Playstation Store a Chore?

A few months ago we downloaded Spyro the Dragon, a PS1 game
from the Playstation Store. The Playstation Store is available from the PS3’s
menu to download demos, trailers, and games. What’s innovative about PS1 downloads
from the PS3 store, is that they are playable on both the PS3 and the PSP.

Recently, Sony opened another Playstation Store, for PSP
users that crave content, but lack a PS3. This Playstation Store opened to
little fanfare, and evidence suggests that Sony opened the store a bit prematurely.  When we first signed up for the new
Playstation store, we had trouble getting the system to recognize our existing
account. Anytime we entered our e-mail, the system cryptically stated, “The
e-mail address in invalid”. Little information or assistance is available on the
site, and we assumed to had to create a new account- we used another e-mail address.

No problems existed until we downloaded Beats; a new music
rhythmic game for the PSP. At first, the Playstation Store seemed to struggle
with the download- after we paid for the item, the store aborted three download
attempts. We came back an hour later, and the problems appeared to be resolved-
we were able to acquire the game without problem.

With the game downloaded we were eager to try it out. Our PSP
told us, “This content cannot be accessed on your account.” Time to call Sony.

After a brief wait, we spoke with a customer representative
who was familiar with the problem. He explained that when the Playstation Store
opened online, it would not accept PS3 accounts. He also mentioned that the
problem was corrected in a few days, and that users should now be able to log
on with their PS3 accounts. He suggested we merge our two accounts and transferred
us to a tech support representative by the name of ‘Byron’.

Byron was surly, uncooperative, and rude. He explained that
due to “legalities”, there was nothing that Sony could do about paid content
not being playable on a PSP; it was a DRM issue that could not be circumvented.
  When
asked what “legalities” he was speaking of, Byron explained, “I’m not a lawyer,
so I couldn’t tell you”.

Further attempts to remedy the situation via Sony’s customer
service ended in the same impasse. While employees admit there were some
problems with the Playstation Stores online launch, none seem willing or
capable to offer much of a valid solution. The only way we could play Beats
is via a workaround, that made all our previous downloaded content invalid. Recent
email to Sony has gone unanswered so far. Let’s hope Sony loosens DRM control
before they alienate even more customers.