Filling the Void [Modojo, Thanks John!]

An email I received this morning says, in part:

Our records indicates you can retrieve an additional $ 9,99 USD refund in your PayPal account. In order to successfully retrieve the refund please confirm your existing PayPal account on this page. Please notice that the confirmation of your PayPal account is needed to have this refund send into your PayPal account.

When clicking on the "this page" link (that I haven't reproduced), you are taken to fake Paypal interface on the domain "ljk-sang.com" (note the "j" instead of "i").

As per usual with Paypal scams, never click a link to go to Paypal, but instead type the URL in your browser manually. That is, of course, if you need to be on Paypal at all—in this case it's a scam; don't fall prey.

I'm surprised scammers were able to produce something so timely. Good thing Joel didn't fall for it, but I bet if they had thrown in some pills to increase the girth of little Joel, he totally would have. Brian Crecente

Scam Warning [GameLife]

Dear **,

This is an important e-mail update regarding your PlayStation3 related reservation at Play-Asia.com.

We regret to inform you that due to licensing and distribution limitations, Play-Asia.com will not be able to send PlayStation3 branded products to your territory. Unfortunately this also affects your recent reservation with us.

As a result, we are very sorry to let you know that we have now cancelled your non-binding reservation (***) with us. Rest assured, as this was a "no money down" reservation only, no funds have been debited in any way.

We kindly ask for your understanding and would like to apologize for any possible inconvenience this may have caused to you.

With best regards,
Your Play-Asia.com Customer Service

Seeing as how Sony's willing to put even "highly pregnant" women out work, Play-Asia's protecting its own expected mothers. Brian Ashcraft

Play-Asia Afraid [GameBrink]

I just love this whole Lik-Sang, Sony thing. It's like the two companies are playing chicken with each other in a very public, and increasingly embarassing way.

The latest engine revving comes from Lik-Sang who just sent us a letter from a very distraught Pascal Clarysse, a spokesperson who has just been canned. Or as Pascal puts it "These will be my final words for Lik-Sang unfortunately. The company is now terminating my contract and I will no longer be in the position to speak on behalf of Lik-Sang.com any longer in the future."

In over-wrought two-page letter Pascal refutes Sony's claim that they had nothing to do with Lik-Sang's closure.

Denying boldly any correlation between Sony's legal actions and Lik-Sang's closure must probably be cynical sarcasm on their behalf. Unfortunately for Lik-Sang, the current situation is neither a joke, nor a game: A bunch of people, including two highly pregnant women, have lost their basis for existence because of corporate lawsuits for something that is not only regarded as lawful in Hong Kong, it is considered to be beneficial for consumers (free trade).

Highly pregnant women? Basis for existence? I'm surprised they didn't just claim the women spontaneously miscarried when they heard the news.

Pascal goes on to say that Sony's claim that the execs who purchased PSPs from them where just investigating, is bogus.

UK news website Spong.com tried to call all three of the listed Sony directors, just to learn that 66% of them are not in their office or are on holidays this week. They are probably still very exhausted from placing all these investigatory orders for the trainees of their legal department...

Hmmm, 66 percent of three... that would be...? Like two people less one finger?

Good thing it's a blizzard here in Denver. I'm going to get some popcorn and sit and wait for Sony's response. Maybe they'll claim Lik-Sang is responsible for their 94 percent drop in net profits. Can't wait. Brian Crecente

First of all, Sony's claim that Lik-Sang didn't turn up and therefore incurred no legal cost is absolute nonsense. Lik-Sang's legal representatives spent over a year to vigorously contest the UK's court jurisdiction until the last moment, produced witness statements and documents, and replied to Sony's allegations about parallel importation and copyright infringement. Plenty of documents were sent back and forth from Hong Kong all the way to the UK, and it was also argued to the London High Court that Sony has launched duplicate actions in different countries, but all to no avail. The court case in Hong Kong is still ongoing, and Lik-Sang as well as its lawyers spent hundreds and hundreds of hours trying to catch up with Sony's mass of documents and claims. As a result, two different High Court judges at different occasions expressed their surprise about the unusual high legal expenses claimed by Sony's law firm.

Through their lawsuits, Sony forced the relatively small company behind Lik-Sang.com into a bizarre world of lawyers charging more than GBP 380 (EUR 550+) per hour (!), and if you believe it or not, these guys don't come alone, they need their (not necessarily much cheaper) assistants and clerks around them to get something done.

The UK courts ruling that outlaws what Lik-Sang and the gaming community enjoyed ever since, and the imminent direct threat from Sony about yet a third lawsuit and a PlayStation 3 injunction, will absolutely not make things easier and fairer for anyone involved.

Denying boldly any correlation between Sony's legal actions and Lik-Sang's closure must probably be cynical sarcasm on their behalf. Unfortunately for Lik-Sang, the current situation is neither a joke, nor a game: A bunch of people, including two highly pregnant women, have lost their basis for existence because of corporate lawsuits for something that is not only regarded as lawful in Hong Kong, it is considered to be beneficial for consumers (free trade). And a huge amount of gamers all around the globe lost a place on the Internet that they were enjoying.

Lik-Sang is not involved into any other lawsuits apart with Sony, and, while they "strongly denied that their actions have had anything to do with [Lik-Sang's] closing" in their statement, they still had the time to send a 15 pages fax less than 24h later, lining out the terms of the order made by the UK court last week and asking Lik-Sang to pay the sum of GBP 100,000 (EUR 150,000) just for their legal costs before 4pm at November 1. By the way, the fax also includes a penal notice, nicely reminding the reader that not obeying the order (which means shipping any PlayStation branded product to any country in Europe) may mean sequestration of all assets and, in worst case, imprisonment for the directors of the company. The judge also ordered that 'there be an inquiry as to the damages suffered' by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe in the UK and in any other member state of the European Union, based on each EU country's own rules.

Finally, Sony's unbelievable statement that all purchase orders made by their own directors 'would' be for investigatory purposes speaks volumes, and also doesn't explain why these and all the other orders placed by Sony officials were not revealed to the High Court (despite what is called duty for 'full and frank disclosure' in court proceedings, as Lik-Sang understands it as laymen).

Oddly enough, all investigatory orders that were revealed by Sony to the High Court in London and to the High Court in Hong Kong started much later than the purchases placed by their directors. Further to this, Sony Europe's own Legal and Business Affairs Manager signed a witness statement in the High Court of London that says that Sony Europe 'became aware' of parallel imported PSP consoles in the UK and in the rest of Europe only in March 2005, and the same witness statement presents a trainee solicitor from Sony's lawyers as the one placing such investigatory orders during May 2005.

On top of that, more than a half year after the named Sony officials started to receive their PSP purchase orders from Lik-Sang, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (managed by the very same directors) sent a letter to Hong Kong claiming that they just 'recently discovered' that Lik-Sang is offering PSP consoles and games to customers in the UK (United Kingdom) and that they would be entitled for a court injunction.

The three directors that were revealed in Tuesday's press release are very important and directly linked to Sony's lawsuits against Lik-Sang. A copy of their purchase orders, along with a fine selection of others, was produced by Lik-Sang's legal representatives to Sony Europe during the Hong Kong High Court discovery proceedings long before the trial in the UK took place. No purchase orders of non-management level Sony employees were revealed, not in court or otherwise.

UK news website Spong.com tried to call all three of the listed Sony directors, just to learn that 66% of them are not in their office or are on holidays this week. They are probably still very exhausted from placing all these investigatory orders for the trainees of their legal department...

My final words: Sony should be proud of having such a die-hard import gamers community rushing to buy their products and supporting them with a passion. Instead, they march all over us.

Pascal Clarysse, on behalf of Lik-Sang.com

Earlier today, in a bit of theatrical teeth-gnashing, Lik-Sang announced they were shuttering their online store because of Sony's multiple legal actions against them for selling Playstation Portables from Asia to people in Europe. Now, I don't in anyway support the lawsuits Sony filed, I've purchased my share of games from Lik-Sang, but I think Lik-Sang was a bit over the top in their response.

"Fighting multiple lawsuits in different countries at the same time and paying high premiums to expensive lawyers is an overwhelming situation for a small company like Lik-Sang. Launching separate court actions with separate claims and different judges is completely unnecessary, except for the fact that it helps reaching one single target: outspend Lik-Sang to death. 'Pay Beyond.'"

And then, after a few hours, comes Sony's response filled with typical outrage and bluster, but also a few interesting tidbits. In the statement, sent to Games Industry, Sony points out that while they have successfully sued Pacific Game Technology, which owns Lik-Sang, they haven't received a dime and that the company didn't bother to show up to court to fight it.

"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," the statement claims.

"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."

OK, I get that, but then Sony claims that the oodles of PSPs that a number of SCE execs purchased through Lik-Sang were just purchased for "investigatory" purposes.

"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."

Oh, customer privacy. Good one. It's like watching a tennis match. Come on Lik-Sang, what do you have to say about that... oh and how about printing those execs' credit card numbers too. Brian Crecente

Sony denies responsibility for closure of Lik-Sang [GI]

Holy shit!

Lik-Sang.com, the popular gaming retailer from Hong Kong, has today announced that it is forced to close down due to multiple legal actions brought against it by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Sony claimed that Lik-Sang infringed its trade marks, copyright and registered design rights by selling Sony PSP consoles from Asia to European customers, and have recently obtained a judgment in the High Court of London (England) rendering Lik-Sang's sales of PSP consoles unlawful.

As of today, Lik-Sang.com will not be in the position to accept any new orders and will cancel and refund all existing orders that have already been placed. Furthermore, Lik-Sang is working closely with banks and PayPal to refund any store credits held by the company, and the customer support department is taking care of any open transactions such as pending RMAs or repairs and shipping related matters. The staff of Lik-Sang will make sure that nobody will get hurt in the crossfire of this ordeal.

The lawsuits they are talking about, by the way, involve Sony's attempts to make gray market imports of console systems illegal, especially in Europe. The way they did this was by filing a suit in every single frickin' EU country... essentially bleeding Lik Sang to death. You can see the writing on the wall in Lik Sang's statement:

"Fighting multiple lawsuits in different countries at the same time and paying high premiums to expensive lawyers is an overwhelming situation for a small company like Lik-Sang. Launching separate court actions with separate claims and different judges is completely unnecessary, except for the fact that it helps reaching one single target: outspend Lik-Sang to death. 'Pay Beyond.'"

Sony. What a bunch of scum bags. Lik Sang was a fine, fine company. Florian Eckhardt

Edit: Thanks to Mallika for pointing out it gets even worse...

Furthermore, Sony have failed to disclose to the London High Court that not only the world wide gaming community in more than 100 countries relied on Lik-Sang for their gaming needs, but also Sony Europe's very own top directors repeatedly got their Sony PSP hard or software imports in nicely packed Lik-Sang parcels with free Lik-Sang Mugs or Lik-Sang Badge Holders, starting just two days after Japan's official release, as early as 14th of December 2004 (more than nine months earlier than the legal action). The list of PSP related Sony Europe orders reads like the who's who of the videogames industry, and includes Ray Maguire (Managing Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Alan Duncan (UK Marketing Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Chris Sorrell (Creative Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Rob Parkin (Development Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited), just to name a few.

Important Notice: Lik-Sang.com Out of Business due to Multiple Sony Lawsuits [Lik Sang]

" Be prepared that the day-1 prices will be much higher than the manufacturers suggested retail price," it starts. Uh, oh, can you say price gauging?

Hit the jump for their very long "Extra Note" which uses phrases like "There is never enough of the good stuff on launch day" and "Mastercard would call that 'priceless

Fortunately, they do allow you to just sit on your pre-order even after the PS3 hits, if you don't want to pay the obviously bloated price. Brian Crecente

Extra note: Be prepared that the day-1 prices will be much higher than the manufacturers suggested retail price. Experienced and veteran hardcore gamers, who are not importing a system for the first time, know that buying a PS3 at launch or a PSP at launch is not the same thing as simply buying a mere PlayStation 3 or a random PSP off some supermarket shelf. You're paying for the privilege of getting it two months before the massive overflow. Especially with the long forecasted shortages (only 100.000 units for Japan at release date), MasterCard would call that 'priceless'. There is never enough of the good stuff on a launch day, and Lik Sang is required to pay premium pricing to get earlybird stock in sufficient levels for everybody. We can only extend these offers to you during the first couple of months, while waiting for the market to stabilize. But that's the beauty of the No Money Down Special Pre-Order system, you can always ignore day-1 prices and wait for a few more days, a few more weeks, or even several months, until the price goes down to an acceptable level. Without ever losing your pre-order position!

One issue with being a Guitar Hero zealot is that it's a secret righteousness. Who besides my girlfriend and my friends nursing hangovers will know that I, when initiating star power, can actually twirl the Guitar Hero controller around my neck just like Johnny Napalm? But more importantly: Guitar Heroes simply don't get indy street cred confining their trashing to the isolation of their own living room. We can't swagger around downtown, a guitar controller slung over our shoulder, a lit Marlboro dangling from our lower lips. Girls would take one look at that plastic guitar with the Fisher Price buttons and make a collective decision through the Feminine Hive Mind to never sleep with us again, forever.

Or at least, they would have until now. But I see over at Lik Sang that they are now selling a Guitar Hero guitar case with the words Guitar Hero actually printed upon it. Just like a real rock god! Finally, a suitable scabbard in which to sheathe our controller and stride with confidence and attitude through the streets. I'm going to take mine everywhere.

PS: They are also pre-selling Guitar Hero 2. Florian Eckhardt

Guitar Hero Gig Bag [Lik Sang]

A week back or so, we enthusiastically burbled on about the Shredder, a third-party Guitar Hero controller that made the liquid in our crotches glow through the skin like a lava lamp. We said we'd go buy one. This was a lie. It was part of a devious plot to get you to spend your hard-earned money for us, then send us a review so we wouldn't be out a cool forty beans.

And it worked! Thanks to Mr. Moneybags reader Dave E. we can now conclusively put our beer money back into our sock. This just in! Shredder sucks!

I purchased the new 3rd party G.H. and I have very mixed reviews about it. Right away I noticed the controller itself is even smaller than the official GH one. It still feels natural when holding it though. On a plus side, the top buttons are still placed the same, but have a better feel to them. They do not need to be pushed down as hard as the original, making hammer-ons and pull offs feel more natural. My biggest gripes about this controller are the tilt sensor and the select button. The tilt sensor is now a shake sensor. You have the shake the controller to enable star power. Sounds good on paper, but when it isn't very responsive, you realize that your only option is to use the select button. Well, it is placed too high up and makes you actually stop your stumming to reach it. Not good. Overall, I would say its only good for a second guitar to give to your buddy when he comes over for some multiplayer action. It does not deliver performance as the box suggests.

Shaking the controller like a two week infant to enable star power certainly screams rock and roll, but it seems a tad inconvenient. Better cancel your orders, guys!

Previously: Third Party Guitar Hero Controller Shreds

Spare Guitar Hero controllers are hard to come by in Europe. Luckily, Lik Sang is selling a face-shredding, third-party controller so bitchingly, blindingly cool that it makes the original controller look like a milk carton stapled to a piece of wood found in a gutter and then strung up with bottle caps and pieces of yarn. Appropriately enough, it's called the Shredder, and Lik Sang just got my credit card number. Gentlemen! Prepare for me to melt your face. Florian Eckhardt

Shredder Controller for Guitar Hero [Lik Sang] (Thanks, Monkey!)

The details from Lik-Sang:

• High Definition Digital 9.2 inch LCD color screen provides ultra pin sharp picture quality and true RGB color definition.
• The TFT screen provides a wide 160-degree viewing angle for a clear picture in any seated position.
• SRS 3D Surround Sound dramatically improves audio quality by providing stereo sound with a rich spatial effect.
• Integrated twin modular Stereo Speakers use Dynamic speaker box to deliver full rich sound.
• 2 Stereo Headphone Outputs for private multi player gaming.

It'll run you about $180 US, so, if you're looking for a marginally more compact 360 play session, Lik-Sang is shipping them now.

Xbox 360 LCD Monitor

Lik-Sang shot us a note that they've gotten their hands on two prototypes designed to shoot the image from Nintendo portables to your television screen. One works with the GameBoy Advance SP and the other with the DS. Both use a set of lens and mirrors to capture the image and then send it to your television through an AV cable. The LS folks say the end result was washed out, blocky and blurred. Despite the issues, LS says the end result was better than expected, especially considering the DS and GBASP's relatively low-res screens.

Hit the link for the full write up.

First Look on Viewboy DS2TV Adapter Prototype [Lik-Sang]

Touch My DS (Thanks, 4CR!)

Alright! 4 Color Rebellion is reporting that the Japanese Nintendo DS Lite shortage is officially over, where the proper degree of officiality is determined thanks to online retailer Lik-Sang, who are shipping off DS Lites to overseas consumers at last. No news on whether this means Ashcraft will finally start sending out DS Lites to his Kotaku co-workers, though. All we can say is god help both him and his scrotum if he doesn't.

Free At Last! DS lite Shortage Over! [4CR]

Weekly Gaming Update [Lik-Sang]

Lik-Sang has an excellent hands-on, PSP guts-out, review of the PSP TV Adapter which they just received in their warehouse this week. Installing the device on your PSP requires some major tremble-free surgery on the portable and the end result sounds adequate at best.

While the hands on talks a lot about the process of installation and a little about gameplay results, there is absolutely no mention of what movies look like playing from the PSP onto a TV. I, for one, would love to know.

It sounds like if I were to buy something like this, at that's a huge if, I would probably wait for the mod-free version coming soon.

PSP TV Under the Knife of our Tech Dept [Lik-Sang]

Doing their best impression of a bunch of whiny little girls, Sony has decided to sue video game importer and all around good guys Lik-Sang for selling the Playstation Portable in continents the mega company doesn't deem worthy of portable fun.

The suit borders on the absurd, with Sony taking all leave of their sanity and going after the Hong Kong company despite the fact that it has the law on its side.

Hey Sony, instead of attacking a retailer, why don't you get off your collective asses and start shipping Playstation Portables to Europe.

Sony Sue PSP Exporter [Bit-Tech]