Updated: It’s amazing what an article on a website can achieve for you when it receives tens of thousands of hits and a ton of link-ins from around the country/world. It’s also amazing to know exactly how full of crap the customer service representatives at Sony truly are. They went from not being able to do it without the console unit or my “private” information, to being able to randomly do it out of no where and sending me an email to let me know.
The power of word is obviously strong. It’s ridiculous that I had to go to this length to get it done, but whatever. It’s done.
Dear DAVE,
Recently you requested assistance with your PlayStation® Network account and the Video Download Service. Per your request, we have deactivated your original console from your account.
To activate your new console, please click the link below and follow the instructions in the article.
http://playstation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/playstation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=796
If you have questions or require further assistance, please call SCEA Consumer Services directly at (866) 286-5123.
We are available Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., Pacific Time.
Your Service Request Number is 1-237200801. Please reference this number when calling us.
Sincerely,
The PlayStation® Consumer Services Team
Original: This generation of consoles has brought forth something that the gaming industry has never seen the likes of and that is the console wars. Sure, Nintendo and Sega had a rift back in the 90s, but it was never quite at the level it is today. It seems you’re either a member of the Microsoft camp or you’re taking refuge at Sony’s headquarters. Regardless of which side you choose to represent, without including the neutrals, the reasoning behind these console wars always falls back onto one factor – brand loyalty.
I remember a time when brand loyalty meant something. Supporting a product used to mean that that company would appreciate your business and would enjoy keeping it. A company would do what it could to satisfy its consumers in order to keep that consumer base from dwindling, but growing through consumer loyalty and treating the consumer right. However, ever since the launch of this generation of consoles, consumer loyalty has been thrown out the window in exchange for greed and profitability. Of course, you can make your argument for which of the two empires you feel carries the most evil, but when it’s truly broken down to it, Microsoft is willing to go further to keep you as a customer than Sony is.
The Red Ring of Death fiasco isn’t exactly a secret, but it’s an epidemic that helps provide a realistic look into the blatancy of disrespect these companies have for the consumer. While Microsoft may have chosen to release a shoddy product to the market in order to gain market share, they were willing to save face and take a loss by offering a billion dollar warranty program expanding their coverage to three years for the console’s biggest weakness. Sure – it can be debated that this also helped prevent civil lawsuits from cropping up, but when push comes to shove, this maneuver resulted in Microsoft’s consumers continually returning to the brand despite the break downs and many replacement boxes they’ve ended up going through.
When we flip the table and watch how Sony has handled their entire console this generation, all you ultimately see from the consumer loyalty perspective is utter failure and death. One of the key components to the lack of consumer loyalty is the way that Sony conducts their warranty process in general. Not only is the consumer expected to keep their receipt for the entire year, but if they happen to misplace it, they’ll be hit with a $160 repair fee just to get their console fixed. I realize this is a precaution and a verification process to make sure the consoles being sent in are legitimately under warranty, however, this same practice and requirement was required when the console had only been launched for six months. That’s correct, if your console broke in March 2007, Sony would still require a receipt to prove you bought the console within the last year. Ridiculous? I agree.
Furthering this atrocity is the console activation process that Sony utilizes for both its PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3 platforms. As many of you know, Sony pushed the ability to GameShare at its 2006 E3 Press Conference. They lauded the ability to share games with your friends on up to five different consoles. This was a huge pull for consumers and it definitely got a lot of people coming on board to purchase their console. However, fast-forward three years and people have been banned from the network for gamesharing and Sony’s customer service pulls the “how do we know you’re not gamesharing card,” if you happen to request a deactivation on a console.
You see, that’s the funny part. Sony allows five consoles and handhelds to access a single account at any given time. This means, if your console breaks or you have to sell it in order to make a bill payment and you forget to deactivate it, you’ve permanently lost that one console activation forever. So what happens to the people who prefer to upgrade their products like the PSP? Let’s say someone purchases a PSP 1000, trades it in to purchase a PSP 2000. That PSP 2000 is sold to pay some bills and then another PSP 2000 is bought. That PSP 2000 is traded in to purchase a PSP 3000 and you end up game sharing with a buddy. Now, what happens if you’re not away of the activation/deactivation process or how limited the limited number of handhelds you can activate on one account is? You just used all 5 slots – So when you go to continue to support Sony and you purchase a PSPgo by trading in your PSP 3000, you’re f***ed. That’s right. Now that you’ve purchased their overpriced $250 PSPgo in show of brand loyalty and support, Sony is repaying your continued efforts by letting you know your old PSP content that you owned is completely and utterly useless – pretty much like their customer service.
I decided to put this entire “consumer loyalty” to the test recently because I was put into a similar situation as described above. The only difference is, instead of game sharing with a friend, someone had actually stolen two PSPs from me in the past. This rendered those two activations permanently lost and my support of purchasing a 1000 (third time), 2000, 3000 and then PSPgo did not matter one bit when consumer loyalty comes into play. This is where it gets interesting. I decided to call up Sony’s costumer service to find out what they could do for me, since I had just purchased $150 worth of PSPgo content from the PlayStation Store and when I went to transfer it to my PSPgo, it told me I had too many PSPs activated.
So – I call up Sony and the first representative tries to tell me that they cannot do it because I have to manually deactivate each system despite them not being in my possession any longer. Of course, like any normal consumer who isn’t getting the answer he’s looking for, I asked to speak to their supervisor. I was put on hold for 10 minutes until this guy was placed on the phone, who, by the way, was one of the biggest ***** I’d ever had to deal with from a CSR standpoint. Not only did he shoot me down at every turn, but he tried to read off the Terms of Service to me where it never specifically states how many consoles or handhelds I can activate nor does it state that you’ll lose complete access to any and all of your content if you happen to reach the 6th product in the line of their hardware.
By the time I was done talking to this guy, I was 47 minutes in and requested to speak to his supervisor. This next representative was the one who left me facepalmed on my couch in disbelief. Not only did this lady have absolutely no clue what I was talking about (this is sad from a company perspective let alone a consumer perspective), but she was trying to give me solutions that didn’t even exist – like logging into my account on their website and deactivating my products from there (impossible). So – I asked the lady to take a look at my account and check that I’ve spent well over $1,500 on their downloadable content since launch and that all I was looking for was a little consumer loyalty in having my account release ALL PSP activations entirely. This is where things turned completely illogical.
This supervisor tried to tell me that they don’t have the ability or the power to deactivate consoles from their end of the process because they don’t have our login details or sensitive information. Then she proceeded to tell me that the only way they can deactivate consoles or handhelds is if we send them in for repair. This is where she started to lose me, because even if I sent my PSP in for repair, I would not be including my memory card, which would have the saved user data to begin with that would enable them to access my account to deactivate, the same goes for my PlayStation 3 and my HDD. So – How would they be able to deactivate my product that way? The icing on the cake in this situation is that I had sent in TWO PS3s in the span of three months between March and May of 2009. When I called back then to have those two PlayStation 3’s deactivated from my account, the representatives and supervisors told me at that time that they can’t deactivate the PS3s without me mailing them a copy of my receipt to prove I owned them (despite just paying $160 for them to repair the piece of faulty hardware to begin with).
Let me recap. Basically, everything I’ve been told thus far has been contradictory to everything I was previously told a couple of months ago as well as completely false in the capabilities as to what they could do. When the phone call finally started to boil over and I was reaching my limit of garbage from the customer service department, I had to ask…
“So, can you guys remove the access to that content from my account or provide me with download vouchers so that I can create a new account to use the content I just bought or am I stuck with unusable content? Is it possible to just have the transaction voiced in order to re-purchase the items under a new account?”
I knew the answer before she even opened her mouth. Guess what her solution was to my problem?
“Sir, the only solution I can offer you is to create a new account and then re-purchase the $150 worth of content in order to play it on your PSPgo.”
Once I got off the phone, I decided to google around a bit to see if any other users had ever had Sony deactivate consoles or handhelds for them in the past. I found numerous reports where people indicated Sony had helped them out in deactivating their consoles with a little “persuasion.” Are these reports accurate? I have no clue. However, if they are, that makes my situation that much worse. But, it didn’t matter anymore, the situation was over.
That was it. That’s the limit to their customer service. After $1,500 in DLC, 6 PlayStation Portables, 4 PlayStation 3s, 3 PlayStation 2s, 1 PlayStation and two years of reviews and promoting their products for their consumer base as a journalist — that was the consumer loyalty I was afforded by Sony Computer Entertainment America. I wasn’t even offered lubricant first.
This entire experience and ordeal has lead to what I believe as a true, undeniable indicator that Sony has entirely killed any semblance of consumer loyalty in favor of profit margins, crude business tactics, unprofessional customer service and pure greed.
All I have left to ask is, where is the love Sony?
Sorry, I didn’t read all but I do have something to say.
All I want from sony is more great games.
Sony is giving me what I want. I’ll stay with sony.
Sony gives me what I want as well. Which is why I created this website and which is why PlayStation 3 is my console of choice. This is en entirely different subject than that though.
Ah dude,that’s messed up man
If there is one thing xbox excells at,it’s customer service
I disagree.
In fact, it’s exactly the opposit in my country (belgium). Even if my broken PS3 was no more under warranty, sony fixed it … and never charged anything.
Every problem I had with sony’s products (PS2, PSP, PS3) was handled by this company with great professionalism and respect.
I guess we know which camp you really are in. I for one put more stock in a companies foresight and product quality over whether they will suck your crank for you once your console inevitably breaks. Haven’t has one Sony console fail. And maybe if you were dumb enought to get not one but two PSPs stolen you should just bite the bullet and deactivate one of your old PSPs so you can use your Go. Why do you need 4 PSPs anyway? Sounds like you didn’t get your way and you wanted to rationalize why you think you are right even though you are not. Drag someone else through the mus with you since hey, this isn’t your fault. Nice job.
Wow, I think its the other way around. When you started talking about game sharing and sharing accounts I just stopped. A. If you own 5 PSPs, the last thing to worry about is loosing your account. You’re grasping for straws. I have always believed that Microsoft was the bigger evil in ending brand support.
Xbox LIVE- $50 a month. This would be fine but PSN is free and lacking only a few features (cross game party and chat).
$100 for a Wireless adapter. Wow. Your fucking kidding me. I brought my router downstairs sacrificing my “very good” connection for my PC to avoid this crap.
Look at the marketplace- I know games on demand is a good thing as well as themes but friggin $40 per game that could be bought for $10 at a retailer, or $5 for an Avatar shirt. Themes and even gamer pictures, fucking GAMER PICTURES cost money!
And I can grasp for straws too! No rechargable battery included, no browser, no blu ray, and MS didn’t pay $.50 for a rubber thing so games wouldn’t scratch. God damn, look at that. Sony is a saint compared to this!
Well, i’m in it for the games, nothing else. I have a PS3, a PS2 and a PSP, and for each system there’s a lot of quality games available and in development for the coming months and years.
None of these macines have broken on me, and unlike 360 fans I don’t have to worry that one probably will. Ask a 360 fan who bought his xBox in the first year available about that wonderfull 3 year warrenty that has become useless in the past few months…either afraid the thing will happen soon or admitting buying a new Arcade for less then 200 isn’t a big deal. If loyalty requires you to buy multiple consoles for just one generation then please shove it.
Persistent hardware failures, fees for online, full priced ‘gamesequels’ like ODST and L4D2 that provide nothing more then your average DLC, spending 50m on DLC instead of spending it on something unique like LBP, skipping 2009…no sir, I do not respect that at all.
I dont see how it is better to have an all-the-time-breaking console (had three RRODs) with a great customer service, in comparison to an all working fine console with a not all that great customer service…
I mean seriously Sony ist getting customer loyality because of great exclusives, which is the main reason to purchase a gaming console…
Wow man. I have to say that Sony really fucked you over.
But yea Microsoft may have “better” (but not great) customer service, but I’m 360 consumers have technically paid way more than in the way of xbox live and accessories than all ps3 owners combined who had to pay for their console to be repaired even without them paying for the rrod (which alot have).
But that still doesn’t excuse Sony’s performance in this case. I’m sure if you keep trying you’ll come across a representative who will do you a “favor”.
I think you guys are looking past the point here. It’s not about whether you think owning a 360 or a PS3 is better. It’s not about which one is going to be reliable or which one is going to die the most often. The point is, when push comes to shove and something DOES happen, who is going to be there for you as a company to provide you with a reason to continually come back to them on that consumer loyalty side of things. Right now, with the way things are set up, Microsoft provides the comfort in providing the consumer that if something does happen (whether it is their fault or not through faulty hardware) they’re going to take care of you with a replacement console — FREE of charge. No hoops to jump through, nothing. If something happens on the Sony end, they’re not going to do the same.
This article is weak at best. You are, like another user said, grasping for straws and its sad. You think Microsoft wanted to spend a billion dollars to fix an issue to please their customer? A quality company wouldn’t have put out a faulty product, especially knowingly in this case, to their consumer. I’m pretty sure I know which camp you really belong to.
Your whole “gotta hold your receipt for a year” complaint is lousy at best. Have some responsibility and quit expecting everything handed to you. What sense would it make to not have proof of purchase?
Stupid.
dam i really fell sorry foe you
i havent had any problems with sony
so i myself stay loyal
but i dont agree with the part saying their greedy, to me their the most generous company out there
I’ve had my elite for 2 years with no problems. Everyone talks up the red ring but no1 will say how many ppl have their ps3 overheat and break. Exclusives 360 has way more games better games and odst sold better than any ps3 game has so kinda funny
@ExPresident
Did you even read what it written? I specifically mention Microsoft extending their warranty due to class action lawsuits. The difference is, where was Sony to do this last generation when the Disc Read Error was happening in a good amount of PlayStation 2s? Where was their extended warranty then? No where.
The receipt issue isn’t about accountability. It’s about user-friendly customer service. If a product is only on the shelf for six months, why the need for a receipt? It’s obviously under the 1-year warranty plan, isn’t it? Why do I need to jump through an extra hoop for something that is obvious?
I don’t need anything handed to me. I’ve spent enough money on their products, which is evident through my account history to deserve a little appreciation back at the end of the day for putting so much capital into their pockets. For them to tell me after 5 PSPs, I no longer can use my content because I didn’t “deactivate” them is ridiculous. Especially when they have the ability to deactive the entire account in general; allowing me to then use that 6th PSP with my account with content I purchased to begin with.
When you buy a PS3 game. If you play it at six different friend’s houses, when you got to that sixth friend and put it in the PS3, did the PS3 tell you… “Sorry, this has already been played on 5 PS3s. Please go deactivate one of those PS3s in order to play it here.” ? No, it didn’t. Because you OWN that content and have the right to use it.
Not to knock what you went through with Sony, but the brand loyalty at Microsoft isn’t much better my friend. You example of how Microsoft has taken care of their customers with the RRoD problem is just, but I tell you there are many out there who have had several issues with Microsoft’s customer service.
I, for one, have had problems with them and my Live account. I hardly touch my Xbox (cause I’m a Sony brand loyalist, lol) and I completely forgot about canceling my Live account. Well, the card I signed up with was lost so I had to cancel the card. Well, when they tried to charge me for my annual subscription they obviously couldn’t. So then I get a bill in the mail saying I owe them the money and if I don’t pay I will lose my account and all points purchased will be lost. I call and tell them that I don’t want to renew because I never use my Live account. You won’t believe the crap I had to go through to get them to cancel the account. I didn’t have the old card so they gave me crap about that because they needed the number. Then they tried forcing me to pay the annual fee to avoid losing my account. I told them that this makes no sense to force me to pay for something I don’t want. I have no intention of using Live anymore, so why put a customer through this? I persuaded them to finally to drop the charge by telling how unfair this is to the customer and how it would affect my future decisions as a Microsoft customer. If they care, they will fix it.
I’ve had some issues with Sony as well and had to do some persuasion of my own to get them to budge. I had a Playstation crash on me; the old yellow light. It was activated for the PSN. I get a new one and I want to download a movie but I’m denied. Apparently I need to deactivate the old PS3 in order to download the movies. WTF? How the hell am I suppose to do this when my old one is now a paper weight? You won’t believe the crap I had to go through to get them to deactivate the old system just so I could access the movie rentals on PSN. The questions made me feel like I was a thief. They tried to get me to start the old one back up and troubleshoot it (something I did with their tech support when it first broke). They kept asking me these repetitive condescending questions like I did something wrong. I finally got mad and said why am I being asked these questions. It is simple, my damn system broke on me and I bought a new one. All I need is for you to deactivate the damn thing so I can watch a movie. What it boils down to is that they are trying to prevent piracy and “game sharing” and that they’ve had problems with people calling in trying to do such. Great!!! So I have to pay for what other illegal activities others are doing?
Well, with much argument and persuasion they finally did it. I also complained to them about my PS3 crashing and me not being able to access their heavily encrypted hard drive (another issue) to recover my game saves. My hard drive from my PS3 that I can’t access because Sony is so scared of piracy. Well, they fix my issue and offered to exchange my broke PS3 for a refurbished. I was satisfied but not very happy.
So the moral of my long post is this: Sony may not be the greatest in customer service by any means, and they really need an overhaul, but Microsoft is no cake walk. They could care less about the customers, I mean who puts out a crap system at launch knowing the flaws in it just to beat the competition? Then brag about your sales when you know that they are inflated with people who rebought a new Xbox system. Sorry, but I feel you pain but I can’t sit here and agree with you 100% when I know just how screwed up Microsoft is.
“Ah dude,that’s messed up man
If there is one thing xbox excells at,it’s customer service
LMAO!
Where is the love Sony? But i guess there are flaws in pretty much everything companies try to accomplish, i mean atleast Sony IS offering Game sharing for up to five consoles/handhelds. But nonetheless they should improve…
@Julez
Sorry to hear about your troubles as well. I’m not saying Microsoft’s consumer loyalty is something to write home about. It has its fair share of problems as well. I just honestly felt like after dealing with both companies on similar issues and from actually looking up these issues on other forums from where other people have posted similar experiences to mine (the majority), that I wanted to write something on it.
Just because I love my PlayStation 3, doesn’t mean everything about it is going to be positive. People need to learn that this isn’t about which side you’re on, because us, as consumers, are ALL on the same side. We’re ALL consumers. We deserve to be treated the same way we treat the companies that we buy from.
Just on the receipt issue, I’m not at all surprised that they required a receipt, I’d expect that even the day after launch. Otherwise how do they know that it’s not a stolen machine?
@Dmij
Like I said, I understand the reasoning behind it — I even stated such. However, why doesn’t Microsoft ask for the receipt when you send in for RROD? It’s all about consumer friendliness in the end and Sony isn’t willing to put the consumer’s interest first ahead of their own when it comes to customer support (which makes no sense).