require talent,integrity,maturity,intelligence, and thats why they cheat.As a result, they are untalented,weak,immature,and stupid, because they cant even learn the rules of a simple game!

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Rohan233

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I love PLANETSIDE 2, I hope they obliterate all the hackers

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Changnoi28

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The hacks undermine the business model of the game. If people don't buy station cash, the whole thing breaks down. Going after the these people protects the game's existence.

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Leeric420

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"Goodbye you scumbag. Find a new hobby or get good at the game"

Thats hilarious. Go Sony

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chemergency7712

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They're asking for it. You can't even call yourself a true gamer if you resort to cheating in multiplayer games.

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YoungPrinceT

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DON'T BAN ME BRAH!

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wizardboyus

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Edited By wizardboyus

i used to hack, in games like cs, but then i grew some balls and realized how retarded it was. it made me think about why i even play games, and what about them makes it fun. fucking insecure losers, have to put up the illusion that they are good at a game to be happy. what weak and pathetic individuals, wish they could just go all the way, pirate their games like real hackers and play on pirated servers with all the other hackers..

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cru3

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@6orange6

For single player games, yeah. Cheating and hacking in an MMO is a lot different to putting in a code and skipping a single player level. I wouldn't call someone cheating and having an insane advantage over normal players "part of the culture". And it's certainly not enjoyable.

And any customer who hacks and cheats isn't exactly respecting that companies work. Call them what they are - CHEATERS. The harsher they're dealt with, the better IMO.

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AzatiS

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Way to go.

Thats a policy ... other companies ...guhu "blizzard" guhu guhu... have to copy for their games... guhu..diablo3 guhu ...bot festival ..games!

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6orange6

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2 observations;

1, at the greatest point in video gaming history, cheats and backdoors to get past levels you could not do, were part of the culture and enjoyed.

2, anyone working in an industry that declares war on its customers, is unemployed. He just hasnt let reality catch up with him yet.

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chemergency7712

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@6orange6 This is a MULTIPLAYER game, goofball.

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Chrypt22

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Edited By Chrypt22

@6orange6 1. This is an MMO, not a single player game. Culture in gaming as you describe it is much different from 1992.

2. I think its pretty evident that the customers he is trying to protect is the legitimate ones who are not hacking/cheating/glitching and playing the game the way its meant to be played. He could care less about the other 2% that do hack/cheat/de-legitimize the game.

Your reasoning that they will somehow be unemployed for declaring war on hackers / cheaters that actually could ruin the game for the other 98% that dont hack is probably one of the the top 5 most ignorant comments I've read on the internet in months. Thats including posts about Justin Beiber... congratulations.

9 • 
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wizardboyus

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Edited By wizardboyus

@Chrypt22 @6orange6 thx Chrypt22 took the words right out of my hands

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Leeric420

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@wizardboyus @Chrypt22 @6orange6 I would love to see oranges response to that ha

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GONtheSKYLORD

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Hackers should be left alone. They don't have an unfair advantage.

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ManuKey25

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Edited By ManuKey25

@GONtheSKYLORD This is one of the most retardish comment i ever read!!! You trying to be the "idiot of the month" or what !????

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bmart970

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@GONtheSKYLORD You're either a hacker, a troll, or an idiot.

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GONtheSKYLORD

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@bmart970

Nah I'm just someone who sees the truth. The hacks are readily available for anyone to use, so it isn't an unfair advantage. It's your own fault for not using them.

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deactivated-60b9114dd55e4

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@GONtheSKYLORD @bmart970 One word, five letters: RULES. If you break them, what is the point in playing a game? Go play a sandbox instead.

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wizardboyus

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@bmart970 @GONtheSKYLORD in his weird world yes...

cheaters eventually are caught, dumped, and in the end ALONE

whether it's relationships or games it's the same for cheaters XD

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bmart970

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@GONtheSKYLORD So, since I could take steroids and be the best at a sport, I should?

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cru3

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@GONtheSKYLORD @bmart970

Just because they're available doesn't mean they should be used. Games are supposed to be fair and enjoyable, not full of cheats that cheapen the experience for everyone.

Why would you even want to bother with games if you are going to remove all the challenge and skill involved in playing them? You may as well go back to a cup and ball.

"It's your own fault for not using them" is the worst kind of cop-out reasoning.

2 • 
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chronocommander

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Facebook's way of targetting hackers themselves, issuing legal attacks to the hacker directly after tracking them down works wonders, maybe they could do something like that, make it part of the terms of service and levying a fine on hackers after repeat offenses.

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the_bi99man

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That's awesome. Now if only I could play this game... Need new computer. badly.

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deactivated-60b9114dd55e4

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@the_bi99man I've tried to play, but i need a new internet provider with balls to hold the connection.

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Basileus7

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Edited By Basileus7

I actually really like this game, and I'm becoming pretty good at it. It isn't as "pay to win" as people say. I'm a free user, and, though it was really rough in the beginning (steep learning curve and high difficulty), I'm starting to hold my own. It just takes practice and if you put a little time in, you can get some upgrades that help also. That being said, though, this hacking thing is a real problem that has the potential to actually derail and kill the game in the long run. Extreme measures should be taken, but I fear they won't be.

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Anteares

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Edited By Anteares

@Basileus7 Its pay to win. Old school Quake and Unreal Tournament have better control and weapons than this game does starting off. Any F2P model game that you have to grind out for as long as you do for PS2 just to get a weapon is pay to win.

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PinchySkree

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Doesn't really matter, the pay to win attittude is enough to keep this game from becoming interesting.

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RoadStar1602

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I like this guy.

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Crush_Project

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good luck with that one lol.

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-Unreal-

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Edited By -Unreal-

I played PS1 a fair amount and this game is a dissapointment. It could have been much more. I doubt he'll beat the cheaters either as he says. I noticed when I played that it seemed people were cheating left right and center.

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debilone4

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Give us kill-cam in game to see cheater!!!

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Gruug

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Edited By Gruug

@debilone4

Kill cams are just another form of "cheating" in my opinion. Nothing like having your position revealed by something that is so un-needed.

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shadowhunter0

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all hackers should be banned hell hackers shouldn't even be allow to touch pc consoles or any other electronic devices

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kyphe

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Aimbots and ESP hacks are killing this game, Its bad enough there is such a pay to win aspect to this game in the first place, If you are a free player expect to be butchered. Its cruel as the experience of playing in such big groups is amazing, but I am not sure how much more frustration I can take before I give up

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SythisTaru

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@kyphe I doubt there are more than a few hackers in the entire game.

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kyphe

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@SythisTaru @kyphe quite a few, and more every day, when I roll into a base with 20 people and you see your team getting slaughtered by the same two names over and over, never being detected always knowing where everyone is, istakilling everyone, winning firefights 4 on 1 easy.

look at the leaderboard and see how many people have 200 or 250+ kills per death, how many new characters come on and kill 50 before getting killed for the first time even though they have not even reached level 5 and have not earned enough certs to unlock their first gun sight.

dying on PS2 is easy, on my last toon of my 35 deaths 10 of them were by my own team, getting killed by spawning vehicles, reversing tanks in close quarters, bounce back grenades and such.

the top score player on waterford has a K/D of 4.3 or so which is fair, anyone with huge K/D ratio is suspect tbh.

oh and lets not forget the farmers, people who meet up with medics from two teams and take turns killing a disposable character from each team which then gets revived kill revive kill revive over and over to farm xp and certs then the disposable toon gets wiped

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mullen1200

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The kdrs were messed up, it wasnt showed deaths unless the player was actually online. PS2 isnt riddled with hackers at all.

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kyphe

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@Gruug @SythisTaru oh yes reporting system, errr there isn't one!

The best counter to hacks is the players themselves, but you need to give the players the tools to do it in game, delayed kill cam footage of your death with an option to report based on what you see. people who get flagged by multiple players go on monitored staus.

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Gruug

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Edited By Gruug

@kyphe @SythisTaru

If you think someone is cheating.....REPORT THEM. If they are, they will most likely get the ban hammer. Per reports, 350 plus accounts have been banned already.

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FusionRain

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Edited By FusionRain

Go get em Sony. I really can't stand hackers. I love mods and stuff that don't effect the online product or mess with people trying to enjoy the retail version of the game. Cheating is just unacceptable. I can't stand people who exploit glitches. Sure say it's the devs fault there's a glitch, but it still takes a cheater to exploit it. Stay down losers! No one respects hackers! I wish more companies did the same as Sony. So many of my favorite games are ruined by hackers. It pisses me off so much. Watch tons of Sony haters come here and blame Sony for this when we all know you can never really silence the hacking community. They are even risking it with this statement. Going public like this will only draw the "scumbags" closer.

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3BONY69

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Hackers Exposed! The hackers won't like this and they will come to forums like this and hate on this game all day now. Why hackers cheat? Because they love the attention they get from other players. To get that attention they have to create the illusion of being extraordinary, usually by hacking the game and having a leg up on everyone else. Without this hacking their just another below average Joe.

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shadowhunter0

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@3BONY69 the reason why the probably hack the game a cheat is because they SUCK at it and it is the only way they can win

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warhawk-geeby

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I'm not even a PC gamer but hackers piss me off..

Have the guys seriously got nothing better to do? Play a game for what it is. If you're not skilled enough to be competitive without cheating then you're just a crap gamer.

Truth hurts and life's a bitch.. But you may as well find a new hobby.

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Gruug

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@warhawk-geeby

You don't have to be a PC gamer to see hackers. It happens on consoles as well. Afterall, consoles are nothing if not PC's without keyboards and a mouse.

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Warlord_Irochi

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Edited By Warlord_Irochi

"Scumbag" is talking too nice at them...

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tightwad34

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Cheating has always seemed to take away the purpose out of doing anything(unless it's gambling, teh he). It's like my friends little brother who used to cheat while playing a football game, can't remember which one, it was a while ago when there were multiple football games out. He would win 90-0 every time and I wondered how he was still having fun. I was kind of a buzzkill for him when it came to that, but I was just trying to be as realistic as I could.

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