Japanese Gamers: "This isn't working." Sony unapo

Bradylama

Bradylama

So Old I'm Losing Radiation Signs
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/01/24/news_6116985.html

Nearly 5,000 units are returned to Sony for buggy button; Kutaragi unapologetic about the handheld's design.


TOKYO--About 4,800 Japanese PSPs have been returned to Sony due to problems with the handheld's square button, according to a recent interview with Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi in Nikkei Business magazine.[/b]

Kutaragi acknowledged that the button is less responsive than the others, in part because it's so close to the PSP's 480x272 screen. Because there isn't enough room to put the square button's detection switch directly underneath, it's off to the right, making it less responsive--and sometimes causing it to stick.

Nikkei Business reported that, to date, .6 percent of the 800,000 shipped units have been returned to Sony for repair. Kutaragi was unapologetic about the issue: "This is the design that we came up with. There may be people that complain about its usability, but that's something which users and game software developers will have to adapt to. I didn't want the PSP's LCD screen to become any smaller than this, nor did I want its machine body to become any larger.

"The button's location is [architectured] on purpose," Kutaragi added. "It's according to specifications. This is something that we've created, and this is our specification. There was a clear purpose to it, and it wasn't a mistake."

Offering additional testimony praising the handheld, Kutaragi said, "I believe we made the most beautiful thing in the world. Nobody would criticize a renowned architect's blueprint that the position of a gate is wrong. It's the same as that."
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Because, you know, God forbid that the people who have to live in the house think a gate that opens out onto the highway is a bad idea.
 
Yeah, or out onto where the balcony was supposed to be. Isn't the PSP grossely overpriced compared to the DS, anyway? And the lack of games... Phew. I think their response was definitely bad marketing, at best. You can't fuck customers off like that. They should change it, just like Nokia did with the No-gage. Don't be so fucking proud of your product, Sony.

I'm still more interested in the DS at the moment, as it's the only one I've tried out, it's cheaper, can play GBA games, and the games that are out so far just seem nicer.
 
Baboon said:
Yeah, or out onto where the balcony was supposed to be. Isn't the PSP grossely overpriced compared to the DS, anyway? And the lack of games... Phew. I think their response was definitely bad marketing, at best. You can't fuck customers off like that. They should change it, just like Nokia did with the No-gage. Don't be so fucking proud of your product, Sony.

I'm still more interested in the DS at the moment, as it's the only one I've tried out, it's cheaper, can play GBA games, and the games that are out so far just seem nicer.
Click to expand...

aye, I've a ds and I've enjoyed it quite a bit so far. We only have mario 64 but its a lot of fun and they added enough new content to make it fun again (new levels, mini games etc).

I haven't played any others yet but feel the magic looks cool, as does mario kart, animal crossing, and various others that are coming out.
 
Jesus, when will people realize than Sony makes piece of shit products? First faulty PS2s, now PSPs with an intentional design flaw. And if their incompetence isn't enough to piss me off completely, they also have this arrogant corporate attitude I can't fucking stand. I hope PSP flops worse than *7.
 
What...the...F***?

Such blatant disregard is so horrendously wrong I'm too shocked to respond.

The least he could have said was "Sorry we'll just replace them all.", but he was purposefully mean and uncaring about it. Thats all ignoring the fact that also a monkey could note the design flaw in that.

:evil: ,
The Vault Dweller

*EDIT*

I just heard from a friend who has a sister at Electronic's Boutique who says the disk shoot's out randomly. O.O;
 
Somehow, I feel that this reminds me of Microsoft. You have a company that keeps putting out a shitty product, because the demand for it negates the time and money it'd require to make a superior offering.

Here, with Sony, you have a similar situation. There are tons of popular video game franchises that are Sony exclusive. Nintendo missed the boat, and is frantically trying to catch up by offering a wider selection of games on their console offering, and the foreign influence of Microsoft's Xbox is extremely negligible in Japan due to their inherent dislike of foreign products.

What you have now, is a situation where Sony can determine the state of the market, and can put out an inherently flawed product, for what I assume to be a cut in manufacturing costs. Whether or not this translates into a cheaper price for the product itself (which is more expensive in Japan, I believe, than the DS) is uknowable.

So, end result, Sony got ahead in the Japanese console market, and have become so full of themselves that they release an intentionally flawed product.

Of course, customer dissatisfaction probably won't amount to much, since everybody wants to play Dark Stalkers PSP. =/
 
calculon00 said:
Can the DS also play GB classic games?
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Nope, the slot is too small for that. The cartridges are incredibly small and from what I've heard, Mario 64 holds half of what the current cartridges are capable of. It's only compatible with advanced/ds games. If you're looking to play the classic GB games, you'll have to stick with the older stuff :(. I'll see if i can take a photo of the cartridge later... it's very cute :).
 
The DS can play classical GBA games, there's a second slot just for that purpose. That's an advantage, since already existing GBA customers won't hesitate as much when deciding whether or not to buy the DS.

If the store where I usually buy my games is right, the PSP will cost more than a hundred US dollars more than the DS, which is kind of suicidal on Sony's part. I'm definitely for the DS on this one. Especially now, as Sony seems to treat their costumers like dog shit, on purpose. They should seriously consider getting rid of that Kutaragi guy. I would be seriously pissed off if I got a response like that. Either they do that, or they put a big "includes intentional design flaws" sign on the PSP box.


*edit*

Seems the DS can't run old GB games. Only GBA games.



nintendo-ds-cartidge-cases-20041118015227386.jpg
 
Nintendo have been very clever so far to keep their new handhelds compatible with the last machine out. It's great for consumers and developers and is a great boost to have a huge back catalogue of games already out and steady releases as soon as you are out the door with it. Pure genius and they deserve the success they get.

Sony have just been monumentally stupid. Even if they make a shit handheld, you don't tell everyone it is shit and to just shut up and put up with it. That statement reminds me of the fuckup from VU over the Homeworld community.

The last handheld they made was crappy and unsupported too.

I'd like to hear any PSP horror stories anyone has. I've heard that it has battery/power problems.
 
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