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Sony denies responsibility for Lik-Sang's demise

Posted Oct 24, 2006 at 8:20AM EST by Karl B.

Listed in: News Tags: Lik-Sang, SCEE

Earlier today, Lik-Sang announced that it's closing its doors after losing an IPR lawsuit laid against the company by Sony. Along with the announcement, Lik-Sang also released a statement, which included a juicy little tidbit that listed a veritable who's who of SCEE execs who bought PSP hardware and software from Lik-Sang. Now, we've gotten word that Sony is crying foul and has denied any responsibility for the online retailer's demise, accusing Lik-Sang of sour graping.

In a statement issued to GamesIndustry.biz, Sony claimed, "Lik-Sang did not contest this case (i.e. they did not turn up and therefore incurred no legal costs). We have been awarded substantial costs against Lik-Sang which have not been paid."

"We would therefore strongly deny that our actions have had anything to do with this website closing (we assume the legal entity is still trading), and would suggest that this release is sour grapes on behalf of Lik-Sang which is aimed to belittle Sony Computer Entertainment and the British judicial system that found against them," the statement further reads.

Regarding the issue of SCE executives purchasing imported PSP hardware and software from Lik-Sang, Sony responded by saying, "The purchasing of PSP consoles by SCE employees would be for investigatory purposes. We would also like to express our surprise at a company releasing personal information about its consumers, as this is contrary to data protection principles around the world."

While Sony seems to be taking the higher ground in this post-courtroom battle of words, Lik-Sang has yet to respond or reveal more about the alleged business deals that the company had with SCEE execs. Lik-Sang is also currently working overtime on cancelling and refunding all of the existing orders that they have in their books.

Thanks lauwens for the heads up!

Via GamesIndustry

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I believe this is true out of that "Regarding the issue of SCE executives purchasing imported PSP hardware and software from Lik-Sang, Sony responded by saying, "The purchasing of PSP consoles by SCE employees would be for investigatory purposes. We would also like to express our surprise at a company releasing personal information about its consumers, as this is contrary to data protection principles around the world."

If you were/are an employer of a company who produced hardware goods, i'd think you want to investigate big time companies anyway don't you think? But on the contrary, it could be a cover up. But, whatever nothing you can do now.

# . — Guest 2006-10-24 09:46

WHAT THE FUCCK HAS OUR WORLD COME TO?!?!? Our world is not moving forward but is going back into the past and we will all be under a dictatorship soon enough.

# nice, lik-sang was getting way out of hand — Guest 2006-10-24 09:48

they were stealing people's personal info and violating copyright laws and international trade rules. They got what was coming to them.

# International trade — dreary79 2006-10-24 09:52

I know what you mean... International trade is illegal.

# sob — Guest 2006-10-24 09:52

cant say that sony is doing the best thing for what fans they have left and i cant say i wont miss linksang i mean where am i going to go to get that dreamcast part thats out of stock?..... linksang was good its a shame sony in general became a pile of pr!cks but hey in this cold world what are we going do. sony is going be droping out of the game if the ps3 fails and when looking at wii i dont think they stand a chance they might want to huddle with sega to get some information on whats going to happen to them

# yeah, think before you talk — Guest 2006-10-24 09:53

wtf lawl?^

Lik-Sang.com has only been one of the finest and nicest import companies I have even bought from and selling PSPs worldwide should break no rule. And they don't "steal" personal info, idiot. It comes on the fricken order form.

# Fluck sony and the ps3 — Guest 2006-10-24 09:54

i got an email from them today sayin: sorry but ur nintendo wii order has been canceled thanks to us closing down. Good Job Sony u just lost a fan.

# forget — Guest 2006-10-24 09:57

i am not buying a ps3. they can shove it up there poo holes

# LOL — Guest 2006-10-24 10:00

it's like someone's best friend got shot, LOL

Keep jumpin ship everyone!!! Means I'll have a PS3 earlier :)

Y'all act like there aren't other sites that do the exact same thing that aren't shut down... yet.

Quit your whining, adapt, and move on. Sheez.

# Lik-sang's e-mail: — DiabloTerrorGF 2006-10-24 10:03

Dear valued customer,

unfortunately, Lik Sang is forced to close its virtual doors for good. This

comes as a consequence of the several legal actions brought on us by Sony.

For more information on the situation, please point your browser to the

following link:

http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3901

Therefore, as soon as humanly possible, we will cancel all existing orders,

including yours, and issue refunds where necessary.

Please note that it may take anywhere from a few days up to a week or two

for refunds to be processed by PayPal, your bank or your credit card

company, so please don't worry if you don't see it immediately on your

balance statement. You can rest assured that Lik-Sang is monitoring the

situation closely with all involved parties. No single customer will be

caught in the crossfire of this ordeal.

We are sorry to have to go, and we wish to thank you sincerely your support

over the past decade.

Warm regards and a big THANK YOU from the entire Hong Kong crew.

Team Lik-Sang

# world trade... — Guest 2006-10-24 10:06

This means that sites like yes-asia and other sites that export consoles will be going down soon...

Europe will stay in the stone-ages of consoles while the rest of the world gets their systems faster than us...

Thanks $ony for $hit

# I know fer real — Guest 2006-10-24 10:06

people in here need to grow up man, it aint like that's the only site that sells stuff like that. You break the law, you get caught...period...end of story...there should be no more discussion, except from tards who weren't getting a ps3 in the first place....continue.

# Law? — Guest 2006-10-24 10:08

Someone want to explain exactly what law Lik-Sang broke by importing PSPs other than pissing off $ony by cutting in to their monopoly?

# Wow. — Bad Intentions 2006-10-24 10:09

This encourages me to pirate Sony things. Well actually.. Sony doesn't make software. =(

# buncha babies!!! — Guest 2006-10-24 10:10

relax! the world is not over! All you jump the gunners will continue buying Sony products regardless of some small unknown internet trading site shutting down...I bet half of you crybabies have never even bought a damn thing from Lik Sang..."Wahhh my favorite site got shut down for doing illegal s%$*!" If your damn company was losing money from a website you'd have it shut down too!! So quit crying and move on!!!!!

# Homebrew — Guest 2006-10-24 10:12

No, but you can tick em off by running homebrew, lol.

# LOL — Guest 2006-10-24 10:13

awwwww!!! shall i buy a tissue so u can all drown ur tears. Im rather worried about how serious people are taking this. At the end of the day, Sony can't sue someone through thin air. Lik-Sang have broke trading laws and Sony has every right to sue. Sony is an international business, they're there to make money not give things away, hence why most of you *****ing probably arent great at business. I wonder what half of you would say if MS was to sue Lik-Sang, bet all you lot moaning wouldnt bat an eye-lid. But then again, i wouldnt expect more from people who's main thing in life is to support a games machine.

Its business people. U do something illegal, sadly, you'll get punished

# my opinion counts more than yours. — soopergooman 2006-10-24 10:17

Thats what you get for selling goods that are not to be sold in any other country. It'd be like if I was selling levi jeans in Russia, levi's would sue the pants off me(pun intended). You reap what you sow. They ripped off sony by selling their products to places where they were told not to. They did it anyway and wham bam sued. So what do they do? They put out a statement making sony out to be the bad guy. When in actuallity they are the ones ripping off Sony. Well to all you lik sang suckers go and sell off ur sony stuff because you don't deserve it anyway.

IN MY OPINION!

# hmm...... — Guest 2006-10-24 10:18

thats a way of commiting that sony rips off europeans. sony is a company who existis to make money so it wouldnt matter if japan or france or US. 599€(europe 60GB) instead of 418€(japan 60GB) seems to matter ^-^. so intellectual property rights just a farce

# Sony have shot themselves in the foot!! — Guest 2006-10-24 10:18

I just had my order of the GTA UMD cancelled by Liksang, I had a feeling it was due to these legal proceedings.

# sucks — Guest 2006-10-24 10:26

one less spot to get the goofy accessories and gadgets for my systems. I still use the all-in-one DC/N64/Xbox/PSuX adapter I bought for like 9 bux, and the pistol grips I for my PSP and GBA.

I don't blame sony, cuz w/o them I wouldn't have Devhook... I mean a PSP.

# awldkIfhasliofh ;oejrtlnekhHATE sorgsdnbfjlsdkf jhs;odfjgsnfgjh sd;ofghskldnfgl ksnd;ftgsydpofg ijhd;tmyr[to7y-[w0r8tw98465724 5i6h34l6ywjkdhfog8s6 tdr987y4h563n457CRYBABIESl.n3 e;on897g6we756t 9208u569ngu5906 qe6t27yh;46on46 ;l7h468m4op5utb yw09et76y967uyh 45okn78b;5 — soopergooman 2006-10-24 10:26

get ur gta vcs at a respectable dealer like EB or GameStop or Microplay or WalMart or THE SONY STORE or PLAY ASIA or Zellers or Harods or Radio Shack or Best BUY or Circuit City or outta ma a$$ watteva store that can legally sell it.

# Sony — Guest 2006-10-24 10:28

Kind of sucks nowadays...

# Nintendo Wii here I come!!! — Guest 2006-10-24 10:32

Sony has been run by *****s lately...

# cover up — Guest 2006-10-24 10:36

I smell cover up! Damn Sony.

# LOL — Guest 2006-10-24 10:48

Lik-Sang and their Euro buddies just got PWNT. Money, money, money...that's what it all comes down to. Sony is doing something SMART. All of you guys who hate Microsoft and their crappy software are hippocrites. Sony is doing what Bill Gates and Co. did: try to MONOPOLIZE. It eliminates unneeded competition. Sk337 sauce.

Cry me a river if Lik-Sang went down.

You're gonna have to wait in line to get your PS3 and Wii now...just like everyone else. No 1337 hax way for you to be ahead of everyone else. LOL!

Lastly, if your a Euro and wanna PS3, make a trip here to the States during Christmas to see what the frenzy's all about! Especially in Vegas. BYAHHHHH!

# sigh — Figboy 2006-10-24 10:50

what people should really be upset about is the demise of a talented developer like Clover Studios, you know, the people that make the amazing video games we buy from stores and online.

Lik Sang broke the law. period. Sony tried to stop them from selling their stuff illegally before. they didn't listen, now they are reaping what they've sown, much like Immersion.

yeah, it's dissappointing that some of you guy's favorite online store is closing down, but there are others. get over it.

i'm going to go play Okami and Viewtiful and mourn the loss of something more important than this.

# Ive got 3 words for sony... — Guest 2006-10-24 11:03

EAT A D!CK, Money hungry sons a b1tches. Okay maybe 8 words.

# Also a blow to homebrew — Guest 2006-10-24 11:11

Well Lik-Sang won´t be sponsoring anymore homebrew competions. Just great ain´t it.

You $ony fanboys can stick your PS3 right up your...well you knoew where.

So I can´t legally import games? well I guess I wil just have to pirate those babies. YA!!!!! way to go $ony

# What's the issue here — Guest 2006-10-24 11:18

Why have Sony wait until the PS3 about to come out to do something about it. The PSP have out for more than a year and I haven't heard Nintendo doing anything about it either.

# Perfectly Said — GaveUpTomorrow 2006-10-24 11:25

Lets all defend the wrong doer here (Sarcasm). If Lik-Sang was doing something against law, and a Judge ruled against them, they got what was coming to them. I could care less about the website anyways...doesn't effect me anyways.. Their business lost just means another sites business will go up..

# dont care — Guest 2006-10-24 11:25

I dont really care about what happens to liksang nor Sony. None of them give me anything for free, so why should I care?

# um.. no — RaiderX 2006-10-24 11:27

thye caused it, end of story, i dont see how they were even able to pull that out of their ass in a sad attempt to save a few sony fanboys...

# . — Guest 2006-10-24 11:32

What the hell are you talking about everybody knows that wii is going to suck.

# hehe — Guest 2006-10-24 11:35

Get angry little girls. O no your precious website has shut down. Jump off the sony bandwagon. More PS3's for us

# oh yeah... — Guest 2006-10-24 11:35

nice try to cover up sony,

let's see, lik-sang is up and running, lots of customers and everyone likes them, then the next day they shut down after sony goes after them legally.. I WONDER WHAT HAPPENED?!?!

# hmm — Guest 2006-10-24 11:37

this whole lawsuit is probably indirectly due to blu-ray and the PS3 being reigon free (or so I've heard). I'm not really mourning the loss of lik-sang, though.

# The truth — Guest 2006-10-24 11:37

again lik-Sang was actually at fault here. They never got authorization from sony to sell there products overseas theer fore the infringed on sonys rights. It would be like ripping and then burning a CD and trying to sell it, you would be thrown in jail. I loved lik-sang, but it truly was at fault here :(

# oh well — akuma2099 2006-10-24 11:40

Although I did get a PSP from Lik-sang before they were avaliable in the US it isn't like you can't get them anywhere else. There are at least half a dozen places you can get the same stuff. Also all these little cry babies saying "I'm done with Sony" That's fine with me, if half of you are serious about not getting a PS3 it will just make it easier for those who want one to get it. I have one on reserve a Gamestop and will be playing it on launch day. I couldn't care less about Sonys business practices as long as they make great games and products. I doubt if most of you are serious anyway you probably couldn't afford one so you just say this to sound special.

Lik-Sang broke the rules and were warned they decided to ignore Sony and look what happens. There are sites they sell stuff but they say they will not sell to certain countries if Lik-Sang had done this then they would still be around.

# . — Guest 2006-10-24 11:42

F-uck sony.

I loved lik-sang.

I'm going Wii or 360.

# WTF Sony!? — Ninkul 2006-10-24 11:43

Holy hell, Sony not responsible my bloody ass! Its purely 100% Sony's fault and they CAN NOT DENY IT. Lik-sang was doing GREAT up until just then. Bloody hell Sony, you're really just ASKING to be flamed by everyone

# True — CHUCKINGROCKSATSPACESHIPS 2006-10-24 11:45

Sad but I see it everyday. We don't own anything. We are all owned.

# F@ggotry — Guest 2006-10-24 11:49

How stupid, one person said they have gotten more of a positive impression of Lik-Sang than Sony. Yeah because the products Lik-Sang sells they own, and have all the credibility to do what they want with them foolish!

Lik-Sang sells Sony products illegally(witho ut consent). Sony is the maker/creator of these products which means their the owner. They choose what they want with what they own!

Bottom line. BUY FROM LEGAL RETAILERS! Lik-Sang can lick my Sang.

# That Really sucks — Guest 2006-10-24 11:51

damn i was going to but my White PSP from lik-sang...

and sony had ***** that up.... Lik sang is a good website. and i went there to buy special Products...

Sony i love your consoles

but you as a company you really suck...

I'm defitnatly getting a Xbox 360

Scew PS3.....

not supporting those Money *****ting *****s

.. that's why i download games.. =)

Benche sony Maricons!!

# Don't Beleive — Guest 2006-10-24 11:59

if i wer u don't beleive this crap.$ony is always lien about everything.example, sony showed back then a image of wat the ps2 would look like, it looked like a crystal well it was a digital image they made and lied through their teeth.$ony is so GAY!The psp is Gay without homebrew.

# F@ggotry — Guest 2006-10-24 12:00

# F@ggotry — Guest 2006-10-24 12:02

# F@ggotry — Guest 2006-10-24 12:03

# F@ggotry — Guest 2006-10-24 12:05

# lol — Guest 2006-10-24 12:09

call sony what you want you will STILL buy their hardware! lol

Suckers!!

# You guys are pretty dumb that are sticking with Sony.... — Guest 2006-10-24 12:40

Sony is lying to all of us. Look, you read the article, it's a complete lie. They ARE LYING...don't you care that a company will lie right to your face on a press release, when anyone with any amount of intellect can tell what the truth is.

# no, it's illegal to trade something accross the world without permission. — Guest 2006-10-24 12:48

First, I hate lik-sang. They tried to steal my personal info by requiring me to send them photo coppies of my creditcard and signature and I.D.

Secondly, you can't sell something owned by a company (sony) from one country to another (china to europe) without permission. So yes, they violated the law, they were stealing personal info, they deserved to die.

# ok fine — akuma2099 2006-10-24 13:06

why post the same thing 5 times? It doesn't help your point it just makes you look stupid.

# Fluck sony and the ps3 — Guest 2006-10-24 13:16

So let me get this straight, because your Wii order was canceled, Sony lost a customer? Sounds to me like Nintendo just did.

# lol — Fox_XIII 2006-10-24 13:37

Sony feels guilty..haha

# Just because a law is there doesn't mean it's right... — Guest 2006-10-24 13:59

.... This is a sad day for free markets. All this does is rip-off European consumers and allow big co's to continue with their rip-off pricing schemes.

All you idiots who say Lik Sang had it coming, I'm glad you prefer to pay a huge premium for exactly the same item as could have been purchased in another region of the world.

I'll miss the chance to purchase foreign language games and other accessories - I hope all those SONY execs who gave the go-ahead for the lawsuit to ROT IN HELL

# wow — Guest 2006-10-24 14:06

all u ppl *****ing are all *****s, u all need to learn to wait for ***** instead of finding any way to get ***** early, being able to wait is a big part of life...wut are u guna do, order a bf/gf online? learn how to WAIT

# Are you people idiots? — Guest 2006-10-24 14:11

You sony freaks need to wake up. Damn sheep eating whatever sony feeds you, well wait no ***** huh? You are buying the ps3.

# Still a stupid law IMO — pauridius 2006-10-24 14:13

I liked Liksang. I ordered converters from there, came on time. And NO they didn't steal my personal Info. Everyone who said they did is lying.

RIP Liksang ;_;

# ... — cory1492 2006-10-24 14:44

What most of you are neglecting to think about is, if it wasn't for $ony the law they had supposedly broken would not exist in the British court. It is a disturbing precedent that set the law in the first place, and I dont blame Lik-Sang for walking away instead of trying to match lawyers with $ony's - anyone pay attention to how much that sort of thing cost OJ?

Intellectual Property my arse, if I pay for something legitimately, from Lik-Sang or any other place, I own it. All of a sudden it is an "IP law crisis" that the person who happens to have my goods, that I lawfully obtained, can't send it to me in X location? How the frack is that ANY of $ony's business - they got paid for the console when it was purchased, didn't they? Woot, we got protected from legitimate honest dealing sellers who give their customers what they pay for... what that leaves is shady, back street type sellers and ticked off fan-bases.

I mean, would you REALLY want a mega-maniacal fool telling you what you can and can't buy and from where you can or can't buy it, and when and if you are even allowed to? I guess the bully wins again due to illegitimate brainwashing.

The global market that is available on the WORLD WIDE web just got a little smaller, and set a precident for more companies to make it even more smaller for the average person to get what they actually want when they actually want it, from whomever they choose to get it from :-(

# PUT YOUR SELF IN SONY's SHOES!!! — Guest 2006-10-24 14:57

keep that in mind. every country has a law. because of this, SONY negotiate with each country what kinds of products and taxes should be apply on it. that's why they break it down into regions.

do you know that those Import Japanese Toys that we buy across asia can't be sold here in the U.S.A. even if you want too. i talked to BANDAI JAPAN and they said they cannot allow to sell me a product DIRECTLY because of so many reasons. I need to buy it here in the U.S. from company who obtained that license in that specific TOY product. these companies pay huge moneys to get the license and be able to make that product locally. still many online websites outside the U.S. can sell import products without getting caught.

what's the lesson here....SONY is a international company, that have the resources to track you down and make you pay once you don't obey the rules and regulations in selling their products. for european gamers fans, you feel dissappointed because you won't get a PS3 immediately on Nov. 17th now that Lik-Sang had closed. but put your self in SONY's shoes and let say you own SONY. would you feel good if someone is selling a product to a country that you are planning to sell next? especially if its your NEW release product. ofcourse not, because instead of you making the money first, an online website is taking that advantage and try to saturate that region before you set your feet on it. Think like a business person, not just a consumer...okay? :)

# ... — Guest 2006-10-24 15:21

I have tolerated sony for many years now. I have tolerated they crappy manufacturing, the...well everything. THis is just bull*****, them needing more cash now that their company is going bankrupt. They try to sue everyone. I hope sony ceos, and presidant end up getting sued, and going broke

# good work sony! — Guest 2006-10-24 15:41

good work sony!

# totally agree — Guest 2006-10-24 15:42

people stop taking up for lik-sang they broke the law they suffer the consiquences

# who cares — Guest 2006-10-24 15:44

if you're gonna buy a ps3 or not lol it doesn't affect them at all ;)

# yeah! — Guest 2006-10-24 15:49

nice one sony

# hmmm... — Guest 2006-10-24 15:56

i always wonder about this kind of people, if you hate $ony so much, why even bother to buy $hit from them? Go create your own $hit if you think you're that great ;)

# LOL — Guest 2006-10-24 16:00

Obviously majority of the people here are kids that know nothing but whining ;)

# yeah — Guest 2006-10-24 16:03

i smell fart! damn you

# Some of you guys are *****1ng stupid, — Guest 2006-10-24 16:07

UK law DOES NOT apply to other countries. The WORST the UK court could do is restrict the importation or sale of Sony products by Lik-Sang in Britain, that's it.

There is no "international law (or authority)" that restricts my right to resell products internationally .

The only thing that comes close is the WTO, but if you're stupid enough to believe that it's legitimate, or think that it should be legitimate to have an international organization dictating your rights to you, I've got a loooooooooong bridge I can sell you.

# you're a... — Guest 2006-10-24 16:10

*****

i haven't seen a company that isn't "money hungry" in this world

# everyone??? — Guest 2006-10-24 16:17

nope, i know i'm not gonna flame sony

i don't care less if lik-sang or whatever ***** goes down. this is how the world function, the strong lives and the weak one dies. live with it kid, you'll know what i mean when you grow up ;)

# thanks — Guest 2006-10-24 16:23

i hope more people (or should i say *****?) like you appear, that'd make people who really wanna get a ps3 happy ;) go get your xbox lol thanks in advance ^ ^

# oooohh... — Guest 2006-10-24 16:27

i guess you are extremely... "smart" O_O why do you bother telling people who they should support? why don't you throw away all your sony products now ;)

# omfglolbbqmao you're a joker — Guest 2006-10-24 16:41

you win!!!

nobody ask you to tolerate, if you think they are craps you can always go for something else lol companies do business and business mean making money and that's what a company does, not just because they are going bankruptcy lol

i wonder if they tried to sue you for anything at all lol

# pirate — Guest 2006-10-24 17:23

even if this incident doesn't occur, i bet that you're already pirating almost everything that could be pirated, like all of us here do ;p and don't come telling me that you're not using even ONE pirated software ;)

# R.I.P Lik-Sang — Guest 2006-10-24 18:02

Well a few of you have said 'its just an internet shop' , 'there are loads like it'.

Not so sure thats the case.

I have shopped with LikSang a number of times and found the service to be great, the items arrived in great condition and (mostly) on time. All E-mails recieved were clear on the progress of my orders, it was a pleasure shopping with them.

(at no point did they ask me for large amounts of personal information, if you recieve a mail from a company requesting anything like this, look into it. Its probably a scam of some sort, making something look and sound official is easy. Dont be afraid to ask questions and if in doubt, just dont use the service)..

The majority of items i purchased were Import games (that never got released in this country), some anime-related items, a *****-hot dance matt for Stepmania etc,etc.

As well as catering for older consoles/systems, they had a diverse and interesting store. I believe they will be missed by many (and remembered).

I'm sure there is a lot more to the story concerning Lik Vs Sony. And while i'm sad to see the store go and kinda pissed at sony, i do understand that the psp sales on the site did bend a few trade laws.

Its just a shame that Sony decided to kinda 'crash-down' on Lik-Sang.

What next, Demand that ALL sellers on E-Bay are to be removed from the site if they try to sell a PSP abroad ?

(maybe they tried that allready).

I'm sure a suitable replacement for all our import/gaming/psp needs will surface soon enough.

But R.I.P Lik-Sang never the less...

# yeah — Guest 2006-10-24 18:20

its a friggin game console. get a grip of yourself.

"how do you kill that which has no life??" haha

# wow — Guest 2006-10-24 18:35

finally i see someone with a little bit of intellect talking here (sarcasm) ;p

# Suppy & Demand — Gazz 2006-10-24 20:38

Its a sad day to see this happen. Lik-Sang were a good company and provided a much loved service to their clients. All the people who say this whole incident is being blown out of proportions clearly do not understand the implications of this court case.

It opens the gates for all games company's (Hardware & Software) to stop goods from one country being sold in another. Nothing illegal was going on here if you look at it from a logical stand point:

- Sony were not loosing any money off the consoles imported, Lik-Sang sold hardware units to people in different countries, and part of those profits were passed onto Sony themselves as would be the case in buying any other item across the internet.

- Taxes were being paid by the repsective clients at their end when they recieved their goods, so no tax dodging was going on, therefore tax evasion could not be something to legally stop the importing of goods.

This is an act of power and control of Sony over its products. It is not an act of saving consumers from themselves.

Lik-Sang are in every way right to do what they have done, by stating names of people within Sony who have used their service, as it is Sony who has forced them to be closed through litigation. On the one hand Sony used their import service, and on the other hand the company's legal department want Lik-Sang closed down. I'm 99% certain that the legal department released the statement related to Lik-Sang being used in an investigatory way for the purchase of PSP's and that it the statement has no truth in it. Sony of Japan could almost be gaurenteed to have not provided game consoles to Sony USA / Europe and left their staff to buy their own units on launch. The only units that any developers would have had access too in USA / Europe would be that of development kits (and test kits) for the creation of software.

Anyway, Lik-Sang will be remembered as the first internet company of this scale to be closed by the faceless multi-national company that is Sony. Watch now as the rest of the smaller company's collapse under Sony's empire.

Even with this sequence of events happening, as there is always a demand for imported goods, there will always be another company to get your goods from - as per the rules of supply and demand.

# Lik-Sang — Guest 2006-10-25 00:53

Yeah it's a shame that Clover has been closed, but speaking as someone in the UK I needed Lik-Sang to be able to play Clover's games. Okami doesn't come out over here till some time next year. So we needed Lik-Sang just as much as we needed Clover. And let's not forget it's Sony's fault Lik-Sang closed. Clover closed (allegedly) because the games weren't selling well enough. One is the fault of the consumer and the other the fault of a large corporation throwing their weight around to gain a monopoly on a market.

# At least one that gets the bigger picture... — Guest 2006-10-25 00:59

I already was about to think here are only short-thinking (and non-thinking) kids around, mashing each other (***** $ony $hit, I'm go boycott! vs. ***** uself! Thx 4 ur PS3!).

Next to no one seems to start to think deeper into the facts and the effects of this. Yeah, it's easy just saying "it doesn't affect me, ***** on it!", but those lemmings won't even notice when they are affected.

The problem is, that big companies try with all they can afford to decide for us what is good and what not (read as: what brings more money for them and what not). It's right from their point of view, no doubt, however, it is not right from a higher point of view - a point of view that is unfortunately not popular.

Lik-sang going down is sad for the employees first, they lost their jobs. It's also sad that there are less options for european customers to get what they want (products that are available elsewhere at a price that is reasonable in respect to the transportion costs). Lik-Sang will get replaced though (actually it is already). That is until Sony (and other companies) take this new opportunity (a defacto "blanko-check" for hunting down all other such export-companies) and go on a sueing-streak.

Then they will again rule how/when and where their stuff gets sold ultimately (at least on the paper), therefore being able to demand any price they think. Globalism to the companies cause at it's best - get working power and production costs as cheap as possible by making use of the world market, but on the other side contradicting the world market by crying for their right to split that world market into virtual portions of buying-capacity, aka "where which price best fits the milking capacity of the cows".

Customers however won't accept that marketing-scheme for ever, because it only becomes more and more obvious that there are a lot of other options, that just don't/cannot get used because the companies criminalize that usage through laws, that were created by the means of the last century.

But as history should have told everyone already - no law is to be inpenetrateable , there will always be underground movements that undergo those laws (blackmarket, darknet, you name it) and therefore such movements are just small sticks that companies throw onto the way of social evolution.

# You fanboys are crazy for blaming Sony, eh? — Guest 2006-10-25 01:25

Sony guilty for the closing of Clover? Jajajajajaa.

Sony guilty for stopping people from receiving their Wiis?

Jajajaja

My *****ing god, WTF are you talking about? Sony lawsuited Lik-Sang for something that was bad for them, and illegal. Sony WON THE CASE, (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=20489) and Lik-Sang has closed simply to evade paying them. Sony didn't want them to sell Japanes PSPs to Europe without their permission, LS decided to go ahead, and legally, LS lost. And the objective of Sony was not the closure of the shop, don't be idiots: SCEE wanted to stop the importing of PSPs. If the case has been too long and expensive for LS, it's their fault, they should have stopped at the beginning as other online shops did. If they are closing now, it's because they want to do that, to evade THE LAW. And, if you are *****ed because you loved LS, remember it's their fault, not Sony's.

The most coward and illegal thing OF ALL THIS is actually the Lik-Sang page, publishing names of SCEE employees. Do these people know anything about 'Data Protection'? Ah, no, as they are against Sony, they are above the law and always right.

Not to mention that a lot of idiots here think that Sony didn't want any case just because the bastards at LS don't mention that. Of course.

But it's quite funny to see how easy to manipulate are the Sony-haters. Anyone says 'SONY BASTARDS' and a lot of idiots go behind without knowing anything about the case.

# They could have done it legally. — Vietone 2006-10-25 02:37

International LAW is still law.

The reason they don't allow international sales without permission is so that certain contraband doesn't get shipped where its not legal to have possession of it.

Its like buying drugs from a different country where its legal and importing it to America where it is illegal.

Also what most people don't realize is that an imported system gets 0 warranty. Most people who have a problem call Sony and complain, then when the time comes that they find out the system was for a different region, its alot of wasted time to see if the console was purchased in the region it was made for, or if it was imported.

Support cost Money, every company does this, Microsoft is no different. This is no different then Microsoft annoying the hell out of people with the Windows Genuine Advantage software until they buy a valid version of windows.

Everyone here cant talk ***** about Sony unless you have done nothing illegal. If you download music, movies, games, anything that you don't already own. Then every word you say negative about Sony being responsible for lik-sang carries absolutely NO WEIGHT.

Its a stupid LAW when it prevents the PS3 from being imported to different reasons. But then people turn around and say What a great law, its keeping unapproved overseas drugs from being sold in america.

# Idiots — Guest 2006-10-25 05:26

you f*ckin idiots, defending Sony like some fanboy *****gots. Lik-sang did nothing wrong. They bought hardware from a company & sold it. How is that anything like selling drugs from another country. I'm glad you pointed that out to me. I never new a psp was ILLEGAL CONTRABAND. I should make sure my kids don't use illegal drugs or play with sony video games. I guess every person that sells stuff on ebay or amazon outside of their country of orgin should be hunted down & prosecuted for breaking international trade/copyright laws!!?? Lik-Sang was a great company & anyone that says they wanted personal info is an idiot. You were on the wrong site dude. Upgrade your shi**y windows operating system, get some virus protection, firewall, adware, spyware etc..... and then maybe you won't end up on some phony website that wants your info. Lik-sang was not pirating their hardware, games etc. They were just selling it to whomever wanted to pay for the overpriced buggy peice of junk. If the customer lived in europe/uk then sobeit. If I sell my crappy ps1 games to someone in the uk on ebay, then is sony going to come to my door & sue me? Good move sony, I hope your company fails, & the processors & blu ray tech eats you alive. To hell with all you with nazi corporations

# lol — Guest 2006-10-25 06:49

Anyone siding with Sony doesn't have the ability to understand cause and effect. Think of the precedent Sony is setting with this. Think how easy it will be for Sony to bully any company they don't like, and then threaten them with legal action.

Then all they have to do is send out a press release...and the mindless droves of Sony fanatics are suddenly back on their side. I'm not trying to insult anyone...I'm more trying to get you to actually THINK about it. And no, I'm not talking reading this response and in your head going "Oh what an idiot, he doesn't get that it's sony's right to do that"....THINK ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF SONY BEING ABLE TO PUT PEOPLE THEY WANT OUT OF BUSINESS.

# bull ***** ***** u all msjusahahh — Guest 2006-10-25 06:56

stop crying

# sorry — Guest 2006-10-25 07:10

move on half of the people here will end up buying a wii or ps3 or both any way sony was good through ps1 and ps2 but then psp thats when power got to sony now they they are the evil empire forever crushing small empires for money and power now small companys beware the corrupt empire of sony is here

# Pricks — Guest 2006-10-25 07:40

all I can say is that Sony have gradually lost my support since the rising prices of their consoles. This is the final nail in the coffin for me. so good bye Sony and F*** you.

# Grow up people! Its just videogames! — Guest 2006-10-25 08:14

I love videogames as much as the next guy, but people are taking it a little too far with their reaction. Its as if Lik-sang was their uncle or something, they don't care what you think, not Sony, not Nintendo, not Microsoft.

For those who said "I'm not buying a PS3," "I hope Sony dies," and "f**k Sony," need to freaking grow up! You were already going to buy a 360 or Wii anyways so stop pretending that you supported Sony.

God I hate fanboys!

# buyer — Guest 2006-10-25 08:59

I used Liksang about 2-3 times per month. I bought an import PSP from them 1 year before it was released in the UK, and even with £50 import charges, it still cost LESS than the UK official price tag. Sony is bitter, because they lost out on ripping off a few European punters with their rip-off prices. All of you who say Liksang were breaking the law, and deserved to go down had best be careful of trading in your PS games in future, as that also seems to be losing the almighty Sony a couple of bucks, and they'll probably start taking out legal procedures on Johnny Public sometime soon... As for the comment earlier about having to send personal info to Liksang, after approx 40+ transactions with them, I was NEVER asked to do this. I'll miss you Liksang - Just be assured that there won't be as much grieving when the PS3 takes Sony down.

# Possessions are fleeting.. — Guest 2006-10-25 09:20

things we hold dear and even things we wish gone. are all fleeting. i suppose this is one of those things that "are what they are" i suppose this is the karma deal to liksang for selling joy to people around the world. no doubt, sony will reap what they sow as well.

# Dont Bite theHand that Feeds U Fat F*cks — Guest 2006-10-25 11:06

They were the 1s who made psp for those lil girls to exploit and piss on. So i dont blame sony, and i upgraded from 1.0 to 2.81.

# Sony are becoming the new Bill Gates!!!!!! — Guest 2006-10-25 11:07

Very, very, very unhappy about SONY doing this. I think this all boils down to the previous vendetta regarding LikSang selling PS1 mod chips.

SONY why?? become bullies, everyone enjoys import, It has been around since the begining of gaming and will not stop.

You have disgraced yourself in my opinion. What is the next step? stoping all the mail order imports?-i don't think so-. This was personal and will have a dramatic effect on true gamers!!!

# lol — Figboy 2006-10-25 11:11

"lick my Sang." that was clever (i'm being serious, by the way).

anyway, i agree. apparently Sony only gave Lik Sang permission to sell PSPs to Asia, and Asian territories (ie, Japan) alone. by selling them to Europe and anywhere that wasn't an Asian territority, they were breaking their contract agreement and thus doing something illegal. it was a simple thing/request, that Lik Sang could have complied to, but they weren't thinking with common sense, and only about the capital that floods in due to these illegal sales. it's unfortunate that they have shut down for those that used them (i personally, didn't. but then again, i don't buy things online), but they brought it upon themselves by choosing to break their contract.

believe me, if you had a contract with someone, and they broke it, you'd be pissed as all hell, too (it's happened to me over some artwork i did for someone, and it's not fun). i understand Sony's position, but they must have clearly felt they were in the right, because they new public perception of them would drop if they went forward, possibly affecting their Playstation business, but they went ahead with the lawsuit anyway. that doesn't strike me as a company that is just trying to get over on another company. they were well within their rights to take legal action agains Lik Sang.

# I wasn't trying to. — Guest 2006-10-25 12:07

I didn't mean for it to be posted 5 times. My internet was crapping out and was disconnecting, and reconnecting while I clicked post. So this was nothing I was intending to do. I'm no spammer.

# Just a coincidence? I think not — Guest 2006-10-25 13:27

I makes me feel that much better that I bought an HP laptop last week rather than a $ony. I was a big supporter of Blu-Ray but I think im leaning more towards HDDVD now.

# Stupid sony — Guest 2006-10-25 13:33

It is sonys fault.

Also I would go to lik sang side more then sony crap.

We were all kind of expecting them to deny it though anyway, but screw sony

# rofl — Guest 2006-10-25 16:00

people think what they like, why bother telling people what they should think lol are you a preacher of some occult group?

# omg — Guest 2006-10-25 16:09

nobody's defending $ony, people are just telling the facts ;) you can't change the fact that $ony wins against lick-sang so just live with it boy ;) if you can't take it, why don't you lay a lawsuit against $ony

# Big Whoop — Guest 2006-10-26 00:21

To all you boycotters of Sony, Lik-Sang has been sued several times by by Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony. Twice by Nintendo infact, plus they've said they shutting down in response before many times, a childish response. So i guess al you boycotters of Sony will just have to boycott gaming all together as all the console developers have all sued Lik-Sang.

Solution: Quit crying.

# just cos sony's rich — Guest 2006-10-30 23:45

sony should also sue ebay.. and every other eCommerce sites that sell psp/ps2 etc. sony should also sue me? wa? =S

# meh — Guest 2006-11-13 17:03

my PS3 shipped from play-asia earlier today, I'm not helping sony much; their projected forecasts leave them 1.7Billion dollars in debt, partly due to the PSP sucking ass. I purchased regularly through lik-sang and am sad to see it go, however there will be others to rise from the ashes

# meh — Guest 2006-11-13 17:14

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