Sony Lose Out - PS2 Not a Personal Computer?

Thanks to the UK Guardian for their article discussing Sony's failed attempt to get the PlayStation 2 classified as a personal computer in Europe, for customs reasons. The piece explains: "Sony was not splitting hairs for the sake of hair-splitting; its motives were purely mercenary. The import tariff for computers coming into the European Union is much lower than that for games consoles and a ruling that the PlayStation 2 was a computer could have forced customs authorities to pay back millions in duties." Although the battle is becoming less important, as from January 1st, 2004 "...computers and games consoles will be allowed into the EU at zero tariff", the legal distinction is still interesting - the European court in Luxembourg ruled "...the definition of a computer could not be stretched" because "It is quite clear that [the PS2] is intended mainly to be used to run video games."

Comments

Re:Poor argument

[PainKilleR-CE]

heh, I think he replied to the right person, and disagrees with your statement ;)

A computer (say, for instance, every computer I've ever built for my home, except for one I built from the spare parts) can be built specifically to play games. It may be capable of performing other functions, and may even be used for performing other functions, but the purpose of the computer itself is to play games. Just because I can do word processing on it doesn't mean it's less of a game machine than my PS2, XBox, GameCube, and DreamCast (in fact, I have far more games for my PC than for these 4 systems combined).

On the other hand, the PS2 is mainly intended for playing games in all cases, but also plays DVDs and CDs as primary functions. With the addition of a couple minor pieces of hardware (and some software installed on the hard drive that is one of those pieces of hardware) the PS2 becomes a computer with all of those other functions.

With a PC I have to add a good graphics card for it to be a gaming machine (and that graphics card can cost more than any current console). With a PS2 I have to add a hard drive (which really isn't much, and I wouldn't be surprised if someone could get a stripped down Linux or *BSD install that didn't require the hard drive). The XBox IS a Windows-based PC, with a stripped down version of Windows that only performs a minor subset of functions (WMA conversion of CD audio (and storage/playback of WMA files), plays licensed games, plays DVDs with the right hardware). A minor change to allow it to run unlicensed software allows it to run a full-blown OS just like any PC that you could buy with similar specs at the time the XBox came out (which actually would've been a low-end processor, high-end video card, and minimal amount of RAM).

With the XBox based on an x86 processor and the Cube based on PPC architecture, the distinction is really getting to be pointless. It's not a matter of what the hardware is any more, it's a matter of what you do with it, and, as the article stated, the distinction is no longer going to matter next year (at least in the EU).

Why computers != consoles

[shed]

Because after all, most people use them for balancing their checkbooks, not playing video games. Uh huh.

I can't wait to get a Radeon 9800 to help me word process at 60 fps. I'll frag clippy yet.

Ok, seriously, does this dutch ruling mean that a computer that is used 99% for gaming is a console, or does the definition have to do with the purpose for which a machine is manufactured? In which case, alienware would have a tariff under the old system, gateway wouldn't? Strange world we're living in.