PSN Cards in EU? Not Any Time Soon…
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According to our friends over at 9lives.be, Sony Belgium stated in a recent interview that we may not see the introduction of PSN Cards any time soon, if ever.
These have been in circulation for some time in the NA and Japan Territories, but have yet to show face anywhere in the EU region.
Why is that, exactly?
Here we look at the bigger issues which Sony have in the European region as a whole, and what – if anything – can be done to rectify these outstanding problems. First off, let’s deal with the issue of the PSN Cards.
In other regions where the PSN Card is already available, there is one single VAT rate across the region. A single currency is in place, with one governing body to run any necessary legal issues through.
Now consider the great collection of countries which constitute the EU. We have (at the last count) 27 member states in the EU proper, and 48 countries in the entirity of Europe as a subcontinent (49 if you count the Vatican City).
With a number of currencies in circulation, an inordinate number of authorities to get through and enough administration to make any single government balk, it is little wonder that Sony are struggling in the region.
With games frequently delayed and services trailing at the back in terms of “The Big Three” marketplaces, we have little chance of seeing these issues fully resolved any time soon. Indeed, Europe as a whole has long been perceived to be the ‘awkward middle child’ in terms of the games industry.
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Not that we Europeans are devils or anything...
Perhaps this is something which we often forget when we are lamenting the differences in the three regions. It is all too easy to point the finger of blame at SCEE, but in all fairness to them, the bods at the respective Sony HQ’s in Japan and North America must look at their own jobs in comparison to their SCEE counterpart with a considerable amount of relief.
Granted, it makes little difference to us what legal loopholes have to be circumvented, but we should bear it in mind when the next game is inevitably delayed.
Sometimes there is no excuse for the length of the delay which we have to endure. Other times, a week or two delay is actually hugely impressive considering the work involved in getting a product out in a region such as this.
When 9lives.be interviewed Sony Belgium, it is little wonder that the response was as follows:
Sony Belgium zegt op de hoogte te zijn van de vraag naar PSN cards, zeker binnen de Benelux, een regio waar men minder…
Actually, for those who don’t speak the language, this roughly translates to:
Sony Belgium is aware of the demand for PSN cards, especially in the Benelux, a region where Visa is less frequently used. The problem is it’s in a special situation in Europe. Both the United States and Japan are countries in themselves, with their own rates and fees throughout.
So while Sony are aware of the issues, don’t expect the PSN Cards for a while yet. There goes one of our E3 predictions…
all i can say is “why the hell not?”
Everyone adopt the euro. Half your issues go away.
There, I said it.
Recently on the New Zealand Playstation Forums they were running a poll to see what amounts we wanted on PSN cards, so it might be coming to some PAL countries.
This is bull. As when you buy stuff in the EU you pay the VAT to the country of the seller in any case. So for instance if I bought the card from UK I’d pay the VAT there which would be then transfered to the EU cash register anyway. If the problem lies in the different taxation over the EU teritory then this is hardly any problem. As far as I know most countries have 20 or more percent while UK lowered it’s rate to 15 from 17.5. In any case you pay the full VAT when purchasing the card so subsequent transactions with it are VAT free. That is how a lot of store gift cards work.
As I am living in a country without PS Store support I would gracefully welcome PSN cards. As now I buy games from HK and US, as this are the only stores I can buy add-ons and PSN games from.
[...] holding out for similar cards needn’t hold their breath. With Europe’s multitude of currencies and archaic tax laws capable of melting a [...]