A retailer in the UK has accidentally sent some customers a free PlayStation Vita. And is now resorting to some heavy methods in an attempt to get them back.

According to a report on Eurogamer, “a number” of people who had preordered Vita game Tearaway were instead sent a Tearaway PlayStation Vita bundle, which included the game and the hardware.

Upon realising its error, the retailer – Zavvi – asked for the bundles to be sent back. And that’s where things get messy.

British customer rights website What Consumer says “if you’ve been sent unsolicited goods, you are entitled to treat them as an unconditional gift and do with them as you choose.”

Understandably, some of those affected have done just that, leading Zavvi to send out further letters, including a “final notice” that reads:

This is our final notice to politely remind you that you did not order, or pay for, a PS Vita and if you fail to contact us by 5pm (UK time) on 10th December 2013 to arrange a convenient time for the PS Vita to be collected we reserve the right to enforce any and/or all legal remedies available to us.

Normally in these circumstances, the retailer would admit the mistake and simply take the hit. It’s rare a company would try and engage in a move like this; the PR backlash will probably make them wish they’d never bothered.

Original post by Eurogamer here

The first trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has swung in.

And it’s a corker, with action, villains and fanboy/girl easter eggs galore.

The two minute trailer builds on the web-slinging action seen in the first, and ramps up not only the special effects, but the villains too, with our first proper glimpse at The Rhino, Electro and even the Green Goblin (and it us, or is that Dane DeHaan’s Harry Osborn rocking the glider?!).

Throw in some cute Pete and Gwen romance-asizing, some ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ easter eggs (spot the Doctor Octopus/Vulture paraphenalia), and a ton of action, and there’s more than enough to get you excited for next summer’s big superhero flick.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is set for release in cinemas 18 April 2014.

Looking forward to Amazing Spider-Man 2? Let us know below…

While the PS4 might be setting records for the rapid pace in which each console is being bought in the UK, over in America it appears it’s a whole ‘nother story entirely. According to research by market research firm InfoScout, which surveyed purchases of consoles in several retail outlets across USA up to and including Black Friday, Microsoft consoles are being overwhelmingly favoured by the American gamer:

According to their survey, both Xbox consoles dominated sales on Friday, jointly accounting for 61% of the console market. The PlayStation 4, meanwhile, achieves a creditable third place with exactly half the XBox One sales – 15% compared to 31% – although it should be noted that the PS4 came in much more limited supplies compared to the XBox One.

A perhaps more interesting statistic from the survey is that so far, sales of both new generation consoles are keeping pace with their predecessors, with the PS3 just outselling the PS4 by a very small margin; while the XBox One only manages a 1% margin above the older 360. Continued sales of the older consoles are to be expected early in a new console’s launch, but the closeness of the statistics suggest there are still a lot of people seeing life in the now-older generation consoles yet; and feel like giving them a chance over their younger, so far less established successors…

…Though, with 80% of the surveyed claiming that they bought the console with the intention to “gift” it, it could also be that some Americans just wanted to save cash on what should still be viewed as a powerful, exciting present for the young (or young at heart) ones.

As expected, today it’s been confirmed that the PlayStation 4 has become the fastest-selling console in the UK history.

Chart-Track has announced that PS4 surpassed PSP’s sales record of 185,000 units sold at launch, although no concrete figures for the PS4 have been announced.

We expect that we may hear of a few more broken records for PS4 before the day is out.

Congratulations to Sony and the PS4.

Over 16 years ago on April 21, 1997, NullSoft – nowadays most famous for its ShoutCast software without which tens of thousands of online radio stations could not exist – launched a music player software for Windows that grew to be one of the longest-lasting and possibly the best stand-alone music players around. This year marks the end of an era, as NullSoft announced earlier this week the discontinuation of Winamp and closure of its website and download pages on December 20, 2013.

A simple but powerful music player with lots of supported music formats, a good level of customisability and many features to manage the balance and add effects to your sound, Winamp was once a popular tool for regular music listeners; and maintained a cult following all through its life. In later years, the software was also popularly recommended by many internet radio stations – including us here at Sanitarium.FM – as the best way to listen in due to its strong Shoutcast stream support; and support for the MP3Pro plugin, which allowed MP3s to be streamed at lower bandwidths without losing quality allowing slower connections or large groups of listeners to still enjoy high quality music.

Those who already have their own copy of Winamp – whatever version it might be – or who download the latest release before the site’s official closure on December 20 will be able to continue to use Winamp as long as they wish, as the software is completely standalone; however, it will no longer be available for download directly or supported by the company after this date. It’s also uncertain if other sites will be able to continue offering the software themselves after the closure, as Winamp is copyrighted despite being a free download. Nullsoft have refused to comment on or state the reasons for the closure, but with the rise of internet streaming services and the number of tools now built-in to computers and smartphones for listening to music, it’s possible Winamp was simply seen as an archaic tool now or no longer attracted a strong enough audience.

Long term fans of the Winamp player are already encouraging Nullsoft to reconsider the decision – asking them to either keeping the software and websites alive; or open-source the software so independent developers can continue the work on their behalf, for the benefit of both its users and the broadcasters who have long supported its use, however there has yet to be any sign of movement from the company. However, while it will be sad to lose such a trusted, long-term veteran to the music player scene, there are still many other players available to bridge the gap. Winamp diehards might be interested in checking out jetAudio, a competing Media player with similarly long heritage. jetAudio supports a large number of Winamp’s plugins, even having MP3Pro support built-in; and offers a similar interface – with separated playlists and equaliser windows from the main one, and a “Toolbar” mode that resembles the “Windowshade Mode” of Winamp – which Winamp fans may just find comforting.