Lik-Sang Shut Down By Sony Lawsuits

Hong Kong’s popular online video game retailer, Lik-Sang.com, was put out of business after multiple Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and SCE Inc. lawsuits. Sales of Asian PlayStation Portable units to Europeans were labeled unlawful by the United Kingdom’s High Court of London, and the hardware and software corporation complained that the sales infringed copyright, trademark, and registered design rights. Lik-Sang.com is working with banks and PayPal to ensure that those affected by the forced canceling of orders and shipments are sent away with their store credits, money via PayPal, and credit via credit cards unscathed.

A Sony spokesman told GamesIndustry.biz, “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.”

Disclosure: We may earn a commission from links on this page

This, of course, goes against the retailer’s insistence that all of the PSP units shipped with Sony’s very own 100V-240V AC Adapters, all containing the same safety marks that are recognized globally. They also insist that all of the PSPs conformed to EU and UK consumer safety standards. Sony officials failed to disclose to the High Court that their PSP units were shipped from Lik-Sang.com, complete with Lik-Sang freebies like coffee mugs.

Pascal Clarysse, the former Marketing Manager of Lik-Sang.com, stated, “Today is Sony [Computer Entertainment] Europe’s victory with their PSP, and tomorrow is Sony [CE] Europe’s ongoing pressure about PlayStation 3. With this precedent set, next week could already be the stage for complaints from Sony [CE] 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.”

“Blame it on Sony. That’s the latest dark spot in their shameful track record as the 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,” stated Clarysse.

Leave a Comment