Sony Responds to BBC Criticism

[bad rider]

[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.

12,500 consoles failing, not all of which were the result of YLOD (Hence the less than half a percent that Sony was quoted as saying), out of 2.5 million consoles sold. Is actually...surprise! within industry standards. The 'article' and 'show' neglected to inform viewers that anything that failed w/in the year (or 2 year extended available at the time of purchase) warranties, would be replaced/fixed, free of charge. Beyond that, outside of warranty, is outside of warranty. Sorry, but that's just how it works. If you wish to change the industry standard, by all means, go ahead and give it a go. But, holding ONLY Sony accountable for this mainstream standard in electronics, is simply stupid, and would be laughed out of court.

Go back and read the letter from Sony to the BBC, they specifically state that 12,500 units have failed. Not, 12,500 units have had YLOD. There's a huge difference.

Firstly: Don't you think your bieng overly aggresive with your writing?
Secondly: No offence but unless I'm missing something, there is no indication of a free under warranty repair. It's isn't mentioned by the bbc/sony, this indicates to me that this is why they are investigating. However, as you have mentioned there is such evidence which would contradict that point if you could post a source for me to read I would be better enlightened as to the situation.

 

[AceDiamond]

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. 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 when the company you are defending has and will continue to do the same thing.

It's a good thing I'm not paying tuition for this class, because frankly your curriculum sucks.

What kind of stories? Like when my PS3 got broken by a roommate, I had to have it replaced, and it took 11 days for them to get it back to me from the time I gave them the money? That's including them shipping me an overnight delivery box? Hmm? Are those the stories you're referring to...? Because you know, it occurs to me, that at the time of purchase, I was asked whether I wanted a 1 or 3 year warranty. I elected for the 1, but it wouldn't have matter, because it was already past the 3rd year when my PS3 got broken.

If the target was their Customer Service, then having a Sony Repair van, and focusing on YLOD, was pretty much going off topic, wasn't it? As, most PS3's that have failed, failed due to other issues. I'd imagine you'd start with actually...calling Sony customer service and speaking directly with them....right? Oh, guess they must've 'forgotten' that piece.

The curriculum is completely fine and valid, don't hold it to blame if you can't follow along with the adults.

Ok fine, keep calling me out after I've already tried to bow out of this. I'm not going to compare this to the service I got from Microsoft which sounds suspiciously the same (except I had no warranty at all and still got the free repair), but I am going to tell you the story of how my friend's Sony Viao was sent in for tech support, was then broken by tech support, so they made up a bullshit story about water damage and sent it back to her, broken, and with a bill for the shipping and repairs they never even did.

And don't say "oh that's one incident" because I've heard similar things from others. And don't say "but that's computers" because it's still Sony.

I never even said "oh all of Sony's tech support was clearly in the wrong". Here's what I said way back at the start of this thread.

Well they are right about one thing, 155 or even 12,500 people is not a very large portion of a 2.5 million user install base. As to the rest I don't know a lot of the details (since I'm an American) and thus can't really form a judgement.

Now what did I form a judgement on? A statement made by someone that clearly sounded like fanboyism at its finest and an attempt to make a bad joke . Which you took as some sort of need to spark a serious debate about how the BBC is in league with Microsoft. And yes that was your implication, what else were you going for? It was a sarcastic response to a comment that we have heard time and time again from unsatisfied people who cannot go 5 minutes without blaming Microsoft for something. The worst of this is is again, I'm not trying to be against Sony in this case, but I am quite against the kind of people that seem to be fans of them. I mean hell, you're claiming Sony should sue them when their UK Boss has already defused the situation quite handily, using mathematical figures.

And like I said, I'm done with this. So just stop patronizing me, calm down, and stop. It's not making either of us look good.

 

[Pendragon9]

Though I have a feeling there's more than 0.2 % of errored PS3's, the rest does seem plausible.

But meh. The YLOD is nothing compared to the RROD, the E74 error, the disk read error, etc. So I can live with it.

 

[bad rider]

[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.

12,500 consoles failing, not all of which were the result of YLOD (Hence the less than half a percent that Sony was quoted as saying), out of 2.5 million consoles sold. Is actually...surprise! within industry standards. The 'article' and 'show' neglected to inform viewers that anything that failed w/in the year (or 2 year extended available at the time of purchase) warranties, would be replaced/fixed, free of charge. Beyond that, outside of warranty, is outside of warranty. Sorry, but that's just how it works. If you wish to change the industry standard, by all means, go ahead and give it a go. But, holding ONLY Sony accountable for this mainstream standard in electronics, is simply stupid, and would be laughed out of court.

Go back and read the letter from Sony to the BBC, they specifically state that 12,500 units have failed. Not, 12,500 units have had YLOD. There's a huge difference.

Firstly: Don't you think your bieng overly aggresive with your writing?
Secondly: No offence but unless I'm missing something, there is no indication of a free under warranty repair. It's isn't mentioned by the bbc/sony, this indicates to me that this is why they are investigating. However, as you have mentioned there is such evidence which would contradict that point if you could post a source for me to read I would be better enlightened as to the situation.

Spoiler

"PLAYSTATION®3 Warranties
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Except as otherwise stated in the Limited Hardware Warranty and Liability above, you agree that (i) the services are provided "AS IS" without any express or implied warranties; and (ii) SCEA shall not be liable for any direct and indirect, consequential, or special damages, including any damages that may arise from loss of data or functionality. The foregoing limitation shall apply to the extent permitted by applicable law.

LIMITED WARRANTY FOR SCE MANUFACTURED PERIPHERALS
Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) warrants to the original purchaser that this product is free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase. Upon a showing of proof of purchase, SCEA agrees for a period of ninety (90) days to either repair or replace, at its option, the SCEA product. See our How to Obtain Service information or call 1-800-345-SONY to receive instructions to obtain repair/replacement services.

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SOME STATES OR PROVINCES DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATION ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS AND SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATIONS OF CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state or from province to province. This warranty is valid only in the United States and Canada.

LIMITED WARRANTY FOR SCE PUBLISHED SOFTWARE
Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) warrants to the original purchaser of this SCEA product that this software is free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase. SCEA agrees for a period of ninety (90) days to either repair or replace, at its option, the SCEA product. See our How to Obtain Service information or call 1-800-345-SONY to receive instructions to obtain repair/replacement services.

This warranty shall not be applicable and shall be void if the defect in the SCEA product has arisen through abuse, unreasonable use, mistreatment or neglect. THIS WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, AND NO OTHER REPRESENTATIONS OR CLAIMS OF ANY NATURE SHALL BE BINDING ON OR OBLIGATE SCEA. ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES APPLICABLE TO THIS SOFTWARE PRODUCT, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE LIMITED TO THE NINETY (90) DAY PERIOD DESCRIBED ABOVE. IN NO EVENT WILL SCEA BE LIABLE FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM POSSESSION, USE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE SCEA SOFTWARE PRODUCT.

Some states do not allow limitations as to how long an implied warranty lasts and/or exclusions or limitations of consequential damages, so the above limitations and/or exclusions of liability may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state."

Source: http://www.us.playstation.com/Support/Warranties/PS3

(The same place I went, when I had to replace mine)

Okay given this, why are people complaining to the watchdog. Something has clearly happend here or complaints would not have been made. Just because a piece of text exists there is no clear indication as to whether it has been adhered to. Thus the watchdog may have became involved.

Edit- also this is in the UK, so this specific legal notice may not apply outside of the united states, as could be the case considering they will be two different branches of the Sony corporations Playstation branch. This is also indicated by the use of the term Scea Sony Computer Entertainment America

 

[Swaki]

hmm, doesn't sound like that big of a deal, 0.5%? i bet more people destroyed their ps3 by washing it in the lake.

kinda on topic, apparently i may have to get down of my big elite pc horse to ride around on the sony mule, got 7 play station games today, apparently my family don't know that pc means personal computer and instead thought i misspelled ps.

but ill try to change the games before i gitty up on the mule of console fanboyism

 

[bad rider]

Okay given this, why are people complaining to the watchdog. Something has clearly happend here or complaints would not have been made. Just because a piece of text exists there is no clear indication as to whether it has been adhered to. Thus the watchdog may have became involved.

That's precisely the question, isn't it? See, I didn't have my warranty information handy when my PS3 busted, so I went to that site. Called the number, and we literally got it all squared away right then and there over the phone. 2 days later, the Pre-paid Overnight Delivery package arrived, 9 days later, I received a new PS3 (Model# CECHA01) in the mail. So, the problem is, with the man who wrote this article/did the research piece, being as closely associated to MS as he is (and he really is folks...look up the stuff he writes..), some could easily say, wow conspiracy. On the other hand, having worked in Customer Service before, I can tell you, everyone has their bad days and maybe someone wasn't in a great mood that day. Or, as can also be the case, the person with said broken item, was in the midst of freaking out, and wasn't speaking as calmly...and nicely as they should've. When you're paid to be a CS rep, you're not paid to listen to people swear, and vent frustrations at you. You're paid to help them. If they're not calm enough to allow you to help them. Well, I've hung up on people who've sworn profusely or been overly aggressive to my staff. Quite simply telling them to 'call back when they're better able to address the situation'.

Erm I'm currently working at a customer services support line so while I understand customers complain, the watchdog is usually the last stop at the end of serveral complaints. I don't think people would complain to them quite so freely, but thats speculation on my part. Anyway, the watchdog only responds once a certain number of people complaints So there is a strong inclination to believe that this was a case worthy of a look see. Also If I wanted someone to report on the case I would pick someone who was likely to know alot about the field eg someone with ties to a software firm. I don't know if it was impartial, but I woould have thought since the johnathan ross incident the editorial staff would sharper.

Note, in case you missed my edit: this is in the UK, so this specific legal notice may not apply outside of the united states, as could be the case considering they will be two different branches of the Sony corporations Playstation branch. This is also indicated by the use of the term Scea Sony Computer Entertainment America

 

[Sovvolf]

Snip

Personally I think your just paranoid, and your posts defending Sony are getting extremely aggressive ,calm down, it's just a console, I don't complain when people criticize the 360 for it's short life span. Anyway Watchdog are pretty much like trading standards if a customer complains and they think that customer is being treated unfairly they will look into it and report it. Now the PS3 as far as I'm aware as a low failure rate but still if they are forcing you to pay for repairs on a fault in a product that was out of the hands of the customer, even if it's only 1200 compared to millions, it is still needs reporting, even if its the minority it's still treating the customer unfairly. Watchdog often reports any such dealings that are similar to this and often well beyond it, not because of Microsoft but because it's there just to do so.

 

[Doug]

The yellow light of death, seriously? Could they not think up of something that not similar to RROD.

Seems like the BBC hadn't done their research right.

"Something Ring of Death on a console...Hmm."

*Quick search of first internet forum to come to mind*

"Well, the first post I found was a Sony one about a yellow light, THEREFORE, it must be Sony's Yellow Ring of Death.... who wants coffe?"

 

[bad rider]

Erm I'm currently working at a customer services support line so while I understand customers complain, the watchdog is usually the last stop at the end of serveral complaints. I don't think people would complain to them quite so freely, but thats speculation on my part. Anyway, the watchdog only responds once a certain number of people complaints So there is a strong inclination to believe that this was a case worthy of a look see. Also If I wanted someone to report on the case I would pick someone who was likely to know alot about the field eg someone with ties to a software firm. I don't know if it was impartial, but I woould have thought since the johnathan ross incident the editorial staff would sharper.

Note, in case you missed my edit: this is in the UK, so this specific legal notice may not apply outside of the united states, as could be the case considering they will be two different branches of the Sony corporations Playstation branch. This is also indicated by the use of the term Scea Sony Computer Entertainment America

I saw your edit, I just don't feel like deleting my cookies at getting onto SCEUK to get a copy of their Warranty information. You should be able to however.

BBC made a bad call with airing this, and they're gonna pay for it. Deservedly so.

What makes you say that, they criticized a buisness for what could be a legitimate matter. It's good to see the publics money going into a corporation thats not afraid to take on big companys. Makes me figure renewing my tv license is worth it.

 

[Joshimodo]

Paid by Microsoft. Lies inside (c).

Way to fanboy.

Anyway, if Sony don't want criticism, don't give them anything to criticise.

 

[Megacherv]

Because not too many break they should be nicer on the warranty!

Wait, please explain your logic there. Because if it doesn't break, they should increase the period where you can get free repair? That truly makes no sense

 

[scotth266]

I like how the same people who were claiming the Game Informer statistics on the RROD were correct are now going after the guys who made this article. I honestly think that both incidents are cases of sensationalist journalism: the media pumping up statistics to look outrageous to attract views. Neither study was conducted properly, so I cannot believe either of them.

 

[ThisNewGuy]

Am I the only person who's NEVER had a working "refurbished" item?

Probably. My entire computer is built on refurbed stuff, and it's lasted for almost 10 years now.

And tbh, the BBC report was quite the mudslinging slander. They had a 360 fanboy on Microsoft's payroll do the report for christ sakes. Not to mention their claim of the defect to the PS3 and the solution is almost completely BS since their technician's solution only allowed the PS3 that they "fixed" to last for a week. 4 out of 11 of their "fixed" PS3s broke in a week. Talk about fail rate.