Korean buyers say Sony's PSP console flawed
SEOUL - Thousands of people who purchased Sony Corp's hot new PlayStation Portable gaming consoles over the pre-registered sales period in South Korea are complaining of defective displays and shoddy customer service, according to the PSP's sales web site on Wednesday.
Sony, which began selling the much-awaited PSP gaming machines from Monday, said it sold 20,000 PSPs in South Korea during an earlier pre-registered online sales period under an alliance with KT Corp, the nation's top broadband Internet operator.
However, some users began experiencing glitches with "dead" (black) pixels flashing up on the machines' liquid crystal displays. Others said they were unable to access wireless Internet connectivity as the Japanese electronics giant promises.
As of Wednesday, more than 4,200 PSP customers posted their complaints on the website , with some demanding Sony replace or fix the flawed machines. Most described the customer service response as poor.
Lee Jin-woo, who bought a PSP during the pre-registered sales period, said he was frustrated by the defective LCD screens after spending 328,000 won (US$328) on the device.
"Does Sony consider South Korean customers as test cases?" Lee wrote on the website. He said his calls to Sony's customer service center requesting a replacement model went unanswered.
Kevin Kang, spokesman at Sony Computer Entertainment Korea, denied there was a major problem. He claimed that South Korean customers were too sensitive to dead pixels and their counterparts abroad had not made it a high-profile issue.
"The dead pixels (on the PSP screen) did not matter significantly in the United States and Japan," Kang said by telephone.
Related to this, executives from Sony's headquarters in Japan visited South Korea on Tuesday, but no countermeasure was forthcoming, Kang said.
He added that the number of glitches related to the wireless Internet is probably too small in scale to point to production errors. Kang said some users were able to access the wireless Internet while others were not.
Sony is selling the world's first PSPs equipped with wireless Internet connectivity by teaming up with South Korean telecommunications titan KT.
Some analysts here warn that the outcry from customers may harm Sony's PSP foray into South Korea if it continues unchecked.
Sony, which recently appointed its first foreign chief executive, Howard Stringer, is counting on the PSP game machines to keep the company profitable as its electronics and movie operations lose their competitive edge.
In South Korea, Sony has already drawn detractors over the lower selling price of the PSP in the US market, where it goes for $249 including accessories, roughly three-quarters the retail price in Seoul.
Meanwhile, Sony's Kang said the company aims to sell 500,000 PSPs in South Korea by the end of next March.
