Australian regional lock-out case gathers pace
Australia to have region free console gaming?
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, or ACCC, is gearing itself up to take on Sony Computer Entertainment in court. The commission is claiming that Sony is acting improperly in forcing consumers to only buy game software for the region in which they live.
Sony will be in court, making an attempt to have mod-chip sales and production banned in the region. SCE rightly states that mod-chips enable PlayStation 2 and PSone hardware to play pirated games.
"The ACCC is contending that a multi-national company, Sony Computer Entertainment, is moving in this particular case to prevent Australian consumers from reaping the benefits of globalisation", ACCC Chairman, Professor Allan Fels, said today. "It is apparent that Sony is seeking to have an Australian law interpreted to prevent such consumers from enjoying games bought off-shore. The ACCC will submit to the court that Sony's interpretation of the law is legally incorrect and will present arguments to that effect". He goes on: “Consumers’ interests are best served by ensuring access to the widest possible range of goods at the most competitive prices. Sony has overridden this basic consumer right by creating and maintaining artificial barriers to trade that the ACCC claims are not warranted by the law".
SCE Australia MD Michael Ephraim simply said, “The real issue is piracy. We have enough proof to show that piracy is rampant in Australia. The most pro-active way for us to stop piracy is stopping the modification of the systems to accept pirated games."
We will bring you the result of this important test case as soon as it is announced.
Sony will be in court, making an attempt to have mod-chip sales and production banned in the region. SCE rightly states that mod-chips enable PlayStation 2 and PSone hardware to play pirated games.
"The ACCC is contending that a multi-national company, Sony Computer Entertainment, is moving in this particular case to prevent Australian consumers from reaping the benefits of globalisation", ACCC Chairman, Professor Allan Fels, said today. "It is apparent that Sony is seeking to have an Australian law interpreted to prevent such consumers from enjoying games bought off-shore. The ACCC will submit to the court that Sony's interpretation of the law is legally incorrect and will present arguments to that effect". He goes on: “Consumers’ interests are best served by ensuring access to the widest possible range of goods at the most competitive prices. Sony has overridden this basic consumer right by creating and maintaining artificial barriers to trade that the ACCC claims are not warranted by the law".
SCE Australia MD Michael Ephraim simply said, “The real issue is piracy. We have enough proof to show that piracy is rampant in Australia. The most pro-active way for us to stop piracy is stopping the modification of the systems to accept pirated games."
We will bring you the result of this important test case as soon as it is announced.
Companies:
SCEE
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