Sony staff defy policy on import PSPs - Dan Morelle

By Ellie Gibson Published 3 June, 2005

And other developers too.

While Sony's lawyers have been issuing Cease and Desist orders to UK online retailers who attempt to sell imported American and Japanese PlayStation Portables, the MD of one of the companies targeted claims that even Sony staff members have been buying import PSPs through his website - some of them using Sony company credit cards.

Speaking exclusively to our sister site GamesIndustry.biz, Dan Morelle, managing director of online store ElectricBirdLand, commented: "Sony suffers under the weight of its own bureaucracy and the fact that we're selling to divisions within Sony Europe is proof of the pudding.

"We're even selling to leading developers working on behalf of Sony such as Team 17, Criterion and Atari," he added.

ElectricBirdLand is contesting Sony's Cease and Desist order forcefully, this week issuing a stern statement which claims that Sony's legal argument is based upon the infringement of trademarks the company doesn't even own. EBL has so far refused to budge on the issue – with US and Japanese PSPs still on sale on the company's website. The full story can be found elsewhere on GamesIndustry.biz.

“The threat of legal action is not because Sony is concerned about the impact that small importers like us will have on its brand or sales – it’s simply because of their inability to implement something so vital to the success of its new product,” Morelle said in the statement.

“Looking at the bigger picture, Sony isn’t concerned about controlling small businesses importing a few units. The real story is about profit,” he claims.

Sony plans to launch the PlayStation Portable in Europe on September 1st, priced £179.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (22) Latest comment 7 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • SFA_AOK #1 7 years ago

    Is he allowed to reveal details such as these? I would have thought things like the Data Protection Act would've meant he was unable to say such things. I'm a bit suspicious of some of his claims. How does he know a card is a Sony company card? Surely all he sees is a long number along with a few details such as expiry date, security code...

  • Phattso #2 7 years ago

    Just a thought, but would the Data Protection Act not preclude releasing such information publicly? I'm not sure I'd be too chuffed to have my company pulled into this argument of importing PSPs just because this guy (rightly or wrongly) has an axe to grind.

  • Blerk #3 7 years ago

    Sounding a bit like a hissy fit now, mate. :-)

  • Teeth #4 7 years ago

    Rightly :)

  • drumbaby #5 7 years ago

    As long as EG promise to publish the story where he gets sued by Sony, I'm not complaining.

  • rauper Verified Managing Director, Eurogamer Network #6 7 years ago

    Gladly ;)

  • Derblington #7 7 years ago

    @ Rauper - I'm crying with laughter here mate. That has tickled me no end.

  • mentat #8 7 years ago

    o_O

    /says nothing.

    /taps nose knowingly

  • FairgroundTown #9 7 years ago

    SFA_AOK is right. My other half is a departmental manager at Sony, and we can't see how they would know. The credit cards are standard-issue Barclaycards, registered to the holders home address. They might have used the delivery address, but Sony staff aren't allowed to have non-work-related item delivered to work - post-room staff have been told to check, and send the item back if it is not work-related, so the item would have to be delivered to home, in which case they wouldn't know...

  • Darkedge #10 7 years ago

    the DPA does look like he's compromised it but lets face it - sony shoudln't worry about imports - I mean it's more units in the hands of customer and therefore more games sold = more profit.
    te whole situation is dumb

  • Derblington #11 7 years ago

    Darkedge - it's not more profit because they retail for less abroad. It'll be the import retailer that make more money doing it this way, and that's what Sony don't like.

  • ave #12 7 years ago

    I cant see how this violates the DPA(but im not expert)

    It's like amazon.com saying that 5% of it's sales are to irish people, it's talking demographics/generalisations, not giving info on any one person...

  • jellyhead #13 7 years ago

    I think Sony also have a bit of a "worry on" about gamers not buying them at release because they've imported them previously and then the sales not being as good being a deterrent to the more casual gamer.
    Or maybe they're just moody that they won't be able to get regional sales which will make the PSP look like a lame duck?
    To my mind it matters not as anyone who wants one will have one already, so they don't lose sales as such overall it just skews the regional figures. They've already got the profit.

  • simiankid #14 7 years ago

    " How does he know a card is a Sony
    company card? Surely all he sees is a long number along with
    a few details such as expiry date, security code...

    Or perhaps..duh..duh..DAH...the person emailing/phoning simply told them they were from Sony? It's not like Sony are MI6; you are actually allowed to tell people you work there.

  • Gareth.de #15 7 years ago

    How does he know a card is a Sony
    company card? Surely all he sees is a long number along with
    a few details such as expiry date, security code...

    Well if it's a business card, they have the name of the company instead of the name of a person...

  • raikov #16 7 years ago

    I support importing PSP's entirely. But I've only just heard of this Dan Morelle in two news articles here at EG today, and I'm already sick of him. It's one thing to show issues, but another to be having endless male pmt about it. Shame there's not an "ignore" function for his name like there is for us comment posters.

  • raikov #17 7 years ago

    /foot

  • stormcr0wfleet #18 7 years ago

    if sony are so bothered about europen gamers inporting psps.. they should shift there arses and release the europen unit at the same time as japan or the US.. not a whole year afterwards!.

  • Merefield #19 7 years ago

    For goodness sake, when is the consumer going to get the full benefit of globalisation?

    Sony don't want ppl to import the PSP as they want to sell the product for as much as possible in each market, so they can maximise their profit.

    This does not serve the consumer. It simply serves the company and its shareholders.

    This practice is clearly anti-competitive and should itself be outlawed.

    If Sony is so damn keen to protect its local franchise then I have two tips for them:

    1. Release as simultaneously as possible in all markets.
    2. Price the product locally so that importing is no longer economic.

    Then the consumer gets a good deal and we are all happy.

    But no, Sony you are a greedy corporate monster.

    /leaves shaking head in disgust

  • spadge #20 7 years ago

    I'm not sure how they can quote us (Team17) to be honest -
    and that's something I will follow up, since as a company we
    haven't bought any from this company on an official basis at
    all. Some of our staff *may* have done, but that would be
    for their own personal use - obviously we only use PSP
    development equipment supplied by SCEE themselves.

    We have got a few company PSP's kicking about the office,
    but these were obtained elsewhere* (purely for reference)
    including some which we picked up in the USA (at the recent
    E3).

    But to be honest, we always get hold of whatever console
    comes out, as soon as it comes out and aren't usually too
    fussy where we import it from.

    Martyn, Team17.

    *Liksang, actually.

    PS.
    Any PSP doubters; forget the doubts, it's a terrific piece
    of kit.

  • mrpsb #21 7 years ago

    Any chance of some decent original games for this next generation, spadge? You know, like those excellent, original, highly playable (although not according to Amiga Power sometimes!) titles you used to make on the Amiga? The ones that weren't new editions of Worms?

    No? Never mind, there's always PS5.

  • spadge #22 7 years ago

    I'm pleased to say we're working on a variety of titles these days, although Worms is in the mix, it's not our sole output. There will be announcements in due course and you may also note that we're also doing the PSP edition of Lemmings for Sony.

    SCEE's ambitions with PSP are very refreshing with regard to new ideas and we believe new opportunities exist, which is about time really.

  • mrpsb #23 7 years ago

    THANK THE MAKER

    I love you, now.