As the riots in London rage on and spread to other UK cities, damage is being to buildings, homes, cars and more.
A three-storey Sony warehouse in North London was enveloped in flames on late Monday or early Tuesday.
“There will likely be some impact on deliveries,” said Sony’s Yoko Yasukochi. “We cannot determine the cause of the fire or the extent of the damage yet because it’s not possible to enter the building.” There are no reports of injuries, thankfully.
It’s believed that deliveries of CD and compact discs will be impacted. However, according to an eye witness account, looters also made off with electronics. A witness told the BBC, “I saw the door smashed in, and about a group of twenty lads just came out with loads of Sony stuff, like Wii consoles.”
Sony makes the PlayStation. Nintendo makes the Wii. An honest mistake, especially if you’re more worried about your neighbourhood catching on fire than which company makes what console.
The riots erupted after the the Metropolitan Police shot and killed a 29-year-old named Mark Duggan. Controversy erupted over whether the police fired in self-defence or whether Duggan was unarmed. The London Evening Standard is already blaming Grand Theft Auto for the looting and rioting.
Kotaku is following up with Sony Computer Entertainment about how this fire will impact UK gamers and will update this post should the company comment.
Update: A Sony Computer Entertainment spokesperson has told Kotaku, “As far as I know, we are not affected.”
Sony: London warehouse fire may affect UK deliveries [Reuters -- Thanks adinnieken!]
Bob
Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 7:33 PMLOL Sony has Wii consoles?
Anyways shame on the looters…. Low life losers
Chazz
Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 7:56 PMI think what the Sony rep meant to say was “As far as I know, none of us with cushie office jobs are affected.”
But then again, Sony aren’t the kind to care about the plebs.
Braaains
Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 9:46 PMWhich is what sets Sony apart from every other major corporation on earth, right?
If you actually read it, it’s quite clear that he was saying that as far as he knows *Sony Computer Entertainment* aren’t affected. I.e. that one particular unit of the broader Sony organization isn’t affected.
CJ
Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 10:42 PMI love my Microsoft Playstation Wii?
Ty
Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 11:13 PMHaven’t you guys heard of the PS Move yet? That’s Sony stuff like Wii consoles.