Sony Now Partially Refunding Early Vita Owners for "Deceptive" Marketing

Gahars

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sony-ps-vita-1_650.jpg

It wasn't supposed to be like this, Vita. It wasn't supposed to be like this at all!

The Federal Trade Commission, a US-based government agency, has found Sony guilty of "deceptive acts or practices" in regards to its advertising of the Vita at launch, and now it must pay back to all those who purchased the handheld before 1st June 2012.
:arrow:Eurogamer

So, what exactly drew the FTC's ire?
  • Implicit promises of crossplay support with all PS3 titles when it only worked with certain, specific games
  • Misrepresentation of the concept of "cross saves" and its application in games
  • Misrepresentation of the 3G Vita's multiplayer functionality
  • Deceptive ads disguised as non-affiliated Tweets
Those who qualify will receive $25 in refund or $50 as credit. Sony is supposed to email owners soon about how they can get their money.

The Vita's had nothing but turmoil during its short life so far. From a rocky launch to continued poor sales and an extremely limited game library, it's just been one thing after another for the little handheld that couldn't. It's been so dwarfed by the 3DS' performance, we might as well call it the Danny DeVita at this point.

One can only hope that Sony's execs have enough PS4 dosh to wipe away all their tears.

Well, uh... bet you guys regret not buying a Vita at launch now, right? Right?

Guys?
 

Clydefrosch

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like anyone still has their receipt. thats going to be the thing they'll ask for to make sure you really bought it prior to that date, right?

also, 25$ seem like quite little money considering those were some key selling points for the console.
 

Kayot

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It's a bad decision. The PS3 security was crazy good and it took a massive mistake to break it. Then it was patched so well that anyone on original firmware 3.56+ (minus flashers and pre-steps) is restricted to ODEs. I can only guess at the impenetrable security on the Vita and PS4. At this point I'll call the systems unhackable and therefore a bad investment.

I bought a Zelda Edition 3DS back when firmware 2.1.0-U was default with the knowledge that it would be hacked. I felt secure purchasing a few great games since in the next few years I'd have the whole library and I could possibly dump my saves too. I have a gateway on the way and purchased a game to bump my firmware to 4.3.

With the Vita, that isn't going to happen. The system is bullet proof. Sure I want Disgaea 3 and 4, but I really don't care for the other titles. The best ones don't leave Japan and I don't know Japanese.

It really sucks too. Watching how Sony handled the PS3 hack (police raids, arrests, threats, etc) really put their company into perspective. No one wants to bring the Sony heat on themselves and I can respect that.
 

TripleSMoon

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in a 4th month period, wont be much
maybe the ftc can force the companies selling completely broken games at launch to give a partial refund too?
or companies that sell you an incomplete game and release the rest as paid dlc?

So much this. I think selling broken games at launch is a MUCH bigger issue than a somewhat, probably unintentionally misrepresented handheld that, at the very least, actually functions.
 

Clydefrosch

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It's a bad decision. The PS3 security was crazy good and it took a massive mistake to break it. Then it was patched so well that anyone on original firmware 3.56+ (minus flashers and pre-steps) is restricted to ODEs. I can only guess at the impenetrable security on the Vita and PS4. At this point I'll call the systems unhackable and therefore a bad investment.

I bought a Zelda Edition 3DS back when firmware 2.1.0-U was default with the knowledge that it would be hacked. I felt secure purchasing a few great games since in the next few years I'd have the whole library and I could possibly dump my saves too. I have a gateway on the way and purchased a game to bump my firmware to 4.3.

With the Vita, that isn't going to happen. The system is bullet proof. Sure I want Disgaea 3 and 4, but I really don't care for the other titles. The best ones don't leave Japan and I don't know Japanese.

It really sucks too. Watching how Sony handled the PS3 hack (police raids, arrests, threats, etc) really put their company into perspective. No one wants to bring the Sony heat on themselves and I can respect that.


so i guess you're playing ye olde 'if it was hacked everyone would buy one and also buy millions of games' card? that thing just never gets old, does it?
 

Arras

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It's a bad decision. The PS3 security was crazy good and it took a massive mistake to break it. Then it was patched so well that anyone on original firmware 3.56+ (minus flashers and pre-steps) is restricted to ODEs. I can only guess at the impenetrable security on the Vita and PS4. At this point I'll call the systems unhackable and therefore a bad investment.

I bought a Zelda Edition 3DS back when firmware 2.1.0-U was default with the knowledge that it would be hacked. I felt secure purchasing a few great games since in the next few years I'd have the whole library and I could possibly dump my saves too. I have a gateway on the way and purchased a game to bump my firmware to 4.3.

With the Vita, that isn't going to happen. The system is bullet proof. Sure I want Disgaea 3 and 4, but I really don't care for the other titles. The best ones don't leave Japan and I don't know Japanese.

It really sucks too. Watching how Sony handled the PS3 hack (police raids, arrests, threats, etc) really put their company into perspective. No one wants to bring the Sony heat on themselves and I can respect that.

What if you (like most people) don't care about hacks though?
 

Aaron Chmielowiec

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The more I see news like this the more I think the Vita will continue on its merry way in Japan and just stop existing in the rest of the world. It's getting dwarfed by the 3DS here, too, but at least there are regular new games, the PS Plus deals are great (very great at times), and there is local support for it. Oh well, I don't regret buying a Vita, but if I lived in the west I'm sure I'd feel different. Mind you, I collect handheld consoles so it's all good no matter what happens.
 

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I don't understand. Isn't it normal that commercial talks are bullshit and lies nowadays? Especially an "implicit promise" is a tough thing, as that applies to pretty much anything (just try watching commercials for stuff you already have. They usually have implicit promises of having a better life, a better body and/or better social relationships). I know promises of 'feelings' are harder to prove wrong than technical aspects, but it's a thin dividing line. Besides...does this mean we can blame nintendo as well for their "implicit promise" of third party support? :unsure:

And another thing...I know the total number of games isn't saying everything, but 812 isn't exactly a small number (heck...the 3DS has 209 games less, if wikipedia is a reliable source). So that "extremely limited game library"...I have to disagree for now.
 

Apex

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Bought one day one in Japan. Doubt I'll get the same treatment.

That being said, I wouldn't take them up on it anyways. I like Sony, the last thing I wanna do is kick them while they're down, then there really WON'T be a point to owning a Vita.
 
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Reecey

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Yeah I did from Amazon.co.uk. So what do I do? Is this offer only for USA owners or does it include UK owners?:-

ORDER PLACED
21 February 2012
TOTAL
£212.02
Edit: Got my full receipt online, I'm just wondering if this is only for USA customers, mentions nothing about UK or Euro.​
 

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