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As mentioned in another thread, I mailed Sony with a few questions about the PS2 pre-order scheme. I've had a reply, and the answers are here for all to see...
Q1. When a shop takes a pre-order, are they required to forward completed forms to you immediately, or do they do so when it is convenient to them?
A. We have requested that shops should forward their forms as soon as possible. The forms have to go via their head office before they reach our database handling agency, so the sooner the better really. However, as the queing system is fair, if one branch is later than another the people who ordered first do not have to go to the back of the queue - they are inserted into the correct position.
Q2. I read in one magazine that there were only enough pre-order forms to cover the number of UK machines available. If true, this would imply that a pre-order guarantees a PS2. In addition, when my local Game store contacted me to notify me of the start of the pre-order scheme, they told me in no uncertain terms that once my name was on an official form, I was guaranteed a machine on launch day. I believe this is not the case; could you please confirm?
A. Unfortunately completing an order form does not guarantee you a PS2 on day one. There is only one form per one unit available so completing the form does guarantee you the console, but we are unable to say when.
Q3. I know stock will be extremely short, but are shops guaranteed a minimum number of units per branch, or will they be allocated X units and left to distribute as they see fit?
A. As I mentioned there is only one form per unit. Once the shop has their allocation of units they distribute them on a first come - first served basis. We felt ths was the fairest mannor in which to distribute the available stock.
I also asked about anti-aliasing, and I have to eat my words; PS2 does *not* have hardware anti-aliasing. There are two reasons why I was convinced that it did:
(a) I read in a third-party magazine that a Sony official had produced a technical manual to show his interviewer that PS2 *did* have hardware anti-aliasing.
(b) There was an article on the Daily Radar site some months ago which also claimed anti-aliasing, and gave a graphic example of how it worked.
Slapped wrists all round, methinks!
So, many apologies to Tigerblade. I'm now full up on Humble Pie, so I'll let the nice Sony person explain why PS2 does not anti-alias:
"The PS2 does not have anti-aliasing. This is simply because it is not required. As it is designed for use on a television it is not necessary as it is built in to most televisions."
So there you have it, people - official replies from Simon at PSUK Customer Service, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.
Q1. When a shop takes a pre-order, are they required to forward completed forms to you immediately, or do they do so when it is convenient to them?
A. We have requested that shops should forward their forms as soon as possible. The forms have to go via their head office before they reach our database handling agency, so the sooner the better really. However, as the queing system is fair, if one branch is later than another the people who ordered first do not have to go to the back of the queue - they are inserted into the correct position.
Q2. I read in one magazine that there were only enough pre-order forms to cover the number of UK machines available. If true, this would imply that a pre-order guarantees a PS2. In addition, when my local Game store contacted me to notify me of the start of the pre-order scheme, they told me in no uncertain terms that once my name was on an official form, I was guaranteed a machine on launch day. I believe this is not the case; could you please confirm?
A. Unfortunately completing an order form does not guarantee you a PS2 on day one. There is only one form per one unit available so completing the form does guarantee you the console, but we are unable to say when.
Q3. I know stock will be extremely short, but are shops guaranteed a minimum number of units per branch, or will they be allocated X units and left to distribute as they see fit?
A. As I mentioned there is only one form per unit. Once the shop has their allocation of units they distribute them on a first come - first served basis. We felt ths was the fairest mannor in which to distribute the available stock.
I also asked about anti-aliasing, and I have to eat my words; PS2 does *not* have hardware anti-aliasing. There are two reasons why I was convinced that it did:
(a) I read in a third-party magazine that a Sony official had produced a technical manual to show his interviewer that PS2 *did* have hardware anti-aliasing.
(b) There was an article on the Daily Radar site some months ago which also claimed anti-aliasing, and gave a graphic example of how it worked.
Slapped wrists all round, methinks!
So, many apologies to Tigerblade. I'm now full up on Humble Pie, so I'll let the nice Sony person explain why PS2 does not anti-alias:
"The PS2 does not have anti-aliasing. This is simply because it is not required. As it is designed for use on a television it is not necessary as it is built in to most televisions."
So there you have it, people - official replies from Simon at PSUK Customer Service, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.
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Can i just say Babylonian, that I always enjoy reading your replies, as you never really argue, just you kinda make the truth heard. Thank you.
Well, well, well Matt. I just saw you across the road (in the Nintendo forum) slagging off the PS2, and actually starting a forum called PS2 WILL FLOP (which, by the looks of it, is not very popular), and here you are, saying that you have pre-ordered one? Ha! I'm sorry, but are you buying one just to prove a point? Or are you genuinely a scizophrenic?
I'm not actually surprised - you did not exactly sound convincing in the other room. Here's a tip - in future, try not to suck too many at once.
I'm not actually surprised - you did not exactly sound convincing in the other room. Here's a tip - in future, try not to suck too many at once.
Babylonian.
> You could always persuade her to take the same time off, and promise to take her out to dinner if she goes easy on you at Tekken Tag! (You just *know* your wife/girlfriend/sister will show you up!)
>
Aint that the truth!!! Women do seem to have a natural ability to win games by sheer fluke (especially beat-em-ups). My wife is pretty much anti-console though so I doubt she will be playing anything against me. She would probably like to have me commited for being so PS2 mad, so dont worry you are not alone.
Have a good weekend I will post again on Monday. No p[oint writing from home when I can write from work for free!!!!
> You could always persuade her to take the same time off, and promise to take her out to dinner if she goes easy on you at Tekken Tag! (You just *know* your wife/girlfriend/sister will show you up!)
>
Aint that the truth!!! Women do seem to have a natural ability to win games by sheer fluke (especially beat-em-ups). My wife is pretty much anti-console though so I doubt she will be playing anything against me. She would probably like to have me commited for being so PS2 mad, so dont worry you are not alone.
Have a good weekend I will post again on Monday. No p[oint writing from home when I can write from work for free!!!!
> Babylonian.
>
> You seem to know a lot more about the way these things work than
> I, so I will hope that you are correct and the whole process will
> not collapse.
Same here. It's not impossible, but it is unlikely; delays, yes - collapse, almost definitely not.
> I have not booked any time off work as my wife would kill me if I
> took time off without her and she would consider it a waste of my
> holiday anyway.
You could always persuade her to take the same time off, and promise to take her out to dinner if she goes easy on you at Tekken Tag! (You just *know* your wife/girlfriend/sister will show you up!)
> I hope that you are lucky enough to get yours on release day as
> you are definately a committed gamer. Good luck.
Many thanks. Though some people think I should just be committed...
>
> You seem to know a lot more about the way these things work than
> I, so I will hope that you are correct and the whole process will
> not collapse.
Same here. It's not impossible, but it is unlikely; delays, yes - collapse, almost definitely not.
> I have not booked any time off work as my wife would kill me if I
> took time off without her and she would consider it a waste of my
> holiday anyway.
You could always persuade her to take the same time off, and promise to take her out to dinner if she goes easy on you at Tekken Tag! (You just *know* your wife/girlfriend/sister will show you up!)
> I hope that you are lucky enough to get yours on release day as
> you are definately a committed gamer. Good luck.
Many thanks. Though some people think I should just be committed...
Babylonian.
You seem to know a lot more about the way these things work than I, so I will hope that you are correct and the whole process will not collapse.
I have not booked any time off work as my wife would kill me if I took time off without her and she would consider it a waste of my holiday anyway.
I shall be relegated to playing during the night probably but as the machine is coming out on a Friday at least I will have the weekend to play. Anyway having the PS2 waiting for me at home gives me another thing to look forward too after my working day, alongside seeing my beautiful wife (just in case she is reading).
I hope that you are lucky enough to get yours on release day as you are definately a committed gamer. Good luck.
You seem to know a lot more about the way these things work than I, so I will hope that you are correct and the whole process will not collapse.
I have not booked any time off work as my wife would kill me if I took time off without her and she would consider it a waste of my holiday anyway.
I shall be relegated to playing during the night probably but as the machine is coming out on a Friday at least I will have the weekend to play. Anyway having the PS2 waiting for me at home gives me another thing to look forward too after my working day, alongside seeing my beautiful wife (just in case she is reading).
I hope that you are lucky enough to get yours on release day as you are definately a committed gamer. Good luck.
> I appreciate that this is a very
> major undertaking on Sony's part but you presume that if they
> wanted a pre-order system then they should ensure that they have
> the resources to pull it off well without alienating there
> customers.
I'm sure they did. But - and again, you'll have to trust me on this - it's not uncommon for a mailing house to say that they can undertake such a task without actually being 100% sure that they can. It's almost standard practice to say "yes" to anything that a huge client like Sony asks, and worry about whether you actually can or not afterwards! It's wrong, and I don't agree with it, but it's the way the business works. It's all about keeping your large clients in the hope of attracting others.
Having said that, if the mailing house concerned do make a major balls-up, they probably won't have Sony's business for long. Despite what some people think, the big companies are *very* concerned about keeping customers happy, and any third-party making them look bad will receive one hell of a rocket.
> I am supposed to be getting my reply by email so I
> thought that it would be fairly easy to input the info into the
> computer and then immediately send an email saying 'your order has
> been processed we will contact you again as soon as we have a date
> for you to collect your system'. At least then my mind would be
> set at rest. At the moment how do I know that a catastrophe has
> not occured and my form has been lost?
Sadly, you don't - but apart from the printing of physical letters, large-scale e-mail campaigns also take time to pull together. Content is checked and re-checked, and often will undergo three or more re-writes before everyone is happy with it. If Sony present an e-mail text to their agency, the agency may go back to them suggesting changes, which Sony then go away and consider... etc.
I'm not saying that this *is* how Sony are working, but if they are, these aspects could be adding to the time. The agency are probably being paid a large sum of money for this work, and they want to be seen to be working for it. Marketing agencies can sometimes hinder more than help.
> I know I am overreacting but I really want to get my hands on the
> PS2 and I have been desperate too ever since I started following
> the PS2 story last January.
You and me both! I had 26th & 27th October booked off work so that I could collect my PS2 and play... now I have 24th & 27th November booked... and if I don't get a launch-day machine, it will move yet again!
Have patience - you'll enjoy it that much more when you get it. Anticipation is half the fun... so I'm told!
> major undertaking on Sony's part but you presume that if they
> wanted a pre-order system then they should ensure that they have
> the resources to pull it off well without alienating there
> customers.
I'm sure they did. But - and again, you'll have to trust me on this - it's not uncommon for a mailing house to say that they can undertake such a task without actually being 100% sure that they can. It's almost standard practice to say "yes" to anything that a huge client like Sony asks, and worry about whether you actually can or not afterwards! It's wrong, and I don't agree with it, but it's the way the business works. It's all about keeping your large clients in the hope of attracting others.
Having said that, if the mailing house concerned do make a major balls-up, they probably won't have Sony's business for long. Despite what some people think, the big companies are *very* concerned about keeping customers happy, and any third-party making them look bad will receive one hell of a rocket.
> I am supposed to be getting my reply by email so I
> thought that it would be fairly easy to input the info into the
> computer and then immediately send an email saying 'your order has
> been processed we will contact you again as soon as we have a date
> for you to collect your system'. At least then my mind would be
> set at rest. At the moment how do I know that a catastrophe has
> not occured and my form has been lost?
Sadly, you don't - but apart from the printing of physical letters, large-scale e-mail campaigns also take time to pull together. Content is checked and re-checked, and often will undergo three or more re-writes before everyone is happy with it. If Sony present an e-mail text to their agency, the agency may go back to them suggesting changes, which Sony then go away and consider... etc.
I'm not saying that this *is* how Sony are working, but if they are, these aspects could be adding to the time. The agency are probably being paid a large sum of money for this work, and they want to be seen to be working for it. Marketing agencies can sometimes hinder more than help.
> I know I am overreacting but I really want to get my hands on the
> PS2 and I have been desperate too ever since I started following
> the PS2 story last January.
You and me both! I had 26th & 27th October booked off work so that I could collect my PS2 and play... now I have 24th & 27th November booked... and if I don't get a launch-day machine, it will move yet again!
Have patience - you'll enjoy it that much more when you get it. Anticipation is half the fun... so I'm told!
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