PS2 Is Not a Computer, Says Judge
Sadly, this won't stop Ken Kutaragi from insisting that the PlayStation 3 is.
PlayStation boss Ken Kutaragi couldn't have been more clear when he spoke to PC Watch last month: The PlayStation 3 is not a game console, it's a computer. The company has said the same thing about the PlayStation 2 for years. The UK courts would beg to differ.
Sony has been trying for the last five years to have the PlayStation 2 classified as a "digital processing unit", according to tech site The Register, so that it could avoid paying certain duties that video game hardware makers needed to pay (and which, in a cruel twist, have dwindled to zero since the PlayStation 2 was introduced).
Sony lost its appeal this week in a decision that denies the company a €50 million (£34 million) rebate on import duties. Lord Justice Chadwick said Sony's legal team had given a "skeleton argument" and had cast "repeated aspersions" on the High Court Judge who presided over the case.
While the decision will come as another blow to Sony, it's unlikely to change the rhetoric from above. So don't expect Kutaragi to start calling it a games console any time soon.
You can read the full ruling here, if you're so inclined.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games
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