Those who know, know. Lik-Sang.com was -the- choice for getting your hands on imported games and hardware that were otherwise impossible to come by. They’ve been done in by Sony, which is just another nail in the coffin of the company’s image in the gaming world.
http://www.lik-sang.com.nyud.net:8090/news.php?artc=3901
Good fucking job sony.
lol isnt it ironic that most, other wise honest, people will resort to P2P to find those imports now (opposed to buying them).
seriously… they keep shooting themselfs in the foot time and time again
Morely Dotes - Tue Oct 24 2006 23:18:37 Hong Kong Time
Apparently it’s past time to register BOYCOTT-SONY.COM
This is the comapny who makes exploding batteries; who puts trojans rootkits on their audio CDs; and now who have forced an honest, reliable supplier out of business because the supplier doesn’t recognize Sony as Emperor of the World.
LOL at the comment on the page.
funny but true.
What the fuck, I used to order stuff from there all the time. Just one more reason to hate Sony…
Which sucks even more because they were the only source for new Dreamcast stuff. 
insert your own SONY line below…
Ruining It For Everyone
Hostess…Julia Sweeney
David Klaunoff…Phil Hartman
Cheryl Green…Ellen Cleghorne
Christian DuBois…John Malkovich
Jerry Langley…Adam Sandler
Bob Poochie…Rob Schneider
Hostess: Hello. and welcome to “Ruining It For Everyone”, the show that brings you people who have ruined things for everyone else. Our first guest is David Klaunoff. David, why don’t you tell us what you ruined for everyone else.
David Klaunoff: Well, back one evening in October 1972, I was in my kitchen making fudge for Halloween, and… [ chuckles ] …I don’t know how it happened, but… a couple of razor blades got in there, and I, uh… I gave them out to some trick-or-treaters! [ laughs ] Anyway, there was a big uproar… I kind of spooked everybody…
Hostess: Well… so, now, because of you, parents don’t allow their kids to eat unwrapped Halloween candy.
David Klaunoff: Yeah. I heard that some places outlawed trick-or-treating altogether! [ laughs ]
Hostess: Well, very impressive. Our next guest is Cheryl Green from Los Angeles. What did you ruin for everybody?
Cheryl Green: Well, um… I guess, um… this was, like, around 1973… when, um… you know, gas stations first started to have Self-Serve. Well, anyway, um… it was great for me, because, um… I could pump my own gas, and then drive off without paying! [ laughs at herself ] And, um… I guess that, um… I kimnd of pioneered that practice.
Hostess: And, now gas stations make people pay before they can pump?
Cheryl Green: Um… well… yes. [ laughs ]
Hostess: Okay. Our next guest singlehandedly ruined a whole mode of traveling that had been popular for more than fifty years. Christian DuBois. Why don’t you tell us about it, Christian?
Christian DuBois: Certainly. It would be my pleasure. Uh… well, you remember when a lot of people used to hitchhike… and… I used to hitchhike, too… but… one time, this guy in a green Chevy Nova was nice enough to give me a lift, and about… five miles into the ride, I stabbed him repeatedly and left him for dead. And… that… that got a lot of press. and, to make things worse, I kind of went on this hitchhiking murder spree… and… ever since, people have been kind of gun-shy about picking up hitchhikers.
Hostess: So, you feel you ruined hitchhiking for everyone?
Christian DuBois: Well… no. Practically… I mean… I myself still pick up hitchhikers.
Hostess: Really?
Christian DuBois: Yeah… and then, I-I stab them… which probably only makes things worse.
Hostess: Thank you, Christian.
Christian DuBois: Oh! Also - tamper-proof seals. That’s me, too. Sorry.
Hostess: Also with us, is Jerry Langley from New Jersey. Tell us your story, and what you ruined.
Jerry Langley: Well, uh uh… a few years ago, I-I needed to go to the bathroom… [ laughs ] …so… I-I-I stopped in this restaurant, and I asked if I could use theirs! And, uh… I was in there, I went a little crazy, and, uh… I just started whizzing all over the place! I whizzed in the sink, and on the mirrors… I figured I’m not a customer, I could just whiz awat! I went back there the next night, and they had a sign up: “Bathroom for customers only.” [ laughs ]
Hostess: Well, then… now, because of you, the general public can’t use the bathroom at that restaurant.
Jerry Langley: [ laughs ] Well, uh uh… actually, I’ve done that at a lot of restaurants!
Hostess: And, finally, we have Bob Poochie. Now, Bob, you’ve ruined two things for everybody. Tell us about that.
Bob Poochie: To begin with, um… I believe I’m the first man to go to topless bars and just sit there for hours, just watching the dancers without ordering a thing. I mean, I wouldn’t spend Dime One.
Hostess: And now, all those places have cover charges and a two-drink minimum.
Bob Poochie: That’s right.
Hostess: Uh… and what was the other thing that you did?
Bob Poochie: [ clears throat ] Well, um… I was also the first man eve… to bring a woman to orgasm.
Hostess: [ amazed ] Really?!
Bob Poochie: Yeah. I mean, she swore she wouldn’t tell her friends… but I guess the word got out… and now, during sex, a lot of women just… expect it.
Hostess: Okay. Uh… let’s talk about the future. Uh… any other plans for ruining things? David?
David Klaunoff: Well… this Easter, I’m gonna make some chocolate Easter bunnies, and uh… I’m gonna try to make sure there’s no razor blade in there, but - hey! Things happen! [ laughs ]
Hostess: Cheryl?
Cheryl Green: Um… well, uh… you know, uh… how, in amusement parks they don’t have, uh… metal detectors?
Hostess: [ uneasy ] Yes.
Cheryl Green: Well… stay tuned! [ laughs ]
Hostess: I-I wouldn’t call it a plan… but I have noticed how some people seem to have no fear of violent crime while they’re cycling. And, I-I’m gonna work on that, I have some ideas.
Hostess: Jerry - and you?
Jerry Langley: Uh… you know, when you’re at your friend’s place, and they’ll let you use their bathroom? I-I’m gonna put an end to that!
Christian DuBois: Oh, and by the way - I’ve got a surprise for all of you who like Nutrasweet. Yeah. You’ll be hearing about it.
Hostess: Bob, is there anything else you’d like to ruin?
Bob Poochie: [ thinking ] I think I’ve done enough.
Hostess: I agree Thank you for joining us on “Ruining It For Everyone”. Join us next week, when our guests will be the inbventor of the radar gun, Ted Danson, and Patient Zero.
[ fade ]
Theres been a lot of weird happenings with imports lately. Sony of course is “protecting the consumer” from getting games that are region coded and wont work blah blah corporate bullshit. They’re, more realistically, trying to crack down on this before the PS3 comes out for what I see as 2 reasons.
1.)With such a limited run of PS3’s there is naturally going to be a huge demand for them at release. Importing takes profits away from sony, since the pricing in different markets varies widely.
2.)As with the xbox360, its actually cheaper to buy imported games. Sometimes by as much as $20 before shipping (around $10-$15 after). Ars-Technica has had several journal posts on this topic, which seems counter-intuitive since the US markets generally get the best price on games and systems.
The real reason is grey market.
Companies don’t like this. They want you to buy your shit at a retailer in your country, not have something fedexed from overseas for a way cheaper price due to what the price is over there.
Grey market is real big with watches, and its even getting big with high end clothes (diesel, D&G, prada).
If you sniff around ebay enough, there is somebody overseas willing to sell you 100 percent authentic stuff for wicked cheap, and fedex express it for way cheaper than the actual freight charges are because they can afford to take the hit and still make a killing.
Economics guys.
Yeah it sucks for you import game fans, but sonys in it for every dime.
I’ve got plenty of beer and peanuts over here in the anti-Sony room. Everyone’s welcome. And for those of you who though Microsoft was an evil empire…
Seriously though, its typical that every company wants as much profit for themselves. It kills them when some guy or group is able to make more profit on their product than they can themselves. Lik-Sang, although probably on Sony’s radar for awhile, finally got to big and Sony decided to act. Its a shame and I hate to see it happen but that’s the joy of the business world… we’re all assholes in the end.
see the thing is… most people I know that bought imports, were buying games that we couldnt get here… so it’s not like a majority (I would think atleast) are dipping into anyones coolaid (the game companies are still selling games and making $$$ on them). Besides, to even get them working, they’d need a modified console (which is probably a very small minority compared to un-modified units). Not only that, but they’d also, in 99.9% of the cases, be in a different language, so it really doesnt appeal to the average consumer… I think atleast, I may be way off.
I can see why they wouldnt want that kind of thing going on for actual physical posessions like clothes and stuff, but for software it seems kind of moot. I guess I just dont understand their logic in it.
oh well, like I said… they’ll just have to find it thru P2P (which is totally undercutting sony and the game companies), ebay (which is not always a good thing… especially with doing buisness overseas) or unless they know someone in said country that could ship them the game.