Those bastards.
Sony take yet another giant leap backwards in a year of terrible PR with the news that they've managed to cause fantastic online retailer Lik Sang to shut down.
Last week Sony commenced legal proceedings against the company, seeking to prevent them from selling PSPs, games and accessories to the UK and EU. Presumably this was a pre-emptive strike to prevent them doing the same for PS3 as I cannot see any real reason for attempting to stop PSP sales after all this time.
Apparently Sony are doing this for our own good:
A Sony spokesperson declined to comment directly on the lawsuit against Lik-Sang, but recently went on to tell Gamesindustry.biz that "ultimately, we're trying to protect consumers from being sold hardware that does not conform to strict EU or UK consumer safety standards, due to voltage supply differences et cetera; is not - in PS3's case - backwards compatible with either PS1 or PS2 software; will not play European Blu-Ray movies or DVDs; and will not be covered by warranty".Gee, thanks Sony... I'm completely unable to look after myself in matters relating to technology, as are, I expect, most of Lik Sang's customers who bother to import expensive electronic equipment from Japan and Hong Kong.
5 comments:
Saw this last night.
Sony have pissed away the last of their brand cred. I hope the cost of the battery recall on top of the PS3 launch crushes them. I really do.
Fsckers killed my puppy.
Love this quote from Lik Sang:
"Lik Sang strongly disagrees with Sony's opinion that their customers need this kind of protection and pointed out that PSP consoles shipped from Lik-Sang contained genuine Sony 100V-240V AC Adapters that carry CE and other safety marks and are compatible world wide. All PSP consoles were in conformity with all EU and UK consumer safety regulations.
Furthermore, Sony have failed to disclose to the London High Court that not only the world wide gaming community in more than 100 countries relied on Lik-Sang for their gaming needs, but also Sony Europe's very own top directors repeatedly got their Sony PSP hard or software imports in nicely packed Lik-Sang parcels with free Lik-Sang Mugs or Lik-Sang Badge Holders, starting just two days after Japan's official release, as early as 14th of December 2004 (more than nine months earlier than the legal action). The list of PSP related Sony Europe orders reads like the who's who of the videogames industry, and includes Ray Maguire (Managing Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Alan Duncan (UK Marketing Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Chris Sorrell (Creative Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Rob Parkin (Development Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited), just to name a few."
That's class.
As Ruut knows I have a big fuck-you-Sony to demonstrate at Fi Club on Friday. I hope everyone has a firmware <= 2.71, right?
Another thought on the "we're just doing it to protect the consumers" line that Sony are peddling...
The closure of Lik Sang won't stop grey imports, but it will force the consumers into the arms of less reputable dealers.
Incredibly Sony stocks seem to be UP over the year. It just goes to show you can continue to shit on your customers for 12 months and not hurt the bottom line at all. There's lovely.
Sony who?
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