You may recall that a few years back, Sony was embroiled in a legal minefield over its marketing of the PlayStation Vita. If you're interested, and have a head for legal mumbo-jumbo, you can take a look at the US Federal Trade Commission's original charges through here.
For the rest of you, though, the basic gist is that the Japanese giant was accused of making false claims in its advertising, particularly surrounding the handheld's cross-play features. What's more, several members of the Deustch marketing firm posted positive Tweets about the system, without acknowledging their relationship to Sony itself.
The company has recently settled the matter, and is offering to give those of you who purchased the system before 1st June 2012 "either a $25 cash or credit refund, or a $50 merchandise voucher for select video games, and/or services". Speaking of legal jargon, our fairly rudimentary understanding of this situation leads us to believe that the proposed compensation will only be offered to those of you who reside in the USA.
If you are eligible, you should receive an email notifying you of how to proceed. Are you a Vita early adopter? Do you feel that Sony's initial marketing strategy was misleading? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source ftc.gov, via prnewswire.com]
Comments 22
I got my vita on day 1...... any news if sony Europe will be doing the same ?
@617Sqn I don't believe so, as the charges came from the US FTC, and are related to SCE America's advertising :/
This is fantastic however I still feel sorry for the people who's perceived value of those lied about features was more than $25. IMO Sony have been scum in regards to these sorts of practices in the last few years. Hopefully this is a big enough slap for them to cool down a bit.
This is great news, got my vita day one and still loving it to this day and its great to hear im getting money back for being an early adopter
I got my vita just a couple of months after it was released... I really dont need receive any money back as I knew what I was buying when I got it and I love my vita just like most people who own one So long as it continues to get some new releases does me, Holding out hope for Gravity rush 2 to still be coming to it!
I bought the Vita last Summer because it seemed to be a pretty decent system all on its own, the remote play feature (PS4) probably did hold influence on my decision to purchase. I find that most games that aren't cross-play are simply unplayable via remote play, so, I think they're still guilty again with regard to the PS4 related remote play advertising.
I can't live without my vita..."Vita" means "life" in latin and thats what my vita gives me...LIFE. I feel sad what sony is doing to the little thing. Its sad really
I got my Vita day one from Europe, however I've only used on it a US account ever since. Does that make me eligible?
Wish they would drop the price of the memory cards! I've got a vita and the pstv and just can't believe there's not been a drop in price.
How exactly do i sign up for this? i bought the Device day one. And im confused on how its supposed to work.
I believe it is going to be North America and not just the USA. I'm crossing my fingers as I bought my Vita in April 2012 and live in Canada.
I'd gladly put that 50$ towards a PS4 game!
@noodleking1987 You can get VIta memory cards cheap if you buy third-party brands, they work just as well as the official Sony cards.
Day 1 adopter here.
@ToddlerNaruto Do you know were I can get them?
This doesn't mean it is the end for the PS Vita itself btw...
@mistakable this^
Got my vita day 1 in Europe. Arguably the most played video games machine I've ever owned (and I played a lot since I was about 10yrs old).
Yep, that's me. Bought my Vita in March or April or 2012, and yes I live in the US. And yes I recall them advertising the cross save features. I think the issue was Sony said you could cross save and pick up and play the game on Vita (owning it on PS3), but failed to mention you actually had to buy the game a second time to own it on Vita for this to work. Perhaps this had something to do with their current cross buy policy. Perhaps they started cross buy because of this lawsuit? Something to ponder...
Ah, sweet justice. I still cry about stupid G3 saying you can play Skyrim from any wifi. More like BS Vita.... Jk I love mine!
Quite frankly I agree with this completely. I preordered my vita fully expecting to be able to play all of my psn games on it and remote play over WiFi.
@noodleking1987 I was wrong, turns out there are no third-party Vita memory cards.
I guess you'll have to hope they go on sale for dirt cheap soon.
Ah I see thanks for trying to help out
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