Lik-Sang closing!?

[Dobie]

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

:(

I will surely miss them. They were a great company and service.

[Daltone]

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".

This makes me angry in so many ways.


Blame it on Sony. That's the latest dark spot in their shameful track record as gaming industry leader. The Empire finally 'won', few dominating retailers from the UK probably will rejoice the news, but everybody else in the gaming world lost something today.

You know, I never really had much of a problem with Sony until all this. In fact, this is the first time that a video game related news story has actually got me riled up. Getting imported stuff is going to be so much fun now.[/url]

[Mr.FoodMonster]

That sucks so much. I wonder what they're going to do with the rest of their stuff. The first thing I bought from them was like 3 weeks ago, and I was very pleased with it. Sad to see them go.

[Kejoriv]

Sad news for import fans :(

[norkusa]

The PS3 is going to be region free and Sony is responsible for bringing down the biggest import sales site online??? Smooth move Sony.

[MrRoboto19XX]

Thats pretty low, sony. Im really going to miss the place.

[segagamer4life]

this sucks so hard, man I hate sony... fuckin bastards, I enjoyed having a great site like lik-sang, where I could get virtually anything imported from overseas, man sony is soooooooooooooooooooooooo on the list... bastards.

[Kejoriv]

[quote="norkusa"]The PS3 is going to be region free and Sony is responsible for bringing down the biggest import sales site online??? quote]

Really? I had no idea that was the case.

[RCM]

Totally sad and totally fucking weak.

[jajaja]

Hm.. one thing i dont quite understand.


as early as 14th of December 2004 (more than nine months earlier than the legal action).

That would be Sept 2005. Does that mean they knew it was illegal to ship Japanese PSP worldwide already back then, but didnt care about it? Surely they would know about this first, its not like they get sued out the blue.

I never shopped there, but it sux that its gone. Atleast we still have Play-Asia :)

[staxx]

In the past, Lik Sang has closed it's shop numerious times, Microsoft sueing and Nintendo sueing on different occasions for modchips etc. During those times, Lik Sang reopenned after approx a week. Hopefully this will be the case. I hope Sony doesn't go after Playasia, yesasia or ncs, then that would REALLY suck.

[MegaDrive20XX]

This cold blooded man, I say we boycott Sony against this act. Many of us here have bought from Lik-Sang.com over the years and Sony being a greedy bitch like usual to shut down a well respected business like this, is just showing Sony's arrogance again.

[rob black]

its ok people. We still got playasia.com

[Skelix]

Exactly, we're the consumers. We ultimately decide with our purchase. If you feel strongly enough that what they're doing is wrong, stick to your Wiis and your 360s.

Let 'em flop on their PS3's. If you must have one wait until they've choked on them. I don't plan on buying one soon if ever.

[diskoboy]

Yet another reason Sony can go fuck itself with a flaming, hot poker.

[DreamTR]

I'm sorry, Play-Asia is not comparable to Lik-Sang in certain aspects.



Keep in mind, they did not close because they were not profitable, but they ran out of money fighting Sony, that is the reason they closed, not because Sony shut down their business. The lawsuit effectively shut them down from ordering product because they don't have any more cash flow.

[Funk Buddy]

Well the first big Sony lawsuit against them caused another company to take of LikSang and I imagine that another big dollar lawsuit was/is just too much for them to absorb.

[Defconsoft]

The PS3 is going to be region free and Sony is responsible for bringing down the biggest import sales site online???

Really? I had no idea that was the case.

I believe the PS3 is going to region free for games only. DVD and Bluray playback capability will still be region locked.

Source http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/697/697656p1.html

[J2games]

We are/were a supplier to Lik-Sang on several US products and heard rumor of issues with Sony. Our calls since late last week to their Sales department have not been returned.

Too bad they were always great to deal with!

J2Games.com

[Fuyukaze]

After reading this I thought a few lines realy stood out in it.


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".

Hmm, Sony Products of Asia dont meet up with the safety standards of Europe or the United Kingdom. Who else thinks this is both BS and a realy BAD thing for Sony to be admiting?



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.

I must say, that's an impresive list of names there. How many of those will admit to actualy buying from LS?


I think Sony has finaly started winning in the war they've wanted for some time. The import war. Sony wants to controle what's available in each region. Yes, so do the other guys to some degree. The difference is that now Sony has taken that extra step. Being in the states, I hate this idea. If I was in any European country though, I'd hate it even more. They get jack when it comes to games. Enjoy your import sites while you can folks, what's to stop them from doing the same in other countries? It doesnt matter if they win the case, all they have to do is tie up just enough of the companies available capital to prevent them from doing buisness. A buisness that cant work fails.

[Slate]

This makes me want to take donations to buy a PS3 then have a video of me killing it with a freaking chainsaw. :2gunfire:

[Slate]

This makes me want to take donations to buy a PS3 then make a video of me killing it with a freaking chainsaw. :2gunfire:

Fixed. MAKE a video, Not HAVE a video.

[Atari7800boy]

Looks like the end of importing as we know it. Other companies will have to rethink about exporting out of their regions. In the UK there are now hardly any importers of games. CEX in London suffered from Nintendo in the past. it now sells crappy secondhand stuff like DVD's and mobile phones. The retro stuff is almost all gone.

I have used Lik-sang for many years, not only for new stuff but the odd retro bit. The only draw back is getting stung by customs.

I am sure the import business will go "underground", with contacts in the US and Hong Kong.

The next few weeks we will see what happens. No doubt EBay may be targeted next as people will ask even more now for an imported system.

[udisi]

no before I was just pissed at sony for building crappy machines. Now I like some games that come on sony only platforms, but I think I've decided how to deal with this.

I WILL NEVER AGAIN BUY A NEW SONY PRODUCT AT RETAIL.

anything related to sony that I must have, will be bought used. by doing this I will not support the company at retail. someone else will have to do that, I will support the gamestops and EB's of the world before I directly give another dollar to sony.I may not get that game I want right away, but I'll be willing to wait to see that sony gets nothing from me again.

[roushimsx]

The PS3 is going to be region free and Sony is responsible for bringing down the biggest import sales site online??? Smooth move Sony.

Partially true. There's no region coding by default and its up to the publishers as to if they want to region code their games. The Xbox360 is the same way and nearly all japanese games are region coded while only half of the US games are region coded.

No idea why japanese publishers would want to region code 360 games...they'd probably sell more to importers than they'd ever see in country :(

[jajaja]

The PS3 is going to be region free and Sony is responsible for bringing down the biggest import sales site online??? Smooth move Sony.

Partially true. There's no region coding by default and its up to the publishers as to if they want to region code their games. The Xbox360 is the same way and nearly all japanese games are region coded while only half of the US games are region coded.

No idea why japanese publishers would want to region code 360 games...they'd probably sell more to importers than they'd ever see in country :(

Ah, so the PS3 is going to be region free on games after all? Is this 100% confirmed?

[heybtbm]

Sony can go fuck themselves. Lik-Sang will be missed. I'm sure they'll be back under a new name in no time.

[staxx]

Well Sony is denying the closure of Lik Sang:

This is an interesting read and DOES have some funny arguements about buying the PSP from Lik Sang for investigation purposes.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=20564

[Mayhem]

Hmm, Sony Products of Asia dont meet up with the safety standards of Europe or the United Kingdom. Who else thinks this is both BS and a realy BAD thing for Sony to be admiting?

It is actually true though... quality standards in Asia are not as stringent as they are here in Europe. It's a wonder then that they managed to be able to sell defective consoles here in the first place :P

I posted this rant over at another place I visit, but I felt it was worth repeating here...

Now Mr Sony, please tell me here, and excuse me for being a little mystified... why bother touting the PS3 as a region free gaming experience if you are going to prevent people from importing your hardware? Not only that, but clamping down on people importing the games as well (witness PlayAsia not selling PSP titles to Europe). Isn't the whole thing just a little bit of an oxymoron? After all, if the PS3 is being proposed as playing games from any region, then why are you doing your best to stop us acquiring them from another region? Or do you actually WANT us to visit the country in question to buy the product instead of sitting in our nice homes and clicking on the computer, safely away from any marauding attacks by Giant Enemy Crabs?

Frankly Nintendo used to be a little draconian in their tactics to stop people from importing, but that was nothing compared to what's currently going on. So much for the free market economy and worldwide markets, "you can have any game you want as long as it's sold in your country" I can hear them cry in your offices.

Personally I only have one response: FUCK YOU. Do you actually want to encourage piracy here? Think about it. Mod your console and download ISOs from the net, burn the discs yourself and stick them in the machine. Sure it might be trickier for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD coming out, but burners for both will come across soon enough. How do you think so many people "acquire" their games currently? Where possible I will want to actually buy an original, you know, give some money to the hard working grunts who produced the code instead of getting it for free. By restricting people from getting the real thing with their hard earned money, you're only telling them that it doesn't matter what we the consumers want, it only matters what you want to give us. And in today's market that's becoming less of an issue. Consumers are slowly becoming more savvy regarding what's out there. There are many examples of games getting worldwide fame despite only being released in Japan (I think Ouendan actually sold MORE outside of Japan than inside!).

Personally your actions are most likely going to be similar to those actions against file sharing networks. You might take one down, but another will spring up in its place. You can't stop it, and it is arrogant to think that you can. If you do somehow manage to even stop people on eBay shipping your games abroad, then Satan may skate to work the next day. I hope that never comes to pass, but I'm sure you might already be thinking of trying that, not just stopping people selling their PS3 pre-orders.

In conclusion, by this action, you may find a lot more people are suddenly going to turn their backs on you...

[Fighter17]

This makes me want to take donations to buy a PS3 then have a video of me killing it with a freaking chainsaw. :2gunfire:


www.smashmyps3.com

They have enough money for the PS3 smashing on launch day.


You should see the 360 one on smashmy360.com, funny shit. LOL

[Synergy]

One of my friends just pointed this out to me over AIM about an hour ago. Damn it to hell. First EA is trying to take over Ubi-Soft, now this. :angry:

I loved Lik-Sang. I bought my PSX SmartJoy adaptor from them that I'm using to this day, and they always had cool import gadgets I was interested in.

Ugh! This infuriates me. I never held anything against Sony until now. If I ever decide to buy a PS3, it's going to be used, because it'll be a cold day in hell before they ever garner profit from me.

I'd wish for Sony to crash and burn this generation, but all the Sony fanbois won't let that happen.

[theoakwoody]

Why doesn't sony want lik-sang to export PSPs? How do they lose out? Do they charge more in Europe than they do in Asia so they are losing profit margin? I don't understand what the issue is herE?

[roushimsx]

Why doesn't sony want lik-sang to export PSPs? How do they lose out? Do they charge more in Europe than they do in Asia so they are losing profit margin? I don't understand what the issue is herE?

Yea, the PSPs are way more expensive in europe (~$280+ vs $200 in the US) and it's cheaper to just import them from Asia or the US.

[Hep038]

I love the fact people are forgetting Nintendo and Microsoft sued Lik-sang also. I think I will start at thread how Sony the great depression. I am sure some Sony haters will flood the thread with their opinion on how Sony did in fact start the great depression. x_x

[sirhansirhan]

Ugh! This infuriates me. I never held anything against Sony until now. If I ever decide to buy a PS3, it's going to be used, because it'll be a cold day in hell before they ever garner profit from me.

Well, since they're reporting a loss on each console sold at launch, you could always buy one and then, you know, not buy any games or accessories for it. That'll show 'em.

[Xizer]

And people wonder why I'm always "trolling" Sony.

This is just another example of douchebaggery on Sony's part. It's part of a long, sad history of douchebaggery.

I quit buying new Sony products years ago. That is a company that just doesn't deserve any support from anyone. I am amazed that Sony receives so much support with their "attack the customer" attitude. I can proudly say that I have yet to buy a single game for my PS2 that isn't used. The best way to boycott Sony is to pirate or buy games used.

I've started boycotting EA recently as well with their constant flooding of the market with garbage that drowns out great games like Psychonauts and Beyond Good and Evil, hostile takeovers of other companies and then ruining them, and putting spyware in their games.

EA and Sony: Who will be the third company to join these two in ruining the gaming industry, I wonder? Then we'll have a Gaming Axis of Evil. I hope Ubisoft stays good. Ubisoft is an example of a gaming company that has become a juggernaut, but have managed to retain quality.

[heybtbm]

I love the fact people are forgetting Nintendo and Microsoft sued Lik-sang also.

Apples and oranges. People are pissed at the way Sony went about suing Lik-Sang. Nintendo sued to stop Lik-Sang from selling specific items and stopped at that. Sony chose the tactic of filing multiple lawsuits in multiple countries with the express purpose of driving them out of business.

Now where did I put that torch and pitchfork?

[Push Upstairs]

In conclusion, by this action, you may find a lot more people are suddenly going to turn their backs on you...


I wasn't really for or against Sony but suddenly i feel the need to stick up for them anymore.

[Push Upstairs]

Damn, no edit function!


I don't feel the need to stick up for them anymore

[Pantechnicon]

Bummer. I liked Lik-Sang, although I never did a lot of bidneth with them.

[Richter Belmount]

Damn whats so wrong about selling imported games? Its like sony is so worried about their sales , but they already have enough money , its not like the import community hurts sony that much.

[jajaja]

Why doesn't sony want lik-sang to export PSPs? How do they lose out? Do they charge more in Europe than they do in Asia so they are losing profit margin? I don't understand what the issue is herE?

It can also be that the importers have put pressure on Sony to stop the export. If it say in the contract that <company A> is the only company thats allowed to import PSP into <country A>, they get pissed that <company B> (in this case Lik-Sang) also delivers PSP to <country A>.

I wonder what Lik Sang means btw. In my language it means "same song" hehe.

[business]

I'm sure PlayAsia is laughing right now.

The 'evil empire' strikes again.

Hail Kutaragi.


Sad to see them go. Anyone else want to go get some liquor and pour it on the sidewalk with me? :(

[Sylentwulf]

Ouch, that means no more smartjoy products either if I'm not mistaken.

That's a really CHEAP way of attacking them too, essentially suing for selling imports. What next, ebay shuts down ALL international videogame sales?

[jajaja]

Ouch, that means no more smartjoy products either if I'm not mistaken.

That's a really CHEAP way of attacking them too, essentially suing for selling imports. What next, ebay shuts down ALL international videogame sales?

Its only PSP stuff.

[Synergy]

Ugh! This infuriates me. I never held anything against Sony until now. If I ever decide to buy a PS3, it's going to be used, because it'll be a cold day in hell before they ever garner profit from me.

Well, since they're reporting a loss on each console sold at launch, you could always buy one and then, you know, not buy any games or accessories for it. That'll show 'em.

Won't the PS3 have used games and accessories? Actually, that's not because of Sony, but I hardly buy anything new anymore except the occasional PC game.

<Sigh>. It really doesn't matter. I have so many classic games I need to play through plus I'm trying to keep up with my PC games. Buying any console this generation anytime soon is pretty much null and void right now. :P

[googlefest1]

Thats Bull about the saftey standards- i would find it hard to belive a company would manufacture different versions of a product to meet the varying standards from all the regions they plan to sell in

all companies that sell around the world design their products to meet the strictest standard (which would qualify them to sell almost anywhere ) -- the company i work for does that -- the companies my friends work at also do that --and im sure sony does that-- just as liksang said here

"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."

[Icarus Moonsight]

no before I was just pissed at sony for building crappy machines. Now I like some games that come on sony only platforms, but I think I've decided how to deal with this.

I WILL NEVER AGAIN BUY A NEW SONY PRODUCT AT RETAIL.

anything related to sony that I must have, will be bought used. by doing this I will not support the company at retail. someone else will have to do that, I will support the gamestops and EB's of the world before I directly give another dollar to sony.I may not get that game I want right away, but I'll be willing to wait to see that sony gets nothing from me again.

Here here, I concur. I disliked Sony, that is no secret. You listening Sony? Good! Kaz... Ken... It's on bitches! The string that has connected my wallet to your company for the last 10 years is official cut. No matter what happens, from now on, Sony is dead to me. Sony fanboys, you just got your christmas present yearly... I'm forever off the clock, so to speak. LOL


Well Sony is denying the closure of Lik Sang:

This is an interesting read and DOES have some funny arguements about buying the PSP from Lik Sang for investigation purposes.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=20564

Who is denying? I have no idea whom you speak of. ;)

C'mon, had to get one last one in there. :P

[jajaja]

I wonder if we will know the real reason. Guess not :\

[16-bit]

From Insertcredit.com:

In spite of pay rates being incredibly similar in the UK and u.s., the PSP retails for 150 pounds, about 281, $81 more than in the U.S. Rather than find a way to lower costs, Sony saw fit to penalize those who wanted a fair price on hardware.

I have no experience ordering from Lik-sang, but IC implies that they falsified export documents to avoid customers paying the VAT (Value added tax) which is what that $81 difference in price is. If this is indeed the case, I think it is very possible that SONY is not penalizing Lik-sang, but rather UK/EU customs.

[DonMarco]

This makes me want to take donations to buy a PS3 then make a video of me killing it with a freaking chainsaw. :2gunfire:

Fixed. MAKE a video, Not HAVE a video.
www.smashmyps3.com

Dude probably won't use a chainsaw. More likely a sledgehammer.

[p_b]

From Insertcredit.com:

In spite of pay rates being incredibly similar in the UK and u.s., the PSP retails for 150 pounds, about 281, $81 more than in the U.S. Rather than find a way to lower costs, Sony saw fit to penalize those who wanted a fair price on hardware.

I have no experience ordering from Lik-sang, but IC implies that they falsified export documents to avoid customers paying the VAT (Value added tax) which is what that $81 difference in price is. If this is indeed the case, I think it is very possible that SONY is not penalizing Lik-sang, but rather UK/EU customs.

I don't know whether they falsify the documents nowadays, but whenever I ordered from them they didn't. I had to pay my VAT...On the other hand, it was still cheaper, hehe

[rbudrick]

Eh, they'll probably just rename themselves and move a town over.

-Rob

[Oobgarm]

From Insertcredit.com:

In spite of pay rates being incredibly similar in the UK and u.s., the PSP retails for 150 pounds, about 281, $81 more than in the U.S. Rather than find a way to lower costs, Sony saw fit to penalize those who wanted a fair price on hardware.

I have no experience ordering from Lik-sang, but IC implies that they falsified export documents to avoid customers paying the VAT (Value added tax) which is what that $81 difference in price is. If this is indeed the case, I think it is very possible that SONY is not penalizing Lik-sang, but rather UK/EU customs.

I agree with this.

I mean, think about it for a minute.

Sony is getting their money from the sysyem one way or the other. Maybe not Sony Europe specifically, but Sony in general. it wouldn't make sense to kill off a place that sells their product over something like this. Regardless of what you sell, you have to take things like this into considersation when creating your business model.

[jajaja]

But the reason why its more expencive somewhere else is because prices are ajusted by income and taxes. It doesnt nessessaly means that Sony makes $81 more for each unit the sell it in the UK.

Where i live its 25% taxes of the value. If you import a PSP for $200 you must pay $50 in taxes. The $50 goes straight to the goverment. So if i buy a PSP for $200 in Japan or $250 where i live it might be that Sony makes the same amount of money.

[staxx]

I trully wonder if Lik Sang IS going out of business. A similar situation of this happened before when Microsoft tried to sue them and they took down their website for about a week. Lik Sang's website still shows their product and not much has changed until you click on buy and it links you to the Out of Business page. Sure it is very possible that they are going out of business, but another part of me is open to the idea that they are not and they are doing this to create a huge backlash at Sony. If Sony wanted to close all the exporters then they would have to attack AI Trading, Playasia, Yesasia and NCS to name a few. Let's hope that my idea is correct and within a week Lik Sang will be in business, but won't be selling any Sony systems to Europe.

[16-bit]

But the reason why its more expencive somewhere else is because prices are ajusted by income and taxes. It doesnt nessessaly means that Sony makes $81 more for each unit the sell it in the UK.


It doesn't at all. Basically it means than the goverment is losing $81 on each PSP imported into the country if the customs documents are successfully falsified and the item enters tax-free. For countries that rely heavily on VAT as a source of state revenue (according to wiki 45% of Tax revenue in France is from the VAT), I would expect them to pursue any foreign firm that is preventing them an incredible amount of revenue. From what I have read on the eBay message boards, eBay is already facing the heat from several EU countries and the UK over this issue of lost revenue, so it wouldn't suprise me if they are aggressively going after companies as well regardless if Lik-Sang is doing this or not.

[Richter Belmount]

sony probably shut down lik sang cause they decided to sue lik sang around the globe , lik sang cant afford all the lawyers to they are going out of business.

[Push Upstairs]

I trully wonder if Lik Sang IS going out of business. A similar situation of this happened before when Microsoft tried to sue them and they took down their website for about a week. Lik Sang's website still shows their product and not much has changed until you click on buy and it links you to the Out of Business page. Sure it is very possible that they are going out of business, but another part of me is open to the idea that they are not and they are doing this to create a huge backlash at Sony. If Sony wanted to close all the exporters then they would have to attack AI Trading, Playasia, Yesasia and NCS to name a few. Let's hope that my idea is correct and within a week Lik Sang will be in business, but won't be selling any Sony systems to Europe.

Ignoring the whole VAT tangent for the time being, I don't think it's totally an issue of if Lik-Sang is gone for good or not.

It has alot more to do with the taking away a well respected and liked source of gaming imports and items. And, at least from how things seem right now, it looks like Sony has no qualms about ruining gaming fun for everyone (even non-Sony fans). It also presents a fear that Sony will do this again.

[jajaja]

But if its the VAT issue its not Sony's action alone. Another compay (not game relate) was busted here not long ago because they wrote fake value on the invoices. Dont know if L.S did this tho.

There is one thing that i dont get to add up. If this was something Sony did on their own why do they only ban export/import of PSP and not PSX/PS2? Another thing is why L.S ignored the warning(s) from Sony about selling PSP worldwide.

[jajaja]

By the way, is out of business and bankruptcy exactly the same thing? I wonder because it says that everyon that payed L.S will get their money back, but if they are bankrupt, there are no money left..

[MarioMania]

How about Import Chain Stores in the US..I get most of my Super Famicom Games at store

[Push Upstairs]

They got a website?

Do they sell wacky shit not seen in US stores?

[Push Upstairs]

Double Post...WEEEE!


There is one thing that i dont get to add up. If this was something Sony did on their own why do they only ban export/import of PSP and not PSX/PS2? Another thing is why L.S ignored the warning(s) from Sony about selling PSP worldwide.

I'm still trying to figure out exactly how it is illegal to sell PSP systems to Europe. I understand that it hurts Sony of Europe's bottom line, but where does is say that selling a system to another region is illegal? And a region-free system no less.

None of this makes sense because no matter what Sony gets money from the systems sold.

[jajaja]

I'm still trying to figure out exactly how it is illegal to sell PSP systems to Europe. I understand that it hurts Sony of Europe's bottom line, but where does is say that selling a system to another region is illegal? And a region-free system no less.

None of this makes sense because no matter what Sony gets money from the systems sold.

My guess would be that the importers in Europe have a contract with Sony that says they are the only one allowed to import PSP stuff to (insert country here). This stuff might not be in the PS2 contract so it only affects PSP. When L.S also importing (well, exporting) to that country its up to Sony to make sure that the contract is followed.

[Push Upstairs]

I would have guessed that laws would be different reguarding the importing/exporting of electronic good between HK/Asia and Europe.

Still makes little sense but i'm glad that Sony didnt take a cue from the RIAA and sue individual people for what they did.

[kainemaxwell]

This is truely shameful to import and domestic gamers. :(

[Nature Boy]

Why doesn't sony want lik-sang to export PSPs?

Just a guess on my part, but by importing you're bypassing Sony's true customers - the Best Buys/EBs/Wal-Marts of the world. Without those companies buying Sony product, they sell little to nothing. I'm willing to bet they put a *lot* of pressure on Sony (and MS, and Nintendo) to cut down on this sort of thing from happening.


I love the fact people are forgetting Nintendo and Microsoft sued Lik-sang also.

Yeah, this kills me too. Sony happens to be the one that sued them last so they take the brunt.

I've ordered from lik-sang before and I'm sad to see them go, but I bear no ill will towards Sony. It's like any business like this I order from: I simply enjoy their service while I can, and when they're gone I'll just go somewhere else.

I mean come on people, it's not like the flow of import stuff is going to cease. Even if every current major avenue of Importing was closed tomorrow, by next week something else will have arisen to take it's place.

[Push Upstairs]

Why doesn't sony want lik-sang to export PSPs?

Just a guess on my part, but by importing you're bypassing Sony's true customers - the Best Buys/EBs/Wal-Marts of the world. Without those companies buying Sony product, they sell little to nothing. I'm willing to bet they put a *lot* of pressure on Sony (and MS, and Nintendo) to cut down on this sort of thing from happening.

The thing about it is, is that Lik-Sang had to buy systems from Sony too. So Lik-Sang was a customer along with all the other places you listed.




[quote]I love the fact people are forgetting Nintendo and Microsoft sued Lik-sang also.


Yeah, this kills me too. Sony happens to be the one that sued them last so they take the brunt.

No, Sony takes the brunt because (as of this point) they are the ones that sued the company out of business.



I've ordered from lik-sang before and I'm sad to see them go, but I bear no ill will towards Sony. It's like any business like this I order from: I simply enjoy their service while I can, and when they're gone I'll just go somewhere else.

I mean come on people, it's not like the flow of import stuff is going to cease. Even if every current major avenue of Importing was closed tomorrow, by next week something else will have arisen to take it's place.

For me it's not so much about the loss of an import store and more like it's Sony trying to exert control over thier customers. You can only buy from us, you can only buy it here, and you *have* to pay this price. It wouldn't be any different if Wal-Mart/Best Buy/EB were to make it so that you could not shop elsewhere to buy video games.

But here is something interesting to think about:

Sony of Japan sold those systems to Lik-Sang a known importer, Sony of Europe is the one who was up in arms over thier exporting and sale.

Why would two parts of the same company act in such polar oppsite ways?

[Hep038]

No, Sony takes the brunt because (as of this point) they are the ones that sued the company out of business.

So because nintendo and microsoft were quicker to sue they are let off the hook? LOL ok ....

[Push Upstairs]

The name of the company is irrelevant, even it if was MS or Nintendo i'd still feel the same way.

Big company decided to take out a smaller company by outspending them in court.

I know it's hard to understand that someone could look past the name/manufacturer of a game system but people like that do exist.

[Nature Boy]

Why would two parts of the same company act in such polar oppsite ways?

"Polar Opposites don't, push away - it's the same"

(Quote from a fave MM track of mine :) ).

Big companies like Sony are run like seperate competiting entities when it comes to all their various branches. Remember when Sony Music was up in arms because the Sony Mini Disc group was pushing mp3s (a format the music industry *hates*). Same thing.

Sony Japan simply doesn't care that it is affecting Sony Europe. And of course Sony Europe has to protect it's customers (whatever they're called in Europe) from importers. Crazy sounding yes, but life in big business these days.

[Synergy]

Interesting. I checked my e-mail this morning to find this:

Lik-Sang. com <info@lists.lik-sang.com> to me
8:55 pm

Dear valued customer,

Your Login/Email is: (my email)
Your password is: ********

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. To read the full article please visit: http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3901

Our records indicates you can retrieve an additional $ 9,99 USD refund in your PayPal account. In order to successfully retrieve the refund please confirm your existing PayPal account on this page. Please notice that the confirmation of your PayPal account is needed to have this refund send into your PayPal account.

If your PayPal account is no longer active on this (garethlegacy@gmail.com) address you will have to create a free PayPal account at: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_registration-run to retrieve this refund. Once your account is created and activated please confirm your account information at the above page.

We feel very sorry for any inconvenience and trying to make all refunds to take place as soon as possible.

Team Lik-Sang"


Now here's the thing, I haven't ordered anything from them in the past year at least, and I certainly don't recall ordering anything that was backordered for this long to trigger getting a refund. There's a link to put my PayPal password in, but I'm too scared.

Has anyone else got this e-mail..?

And I may have jumped the gun just a bit in my first post in this thread. I'm more pissed off at the fact that Lik-Sang is closing then I am at Sony. :P

[jajaja]

It might be someone that take advantage of their situation and try to phish. Check if the link really links to Paypal (on the forum it does, but in the e-mail it might not). Also check properies on the mail and see what mailserver its sent from.

[Nature Boy]

There's a link to put my PayPal password in, but I'm too scared.

Firstly, thanks for the heads up!

My thoughts: why would a company give anybody an *extra* 9.99 refund? Oh sure, the anti-Sony sentiment might think it was a cool way to rebel, by giving settlement money to customers instead of to the company that killed them, but the real world doesn't work like that in my estimation. It's a good way to *trick* those who would think that way though, which is what this phishing crap is always about...