lik-sang out of buisness....sony lawsuits!!

[Dillweedshake]

Beware wall of text below........


>> From the official press release:

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.

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".

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.

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 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.

"Today is Sony Europe victory about PSP, tomorrow is Sony Europe's ongoing pressure about PlayStation 3. With this precedent set, next week could already be the stage for complaints from Sony America about the same thing, or from other console manufacturers about other consoles to other regions, or even from any publisher about any specific software title to any country they don't see fit. It's the beginning of the end... of the World as we know it", stated Pascal Clarysse, formerly known as the Marketing Manager of Lik-Sang.com.

"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."

Damn you Sony,damn you to hell!!!! ........A website that I frequently visit!

[Elf]

Wow, I can't believe it. I liked Lik-Sang too, it was one of the best places to get import stuff.

I'm actually surprised Sony killed a site that was boosting their sales, what's their problem?!

[ALOEUS]

Well that sucks, they had alot of uniqe things on their site.

[Crusader]

Let’s see: First, Sony boldly stated that the “next generation doesn’t start until we enter it” while announcing an overpriced “computer” that had a controller blatantly ripped off from Nintendo. It has a media format that no one asked for--it’s there so they can further attempt to pinch off market shares with their Blu-Ray format. Then they did a misleading “comparison” of the PS3 against its competitors, specifically not mentioning that you can play a 360 without the HD-DVD drive but can't play a PS3 without the Blu-Ray. Now they’ve completely removed a useful medium in which gamers to could import all game types by sueing Lik-Sang.

Sony doesn’t seem to think that gaming is for the people, for the gamers. They think it’s all about their revenue. It’s disgusting.

[Elf]

If it's all about their revenue, why are they shutting down Lik-Sang? I mean, wasn't that site helping bring them MORE revenue by selling their products? I just don't get why they went and shut them down.

What am I missing here?

[Dillweedshake]

>>>> from game spot

Lik-Sang responded by circulating a statement to games industry personnel claiming key Sony Europe executives bought Japanese PSPs from their company, and continued to name names. Sony issued a statement stating this was simply "sour grapes".
Today in his final e-mail as a Lik-Sang employee, marketing manager Pascal Clarysse hit back at Sony's claims that it had nothing to do with the importer's closure. "While they 'strongly denied that their actions have had anything to do with [Lik-Sang's] closing' in their statement, they still had the time to send a 15-page fax less than 24 hours later, outlining the terms of the order made by the UK court last week and asking Lik-Sang to pay the sum of £100,000 ($190,000) just for their legal costs before 4pm on November 1," he said. "The fax also includes a penal notice, nicely reminding the reader that not obeying the order (which means shipping any PlayStation branded product to any country in Europe) may mean sequestration of all assets and, in worst case, imprisonment for the directors of the company."
Lik-Sang also blasted Sony's statement that any Japanese PSPs which would have been bought by members of their company would have been solely for investigatory purposes. "Sony's unbelievable statement that all purchase orders made by their own directors 'would' be for investigatory purposes speaks volumes, and also doesn't explain why these and all the other orders placed by Sony officials were not revealed to the High Court," said Clarysse.
Clarysse concluded his statement on behalf of Lik-Sang by declaring that it was a sad day for import gaming. "Sony should be proud of having such a die-hard import gamers' community rushing to buy their products and supporting them with a passion. Instead, they march all over us," he said.

[Crusader]

Originally Posted by Elf

If it's all about their revenue, why are they shutting down Lik-Sang? I mean, wasn't that site helping bring them MORE revenue by selling their products? I just don't get why they went and shut them down.

What am I missing here?

I think this also has something to do with it:

Kawanishi also commented on region free software. This feature, which has been confirmed by various Sony reps in the past, is indeed a reality. "It's often been the case that past game systems would have a region code system, and would not play overseas games," explained Kawanishi. "However, PlayStation 3 game software does not have this region code. In other words, if you can get your hands on overseas software, you can play as is. There are exceptions, however, so SCE does not make guarantees about operation."

[EcoBlue]

It's sad really, $ony has just been screwing up quite a bit. They just might lose the console wars this round.

[Crusader]

Well, I don't know. Regardless of their obviously distasteful practices, they're still a talented company when it comes to making a game system and providing quality content. It's still anyone's game.

[Triple H]

lol that is one more reason to hate sony wow when i read that I thought how sad they dont even care about the gamers they care bout themselves and not the people paying their bills its sad really, but, what ya gonna do?