This to me was a suprise, as the reviews/news site I normally frequent hasn't said a peep about this yet. So I decided to do some more digging, to see if I might find a few more articles elsewhere.
For your enjoyment:
Another Blog:
A thread on a forum:
Another reviews/news site:
If these reports are true, as I'm inclined to believe, then the attitude displayed by Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi is slightly disturbing.
"Offering additional testimony praising the handheld, Kutaragi said, 'I believe we made the most beautiful thing in the world. Nobody would criticize a renowned architect's blueprint that the position of a gate is wrong. It's the same as that.' "
I would seriously hope that if a "renowned architect" dropped the ball, somebody would call him on it. This unremorseful stance that Mr. Kutaragi holds about shipping a product that by most indications seems to have some moderate to serious problems absolutely baffles me. It may be his child, but his child is not the most beautiful baby in the world. And to those of you who say sticky buttons may not seem like much: They seem that way only until you actually have to deal with them. And on a controller for a console that wouldn't be as big an issue, because a controller can be relatively easily replaced, and if it's the stock controller that's the problem, then aftermarket companies will scramble to put out controllers without the particular flaw, and the parent company will have to respond in part with a "fixed" design. For a good example, ask an X-Box owner about the original controllers that shipped with the X-Box. (To Microsoft's credit, they at least worked properly) The original X-Box controllers were to put it simply; HUGE. The majority of people had trouble wrapping their hands around the controller, and in response, Microsoft released the XBox Controller S, which is much better proportioned. In a handheld, there IS no easy fix. PSP owners are stuck with this problem, unless Sony ships a new version which eliminates these problems. And given the way Mr. Kutaragi seems unwilling to admit that his company has done anything wrong, it seems like a long shot.
I suppose the question I want to pose to you is this: is it ethical for a company to ship a product with known defects, when said defects are such that they interfere with the primary function of the product, and/or pose the risk of damaging said product? In addition, does anyone else, as a consumer, find such an attitude as that posessed by Mr. Kutaragi as disturbing as I do?
