NationStates Jolt Archive

Lik-Sang sunk by Sony suits

Independent import game company to close after latest loss in court to the PlayStation-3-maker.

Hong-Kong-based online gaming retailer Lik-Sang are closing down after Sony's latest court win against the company.

Sony recently hauled Lik-Sang to court for a second time, this time claiming it had infringed Sony trademarks, copyrights, and registered design rights by selling Japanese PSPs to European customers. Lik-Sang did not have legal representatives present at the hearing in London, and the judge found in favour of Sony.

Sony told GameSpot in a statement that it would be moving to block any other retailers who were involved in similar "grey importing" activities, and explained its actions were protecting European consumers "from being sold hardware that does not conform to strict European Union or UK consumer safety standards".

Lik-Sang responded by rebuffing these safety claims, and stated that all PSPs it sold contained genuine Sony 100V-240V AC adapters to deal with the voltage issue, and that the handhelds conformed to all EU and UK consumer safety regulations.

Pascal Clarysse, former marketing manager for Lik-Sang, said that the company made the decision to close as the court victory would set precedents for further cases against it. He said: "Today is Sony Europe's victory about the 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."

Effective immediately, Lik-Sang will not be accepting any new orders and will be cancelling and refunding all existing orders. It added that it would be doing its best to work with banks and PayPal to refund all store credits held by the company and handle pending returns and repairs. Any attempt to place orders on the site redirects visitors to its official statement of closure.

Lik-Sang also claimed that Sony Computer Entertainment Europe executives themselves had bought imported PSP goods from their company, and went on to name names. Clarysse said: "Sony Europe's very own top directors repeatedly got their Sony PSP hard or software imports in nicely packaged 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 December 14, 2004 (more than nine months earlier than the legal action)."

Clarysse added that the blame for the closure rests squarely on Sony's shoulders. "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."

GameSpot asked Sony to respond to the developments, but spokespersons for the company had made no comment as of press time.

GameSpot (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6160381.html)

See here (http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/top/sony-bleeds-lik-sang-clean-to-death-209729.php), also.

I never imported games, so I never heard of them - but it seems like quite a lot of gamers are pissed off by this.

First I read about MS's Vista bullshit, and now this. I think it's just about time for a digital revolution. The digital bureaucracy must die.

Shit.

That seriously sucks. I've bought heaps from Lik-Sang. Some games released in Asia, especially Japan, never get an anglophone release and Lik-Sang was an easy, hassle-free way of getting them.

Very disappointing.

It fucking sucks because I probably would have bought from Lik-Sang, except I'm 17, so I never got the chance to. They shut down Lik-Sang, they rip the soul out of E3... tomorrow I just know I'm gonna find out that Jack Thompson's become a supreme court judge, and Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins are both dead.

Lik-Sang. For a second there I thought a cambodian hooker was suing Sony.( My head is not working today):confused:

It fucking sucks because I probably would have bought from Lik-Sang, except I'm 17, so I never got the chance to. They shut down Lik-Sang, they rip the soul out of E3... tomorrow I just know I'm gonna find out that Jack Thompson's become a supreme court judge, and Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins are both dead.

And EA has bought Ubisoft and Atari.

And EA has bought Ubisoft and Atari.
EA bought Atari? The Ubisoft thing I saw coming, but Atari? Atari holds some very valuable licenses.

"from being sold hardware that does not conform to strict European Union or UK consumer safety standards"..

Thats actually pathetic....they could at least bother with an excuse worthy of the name.

EA bought Atari? The Ubisoft thing I saw coming, but Atari? Atari holds some very valuable licenses.

You're a bit dense I see. And we are all fucked if EA buys a real game company.

I despise EA.
They somehow, some way, managed to screw up Battlefield. BF1942 and Vietnam were excellent. Suddenly, BF2 comes out and it sucks, and EA just kind of flips off everybody without a bloody high speed connection.
Same thing with BF2142, only its worse this time because single player is completly crippled beyond any playability.
I refuse to buy any EA games now. Ubisoft wasnt a great company, but they had some good titles. I think Silent Hunter III was an Ubisoft game, wasnt it?

I hope to God EA doesnt get a company like Codemasters or Bethesda. If they do, Ill just have to commit seppuku.

I despise EA.
They somehow, some way, managed to screw up Battlefield. BF1942 and Vietnam were excellent. Suddenly, BF2 comes out and it sucks, and EA just kind of flips off everybody without a bloody high speed connection.
Same thing with BF2142, only its worse this time because single player is completly crippled beyond any playability.
I refuse to buy any EA games now. Ubisoft wasnt a great company, but they had some good titles. I think Silent Hunter III was an Ubisoft game, wasnt it?

I hope to God EA doesnt get a company like Codemasters or Bethesda. If they do, Ill just have to commit seppuku.

I wish they would make a new version of bf1942, BF2 graphics and physics with a bunch of new stuff, but keep the gameplay the same.

Ugh, this is stupid. I was speculating by quoting a speculatingp ost. I was continuing the speculation.

Oh, I see.

The use of a leading ellipsis would have aided clarity.

The looming EA purchase of UbiSoft is already rumoured. It wouldn't be the first time EA acquired a developer.

Yes, I read it on Penny-Arcade. And we are all fucked when Execrable Arts starts acquiring good companies.
All I want is that shitty group of asshats in charge of Dark Messiah.

This is bull crap. I love Sony to death because they are the gods of creating game systems, but this is just too much. I mean what would be the difference if a European guy went to Japan, bought a Japanese PSP during his stay there, and then went back to Europe? Would you sue him too Sony? Yeesh. That makes me sick. :gundge: