Hiya.

Sorry if my greeting isn’t as enthusiastic as usual. I’m just really bummed out at all of the recent bad news coming from Sony. It’s not because they’re in trouble or anything like that. In fact, it’s just the opposite: it’s Sony that’s causing all the trouble! Honestly, it hurts a lot because I am a self-professed Sony fangirl. So, when they do bad things, a part of me does hurt a little. Lately, it does seem like Sony, especially on the PlayStation side of things, is doing a lot of really crappy things to really make me feel the pain of being a big Sony fangirl.

What makes it worse is how Sony is doing it in such a short span of time! No restraint in letting all of the bad news dribble out over several months to cushion the blow. Nope, they’re going all scorched earth with all of the announcements! I even have to say some of these actions are downright “evil” in my eyes! So, let me go through them and let me rant about them.

The first really big brouhaha came when they announced how some movies customers purchased from the PlayStation Store were being removed from their library. Now, some gamers may not realize you used to be able to buy and rent movies from the PlayStation Store back in the day. Well, you were but that option has pretty much been phased out and forgotten… except by the people who actually did buy movies from there! So, it turns out Sony could just revoke your access to those movies, the movies that you supposedly bought, and take away access to it!

So, what’s happening is Sony didn’t renew a licensing deal with one specific movie distribution company, Studio Canal. Now, Studio Canal, from what I know, has the releasing rights for films in the Europe region like Terminator 2: Judgement Day, the two Paddington movies, three Bridget Jones flicks and a whole lot more. For now, this situation is only happening in Europe because that’s primarily where Studio Canal operates. However, looking at it in the long term, this does mean, if Sony decides to just stop getting the license from other studios, this could be happen anywhere!

I’m not affected since I’m in the Philippines so I never did get to buy any films on the PlayStation Store because we never got a chance to because the PlayStation Network doesn’t even recognize the country. Still, this sucks because this means Sony can just yoink away access to stuff you were supposed to own! Well, you don’t own anything, apparently! Honestly, at the very least, Sony should have given a refund to those people who supposedly purchased these movies! They’re not! It kind of makes you wish you owned a physical copy of whatever you bought, huh? Too bad Sony’s thought of that, too, and they already have plans to make sure it doesn’t happen to their games!

Shortly after the entire Studio Canal licensing fiasco, Sony may have come to the realization how they can also dupe the people who support the actual Sony PlayStation console! Around a week ago, Sony gave more details on the future of PlayStation and how people will get their games. They are shifting to a totally digital market and will stop releasing games on discs in 2028! Boo! Boo, I say!

Now, to me, the writing was on the wall when it came to this bit of news. If you look at the PC side of things, no one buys games on discs over there anymore. I don’t think most PC even have a disc drive these days! I know my gaming laptop doesn’t have one! Still, I’ve already put up a post as to why I prefer getting an actual disc a long time ago. It’s not just the idea of the online store removing it from my purchased library. No, it goes deeper than that! I’ve always hated how a game would be available on something like the PlayStation Store and then it’ll be gone the next day. The best example of this would be PT. Anyone remember, PT? I most certainly do!

For those who forgot, PT was short for Playable Teaser. It was the brainchild of Hideo Kojima and this was essentially a demo of his vision of what he would do if he were to make a new Silent Hill game. It was a creepy, psychedelic horror game shot in first-person and it was big! Of course, it’s well known Hideo Kojima has a big falling out with Konami, the company who owns the Silent Hill franchise. So, when Hideo Kojima decided to leave the company, Konami also removed PT from the PlayStation Store! Even though this is a free game, Konami didn’t want to be associated with it and made it so no one can ever download this demo ever again!

So, obviously, removing games from an online store isn’t unheard of and I don’t think Sony still has the power to uninstall games from the PlayStation remotely… yet. This still sets a bad precedent, though, especially soon after the news of Sony removing movies which you supposedly bought! This just means anything you bought from the PlayStation Store is not permanent. It’s all temporary and you can be revoked access at any time… and without a refund if the entire Studio Canal situation repeats itself! Also, it’s not like you can keep all the games you bought on your PlayStation’s hard drive. No, hard drive space will now be at a premium because of the idea of Sony nixing your ability to download the games you bought! At the very least, all gamers all around the world will be able to buy games on the PlayStation Store, right? Wrong!

You would think Sony would have ran out of bad ideas after those two botches, huh? Nope! They had to go make it a trilogy! One of the biggest upcoming fighting games is Marvel TOKON: Fighting Souls. It’s a tag fighter being developed by Arc System Works using Marvel characters like Spider-Man, Captain America, Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Doctor Doom and many more. This was shaping up to be one of the biggest fighting game releases thanks to a convergence of a couple of factors, namely this was a fighting game with Marvel character being made by fighting game developer extraordinaire Arc System Works and the upcoming release of big Marvel movies like Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday. Suffice to say, Marvel TOKON has a good chance of being a global hit, even if you’re not a fighting game fan.

Apparently, Sony is allergic to money and success as they have revealed the game is going to be blocked from being played in more than 100 countries! This includes my very own country of the Philippines! The Philippines! A country with a ton of comic book fans and who loyally watch Marvel movies when they’re released! Like I said, the Philippines isn’t the only one as other countries, like Pakistan and the Dominican Republic, are not going to be able to play Marvel TOKON!

Right now, Sony hasn’t given a reason as to why they’re blocking Marvel TOKON in these countries. Some have speculated this is because Sony doesn’t have an official PlayStation Network in these countries. That’s probably true but do you know whose fault is that, Sony? It’s yours! You are a giant company with locations all around the world! You have hand the PlayStation Network active for decades already! Why didn’t you add the PlayStation Network in these countries? You could have but you didn’t and now the loyal customers in these countries are going be locked out of giving you money because of your blunder that you haven’t corrected?

Just to add to the stupidity, they blocked the game from countries like Pakistan and the Dominican Republic, two countries with amazing fighting game professionals! You could have made a killing and added to the hype by allowing the fantastic players from these countries to promote how sick Marvel TOKON can be! Oh, what’s even dumber is the ban isn’t just for PlayStation users. It’s also for PC gamers! Despite PC players not going through the PlayStation Network, it also looks like gamers in these countries will not be able to buy Marvel TOKON on Steam as well! Really, Sony? Why? What’s the logic there?

Come on, Sony! I have been a Sony fangirl for so long and I have been loyal to you. Can’t you show a little loyalty to me on the flip side? Is that too much to ask for someone who’s supported you through thick and thin? I’m not just talking about me. I’m talking for the millions of Sony fanboys and fangirls out there. Why are you making it hard for us to love you now?

What do you think of all of the “evil” business decisions Sony has made recently? Let me know in the comments section below!