Sony reaches settlement in PS2 'disc read error' case

Sony Computer Entertainment America, Sony Canada and the Canadian subsidiary of Toys R US have reached a settlement in the PS2 'disc read error' class action lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed after class representatives Edward Kaen, Robert Hinojosa and Christoper Hirst claimed that their PS2s regularly displayed the 'disc read error' message and would not play games. It was also alleged that some consoles actively caused damages to CDs or DVDs during playback.

Sony refuted the charges, claiming that there was nothing wrong with the hardware whatsoever.

Now a settlement has been reached which would give consumers who have recently bought, repaired or lost a PS2 with one of the specified model numbers a cheque for USD 25, a free PS2 game from a defined list, or a free or cut-price repair or replacement of their console - at SCEA's discretion. Full details are available on the settlement website.

Sony has made it clear that the company is not accepting any wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement, telling US website GameSpot: "While we are convinced that there is no problem with these models and that we would win if we defended this case through trial, we have agreed to settle these lawsuits to avoid the extraordinary high cost of cumbersome class action litigation."

The settlement is now awaiting court approval, with hearings set for April 28 in the States and May 11 in Canada.