Sony "protecting" it's customers, Lik-Sang out of business

[Kolzig]

Important Notice: Lik-Sang.com Out of Business due to Multiple Sony Lawsuits

Tue Oct 24 2006 21:58:51 Hong Kong Time - Corporate Info

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - OUT OF BUSINESS NOTICE

Hong Kong, October 24th of 2006 - Lik-Sang.com, the popular gaming retailer from Hong Kong, has today announced that it is forced to close down due to multiple legal actions brought against it by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Sony claimed that Lik-Sang infringed its trade marks, copyright and registered design rights by selling Sony PSP consoles from Asia to European customers, and have recently obtained a judgment in the High Court of London (England) rendering Lik-Sang's sales of PSP consoles unlawful.

As of today, Lik-Sang.com will not be in the position to accept any new orders and will cancel and refund all existing orders that have already been placed. Furthermore, Lik-Sang is working closely with banks and PayPal to refund any store credits held by the company, and the customer support department is taking care of any open transactions such as pending RMAs or repairs and shipping related matters. The staff of Lik-Sang will make sure that nobody will get hurt in the crossfire of this ordeal.

http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3901

Well laa-di-daa. Thank you, you fucking greedy bastard Sony.

What's next, play-asia?

[Wrestlevania]

A very bad/sad day for games enthusiasts -- i.e. everyone outside of Sony's boardrooms. Does their arrogance hold no bounds?

Whilst I want the PS3 to be a decent machine for those souls that fork out a tonne of cash for it, I really want Sony's decision makers to burn for this. It's yet another ultimately pointless and excruciatingly petty win for Sony in the courts, whilst they continue to dodge the bigger issues -- such as law suits failed against them, which they repeatedly rebuff and stall at every opportunity.

[Tommy Gun]

Daaaaaammmnnnnnn

[Oath]

Way fucked up. Legal bullying to break a company's economy sucks.

[Salka]

fuck it

:frusty: :frusty: :frusty:

That's really sad, man. greedy fuckers

[General Fuzzy McBitty]

Things I've learned in the past few months: Sony really, really, really hates its audience in Europe.

You guys really do get shat on. No PS3 until next year, your release dates are shit (if they even bring some titles at all), and if you try to buy the unit outside your market to avoid all of the crap that you have to put up with they close the company.

[Kolzig]

I fucking hate Sony more than I hate anything else.

[loonyboi]

This is a sad, sad day for gamers.

Such a loss.

[miffy495]

*cries a single tear.*

THEY WILL PAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

...by which I mean if I ever buy one of their games again, it'll be used so that they get no money from me.

[Ginger]

I wish Sony was a person, they'd have a really shiny and conventionally hot body but be unbelievably bad in bed, I'd shag them anyway, not for my own pleasure but just so I could spread my AIDS to them.

[loonyboi]

I wish Sony was a person, they'd have a really shiny and conventionally hot body but be unbelievably bad in bed, I'd shag them anyway, not for my own pleasure but just so I could spread my AIDS to them.

Why do I think this quote is guaranteed to be Yufster's new sig?

[nsps]

It should be everyone's new sig.

[miffy495]

Ask and ye shall recieve.

[gfoot]

Sony have responded... http://www.computerandvideo games.com/article.php?id=148110

[toblix]

But couldn't Lik-Sang just stop selling PSPs?

[Wrestlevania]

The damages incurred were sufficient enough to rob them of all their operating capital, which I suppose makes the Lik-Sang company effectively bankrupt.

[General Fuzzy McBitty]

Sony have responded... http://www.computerandvideo games.com/article.php?id=148110

Sony Computer Entertainment successfully sued Pacific Game Technology (Holding) Limited (one of who's company trading names is Lik Sang.com) for infringing our Intellectual Property rights. Lik Sang did not contest this case (ie. they did not turn up and therefore incurred no legal costs). We have been awarded substantial costs against Lik Sang which have not been paid. We would therefore strongly deny that our actions have had anything to do with this website closing (we assume the legal entity is still trading) and would suggest that this release is sour grapes on behalf of Lik Sang which is aimed to belittle Sony Computer Entertainment and the British judicial system that ruled against them."

Lik Sang also revealed the names of several Sony execs, who it claimed had imported PSPs from the site. Sony said, "The purchasing of PSP consoles by SCE employees would be for investigatory purposes. We would also like to express our surprise at a company releasing personal information about its consumers, as this is contrary to data protection principles around the world."

It sounds good on paper if you have no bias. Unfortunately Sony has very little credit for honesty with most people.

To say that any SCE employees who bought a PSP from them was doing it to "investigate" seems like a load of shit to me.

[JoeX111]

We would also like to express our surprise at a company releasing personal information about its consumers, as this is contrary to data protection principles around the world.

Now let's all just point fingers like five-year-olds.

[General Fuzzy McBitty]

I wouldn't have thought it would be a big deal for anyone to say, "Hey, Sony people are buying Sony products!"

[twmac]

I really, really, really wish I hadn't read that.

I've notliked Sony since the joke that was the marketing behind the PS2... And now with the 'intellectual' property that is the UMD, the debacle which is the PS3 (who wants to bet that when the PS3 is released it turns out it is no way near as powerful as Sony have been saying), now the only way I could get a replacement Neo Geo Pocket Colour, gone.

Sad day indeed. I swear to never buy another Sony product again.

[Marek]

I'm boycotting Sony. While I already didn't plan on buying a PS3 during the first years of its cycle, I'm now not buying the PS3 at all unless second-hand, and I'm no longer buying any other electronics equipment from them (they've been my default brand for digital cameras, phones, voice recorders etc. for a long time).

Obviously I'm not just reacting to Lik-Sang, as that would be retarded, but it is definitely the final drop. Lik-Sang + rootkit + overheating batteries + bullying Aibo hackers + bullying game devs into making games shittier (oh man, the horror stories......) + bullshit proprietary formats + attempted blocking any sort of homebrew use of the PSP + low durability of their products = whatever, fuck you, I'm out. I'll have a Nokia phone, Nikon camera and a Microsoft Xbox now plz.

[Tanukitsune]

You know, up until recently I kept telling myself that while Sony is evil incarnate to video gamers, their other products are OK....

The "high quality" headphone that I bought for my iPod are falling apart after only a month or so of buying it...

[Roderick]

Yes, a boycot! I'm doing it as well.

Even though I don't own a single Sony product, and haven't for at least ten years.

[Marek]

The "high quality" headphone that I bought for my iPod are falling apart after only a month or so of buying it...

Yeah that reminds me, a year ago I bought a "high quality" Sony headphone (the DJ kind, with lots of isolation and earphones you can flip around) and after 3 months of using it, one of the sides stopped working.

This is not a problem for me since I'm deaf on one ear anyway, but still wtf.

[Wrestlevania]

The "high quality" headphone that I bought for my iPod are falling apart after only a month or so of buying it.

Sennheiser PX-100's ftw; cheap, very travel-friendly, bomb-proof build quality, and the sound fidelity is astonishing for the money. Used mine pretty much all day every day (no exaggeration) for more than a year and they're still in great condition.

This is not a problem for me since I'm deaf on one ear anyway, but still wtf.

...but only if it was the side you're deaf on that stopped working! (Sorry.)

Aaanyway: fuck Sony. I've not bought a Sony product since my then-brand-new slimline tape Walkman exploded in a shower of screws and aluminium when it fell off my desk at Uni (which was about 8 years ago).