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"Sony Listens"

I'm not always a big fan of Sonys, they never usually seem to care about their european customers. Now however, I might have to eat my words. Sony have now said they are going to update their DVD player in the PS2 so that the faults in the Japanese original can be rectified. This means that the DVD player, although not being as fully featured as a standalone DVD player, it should be able to handle movies with a clear and crisp picture and not have any problems with memory cards or other bugs messing up the setup of the player.
This, I believe, is a step forward for the company. Hey, I might even consider getting a PS2 now (from SR of course)

I wish I had your faith Kieron. The latest I have received from Sony backs up what you say:

Allocation of PS2 is according to when they were ordered. This allows us to operate on a first come, first served basis, which we believe is the fairest way to allocate the available stock.

Regards,
PSUK Customer Service
Sony Computer Entertainment UK


The problem is there may be more pre-orders for the 7th than can be filled with the initial shipment (example the states have 800'000 pre-orders and only 500'000 units being shipped at release). I really hope that you are right, however, as I want my PS2 ASAP.

I have reached new levels of desperation and geekness since I decided I must have a PS2. What are you doing to me Sony?????

Babylonian wrote:
> Ah, right. Well, I was at Game at 7am on 7th September, and was
> 10th in the queue. Providing they sent the forms off that day, I
> should be okay for release day.
>
> I'd convinced myself that I wasn't too fussed about getting one on
> release day, as long as I got one before Xmas. Then I saw the
> MGS2 video on PSM2 and now I want one yesterday! (Yes, I know
> MGS2 isn't out for ages yet, but the video demonstrates the power,
> and now I don't want to wait!)

Babylonian, it doesn't matter when they [ the GAME store ] sent the forms off, the date that you pre-ordered the console is on the forms, and so you will be inserted into the "first come, first served" system at the right place.

"Fear not, all ye of little faith, a PS2 awaits you on the 24th day of November 2000"

Too reiterate the original post, I didn't mean that the DVD playback wasn't fixed, but it has actually got better than the original fix that Sony were planning. Although they only have software decoding onboard, their DVD playback should now be better than before and good enough for most people (who mainly want DVD for the extras and ability to skip bits than the crisp, clear quality)

Anyway, I'm waiting before getting a PS2 as they will eventually go down in price, and by then I might even be able to afford a few games as well. I'd love to be one of the first to own the UK hardware like I did with the Atari ST, Playstation and Dreamcast, but I just can't afford it at the moment. boo hoo! :-)

Good luck to everyone who has pre-ordered, I'm keeping up-to-date on developments at my local game shop, it's interesting!

No, Can I correct you here. They HAD to send the forms off when they were taken by someone who wanted to pre-order- Apparantly it was a requirement by SOny(I think). If youre not sure- Ill just say that Woolworths isnt a specialist games store, and they DID send it off on the day that I pre-ordered, cause I have a mate that works in the store. Id be very surprised if they are babylonian, but if youre not sure, go to www.sony.co.uk, and get the address of SCEE customer services and post what they say on here!!

That is assuming, though, that whichever shop you pre-ordered from actually sent the forms off same-day.

This is more likely, I think, if you ordered from a specialist games retailer (e.g. Game, EB, Special Reserve) than a general high-street electronics shop (e.g. Dixons, Comet etc.)

Of course, I have no evidence of this - it's just that I would expect the specialist shops to be more 'tuned-in' to just how much it means for serious gamers to get a machine on launch day, and get the forms off to Sony almost immediately.

Based on my past experiences with Dixons Group staff, customer service and technical support, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the completed forms are still sitting under the counter in many branches! :-p

Yeah babylonian I have read the back of the form, but I seriously doubt it would take a week to process a form if they did recieve it on the Friday after we pre-ordered it... but it came from the mouth of SCEE customer services, taht if you pre-ordered on September 7th, your order would have already been processed and validated- but I seriously would be braced for a disappointment- because if the PS2 seels very well in the US(Which is very likely), there is no certainty how many PS2's will be coming to the UK in November, wed just have to keep our fingers crossed and hope!

I had my PS2 on a shop-based pre-order with my local Game store since March this year, before there was any news of shortages - hence my not purchasing from Special Reserve.

My local Game store called me on Tuesday 5th September to let me know about the early opening on the 7th, and told me that once my name was on an official form, I would be guaranteed a machine on launch day.

However, on the back of your form, you will see that this appears not to be the case. You *have* read the back of the form, haven't you? ;-)

The way I read point 2, Sony will contact you within 14 days of *validating* your pre-order, not within 14 days of you placing it.

They will then contact you again when they despatch your PS2 to the shop from which you ordered.

I'm hopeful of getting one on release day; I don't know exactly how it works, but I'd expect most major retailers to get at least 10 per shop, and I was 10th in the queue...

Still, I'm braced for disappointment, just in case.

However...

I also read at one stage that the pre-order forms would match the number of units to be available on launch day. If this were the case, then you would be guaranteed a machine.

I suppose we'll have to wait and see!

Aparantly, PS2 pre-order mail orders are supposed to get priority over people who pre-ordered PS2's from a shop. Ali is this correct?

Me and Babylonian discussed this at length yesterday, and me and him both, as well as you ordered early on 7th of September even if you havent got the confirmation letter, dont worry, Sony said that if you dont get a confirmation letter hold on later until when they contact you with the info for collection, you WILL have an order probably processed and a PS2 booked for you already, even if you dont recieve a letter. What you said is b******t Im afraid- if you pre-order it only guarantees a PS2, not when you get one. But as you pre-ordered early you will get one on or soon after launch, but dont hold your hopes up for a launch PS2. Go to Sony.co.uk and get the contact e-mail address if you want further clarification if you need it.