The list of grievances Europe is holding against SCEE seems to be growing by the week. A new thread on the official European PlayStation forums demonstrates the various areas in which SCEE is underachieving in comparison to SCEA. While everyone seems happy with the design of the new PSN Store, which went live recently, European PS3 owners seem annoyed at the weird categorisation system used on the EU version. There's no "demos" section, requiring you to search through each game in turn to see whether it has a demo available or not.Not only that, but there's no "preview" button on the European Store, which means that there are no video previews of games. Other annoyances include a lack of decent content, games appearing late (or never at all) compared to their US releases and the lack of a real European PlayStation.Blog. It looks like the members of the official forums aren't going to take it anymore. But will SCEE listen? Sadly, we doubt it.
[UPDATE] The thread has been moved to the feedback section of the official European PlayStation forums.
[Thanks, madrabbit!]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
4-17-2008 @ 8:38AM
James said...
Store schmore:
No DS3.....no 80GB.....no High Velocity Bowling.....no video download store in pipeline.....
We buy more PS3's than any region in the world and Sony still hates us. Lucky they made such a good console......
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4-17-2008 @ 8:43AM
Lavat said...
With all those countries they have to sort threw and all the different languages I am not surprised they get shorthanded. Why not just make it the United States of Europe. USE.
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4-17-2008 @ 11:18AM
Rowdehaj said...
Because that, as is evident from certain other areas of the world, just wouln't work that well. :P
4-17-2008 @ 5:43PM
Dehshizknight said...
Lol! I'm taking AP European History and we JUST learned about Winston Churchill's proposition of a United States of Europe just a few years after World War II.
4-17-2008 @ 8:56AM
Gamerwillz said...
I'm one of them! I complained in EU PS forums. I hate how SCEE treat us! How dare them.
The EU PS Store is completely messed up! Why there is "Family Games"?... That is unnecessary! Why don't we have Demo button? Where's A-Z listing? Where's Preview button? Where's all of that neat groupings in US Store?
SCEE sucks.
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4-17-2008 @ 10:52AM
Phileoca said...
It's more likely that we would become the North America Union (Canada, US, Mexico), meanwhile other countries will form other Unions of the same until there are 4 major world.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vuBo4E77ZXo&feature=related
4-17-2008 @ 9:00AM
sean said...
does SCEA do anything? i know SCEE is making Home and i also think they were the ones making the new store and SCEJ does all the firmware. and all 3 make games but other then games what does SCEA do?
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4-17-2008 @ 9:01AM
Zombie Huggles said...
I'm a bit worried and need consolation. I have a 60 gig, I use up that hard drive, I take advantage of that Wireless internet, I utilize the browser, I play online, all four of my USB slots are full (USB cable, Keyboard, Headset, camera), I "share" pictures via the memory card slots, I've used four blu-tooth controllers at once, I own 20 plus Blurays, and I love playing PS1 and PS2 games on there. To me, the 60 gig was a perfect machine (almost). But "Sony" had the foresight to know all of these features would be important. To me, the 600 bucks wasn't hard to pay for what I received.
But Phil Harrison has left and so has Ken Kutaragi. They seemed to have been two of the great visionaries over at Sony. Since their departure, Sony has made it's first great mistake (in my opinion) by briefly abandoning the 80 gig. Most of my friends were saving up for a PS3 purchase, but now are planning to wait for 80 gigs to return in June. Now I hear there seem to be constant blunders in Europe. Is Sony becoming MS? Just reacting on impulse to the numbers at hand? Or will new Visionaries come to the for-front and secure that Sony will always be pushing the envelope and reaching for the skies?
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4-17-2008 @ 9:03AM
Lee Richards said...
Was just reading through the topic on the forum, and when I went to the select 'next page' it disappeared. Looks like the entire topic has been deleted? Conspiricy?? :)
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4-17-2008 @ 9:04AM
DaveC said...
And still no mention of the DS3 release date even though it's been dated in Australasia.
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4-17-2008 @ 9:05AM
zoltari said...
I bought my PS3 on launch day – it cost the best part of £500 I might add... Over a year later, I still haven't seen anything that I really want to play (Ratchet and Clank & Heavenly Sword are it for me).
In my opinion, the European store is shocking under developed from a content, demos and updates point of view; Europe continues to get treated a poor second compared to America; I am now officially sick and tired of it.
As of today, I have unplugged my PS3 and put it back in its box. It will stay there until 2010, by which time maybe Sony will have got their finger out and started to give Europe the support it deserves… We are their biggest consumer-base after all.
The problem I have is this: I hate FPS games; if I did want to play them, I have a 360 for that. Why are Sony developers making poor ports of tired old 360 games and not coming up with anything new?
It used to be that the Play Station brand was all about innovation, but now it's about nothing but appealing to the lowest common denominator - the Great Game Playing American Public. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to sound racist here, but, Sony are not an American company, they are Japanese. Why then are they trying so hard to emulate the 360 model by appealing to a market they will never ever capture? Stick to what you do best Sony – Innovate. Europeans are the only ones who ever seemed to appreciate your perspective on gaming, but still you have abandoned us in favour of the Dollar.
For now, I have to reluctantly admit that Nintendo is my saviour, although not, as you may imagine, on it’s faddish Wii (which I also own incidentally). For me, to Wii too has fallen prey to the sad ports of FPS games that I couldn't care less about… Yes, it has a funky controller, but it’s definitely not good for every single game – which the developers have yet to seem to grasp (normal controllers evolved over years of use in to their current form for a reason Wii developers – waving a stick about to control certain games is NOT the best solution).
So, currently, I find myself using my DS for entertainment - the games are more unique, more engaging and to be honest, better value for money; yeah the graphics aren’t great, and I have seen vampires that fair better in direct sunlight that the DS screen, but that’s not the point. The games are just great, and in the end, it’s all about the games: Instant loading, no tedious cut-scenes that run on for 10 minutes with and have no real bearing on the game play.
Simple interaction, software availability and hours of engaging fun. That’s it. That is all what I want from a gaming system. Oh, and is it too much to ask for the system to actually be 100% complete before you launch it Sony? Please? It’s over a year and Home is nowhere to be seen (not that I want to spend hours wandering round a Second Life clone – sorry to repeat myself but, games Sony, That’s what you need. Games).
If I thought I could get away with it I would sue Sony for my £500 back, mainly on the grounds that their 'entertainment system' is in no way entertaining me; it’s ironic really, in America, where Sony so desperately want to be, I could probably sue them and win. Someone probably will do too if they don’t shape up pretty sharpish…
Sony. I loved you for so many years, but you have lost your direction. The world is not America. Take the blinkers off and acknowledge your fans. We are in Europe, not America.
Apologies to America by the way it’s not your fault I know, but I’m sure you can see why we are so damn peeved. I it were the other way round, what would you say?
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4-17-2008 @ 10:36AM
Matt said...
I don't mean to sound rude, but I just felt that it was appropriate to respond to your post. I don't think there's any need to start talking about what the largest consumer base is, or anything like that, when talking to Sony about this problem. I'm in the United States, and it bothers me quite a bit that things are not globally equal.
I can't experience these problems firsthand, so I can't comment directly on them. However, I'm a bit annoyed that you would decide to take shots at the American public on this matter. I understand that you're annoyed that Europe has taken second fiddle to the States in the realm of video gaming, as I would be too. However, I just want to point out that we have nothing to do with Sony's attitudes toward other places in the world.
I would disagree that innovation has ever put Sony in the lead, as Nintendo has done far more in terms of innovation in their gaming platforms in general. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not claiming the Wii or DS superior to the PS3 or PSP, or anything like that, just stating that innovation was at the heart of both of Nintendo's systems in this case) So I'm not quite sure what you mean by saying that Europeans appreciate Sony's perspective most, but I'd like to hear back from you if you could explain this a bit.
Again, I'm not taking a jab at you or anyone, I just think that focus should be placed on Sony rather than other parts of the globe. After all, if you really wanted to take that route, Sony and Nintendo fans outside of Japan would all have reason to be upset, right?
4-17-2008 @ 9:05AM
Poozle said...
Well, it appears the thread has been removed, I was just 1/2 way through reading it.
I'd never seen the US store tbh and not spent much time on the new EU one but didn't realise that the EU store was a different layout and no previews. The worst thing I've always found is hearing about cool store products... then finding out that EU doesn't have them.
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4-17-2008 @ 9:07AM
Poozle said...
Sorry to reply to myself but realised the link to the petition from the thread isn't there any more.
I don't remember who created it but a petition has been created about the bad store layout.
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/psstore/
4-17-2008 @ 9:10AM
steve30x said...
Sony must have seen this blog because they deleted that thread. If they werent so arrogant and treated the europeans like the US we wouldnt be p in arms. Sony doesnt want any complaints and when we complain in the eu forums they delete the thread in fear of repurcusions. Sony needs to listen to us the customer.
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4-17-2008 @ 9:30AM
Eggy said...
They're just sick and tired of the constant whining. I would be too if I was a moderator there. You can't blame those folks.
4-17-2008 @ 2:02PM
Rowdehaj said...
What utter nonsense. Of course we can, what's the point of a feedback section if they delete negative remarks and complaints?!
4-17-2008 @ 9:13AM
Willykyu said...
Wow, same for me, I was reading the post, and clicking "next page" I saw the removed sign...
Is SCEE using censorship? at least, it would mean they read forums and complains!!
But if they really deleted the thread, it'd be extremely shocking!!!
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4-17-2008 @ 9:18AM
chowley said...
yep thread deleted, they are scum. I cant take it anymore :P
*runs away wailing*
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4-17-2008 @ 9:24AM
zoltari said...
I see someone kindly started the same thread again and quoted the initial post...
http://community.eu.playstation.com/playstationeu/board/message?board.id=62&thread.id=701574
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