Lik-Sang's Death Throes Expose Sony Execs' Embarrassment
As our darling and futuristic Boy of Tomorrow covered yesterday, Sony has won its suit against Lik-Sang, the Hong Kong retailer popular for its legally murky exports of Asian games and gaming hardware. Today, however, it’s official: Lik-Sang is dead. It is no more; it has ceased to be. Multiple lawsuits from Sony’s legal infantry felled the beast, particularly concerning the PSP and in anticipation of whatever ancillary markets will spring up in the wake of the PS3 launch.
But Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe doesn’t come away untroubled, either – as if Sony needed any extra trouble. According to their press release, Lik-Sang was patronized not only by foreign fanboys and import-friendly eager beavers, but by SCEE high-ups themselves:
Furthermore, Sony have failed to disclose to the London High Court that not only the world wide gaming community in more than 100 countries relied on Lik-Sang for their gaming needs, but also Sony Europe’s very own top directors repeatedly got their Sony PSP hard or software imports in nicely packed Lik-Sang parcels with free Lik-Sang Mugs or Lik-Sang Badge Holders, starting just two days after Japan’s official release, as early as 14th of December 2004 (more than nine months earlier than the legal action). The list of PSP related Sony Europe orders reads like the who’s who of the videogames industry, and includes…
Well, you can see for yourself who’s included, but it’s ironic to say the least. Also not lacking in irony is the embarrassment, however solidly ignored by Sony, that must be caused by finding their own VIPs listed as patrons of the supposedly wicked import/export world. It points to a pretty basic market vacuum, when your own executives are relying on shadowy back-routes to get their hands on your product. Of course, that must be the nature of running a global octopus like Sony, but it sure is fun to watch the charade.
Thanks to Aeropause for putting two and two together. Math is hard.
UPDATE:
Sony took the Lik-Sang dig seriously enough to fire back with some choice comments about Lik-Sang’s failure to contest the case in question and the ethics of publicly releasing customer names; also, Sony employees who patronized Lik-Sang purportedly did so for “investigatory purposes.”
Via GamesIndustry.biz.
tiny dancer
Posted to on 24 October 2006
· Comments (8)
Other stuff like this: import, lik-sang, psp, scee, sony
Rest in peace, Lik-Sang. You shall be missed.
*grumble*stupidsony*grumble*
That is really sad…they were a great company with WONDERFUL customer service! What is this world coming to when companies who care so little about their customers (SONY) win out over those who care about them. More reasons to ignore the PS3 on its downard spiral into overpriced hype.
I think there’s a lot that we don’t know, so before everyone decides to flip out, make sure you’re educated.
Lik-sang was caught doing something illegal. Sony nailed ‘em for it. Sure, you can hate them for that, but it’s not like Microsoft and Nintendo didn’t sue them either. Sony just delivered the final blow. Lik-sang was bound for more legal troubles anyways.
Don’t be an idiot and start screaming BOYCOTT SONY because of this.
Hmm, illegal or not, there could have been so many better ways of handling this. Hmm, there goes my chance of getting a pair of Samba De Amigo Maracas I’ve been wanting for so very long for my dreamcast.
Sony… and their playstation3…. link-sang got me my PSP in march 2005 long before we in Europe could get one.. You know what? 6 months later I couldn’t stand the little brick.. And welcomed a DS to my home, where it is still and more than ever, really, loved.. i offered my PSP to a friend, and all my games.
Lik-Sang was great… Sony are bullies that should be taught a lesson.. I hope this generation marks the end of the playstation brand.
With their battery recall fiasco, seems like they are now trying to get money for their vaults by doing what failed companies do best… lawsuits…
@ Tufas
I don’t want to see the Playstation brand go. It breathed a breath of fresh air into gaming back when it debuted. They’ve just become complacent now, atop the ladder, like Nintendo did before them. They just need a good shot to the groin and get knocked down a peg in the ladder, then we’ll start seeing some better stuff from them.
I find it funny to read now, people calling Sony a bully when back in the SNES/N64 days, Sony was the underdog and Nintendo was the big bad kid on the playground. The Playstation only happened because of Nintendo’s greed. They refused their contract with Sony (who was building a CD attachment for the SNES or some such thing) and instead opted to go and partner with a cheaper client.
Sony took what they had worked on and then debuted the Playstation in Japan, and surprise surprise, they were hit with a lawsuit by Nintendo for using technology that Sony had developed originally for the CD-ROM attachment.
History will repeat itself and I doubt Sony and the Playstation will disappear. Unlike Nintendo, Sony has its hand in other places, rather than just the gaming industry. The battery fiasco was definitely a big hit, but they’re still one of the most top-rated companies by consumers.
Sony will end up slicing their own wrists and putting a end to their new life of misery that it creates.
The Lik-Sang who was distributing mod-chips and other illegal stuff disappeared in about 2002. It came back as a legitimate dealer of imports. There was nothing ‘grey market’ about it, and they’re not being shut down by the courts. (In fact, they weren’t even represented at the hearing where the judge ruled against them, and while i’m not familiar with British law, I would think they’d be able to appeal if they could afford to.) They’re shutting down because they can’t afford to defend against nuisance lawsuits in every country to which they sell.
Microsoft used this exact same tactic against Lindows a few years back: Lindows won the first court case (Microsoft claimed they owned any name ending in ”-dows”) and in retaliation, Microsoft sued them again for the same thing in something like 10 different countries. They were forced to change their name just because they were small and Microsoft was big.
This is no different; Sony is bullying a small company using what we in the states call SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation). Here it’s sometimes illegal (usually in slander or libel cases), but in most places it’s just a matter of “you get the justice you can afford.”
And Sony knows it. To hell with Sony.