Sony Responds to BBC Criticism

[Charley]

So the BBC is doing free console repairs now?

Where were they during the RROD fiasco!?

They had real news to cover that day.

The article is tainted by innacuracies, half-truths, and outright lies. The BBC being pivotal in it's creation, is tainted by their own in-house staff. It's been a pleasure taking you to school.

I expected this from CNN, NBC or NSMBC because I heard they're microsoft companies.

Hooray for the school of your-house. The BBC is, in theory impartial, on account of it not being allowed to take money off companies. The programme in question, Watchdog, goes after companies hard in the interests of the "average" UK consumer - who is an idiot.

By Watchdog's standards, the consumer is never wrong... even if they're complaining that they discovered that plugging the fridge into your dog means that your ice cream will melt, they'll still hound the company for an episode. The target market is disgruntled, dim consumers.

The BBC is regulated to the nines, being as it's a publicly-owned company. Someone leaving them to work for MS means just shy of nothing - I left a nightclub to work for a multinational, that doesn't mean they're funding illicit nightclub deals. Ian Lee, importantly, is a tool.

Going to school was fun - I prefered college

 

[D_987]

Watchdog are useless scaremongerors anyway...

Just about all their "consumer advice" seems to be useless, common-sense things or they take something so minute and blow it way out of proportion. Of course it happened to be a gaming console so here come the mindless fanboys to cry about how the BBC are suddenly involved with Microsoft.

They did the same thing with Amazon.co.uk (about the only other time I've seen the programme) and I was amazed at the bullshit, lies and one-way reporting performed by Watchdogs own. Any and all of the problems they found with the service were so obvious (as in they claimed it was easy to be scammed, when the people who got scammed were asked to use a system other than the one provided by Amazon...). They then spent the rest of the programme explaining how dangerous Amazon marketplace is and ended by supporting ebay instead - having already criticised them on the same grounds...

They act as though the customers who get scammed are not gullible idiots, but people abused by the company in question, which if you see the programme in question, is utter nonsense...

As for the PS3-thing, again it's utter bullshit - I doubt they went for the PS3 on purpose - they probably got a letter exclaiming some "poor" customer had hit his PS3 with a hammer, it had broken and Sony didn't give them a refund. From there they performed their normal scare tactics and "help" the consumer in question...

Needless to say anyone who takes them seriously is a fool.

Edit: The fanboys arrived before me....

 

[murphy7801]

I once had this "yellow light of death" and after a while...it just went away.
I sent it in but since the sony repair crew is kind of sh*t (according to my past experiences), they told me there was nothing wrong and sent it back. It wouldn't have been a problem if I didn't have to pay to send it over and be stuck without a ps3 for 2 months.

were do you live

 

[Woodsey]

It's very stupid - the PS3 can be criticised for a number of things (more to do with Sony's handling of it really) but the failure rate is very small - nothing's perfect, especially hardware.

Apparently the most they've done about the 360 is a report on scratched discs (which is far less prevalent and only happens if you decide to move the console about fairly vigorously whilst playing - and why would you?) and the failure rate is ridiculous (nearly 1:2!).

So yeah, Watchdog's gonna get bummed. Metaphorically.

 

[Sixties Spidey]

Whatever. Most of those problems as well as hardware defects are usually caused by negligence. I know people who've had 60 GB PS3's since launch and to this day, they work like they're out of the box.

 

[Nova5]

The PS3's got a ridiculously small failure rate.. I've had 4 XBOX 360's, and the first three all had RRoD. Picked up an Elite eventually and no more problems.

Both my PS3 (60GB, original PS3 w/ B/C) still functions after a couple of years of service, and my girlfriend's PS3 (80GB, 1 year old now) also runs like a champ.

While I do love my 360 and PS3 equally, I certainly trust Sony's hardware a helluva lot more.

 

[Pillypill]

I've had the yellow light, it cost me £128 to get it fixed, i was told that there "had been a malefunction in the circut board". it's fine now but it makes a lot of noise when i play God of war, or anything that isn't CoD for that matter.

It's not as bad as the apparent 1 in 5 problem for 360 premiums, but i've never had trouble with my 360 so it dosen't really matter to me.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

"treats with inappropriate levity an issue which may do serious damage"

Yeah. The song was too much.

 

[Kenjitsuka]

A warranty of just 1 year on the hardware is ridiculous!
It should be at least three.

Sony; ye of little faith in your own hardware; shame on you!

 

[Megacherv]

This only happens with the original models, so why is this being reported on now?

A warranty of just 1 year on the hardware is ridiculous!
It should be at least three.

Sony; ye of little faith in your own hardware; shame on you!

Profit, and the fact that not many PS3s break. The standard is 1 year on all electricals, so it's not really that big-a-deal.

 

[bad rider]

So the BBC is doing free console repairs now?

Where were they during the RROD fiasco!?

Whats there to report? Theres nothing unfair about what MS did.

BBC "Companys product is fault"
Microsoft "Sorry about that again, we've been giving away free repairs for everyone though"
BBC "But it shouldn't be"
Microsoft "Yeah sorry about that again, if you get those that complained to ring in we'll give them free repairs."

The Watchdog only goes for companies that are doing wrong e.g selling a faulty product and then making you pay for the repairs.

 

[bad rider]

So the BBC is doing free console repairs now?

Where were they during the RROD fiasco!?

They had real news to cover that day.

The article is tainted by innacuracies, half-truths, and outright lies. The BBC being pivotal in it's creation, is tainted by their own in-house staff. It's been a pleasure taking you to school.

I expected this from CNN, NBC or NSMBC because I heard they're microsoft companies.

Hooray for the school of your-house. The BBC is, in theory impartial, on account of it not being allowed to take money off companies. The programme in question, Watchdog, goes after companies hard in the interests of the "average" UK consumer - who is an idiot.

By Watchdog's standards, the consumer is never wrong... even if they're complaining that they discovered that plugging the fridge into your dog means that your ice cream will melt, they'll still hound the company for an episode. The target market is disgruntled, dim consumers.

The BBC is regulated to the nines, being as it's a publicly-owned company. Someone leaving them to work for MS means just shy of nothing - I left a nightclub to work for a multinational, that doesn't mean they're funding illicit nightclub deals. Ian Lee, importantly, is a tool.

Going to school was fun - I prefered college

From the actual intellectual UK residents I've heard from regarding this, they all seem pretty pissed off that their paying license fee's for these people to pull bullshit stunts like this. Regardless, BBC bankrolled it, and neglected to actually check for accuracy. It makes them culpable...which, you'll find out as soon as Sony bends these guys over in court. And they'll win too. The Sony man from the UK, pretty much spelled out every single inaccuracy and foible that show had, prior to the shows launch, and they still backed the report. Their fault. And thusly, they'll take most of the hit when it hits the courts.

And by the way, don't act like the BBC is some holy grail of journalistic integrity. Or have you forgotten it's recent problems with faulty reporting?

From the article (Sorry I didn't see the program) It seems fair that considering Sony sold a fulty product and charged to repair it they were clearly in the wrong.

 

[Kenjitsuka]

Profit, and the fact that not many PS3s break. The standard is 1 year on all electricals, so it's not really that big-a-deal.

Because not too many break they should be nicer on the warranty!
It's called customer service, which used to be a lot better back in the day

Anyways, I'm lucky I guess, because under Dutch law the warranty has to be two years minimum.

 

[-AC80-]

and I thought bbc and ps3 were joining up eg the iplayer app lets see how long that lasts!

 

[AceDiamond]

Paid by Microsoft. Lies inside (c).

Wow, a conspiracy theory and the wrong company tagline in one post. Yes, Microsoft pays off everybody. The BBC, Adam Sessler, and all the gaming publications.

Actually, the BBC is quite closely tied to MS, look up your facts before you respond. BBC's Digital Director Peter Mercier, just left to join MS, and the journalist who performed this 'stunt' (as coined by Sony), is none other than Ian Lee, who you may or may not remember for....this little piece:

http://tech.uk.msn.com/gaming/article.aspx?cp-documentid=7838134

The article that Watchdog aired is tainted by innacuracies, half-truths, and outright lies. The BBC being pivotal in it's creation, is tainted by their own in-house staff. It's been a pleasure taking you to school.

Except I don't remember him from that piece because, as said, I'm obviously a stupid American. A stupid American who finds it a bit odd that you're saying someone who left the BBC to work for Microsoft was paid to do so. That'd be like saying MobiTV was bankrolled by the BBC because Peter Mercier used to work for them before going to the BBC. In fact, this seems to sound like something...familiar. Oh right, it's every conspiracy blog on the planet, or more specifically, the "Boycott Novell" blog.

I guess Sony has never done anything like completely fabricate a member of the press to make sure their financial stakes are well guarded [http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/archive/permalink/david_manning/], cause I mean that'd be really hypocritical for someone to say in Sony's defense that the BBC Watchdog program was in reality a Mircosoft-backed hit squad that goes after things like insurance fraud and other things that have nothing to do with Microsoft.

Class is in session, and you are not the teacher.

 

[Lord George]

Was

So the BBC is doing free console repairs now?

Where were they during the RROD fiasco!?

They had real news to cover that day.

The article is tainted by innacuracies, half-truths, and outright lies. The BBC being pivotal in it's creation, is tainted by their own in-house staff. It's been a pleasure taking you to school.

I expected this from CNN, NBC or NSMBC because I heard they're microsoft companies.

Hooray for the school of your-house. The BBC is, in theory impartial, on account of it not being allowed to take money off companies. The programme in question, Watchdog, goes after companies hard in the interests of the "average" UK consumer - who is an idiot.

By Watchdog's standards, the consumer is never wrong... even if they're complaining that they discovered that plugging the fridge into your dog means that your ice cream will melt, they'll still hound the company for an episode. The target market is disgruntled, dim consumers.

The BBC is regulated to the nines, being as it's a publicly-owned company. Someone leaving them to work for MS means just shy of nothing - I left a nightclub to work for a multinational, that doesn't mean they're funding illicit nightclub deals. Ian Lee, importantly, is a tool.

Going to school was fun - I prefered college

*yawn* Did you learn anything at college? Or were you just there drinking? From the actual intellectual UK residents I've heard from regarding this, they all seem pretty pissed off that their paying license fee's for these people to pull bullshit stunts like this. Regardless, BBC bankrolled it, and neglected to actually check for accuracy. It makes them culpable...which, you'll find out as soon as Sony bends these guys over in court. And they'll win too. The Sony man from the UK, pretty much spelled out every single inaccuracy and foible that show had, prior to the shows launch, and they still backed the report. Their fault. And thusly, they'll take most of the hit when it hits the courts.

And by the way, don't act like the BBC is some holy grail of journalistic integrity. Or have you forgotten it's recent problems with faulty reporting?

I seriously doubt this will go to court or anyone will pay any attention, it was one small bit of news and even if it did I'd bet quite heavily that the BBC would win, seems like the PS3 has had some failures and sony has not repaired them for free despite it being their fault, sure it seems it may have been exaggerated by one microsoft fanboy but it seems a bit dodgdy that many broke after just going out of warranty. If its such a small section of their userbase then it shouldn't cost sony much to repair the consoles in the first place should it.

Also I'd say the BBC is the most trustworthy news source you can find anywhere (I'd like to see you show me a more reliable one), they even gave sony a fair say and showed both sides of the argument rather then distorting it like many other news station would have done.

 

[AceDiamond]

Paid by Microsoft. Lies inside (c).

Wow, a conspiracy theory and the wrong company tagline in one post. Yes, Microsoft pays off everybody. The BBC, Adam Sessler, and all the gaming publications.

Actually, the BBC is quite closely tied to MS, look up your facts before you respond. BBC's Digital Director Peter Mercier, just left to join MS, and the journalist who performed this 'stunt' (as coined by Sony), is none other than Ian Lee, who you may or may not remember for....this little piece:

http://tech.uk.msn.com/gaming/article.aspx?cp-documentid=7838134

The article that Watchdog aired is tainted by innacuracies, half-truths, and outright lies. The BBC being pivotal in it's creation, is tainted by their own in-house staff. It's been a pleasure taking you to school.

Except I don't remember him from that piece because, as said, I'm obviously a stupid American. A stupid American who finds it a bit odd that you're saying someone who left the BBC to work for Microsoft was paid to do so. That'd be like saying MobiTV was bankrolled by the BBC because Peter Mercier used to work for them before going to the BBC. In fact, this seems to sound like something...familiar. Oh right, it's every conspiracy blog on the planet, or more specifically, the "Boycott Novell" blog.

I guess Sony has never done anything like completely fabricate a member of the press to make sure their financial stakes are well guarded [http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/archive/permalink/david_manning/], cause I mean that'd be really hypocritical for someone to say in Sony's defense that the BBC Watchdog program was in reality a Mircosoft-backed hit squad that goes after things like insurance fraud and other things that have nothing to do with Microsoft.

Class is in session, and you are not the teacher.

If I'm not the teacher, then neither of us are going to learn anything. I never said MS paid anything, I never said anything of the sort. Go back and look. I merely said, MS has close ties with the BBC. Which, in and of itself, raises eyebrows. The man doing the piece should have had no...that's zero....previous bias towards any hardware. It's you know, what they call actual journalism.

The fact that the BBC has such close ties with MS, meant they should've handled this situation more carefully. That's what I'm saying. They didn't, and they aired a piece that was completely rife with falty information. By all means, go ahead and disagree, but I've read Sony's complete response, and I've seen the entire Watchdog episode. These aren't assumptions, I'm going by the facts that are presented to us. You're simply listening to one or two sentences you like and running with it. Hey, you should work for the BBC!

By the way, even though it is quite odd what was done regarding that piece you linked...how exactly is that impacting any other company financially...seriously? Were there allot of movies coming out that 'A Knights Tale' was competition for? *LOL* I Realize Brits love Knights and Chivalry and such, but really...that movie sucked. They got busted though, the same as the BBC's pretty much going through as we speak.

Class Over.

Yeah except for the fact that you seem to have missed the point of the program in the first place, which was to point out corporate wrongdoing. Having unethical tech support (and I can provide stories) would certainly raise a flag. But of course you aren't listening. I already said I couldn't make a judgement on whether or not this was even a big deal. Hell it's the first damn response on this page. And yet you decided to defend someone for saying "oh this was done by Microsoft hurr hurr". What was even the point of that? So yes, some people have worked for the BBC and Microsoft. Some people have worked for Nintendo and Microsoft at different points in their careers that doesn't make it suspicious.

And my point was that you cannot call out a company for creating fake news, or at the very least grossly misrepresent the facts, when the company you are defending has and will continue to do the same thing.

You know I've really tried to stop coming down on Sony so hard but then I'm reminded of the fanbase that brings me to do it. So I'm done with this. I am backing away because I no longer care. This is pointless to argue when the argument shouldn't even exist.