The US Federal Trade Commission has ordered Sony and ad agency Deutsch LA to make amends for intentionally misleading the public with advertising campaigns for the launch of the PlayStation Vita.

Sony and the FTC agreed to a settlement in November after it came to light that Sony and Deutsch willfully misled the public in 2011 and 2012 by promoting the Vita's remote play features with gameplay footage of "data rich" PlayStation 3 games such as Killzone 3. The FTC ruled that Sony either knew or should have known that the PlayStation 3 was unable to deliver that experience.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sony is expected to recompense any US consumer who purchased a Vita before June 2012 with US$25, or a US$50 voucher for select Sony games and services.

Deutsch LA has also been censured for its part in making the misleading claims. During the Vita launch window the agency asked its employees to make positive comments about the PlayStation Vita on their personal social media accounts using the hashtag "#gamechanger" without requiring them to disclose their relationship with the product.

Like Sony, the agency is explicitly barred from making misleading advertising claims about future handheld console products. In addition, the agency must "disclose a material connection, where one exists, between any endorser of a game console product or video game product and Deutsch LA or other entity involved in the manufacture or marketing of the product."