Importing consoles and how to shut lik-sang

[London Geezer]

Wow, just wow. I am kinda speechless if what he said is true. I understand the need to protect the Playstation brand, but isn't what Sony did a little bit excessive? I got my PSP from toysnjoys (cause I am here in hawaii where they are based) and didn't look into getting one from playasia or lik-sang. Was playasia selling the PSP to Europeans at the same time? And if so did Sony tell them to stop (and did they)?

Sony told them to stop, like they told lots of other online shops, but LS didn't, unlike Play Asia. So LS got sued and Play Asia didn't.

Still, that doesn't excuse Sony's over the top treatment in my opinion. WAY over the top, considering they weren't actually losing money, they just weren't making as much profit as they could have because people weren't paying the normal European premium. And considering the volumes involved, we're talking about a few thousands dollars, which for Sony is nothing.
So Sony went on and spent millions in legal fees to start an international law suit, for the sake of those few thousand dollars they "didn't make" (not "lost") out of European gamers.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

So Sony went on and spent millions in legal fees to start an international law suit, for the sake of those few thousand dollars they "didn't make" (not "lost") out of European gamers.

What's most sickening is that the law favours the rich. What ever happened to justice for all, with rulings based on who's right/wrong instead of who's spent the most on bloody lawyers?

 

[London Geezer]

What ever happened to justice for all

I don't think it ever existed, so nothing could have happened to it.
But anyway, we're getting philosophical now...

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I don't think it ever existed, so nothing could have happened to it.

You never saw 'Terry Jones' Barbarians'!

 

[ban25]

What ever happened to justice for all

They're busy right now. Brainiac's on a rampage...

 

[swanlee]

How can anyone still support Sony?

Seriously

Laptop batteries that catch on fire
Blu-RAy delayed, and when it finally ships has sub par quality compared to HD-DVD
PS3 delayed then delayed again in Europe
E3 05 CG fiasco
String of PR statements that blatantly insult their own customer base.
Over Priced console


Could a company have a worse year? Why do people still defend them?

 

[nonamer]

How can anyone still support Sony?

Seriously

Laptop batteries that catch on fire
Blu-RAy delayed, and when it finally ships has sub par quality compared to HD-DVD
PS3 delayed then delayed again in Europe
E3 05 CG fiasco
String of PR statements that blatantly insult their own customer base.
Over Priced console


Could a company have a worse year? Why do people still defend them?

Replace "Sony" with "Microsoft" or "Nintendo" and then swap the Sony blunders with MS or Nintendo blunders and the post will still make as much sense.

 

[swanlee]

"Replace "Sony" with "Microsoft" or "Nintendo" and then swap the Sony blunders with MS or Nintendo blunders and the post will still make as much sense."


Sorry but MS and Nintendo have not done these things I listed above or anything close to it recently. Sony is in a class by itself this year on blunders and bad PR and stupid moves like shutting down Lik-Sang. You simply can't throw the old "All corporations are evil" argument into this. Sony has gone to new depths and anyone that still supports them after all of this is simply brain washed.

Sony's actions this year are indefensible, yet there are still some that seems to lik their kool-aid.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Sony has gone to new depths and anyone that still supports them after all of this is simply brain washed.

Or likes their products.

Half those things you mentioned are blunders and cock-ups, not evilness. As for evilly crushing companies, is MS blameless? How has Nintendo treated some companies in the past? Or are all evilness ratings reset at the beginning of the year, and because Sony's had an extra bad year, they take the 'utterly evil and no-one should have anything to do with them ever again' award...until they start doing some positive things and one of the other companies screws up and then you'll tell us never to support them ever again?

 

[nonamer]

How quickly some forget (or weren't around to remember). Microsoft has been found guilty of being an abusive monopoly and Nintendo has been found guilt of price fixing in the 90s. These were serious criminal offenses that easily exceeds anything Sony has done recently. It's fairly obvious the blow back against Sony is an overreaction by some rather than any other position of any Sony supporter.

 

[swanlee]

"is MS blameless?"

Did MS shut down Lik-Sang? Did nintendo? Did either of them produce exploding batteries? Did either of them tell it's customer base to work over time to afford their products?

You simply cannot compare what Sony has done recently to MS or Nintendo, you can't just wipe away Sony's mistakes, bad PR, horrible technical blunders like exploding batteries, by saying well all companies are evil. Sony is alone right now as far as producing some of the the most mind numbing tactics from a company. They are like a train wreck, but some of you you still want to be on the train.

Excusing sony's recent actions like this does nothing but let's them get away with it, MS and Nintendo have nothing to do with what Sony is doing stop defending them

 

[Shifty Geezer]

you can't just wipe away Sony's mistakes, bad PR, horrible technical blunders like exploding batteries

But you can Microsoft's?

If you're going to snub Sony for their ills, why don't you snub other companies that have also done wrong (including things like releasing products with known and potentially fatal faults because it's cheaper to pay compensation if the worst happens then to recall the whole product)? When do their wrong's get scrubbed? What's the Statute of Limitations on corporate evilness?

 

[swanlee]

"But you can Microsoft's?"

What does MS have to do with this thread or what Sony has done lately? what has MS and nintendo done recently that compares with what sony has done?

Sony is a company that has nothing to do with MS or nintendo, they should be held accountable for their actions.

Why can't Sony be rightfully critisized for their actions without people draggin other companies into it? Does Sony get a free pass for what other companies have done?

 

[dobwal]

I took this from my previous post from another forum.

This is a about Sony not wanting to compete with third party vendors in selling it's own product in such a lucrative market.

Europe is the only major market that Sony can s@#t on with delays after delays and jack up PS3 prices and yet sell millions upon millions. Sony can't count on brand loyalty when competing against Lik-Sang, which:

1. would of brought the PS3 to Europe way before Sony.
2. offered PS3 at a lower price than Sony official MSRP for Europe after Sony's official launch into Europe.

so Sony brings out safety certification and law suits as a way to reduce PS3 competition and ensure greater returns.

Thats what Sony's brand loyalty buys European gamers.

 

[darkblu]

This is a about Sony not wanting to compete with third party vendors in selling it's own product in such a lucrative market.

Europe is the only major market that Sony can s@#t on with delays after delays and jack up PS3 prices and yet sell millions upon millions. Sony can't count on brand loyalty when competing against Lik-Sang, which:

1. would of brought the PS3 to Europe way before Sony.
2. offered PS3 at a lower price than Sony official MSRP for Europe after Sony official launch into Europe.

so Sony brings out safety certification and law suits as a way to reduce PS3 competition and ensure greater returns.

huh? lik-sang can produce ps3s? or do they get them for free from sony?

 

[Bobbler]

Swanlee...

Criticizing and being blatantly trollish towards them are two different things. The bias is sort of obvious (looking at your past posts too).

Everyone knows they've done some silly stuff this year (some out of their control, and some were just poor choices, etc.), but to say "how can anyone still support Sony?" is downright obnoxious.

As far as the game industry goes they are irreplaceable if you have gaming tastes like mine -- neither Nintendo or MS satisfy that... that's why I still support Sony. They also make arguably the best HDTVs around (getting a 26" inch Bravia soon!) and Sony Ericsson phones are generally pretty sweet (got my w810i a couple months ago) -- how about you tell me why I shouldn't support them? Because half a dozen batteries "exploded" out of hundreds of millions? (I wish more products had a failure rate like that!) Because initial blu-ray titles weren't as good as HD-DVD titles? Because they showed CG trailers for most games at E3 '05? Come on.

The stuff you listed is more or less irrelevant with regards to why I support them. If you can't come up with something at least somewhat reasonable, then you're best bet is to just leave the thread -- you ain't winning anything with you're posts so far.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Why can't Sony be rightfully critisized for their actions without people draggin other companies into it? Does Sony get a free pass for what other companies have done?

The only reason I 'dragged' MS into this is to question the logic of your reasoning. You can replace MS with any number of other companies.

Now, why should no-one support Sony? Because they've done bad things, right? That's was your point - 'hey everyone, Sony are bad so no-one in their right mind should support them'

In which case, it's your viewpoint that no-one should support companies that do bad things, right?
Thus I ask, why should anyone support MS or other companies? They've done bad things too! By your reasoning pretty much no corporations should be supported.

If you're so keen to see equality, shouldn't you treat Sony the same as other companies in the level of tolerance you show them? I don't understand why you're singling Sony out, apart from them having a bad year (but MS have had far worse, just for an example, yet you're not saying they shouldn't be supported. Or do you equally think none of these companies should be supported?) What's your exact POV? Is it

• A) Avoid Sony because they've done bad things, and likewise avoid other companies who do bad things like MS
• B) Buy other companies products even when they've done bad things in the past, and thus also buy Sony products when they're what you want when they have bad years
• C) Avoid a company who has a bad year, until sufficient time has passed that you've moved on from being upset over it (in which case how much time should that be?)
• D) Avoid Sony because they've done bad things, but not care at all about other companies conduct

 

[dobwal]

huh? lik-sang can produce ps3s? or do they get them for free from sony?

lik sang don't produce the psp either.

www.liksang.com

No Money Down
Special Pre-Order
Virtually place yourself in the waiting line at Japanese or
US shops and let us do the dirty work for you. Order for $0 today!

Extra note: Be prepared that day-1 prices will unfortunately be much higher than the manufacturers suggested retail price, simply for the fact that our purchase cost itself will be much higher than the SRP too.

 

[darkblu]

lik sang don't produce the psp either.

www.liksang.com

No Money Down
Special Pre-Order
Virtually place yourself in the waiting line at Japanese or
US shops and let us do the dirty work for you. Order for $0 today!

Extra note: Be prepared that day-1 prices will unfortunately be much higher than the manufacturers suggested retail price, simply for the fact that our purchase cost itself will be much higher than the SRP too.

i'm affraid i did not make myself clear enough apparently - where did lik-sang use to get their psp/ps3/you-name-it supplies from? and did they get those for free? or maybe steal them?

i understand that sony has quantities to sell on one market and quantities to sell on another market, but i as a consumer do not give a rats ass that sony may want to make a higher profit on me because i may live in the territory of higher pricing - i consider myself in my full rights to fairly buy (as in 'not steal, mug, or anything like that') a product originally designated for the 'cheaper' territory, and i consider any traders offering the service just as fair, as long as they acquired the product they're re-selling to me in equally fair ways (i.e. they bought it from the producer). i hope that clears things up now.

 

[dobwal]

What has MS done "bad" that as tangible as Sony's interfering with European gamers the ability to acquire the PS3 on US and Japanese launch dates.

Every company is guilty of trying to profit as much as possible. Some step over the line more than others, yet the common occurence of such action shouldn't be used as excuse that every company deserves the same level of tolerance. If you are more itimately affected by the actions of one company they deserve your wrath if you so choose to get angry.

Equal tolerance? That like claiming because thousands of people commit murder every year that the murderer of your mother (a little over the top, I know ) deserves the same level of emotions from you as every other murderer.

I find emotional investment in consumer products that "you" (as in any of us) don't own a little ridiculous. Thats why I always give the same comment when this situation arises.

"If you don't like the actions of a company, then don't buy their products."