On Thursday I picked up my new PSP Vita that I had preordered without any problems from Yodobashi Camera. When I got it home however it only worked for about 30 minuted before the screen went dead. I was not looking forward to trying to return it and get a replacement. Friday during class I asked my Sensei for some help with the transaction. I had written out much of what I wanted to say but was unsure of which verb to use. I wasn’t sure if the English verbs “not working” or “is dead” would convey the same meaning when translated. Apparently the verb used in Japanese is to move and you say something like “20 minutes after move not became.” The clerk understood and played with the unit and tried all of the usual multi-button reset procedures that I had already gone through. I demonstrated that the sound and backlighting still worked and he eventually came to the same conclusion as I had. It was broken. After this with little fuss he gave me a brand new console along with a 3 month complimentary subscription the some online gaming thing that I haven’t completely deciphered yet. I l left for home a happy camper. It was past 6PM and dark by this time but the rain had tapered off and the train was not crowded. I spent the trip entering the kanji that I need to learn into a new flashcard program on my phone.

Now the only remaining hurdle is to somehow deactivate the dead console from my PSN account. The PSN account will only support a limited number of devices and you can only activate or deactivate a device from the device itself which of course is impossible to do after the device has failed. In the past Sony tech support has been the worst that I have ever dealt with so I am not looking forward to trying to get this resolved.

The new console works well and I have downloaded some demo games to try. I like it. Now, if it would only help me to study Japanese.