Sony to replace defective demo discs with games

By Tom Bramwell Published 7 December, 2004

SCEA acknowledges the importance of save game data to consumers by offering free games to anybody who lost their saves thanks to a bug in a recent demo disc.

Sony Computer Entertainment America has offered to replace defective PlayStation Underground demo discs sent out recently in the USA with a free PlayStation 2 game, according to reports, following widespread condemnation of a bug in one of the demos which deleted Memory Card save game data rather unceremoniously.

The PlayStation Underground disc featured a demo of Capcom's Viewtiful Joe 2, recently released on PS2 and GameCube in the US, which would wipe clean any Memory Cards inserted at the time - much to the despair of PS2 owners who hoped to get a glimpse of one of the most anticipated beat-'em-up games of the year.

When it emerged that the disc destroyed save data, SCEA issued an apology and advised users not to play the demos with a Memory Card inserted. However now it seems that the higher-ups have decided to distribute free games as well in an act of goodwill to the consumer.

The list of games covers a number of genres, and some of the games are distinctly new. The full list comprises Athens 2004, ATV Offroad Fury 3, Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec, Hot Shots Golf Fore!, MLB 2004, Parappa the Rapper 2, Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Wild Arms 3.

American gamers affected by the problem - or simply in possession of the PlayStation Underground disc in question - are being encouraged to contact SCEA (1-800-345-7669 via phone), who will then supply an address to send the disc to. The company is safeguarding the scheme against opportunists who might exploit it by limiting it to one game per PS2 serial number.

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About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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