Play-Asia, other importers cease taking EU orders for PS3

With Lik-Sang having gone the way of the dodo bird, some overseas customers were confident that other companies like Play-Asia would still be able to fill their gaming jones -- except now we've learned that this gray market importer and several others have also decided to put the brakes on shipping the PS3 to European customers. Our sister blog, Joystiq, reported earlier today that the Play-Asia just emailed a succinct message to its customers: "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." The company also updated its terms and conditions, saying: "PS3 will not be shipped to any countries in the European Union (EU)." Damn, it looks like our friends in Europe will just have to wait this one out after all.

[Via Joystiq]

[SomeOne @ Oct 30th 2006 3:16PM]

hahaha suckers

[Christian @ Oct 30th 2006 3:17PM]

See now that's screwed up!

Am I first one to post?

[CharlieX @ Oct 30th 2006 3:26PM]

Time to have your Myspace buddies in the States pick one up for you and fedex it as "a gift."

[CWKalel @ Oct 30th 2006 3:39PM]

Wow. Yet another poop stain for the PS3's public relations.

[Paul @ Oct 30th 2006 3:42PM]

Am I stupid in not understanding how this doesnt help sony at all?

[sycks @ Oct 30th 2006 3:45PM]

They made the same deal for PSP's, this was expected as its the reason Play-Asia did not get sued

[Matt @ Oct 30th 2006 3:45PM]

I am honestly in no rush to get one.
As much as sony want this to be more than a console, a computer, a media hub etc its not.
At the end of the day it carries the playstation brand.

My folks, aunties, uncles, grandpa's are not going to buy this especially at the price.
The kids do, how many people actually have this in their living room?
Mostly the kids have it in their bedrooms/den.
I cant think of anyone over the age of 25 that has one in the living room.
And lets face it, you need an extension on your house to get this thing through the door and to build a big enough place to put it.
Like you mum/dad/gf is going to want this in the living room, you would get bitch slapped before you even touched the controller god forbid their favorite soap was on...
Nintendo and Msft have got it right.
Its cheap enough for everyone to access it and above all its realistic and in tune with what people actually want and can afford.

[jason @ Oct 30th 2006 9:19PM]

how is sony's mutlimedia playstation different than microsoft's multimedia xbox?

as far as being a gaming system nintendo wins

however, asthetically, nintendo and microsoft win, the playstation is just an unstackable monster (though I do think there are some design issues with where to plug stuff into the wii)

[What the... @ Oct 30th 2006 5:30PM]

i'm 27 and my PS2 is in my living room.

If my gf wants to watch TV and I want to play a game, I play the game and tell her to go watch TV in the bedroom.

I guess I don't understand why you think noone puts a video game console in the living room... is it just because you and your friends don't? Or are you saying you don't know anyone over 25 that lives with their parents still that has a console in their living room?

But maybe where your video game console is located should be the least of your worries if you are 25+, living with your parents, and arguing over TV usage. lol

[sparrow @ Oct 30th 2006 9:04PM]

"I cant think of anyone over the age of 25 that has one in the living room."
"Like you mum/dad/gf is going to want this in the living room, you would get bitch slapped before you even touched the controller god forbid their favorite soap was on..."

My wife and I are over 25 by a good margin and have a Playstation 2 in our living room. Also in the living room are: an Atari 2600, an NES, a Super NES, a Genesis with SegaCD & 32x, a Saturn, an N64, a Dreamcast, and a Gamecube. Elsewhere in the house are a second NES, an original GameBoy, a GameBoy Advance, a GameBoy Advance SP, a DS, a DS Lite, and a WonderSwan.

Some of us have wives who ARE gamers.

[patrick @ Oct 30th 2006 3:49PM]

I preordered one for my friend from this site. I wish I had known about it since it was cheaper than the gamestop preorder I got. They have the 20gb and 60gb versions for a $50 down payment. Granted they are the Japanese version but since the thing is region free it doesn't matter unless you want to watch a Blu-ray movie. I may be wrong on this point if so please enlighten me. Anyway I just thought that someone might be interested in this bit of info.

Here is the site: http://www.renchi.com/renchi/Home

*P.S. They also ship to Europe too so happy times for those of you in the UK *
Edit/Delete Message

[Matt @ Oct 30th 2006 3:51PM]

Oh and 'by one' most of the time, if you couldnt tell in my original post was the ps2.
Im well aware that these havnt shipped yet just in case some nit picker is going to tear my post apart because i got carried away and went off on one.

[Magus @ Oct 30th 2006 4:10PM]

As much as it sucks its a logical decision, It keeps the PS3s where theyre intended to be released and seriously cuts into grey marketing. A console purchased in japan at a discount to be sold at owaay overpriced in europe is a serious problem for sony. Not surprising they would want to protect their interests.

[Tech^Cellfish @ Oct 30th 2006 4:13PM]

Thanks for the link to Renchi

[Alcaron @ Oct 30th 2006 4:54PM]

I dont get what the problem is...EU readers...its simple...

SONY REALLY does not want you to buy a PS3...so don't...ever...

[E Malave Jr @ Oct 30th 2006 5:50PM]

I wish MULTI-NATIONAL corporations that did not want consumers getting their products from other NATIONS would be forced to set up a factory in each country/region they intended to sell. Maybe the extra overhead would make them sympathetic to consumers who don't feel like paying 6 grand for a PS3 on ebay because they can't fulfill the demand they generated. Sony can export all their manufacturing jobs to the cheapest country but I have to buy their product from my country.

I am definately waiting until the week the PS3 ships to buy a 360-even if the price drops earlier. I hope everyone who's waiting to buy one does the same. I know MikeRoweSoft protects their territories but they didn't put LikSang out of business for make consumers lives easier.

I always thought SONY branded items were over-priced, now I am just disgusted with them-I am not even buying their cheapest headphones on clearance.

[Ed @ Oct 30th 2006 6:47PM]

I JUST RESERVED MY XBOX HD DVD FROM AMAZON. COME TO PAPA!!!! If you think about it it's only $99 if you apply for the Amazon Visa you get an extra $30 off. Since the remote it's free ($29.99) and so is King Kong ($39.99) and free shipping ($10) you actually pay $99.99 FOR AN HD DVD PLAYER THAT'S BETTER THAN BLU RAY. TAKE THAT SONY!!!!

[J. Evans Turner @ Oct 30th 2006 8:08PM]

In what way is HD DVD superior to Blu-Ray? It's well-known that Blu-Ray has technical superiority. Capacity is king. More capacity allows for higher encoding quality. When the PS3 is finally manufactured in sufficient numbers, there will be a Blu-Ray player in millions of homes. With Sony owning several movie studios and partnering with more, you could say that Blu-Ray has already won the format war.

[Robotron @ Oct 30th 2006 9:05PM]

Ed, how's the job at Microsoft?

[elly @ Oct 30th 2006 11:11PM]

hmm. what will the sony europe reps do for games and systems now?

[I, Robot @ Oct 30th 2006 11:30PM]

Congratulations Sony! You won the battle, but lost the war. Good Job!

[Made in DNA @ Oct 31st 2006 2:00AM]

Saw them still selling on eBay though, so for now, perhaps that is the best way to get your gear on. Then there are the indies players out there. Plenty of guys actually in Japan sell goods on eBay and independant sites. Some of them are honest people with good offers, reasonable rates, and honest intenstions.

[golden_summer @ Dec 22nd 2007 3:54AM]

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[golden_summer @ Dec 22nd 2007 3:57AM]

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-9dzr-49-en.html

[golden_summer @ Dec 22nd 2007 3:57AM]

hello everyone,
If you are going to buy stuff from play asia , you can save huge if you buy from my link:
save 11 % if you buy games
save 5 % if you buy accessories
save 2 % if you buy game consoles
not including shipping cost,,
after you buy please send me email to [e-mail]
i can pay through paypal account only, if you don’t have please sign up
please tell your product name , and give ur paypal account email ,
how is it - if u buy from my link , i will get commission for i have refer u to buy and i’m ready to share my commission with you , so its win-win ,
you save - i profit ,
thank you very much
after you notify me , i usually pay within 24 hours..