"It's fair to say that the first year of PlayStation 3 was somewhat of a difficult one.."
I like Sony, as a game company at least (uh oh). Know why? They're a company that doesn't binge itself so much on marketing and PR that they won't admit their weaknesses. Too many interviews feature journalists asking the same tired questions and the company president or developer or whatever answering with the same tired answers. If we're lucky, we see the journalist asking actually honest questions, like, 'why is your system sucking so bad? How will you make it not suck so bad?' (I'm paraphrasing). But typically at this point we just get tired answers anyway, marketing psychobabble the company owner or whoever was told to say if any 'tough questions' came up. So that's why I like Sony. This isn't to say they're completely devoid of marketing psychobabble, cause I've seen it, but the fact they can admit where they've gone wrong and where they can improve speaks volumes. Marketing people and CEO's don't want anyone from the company saying stuff like that. That means potentially lower stocks, less sales, etc. What they don't realize, (some of them anyway), is at the end of the day, people who support these companies really just want them to be honest. Am I right? We need transparency if we're ever going to really know what to buy, when to buy it, and how to get the most satisfaction out of what we buy.
So yeah, at Sony's own Playstation Day, president Kaz Hirai admitted the Playstation 3 has had 'a rough year':
"It's fair to say that the first year of PlayStation 3 was somewhat a difficult one. There were some teething problems, success from our competitors, and our customers were a little underwhelmed by the range of titles that were available. This was something that we were very much aware of, and something that we were confident we could over come."
Certainly seems to be heading that way too, even though just two killer apps have hit shelves - Gran Turismo 5: Prologue and Grand Theft Auto IV.
"Things have improved since the Christmas season and 2008 has gotten off to a fantastic start," [commented Hirai]. "What fills me with even greater pleasure is that our year so far has only seen the launch of two of our key titles."
Regarding all the Home delays, Hirai apologized, and again, I respect his position. That is, to not release it until he is completely happy with it, as I had suspected:
"I realise this announcement was disappointing to many people, from TGS where we were aiming for a spring launch, so please accept my apologies for this delay. But as I said at Tokyo Game Show, I would not open up Home until I was completely happy with it, and I still stand by that statement."
He says the company believes it can provide the best possible experience with it in the autumn, hence the wait.
Honesty and transparency like this is what could eventually eliminate that hardened tyrant image Sony kind of has now. Again, customers need that with a company, and while it's possible it could hurt them in the short-term, long-term, it's very necessary and could put them ahead of the competition.
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I don't really like Sony because they have this habit of making really expensive products that have shorter life spans than such pricey items should. No, I am not talking about the PS3, but all their other electronics like cameras, mp3 players, laptops. All for people who have too much money to spend -- people who can afford to throw away a huge bulk of cash when purchasing the item, then on a new one when it breaks down in less than a year. That's my beef with Sony.
My other issue is that Howard Stringer is a complete ass. I mean, really. Read his interviews. He practically belittles his competitors AND the consumers (for not having the intellect and good sense to purchase Sony products).
But I also know that as a generalization, the Japanese have higher work ethics than most of the world (hell, the penalty for a government official failing at his job in China is usually death or resignation + ostracization, you fail = you're screwed). I think what Kazuo Harai did is honorable, as he's taking responsibility, at least on the surface, for Sony's shortcomings.
But to say Sony doesn't binge on marketing can't be true. There is no corporation that doesn't throw money on marketing and put out an image to draw in its target demographic. Remember those horrible PSP ads with oddly drawn creatures speaking in ebonics? Christ...
You also need to remember that Sony is an international corporation and we are not the company's biggest market. If you go to Japan or Taiwan, for example, you WILL see Sony ads until you're blue in the face, and the celebrities they pay to help them sell a product.
Yeah, I meant as a game company. Shoud've clarified. Done now.
Yeah, I'm coming to realize company's really don't act as an entity unto themselves. I mean, I was just reading about some of the umm..fan service/disservice from Nintendo about the Earthbound series. Some of the higher ups dont give a crap and think the fans are nuts, others give the official fan site secret info. So you know, in a sense I give up on all companies, cause I'm sure there's real jerks in all of them.
Well by binge on marketing I meant basically invests most of it its money in the whole "brand name appeal", "marketing push" crap. It's just money. If all you do is talk out of your ass and spend money on marketing, your company is worthless to the consumers, they just don't know it. Of course they spend some, I hoped I'd hinted at that. That's the way the world is now.
I honestly think marketing and advertising don't have as big of an effect as the people who run those industries think. I think it's an overpriced industry, for sure. But that's economy for you, everyone bullshitting each other into thinking their jobs are worth their weight so they can all go on with the cacaphony.
Indeed, good point about the internationalism.
Most people fall for it, really. Consumer culture, and all.
Omega> Well spoken.
I do not agree with what you say. As far as I have seen, there isn't any interference on the imagination of game developers. One could say the same thing about the other consoles at the time of PS2 and Xbox, and they would still be wrong. Corporate interests don't get that much in the way of developrs' creativity, it only gets in the way of distribution and how many consoles will see that game released. Sony is having a though time, trying to lay some foundations while everyone else has theirs well placed.
Really, advertising shouldn't be a problem, as long as companies don't forget about what's important. Give them some time, hopefully they won't screw up along the way.
Then why are there more sequels than fresh, new ideas?
Just wait and see what Sony will offer to their PS3s in 2008 and beyond and because you will see amazing games and toys which make you feel happy for the rest of your life without spending too much money in yours local nightclubs!!!!
Cheers,
Tin Htwe Min.