AfterDawn: News

Sony denies tracking PSP customer data

Sony has dismissed many rumours started by British news sources that the company is requesting customer information from online sellers to try to track and confiscate PSP (Playstation Portable) devices sold to the United Kingdom before September 1st, when the device is due to be released in Europe. The company has launched its own battle against retailers in the UK that are importing PSP devices from Japan and the United States where it has already been on sale for months.

"We are fully aware of the gray market situation and we are trying to address the problem," Sony's president of consumer sales, Stan Glasgow, told CNET News.com, "but I seriously doubt that Sony would pursue any criminal action against individuals. It's just something that we wouldn't do." Meanwhile some retailers in the UK are ignoring threats by Sony, saying that they are simply selling the PSP which is more than Sony has done for UK customers. The European launch of the PSP console was delayed by months so that enough PSPs would be available for the U.S. market.



The company is going to court on Monday to ask for an injunction against companies that are selling the PSP and accessories early. Sony has also issued about 600 letters to individuals and companies telling them to stop selling PSPs on eBay. Customers in the UK have shown they are willing to pay extra for the console than it's worth. Originally Sony's battle against these sales shocked many companies, as the company never really had a problem with importing in the past.

Source:
News.com

Written by: James Delahunty @ 25 Jun 2005 11:02

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• 14 comments

• kidkhaos1

  lol sony cant do nothing to the ppl who already have a psp, it be funny if they try i can see the phone call already:
  
  sony: give us back our psp that u bought
  person: no i aint got it anymore, i broke it
  sony: well erm er good day to you sir
  (sony hang up and person continues playing psp)
  
  its impossible for sony to get them confiscated, not to mention the costs and bad publicity :D

  25.6.2005 12:25 #1

• Doggy_Bot

  More things about the PSP...Just what Sony needs...

  25.6.2005 13:23 #2

• borhan9

  I dont really c the problem here for sony they make $$$ in the long run...
  
  and my secomd point is if this is going to create a huge problem have a worldwide release date instead soo then there are no hedaches in the process.
  
  just an idea...

  25.6.2005 13:52 #3

• jpp01uk

  Quote:The European launch of the PSP console was delayed by months so that enough PSPs would be available for the U.S. marketcharming!!! bugger your psp then

  25.6.2005 14:50 #4

• arcanix

  They can come and try to confiscate my psp ^_^ But then it would be harder to confiscate other psp's with broken arms.

  25.6.2005 14:57 #5

• p4_tt

  Sony should be dismissed.

  25.6.2005 17:16 #6

• john179

  Sony are becoming right pricks they don't own the world.So if i go abroard on holiday and purchase a psp they want to take it off me.The united kingdom has one of the biggest economic markets in the world.Why should sony make the uk wait longer for releases of games and consoles.Yes everything will always hit Japan and the US first but hey sony don't mess with one of your largest consumers.If people sell or buy a psp in the UK before your god given release date so what.Get off your arse and release them in the uk quicker simple as.No one has the right to tell you to not buy a psp from any where around the world and use it where you want.If sony were not so slow in delevering the product to the united kingdom there would not be a major problem.
  
  So here is my message to sony.We may be a small country but you make a barrel load of money from us so get your shit in order PAL.

  25.6.2005 19:56 #7

• metwo

  "Customers in the UK have shown they are willing to pay extra for the console than it's worth."
  
  Something is worth whatever someone's willing to pay for it; maybe more than retail, maybe less.

  26.6.2005 02:00 #8

• p4_tt

  Customers in the UK have no choice in it they either import or get ripped off by that damn VAT like everything else!!! So it's not that were willing to pay extra at all, were forced to.

  26.6.2005 06:36 #9

• nightw

  Sooo simple. Why hasn't the PSP released in Europe yet? Sony thought that they can make the whole Europe wait for months? ROTFL.

  26.6.2005 06:39 #10

• p4_tt

  Hey it may not be that when people don't buy them coz they have been left out for so long, but i really doubt it, Sony makes people wait then they turn around after months like nothing's happend and sell it way more than it's worth but you still be they fools that will overpay and they now it. I know i will not be paying £179.99 ($327)

  26.6.2005 06:46 #11

• spooky2k

  £180 for a PSP really isnt that much at all. i expected to pay around at least £250 when i first heard about it. And damn, is it better than all the other crappy handhelds?i say crappy...they're not 100% crappy, jsut, since you get the PSP as a base to compare from, they look crappy.
  I've waited for my PSP, basicaly, because i have no money and have to save, and it;s absolutely fine with me that the launch date got pushed back.
  As for Sony chasing ppl for them back.....i think it's absurd. Who the hell in the actual company would do taht?NO ONE. its the damn rumour mill runnning and we all know it, but think 'hey, lets take a bite out of sony', well, low and behold....sony are brilliant at what they do, as pthey've probved and will be around for along time yet. get used to it.

  26.6.2005 10:47 #12

• p4_tt

  £180 may not be that much but remember that the games are like £40 so buying a psp and a game or 2 will cost a fair bit.

  26.6.2005 10:59 #13

• spooky2k

  yup, i knwo that. its still not that much.
  If you think its expensive you obviously live in a different day and age....look at the iPod...its a single fucntion device, and its retailts for around £250-£300, and then u gotta buy albums which are £10 each, making ita hell of alot more expensive than the PSP...when with the PSP you can play music, movies, games...its not just a portable gaming system.
  Dan x

  27.6.2005 12:51 #14