The long awaited Playstation Vita handheld was released in Japan this past week, and reports have started rolling in from early adopters in Japan about frequent system freezes and crashes. Sony UK responded to these reports (which is strange, considering the system isn’t out in the UK yet,) by saying that the issues were being blown out of proportion.
Sony PR rep David Wilson dismissed the complaints by saying that “We’re annoyed with these stories, because we can’t find any evidence of widespread glitches.” He also went on to clarify, saying that the apology notice that Sony of Japan posted on their website was mistranslated, and was apologizing to customers who were unable to reach Sony’s apparently overwhelmed tech support, and that the message was in no way an apology for any problems with the Vita system itself, which, as far as Sony is concerned, works perfectly. He also goes on to say that Sony has put up a special page on their website, telling people how to troubleshoot their frozen Vita’s.
But his statement begs the question: if Vita tech-support in Japan is already overwhelmed with people calling in (assumedly because they’re having problems with their new system,) shouldn’t Sony take that as evidence of the “widespread glitches” they claim don’t exist? If these glitches aren’t real, why did Sony of Japan feel the need to put up a special page on their website about how to avoid/fix them? Obviously, PR people aren’t necessarily the most informed people regarding tech issues, but the response from Sony UK PR regarding this matter seems more patronizing rather than helpful.
Of course, every new hardware comes with its share of issues; the PS Vita’s direct competitor, Nintendo’s 3DS, had similar reports of freezing and crashes when it was released last March. Still, Sony aren’t doing themselves or Vita owners any favors by pretending that the glitches are a non-issue. Here’s hoping Sony fixes these bugs by the time the system hits Western shores, cause glitchy or not, I still kind of want a Vita.