The Sony news and discussion thread

[BasementShaxx]

From what I can gather it only affects a small percentage of controllers, bad batch of rubber or something like that

[NokkonWud]

Ah, Sony should replace them then I would have thought. Give them a call, I've always had a great experience with their customer support team.

[nickoneill1888]

I love my Vita. I got the 10 game pack but have purchased a number of different games for it. Hotline Miami, Guacamelee, Velocity, Everybodys golf, Lone Survivor.
Plus with the addition of PS Plus ive played stealth inc, sonic all star racing, Liberty City Stories. Its been a great purchase and will also come in handy when I purchase a PS4. Not yet though! Still too much to play from this generation!

[hazeredmist]

I actually wondered if the lack of multiple profiles was deliberate, seeing as you can abuse it with PSN game sharing on the PS3... I doubt it's a capability issue. Minor gripe for me, and the fact there is a backup method means there's a way round it so it's not all bad.

One fantastic thing I now take for granted is being able to quit out of a game at the push of a button and go to the store, the net, whatever you want to do and then jump right back in. That's a pretty next-gen feature none of the current consoles do (not sure about Xbone or PS4.)

[NokkonWud]

The problem doesn't lie with game sharing as any game purchased to that console can be played by any of its users, so multiple accounts would make no difference. You could still isolate it to only one device. I found this a huge issue and I'm not sharing my console with anyone on a consistent basis (or wasn't, prior to selling it) but I did like to give my friends goes.

Also, both PS4 and Xbox One allow you to do multiple things.

[BasementShaxx]

Been in contact with ShopTo about replacing my faulty controller and so far the experience has been pretty laughable. I was told I needed to send the entire console bundle back to them so they could replace the controller, which I think is pretty unnecessary, so I asked why I needed to send the entire bundle back to replace one component. I received a reply from someone else saying:

"As this is an item apart of a bundle we require the entire bundle back to replace it. Unfortunately we can not send individual components that are apart of a bundle back to Microsoft. If you contacted Microsoft directly though they should be able to just replace the controller. There number is: 0800 5871 102"

I replied asking why contacting Microsoft would help me replace a Sony product, and asking again why they needed the entire console back just to replace the controller. Two days later I get a reply saying:

"We are more than happy to accept the item back as previously advised. As this is apart of a bundle though we require the entire bundle back otherwise we will be unable to return the item back to Microsoft at a munch later date. I do apologise for providing the incorrect number, this is 0844 736 0595. Please advise on a convenient week day to collect your bundle and we will happily accept this back for replacement / refund."

I wish I was joking, but no, ShopTo have twice advised me to contact Microsoft to replace a faulty Sony peripheral.

I have a feeling that this is going nowhere so I'll inform ShopTo that they've lost a customer (who spent a lot of money with them), and go directly to Sony. Annoying thing is I know I'll have to send the controller to them before they'll send out a replacement so this will end with me unable to play my PS4 for a week or so (thanks to a Sony cockup) unless I shell out £50-odd for a new controller.

[Beck]

I'm starting to wonder if shopto have outsourced their support to a foriegn call centre. The level of support from them has been terrible.

Can you not contact Sony directly?

[JaySevenZero]

I had to contact ShopTo the other week with an enquiry and I would say the best way to do so is to call them directly. Once I got through they were very helpful and you'll get an immediate response rather than having to wait for an email reply.

[hazeredmist]

Also, both PS4 and Xbox One allow you to do multiple things.

Great. Taking their lead from the handheld wonder

Am I reading correctly that you sold your Vita? Damn if so... I think it's really coming into it's own now.

[NokkonWud]

Also, both PS4 and Xbox One allow you to do multiple things.

Great. Taking their lead from the handheld wonder

Am I reading correctly that you sold your Vita? Damn if so... I think it's really coming into it's own now.

I did. My friend had a stag do in Munich last year for Oktoberfest and the Vita was the easiest way to afford it so it had to go. I didn't want to at the time as I utterly adored Lumines Electronic Symphony, but hope to pick another one up next year.

[James]

I'd love to offer a solution, but I have availed myself of other retailers after a couple of laughably bad customer service experiences with ShopTo in the past year. My Wii U was lost in transit and, after spending several hours (over several days) on the phone to both them and the courier, I am convinced that ShopTo never shipped the damned thing in the first place. It took the implied threat of contacting Trading Standards before they shipped a replacement out a week after the launch day. A similar thing happened with a GTA V guide I ordered from them. ShopTo's customer service representatives were always polite, but seemed to have little-to-no interest in, or ability to provide me with satisfactory courses of action in either case.

Needless to say that I will not be shopping with them again.

[AndyKurosaki]

Yeah I'm probably not going to bother with ShopTo again, their customer service is pretty piss poor. It's a shame, as they used to be a decent company, but now they don't seem to give a toss. I've been using Amazon and had no problems whatsoever.

Got Xen Pinball 2 downloaded, it's pretty good. Though why it won't import my Star Wars tables I've no idea.

[BasementShaxx]

I'd never had a problem with ShopTo until now, but I am not impressed with their customer service at all. Even calling them was a complete waste of time so I let them know they've lost me as a customer, bought a replacement controller from from a supermarket, put the faulty controller in the box and I'll take it back for a refund next week. Cheeky I know, but I'm sure the Walmart group can take the hit.

[AndyKurosaki]

Well Cod Ghosts has another 800mb update, and I can't be arsed with that so it's getting traded. I perservere with the Battlefield updates as I love the multiplayer. Ghosts is a complete letdown compared to Black Ops 2, so I'm done. Killzone's getting traded as well as I'm sick of that bullshit final stealth mission. I've better things to do than get past that.

Seriously thinking of putting their trade/cash value towards Need For Speed. Anyone played much of that?

[Beck]

What sort of prices are the retailers offering? I have always preferred selling games through eBay rather than trading in.

[AndyKurosaki]

Probably about £25/30 or thereabouts. I can't really be arsed with Ebay, I used it a few times in my early 360 days. But then you get a few people that don't pay immediately, and you have to chase them up about it. Or people that don't read your listing and ask "do you post to god-knows-where-land" when you specifically say you don't. Sod that hassle.

[NokkonWud]

Seriously thinking of putting their trade/cash value towards Need For Speed. Anyone played much of that?

It's pretty much Hot Pursuit but with better handling.

My biggest issue is that there feels like there's a complete lack of cohesion. The Racer / Cop modes don't feel linked in any way and quite often, on the Cop side of things at least, it's not overly clear what you're supposed to be doing. It's like they have a bunch of great ideas but they weren't sure how to streamline it and bring it all together, so instead you're left with a bunch of stuff to do, but it all feels a little isolated. AllDrive is a nice concept but it also felt like they hadn't got a handle on how to really implement it. It confused the heck out of me at first when it came to playing with a friend.

I feel like it's the starting point for something really promising, but I'm not entirely blown away. I'm much more of a proper racing fan anyway and having to crash into other cars (as a cop) or even worse, having AI just constantly crash into you (Racer) is pretty much my gaming hell, but at times it's not too bad.

I don't really like either of the two (yes, just two.. how they spoil us..) camera angles you can have and the amount of times you'll be going fine only to then catch the corner of a wall you simply can't see and get wrecked is flat out frustrating. Even worse is how, as a Cop, you'll suddenly be warned you're close to being wrecked due to damage, even though you've been the one ramming the racers. You can't tell you're close to being totaled either as there is no health bar nor any real damage model. It's been a surprise for me to be in that situation every time it's alerted me.

I think ultimately it just doesn't feel as polished as it should do, it felt very much like a concept, but most people seem to really, really like it, which surprises me. I do feel it's a case of others lacking my exacting standards.

[AndyKurosaki]

Picked up Need for Speed, pretty good I reckon. Though it's a ball-ache when the filth bust you and all your speedpoints go bye bye.

[chase210]

Anyone up for some resogun co-op?

[hazeredmist]

Finished Persona 4 Golden. What an amazing game.