Kazakh netizens are urging PlayStation Network (PSN) to remove regional restrictions in Kazakhstan to allow account creation and game purchases through local payment systems, QazMonitor reports.
With the Digital and Space Ministry’s acknowledged attempts to resolve this issue still yielding no results, Kazakh console users decided to take matters into their own hands, bombarding PSN's Instagram account with comments. The post has now gathered over 30,000 comments, many of which feature the flag of Kazakhstan, accompanied by requests to restore access.
Comments include sentiments such as: “There is no place for politics in games. Players in Kazakhstan just want to play their favorite games”, “Dear Sony, please add Kazakhstan to PSN”, and “I hope that such a respected company as Sony will not ignore its customers from Kazakhstan and will give an answer to tens of thousands of PSN users”.
Background:
In March 2022, Sony's gaming division halted shipments to Russia and suspended activities in the country. This affected Kazakh console users who lost access to the PlayStation Store due to their accounts being regionally set to Russia, given Kazakhstan's absence as an individual region in the PlayStation system.
This measure prompted a mass appeal from local PSN users. Head of Digital and Space Ministry Bagdat Mussin attempted to address the issue but Sony's Japan office remained unresponsive to inquiries.
Then, the Ministry initiated letters to Sony's California office and received a response indicating that the mentioned issues fall under the jurisdiction of the Sony Group office in Japan.
The ministry sent a letter to the Sony office in Tokyo, and the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan engaged in discussions with Sony representatives. The company verbally expressed its inability to address the matter, citing Russian citizens' access to Kazakhstan's banking system.