You won a Vita! No, wait - scratch that you got screwed

Imagine this: You enter a contest to win a sexy new PlayStation Vita and against all odds you win. You tell your friends and family the awesome news but then 2 weeks later get an email notifying you that you didn’t win a damn thing. A pretty crappy scenario right? Well, that is currently the exact situation many gamers who played the Taco Bell / PlayStation Vita contest are now finding themselves in.

300 winners of the Taco Bell: Unlock the $5 Box promotion are facing such a dilemma. Taco Bell is blaming a hack to their system for giving false positives to hundreds of gamers who did nothing else but play their toilet bowl inducing Unlock the Box contest for a chance to win a Vita. After being told they’d won, Taco Bell is backing off that statement and letting many winners know that due to an internal problem they’re not valid winners. Lucky for them though, they get the chance to be placed in a new drawing to win one of three Vitas. How lucky are they? It goes without saying this has been a PR nightmare for both Sony and Taco Bell. Sony no doubt believed this was a great promotional idea to get their system out in the public eye; but due to Taco Bell and their promotional companies abysmal handling of the contest; it’s done more harm than good to what is admirably an amazing handheld. Now let me be clear — this is not Sony’s fault in any way other than choosing Taco Bell which as we all know is stoner food made for 2am ‘Dude let’s get Tacos!’ runs. The blame falls squarely on Taco Bell. 

What really burns my ass is that Taco Bell is refusing to take blame for their screw up. The honest and sensible thing to do would be to pay up, even if out of their own pockets and give these winners the Vita they so rightly deserve. They paid the $5 for the Unlock the Box promotion, dealt with the intestinal throw of the dice and won in more ways than one. It’s bad form plain and simple, and personally speaking as someone who has a friend who won via this little contest is a sh*tty move. For days I’ve heard his excitement over getting a Vita, but for the past 2 weeks its been a nightmare of dealing with playing phone tag with Taco Bell’s promotional team and finally receiving notice that he in fact did not win a Vita. It’s a roller-coaster of emotions to put a person through. Hopefully, Sony will step in since it is a partnership with Taco Bell and give these winners the Vita they believed they originally won. At the end of the day; its soured many gamers on any new contest that claims you could win a great gaming prize and make your gaming dreams come true. When all you’re really winning is heartbreak.