"Pay beyond."
Wow. Sony has officially become the Microsoft of this decade.
Lik-Sang, the Hong Kong-based video game importer, has just been forced out of business due to multiple lawsuits levied against them by Sony. They were probably the largest and most well-known game import company in the world, yet still not large enough to go up against a behemoth like Sony.
Is this thing really worth all the trouble it's causing?
The reason for the lawsuits? Sony didn't want Lik-Sang importing PSPs to Europe from Japan or the States while Sony delayed the system in the region. Before the launch, Sony had threatened both importers and customers of importers with legal action if they did. Well, Lik-Sang being the most recognized of the importers became Sony's target. And now with the PlayStation 3 being released in both Japan and the States months and months and months before Europe even gets a shot at the system, they wanted Lik-Sang gone.
"Fighting multiple lawsuits in different countries at the same time and paying high premiums to expensive lawyers is an overwhelming situation for a small company like Lik-Sang," said Pascal Clarysse, Marketing Manager of Lik-Sang. "Launching separate court actions with separate claims and different judges is completely unnecessary, except for the fact that it helps reaching one single target: outspend Lik-Sang to death. Pay beyond."
And that's exactly what Sony did. With a court ruling in London last week saying that the imports to Europe were illegal, followed by a ban (despite having broken no Hong Kong laws), and all the court costs Sony had forced Lik-Sang into, they had no choice but to close shop. And because Sony had filed lawsuits against them in multiple countries, there was really no way to defend every case, which left Lik-Sang largely open chested.
Sony's supposed reasoning?
"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."
I don't know about you, but I think I may have just thrown up in my mouth a little. I only imported a DS lite from Lik-Sang maybe a month or two ago, and had planned on going back. Is it that Sony just enjoys bad publicity? Or do they think that this publicity just reaches such a small audience of gamers that it won't matter in the grand scheme?
Lik-Sang, the Hong Kong-based video game importer, has just been forced out of business due to multiple lawsuits levied against them by Sony. They were probably the largest and most well-known game import company in the world, yet still not large enough to go up against a behemoth like Sony.
Is this thing really worth all the trouble it's causing?
The reason for the lawsuits? Sony didn't want Lik-Sang importing PSPs to Europe from Japan or the States while Sony delayed the system in the region. Before the launch, Sony had threatened both importers and customers of importers with legal action if they did. Well, Lik-Sang being the most recognized of the importers became Sony's target. And now with the PlayStation 3 being released in both Japan and the States months and months and months before Europe even gets a shot at the system, they wanted Lik-Sang gone.
"Fighting multiple lawsuits in different countries at the same time and paying high premiums to expensive lawyers is an overwhelming situation for a small company like Lik-Sang," said Pascal Clarysse, Marketing Manager of Lik-Sang. "Launching separate court actions with separate claims and different judges is completely unnecessary, except for the fact that it helps reaching one single target: outspend Lik-Sang to death. Pay beyond."
And that's exactly what Sony did. With a court ruling in London last week saying that the imports to Europe were illegal, followed by a ban (despite having broken no Hong Kong laws), and all the court costs Sony had forced Lik-Sang into, they had no choice but to close shop. And because Sony had filed lawsuits against them in multiple countries, there was really no way to defend every case, which left Lik-Sang largely open chested.
Sony's supposed reasoning?
"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."
I don't know about you, but I think I may have just thrown up in my mouth a little. I only imported a DS lite from Lik-Sang maybe a month or two ago, and had planned on going back. Is it that Sony just enjoys bad publicity? Or do they think that this publicity just reaches such a small audience of gamers that it won't matter in the grand scheme?