A Gamer's Mind

It seems that Sony keeps on thinking of ways to show just how much they fail.

When they’re not launching their newest systems to lackluster launches, they’re relaunching them with features that nobody cares about. When they deny a rumor, they come back and reveal that it’s true by the end of the week.

…And when SCEA finally started selling Playstation Network prepaid cards in Canadian retailers, the cards were bogus.

In a goof-up of epic proportions, Sony mixed up their initial shipments of PSN prepaid cards, except those going to EB Games. I have no idea how or why this would make a difference since all retailers technically use the same system, but apparently certain cards only work at certain retailers, and the cards that apparently were supposed to go to Rogers Plus stores ended up at 7-11 and Best Buy/Future Shop.  However, the cards were stocked anyway and as a result, cards purchased from anywhere in Canada except EB Games, although recognized by the Playstation Store as activated, are giving a “The funds could not be added to your wallet” error due to them not being activated properly.

Fortunately, both Sony and the retailers are starting to catch onto this critical error. Over on the Official PlayStation Forums, people affected by the problem are reporting that both parties are cooperating. Sony is asking for proof of purchase to be faxed to them, and others have reported that they had gone back to Best Buy, explained what was going on, and were actually able to get a refund. (Yes, a refund on a non-refundable product) Those same people have also said that the managers have had the bogus cards pulled off the shelves.

Sony has not released an official statement regarding the issue, and there is no word that they will.  I advise my fellow Canadians looking to buy a PSN card to do so from EB games, as the are the only ones that seem to be working. If you have already bought a card from 7-11, Best Buy, or Future Shop that does not work, you can call SCEA Consumer Support at 1-800-345-7669.

UPDATED: SCEA has been manually adding the balance to peoples’ accounts for those that have bought a non-working Playstation Network card. Here’s what you have to do:

1. Call the support line as noted. Give them your PSN ID, the card’s code, and where you bought it. They’ll give you a service request number and a number to fax copies of your card and receipt to.
2. Scan the your receipt and both sides of the card, print them out, write “Attn: Tech Team” along with your service request number, name, phone number, PSN ID and associated ID on the printout.  Fax all of this to the number that they give you. (If you don’t have a fax machine at home, you can go to a UPS store or other courier and it’ll only cost you around two bucks.
3. They will call you back in a day or two to let you know that they’ve added the balance to your account, given that everything checks out correctly.

Update 2: I had faxed them a copy of my bogus card and receipt and they manually added the $20 to my account. That’s quite a relief.