Vita promoted with false advertising, Sony must refund customers - FTC

Vita early adopters in the US are eligible for a small cash refund or merchandise credit thanks to a Federal Trade Commission ruling.

Sony's launch advertisements for the Vita included false claims about the portable's features, the FTC has ruled.

"As part of its launch campaign for the PS Vita, Sony claimed that the pocket-sized console would revolutionize gaming mobility by enabling consumers to play their PlayStation 3 games via 'remote play,' and that they could engage in 'cross platform' play by starting a game on a PS3 and then continuing it on the go, right where they left off, on a PS Vita," the FTC wrote.

"The FTC alleges that each of these claims was misleading."

The ruling goes into further detail on how Sony's advertisements allegedly misled consumers.

Sony has agreed to settle the charges. It is barred from making further such claims in the future, and will provide customers who bought a PS Vita gaming console before June 1, 2012, either a $25 cash or credit refund, or a $50 voucher.

Sony will be in touch with those who are eligible once the settlement is finalised.

Advertising agency Deutsch LA has also been implicated in the case, as the FTC said it knew or should have known that claims made in the ads it produced were false. Deutsch LA has also been accused of having its employees promote the Vita on social media without disclosing their relationship to Sony, and has been barred from that tactic in future in a separate settlement.

Thanks, Eurogamer.