A $100 collector's edition ruined before it arrives due to no protection during transit leading to crush and water damage.
I've been working at PCMag since November 2016, covering all areas of technology and video game news. Before that I spent nearly 15 years working at Geek.com as a writer and editor. I also spent the first six years after leaving university as a professional game designer working with Disney, Games Workshop, 20th Century Fox, and Vivendi.
Sony has screwed up what should've been a very happy day for fans of The Last of Us by failing to protect the $99.99 Firefly Edition in transit.
As VGC reports(Opens in a new window) , The Last of Us Part 1 Firefly Edition was offered exclusively via PlayStation Direct(Opens in a new window) for $99.99. It included a range of additional in-game content, but also came packaged in a limited edition steelbook display case housed inside a collectible cardboard box.
The problem is, Sony decided to ship the game in nothing more than a thin paper envelope with no protection inside. You can see how little packaging there is in a tweet by Minneapolite(Opens in a new window) . Inevitably, multiple(Opens in a new window) gamers(Opens in a new window) have received their Firefly Edition with damage to the outer cardboard box. This takes the form of crushed corners, or if it was raining anywhere along the journey, water damage.
Worse still, is the fact Sony isn't going to replace the damaged copies. Twitter user Ains, whose damaged copy you can see in the tweet above, managed to chat with PlayStation support and was told "there is no option for replacement(Opens in a new window) ." Instead, he was offered a 20% off voucher for a future purchase.
I suspect many gamers will be demanding a full refund if they can't get a replacement, which will hopefully make someone at Sony realize they need to produce some more copies and pick some better shipping materials rather than face a PR nightmare. Developer Naughty Dog will hopefully be screaming down the phone at Sony asking how they allowed this to happen.
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I've been working at PCMag since November 2016, covering all areas of technology and video game news. Before that I spent nearly 15 years working at Geek.com as a writer and editor. I also spent the first six years after leaving university as a professional game designer working with Disney, Games Workshop, 20th Century Fox, and Vivendi.
I hold two degrees: a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and a Master's degree in Games Development. My first book, Make Your Own Pixel Art, is available from all good book shops.
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