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Sony's Karakker On Turning Around PS3 Buzz 209

Posted by Hemos from the manhandling-the-PR dept.
simoniker writes "Sony's new PR boss Dave Karakker has been talking about his challenges handling publicity for the PlayStation 3, explaining how Sony will be switching things up: 'We were allowing media to drive the message for us, and interpret it for us. So allowing someone like Peter Moore, who's a good friend of mine, to stand up there and say negative things about Sony, there wasn't anybody refuting that. People just took that for face value. Now we're very aggressively defending our turf.' He also defend the lack of universal achievements on PS3: 'Frankly, how I view it is I don't care if you're great at Madden if I'm playing you in Resistance. Because that doesn't tell me you're that much better in Resistance. An overall score doesn't really tell me much, it tells me you've spent a lot of time online, it tells me you spend a lot of time playing games, but it doesn't tell me how good you are at a particular game.'" Should be noted that Simoniker is a former Slashdot editor -- also, the AP write-up about reactions to the PS3 is quite positive.
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Sony's Karakker On Turning Around PS3 Buzz

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  • When he said "We were allowing media to drive the message..." I thought:

    You're right! You actually realized -- you realized that trying to constantly synergize with the media and IP divisions of sony is what's paralyzed the game division! Someone at Sony actually finally understands that you can't spend all your time interacting with other divisions of your company -- you have to interact with what customers want as well!

    Then it became clear that he meant 'media' in the 'news media' sense. So I gave up o

  • I've been positive about it for a while (Score:3, Insightful)

    by 91degrees ( 207121 ) on Monday November 06, 2006 @12:20PM (#16736351) Journal
    While it is expensive, and although Sony have been pretty evil in the past, the fact remains that the PS3 is a very powerful system, with a decent level of brand recognition.

    HD support may not be a requirement for many people, but those with HDTV will want some hardware to complement it. Blu-ray might have been a result of pressure from Sony's top level, but the extra capacity is not to be sneezed at.

    Early adopters have a lot of money. They can afford the thing. And how often has the most powerful console been a total market failure?

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by HappySqurriel ( 1010623 )
      How often has the most powerful console been a total market failure?

      Define "Total Market Failure"?

      The XBox is certainly a contender after having lost $4 Billion to only sell 20 Million systems (or $200 per system sold); several of the Neo-Geo / Turbo Graphics 16 / 3DO / Jaguar / etc. systems were the most powerful systems of their time and still failed to be successful platforms; and the most obvious choice was the N64, which was much more powerful than the Saturn/Playstation yet sold half as many systems a
      • everyone has to admit that because of the higher price point and low supply the PS3 is (likely) going to sell poorly in 2006 and through the first half of 2007;

        By definition you cannot sell poorly if you are selling every unit you make.

        Now poor profits, that is another matter - lowered production rates will hurt them in terms of profitability until they can catch up with demand. But no-one I think expects that units will be languishing on the stores this Christmas.
        • Yay for web comics? http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=212 [vgcats.com]
        • By definition you cannot sell poorly if you are selling every unit you make.

          Perhaps in the absolute sense, but how about relative to the other consoles? If the PS3 only sells a million by years end because that's all they can produce, but the Wii sells 4 million by years end, I think it would be accurate to say the PS3 sold poorly compared to the Wii. Certainly the game developers will think so, because there will be 4 times as many people wanting games for the Wii as for the PS3. That is the kind of thing

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by brkello ( 642429 )
        Now, I'm not going to make any Doom and Gloom predictions for the PS3 but everyone has to admit that because of the higher price point and low supply the PS3 is (likely) going to sell poorly in 2006 and through the first half of 2007

        I disagree. The PS3 will sell out everywhere (even if it is just because people want to ebay them). Big name developers are already on board. I do agree that Sony will lose market share this round...but I think they will have no problem selling out. It is just that their pr
        • I disagree. The PS3 will sell out everywhere (even if it is just because people want to ebay them). Big name developers are already on board. I do agree that Sony will lose market share this round...but I think they will have no problem selling out. It is just that their production will be worse that the Wii and the 360.

          I think that many people have misunderstood what I meant by "selling poorly" ... I will try to clarify the statement.

          The PS3 will likely sell out from Q4 2006 until the end of Q2 2007 simply
          • $600 (for console, 1 game and tax) is a tough expense to justify regardless of income level.

            It's a weekend at the beach after a two hour drive - i.e. nothing for a couple of parents looking to please Junior.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Planesdragon ( 210349 )
      And how often has the most powerful console been a total market failure?

      Almost always. (see: NeoGeo, 3D0, N64, Game Gear, etc., etc.)

    • "Early adopters have a lot of money. They can afford the thing. And how often has the most powerful console been a total market failure?" Let me count the ways... 3DO, CD-i, Neo Geo....
  • We're talking about the reactions from people who attended a Sony PR event - people who, for the most part, already love Sony. I'd say reactions from them would be slightly biased at the least.
    • You're forgetting, they are people who don't have to pay 600 dollars to bask in the glory of Sony.

      It's a great system honestly. If programmed correctly, it'll be slightly better then the 360. However it's harder to program for, it's more expensive, and it's playing catch up with both systems. When for the price of one system I can get a system almost as good in every way, and a system that will play games in new ways why am I buying the more expensive one? Yes it might have motion control, but the Wii w

  • Wow! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by LWATCDR ( 28044 ) on Monday November 06, 2006 @12:26PM (#16736451) Homepage Journal
    This guy worked on the 3DO and the Dreamcast! This means that the PS/3 will be the best console of the generation and still die a marketing driven death!
    He also worked for Martha Stewart and KMart. So that means their is a good chance that this will end in bankruptcy or jail time.

    If Sony was smart they would give Steve Jobs half the stock in the company. He would create a Red PS/3 and give $5 to African Aids research for everyone sold. Bono would hawk it for him and people would get on a six month waiting list to get one.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by jetxee ( 940811 )

      GS: What made you leave games, and what made you come back?

      DK: Well, I left to go chase dot com millions. But that never came to fruition. My 100,000 shares turned into about $33 (laughs). So that wasn't brilliant. I left to go launch Kmart's e-commerce site, is what it was, which was a joint venture between Kmart, Softbank and Martha Stewart. And that obviously went belly-up, so I worked for Kmart for a bit, then left Kmart when the bankruptcy happened, and then Martha Stewart, but I was there during

  • I gave up (Score:5, Insightful)

    by tkrotchko ( 124118 ) * on Monday November 06, 2006 @12:26PM (#16736457) Homepage
    I made it to page 4 of 5. But the interviewer clearly is more concerned with being a buddy than asking anything interesting or inciteful.

    Here's two of his question on the first page:

    GS: Sounds fun!

    GS: Woah!

    and on the second page, he says:

    GS: It did seem like there were a number of mis-statements, and this may be a media misperception, but did you have to work to rein people in and make sure they're on message?

    Even the Sony guy didn't claim that (and note the spelling error is the web site's not mine)

    And then he asks:
    GS: Don't take offense to this, but is the system going to be able to hold up to being always on?

    Why worry about if he's going to take offense? This is not journalism, this is a fan blog. Don't worry about offended a PR flac... that's his job. Ask questions that mean something... "The console looks impressive, but it's the most expensive. Why do you think gamers will buy it?". Don't pretend all negative buzz is just from people not being on message.

    The guy doesn't have to be combative, but he should ask some questions that are hard and that might be interesting to the readership.
    • Sure the interviewer was not asking "deep questions", at least at the start - but you have to at least admit the context of one of those questions made the remark reasonable:

      So from Access I went to work at Allied Domecq, which used to be the world's biggest liquor company. So they own brands like Stoli, Beefeater, Maker's Mark, Kahlua, and also Dunkin Donuts, Baskin-Robbins, and Togo's, but I just worked on Spirits of North America. But then that company got bought out by a French company, and they laid of

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by drew ( 2081 )
      GS: It did seem like there were a number of mis-statements, and this may be a media misperception, but did you have to work to rein people in and make sure they're on message?

      Even the Sony guy didn't claim that (and note the spelling error is the web site's not mine)


      Which spelling error? Unless you think they are talking about turning all of the marketing people into royalty, I don't see anything out of place there.

  • Paid well (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Fozzyuw ( 950608 ) on Monday November 06, 2006 @12:32PM (#16736515)

    I hope their new PR guy is good. They do have a lot overcome. However, there has been a lot of doom and gloom viral marketing for the PS3 which is not entirely true. Even though I've speculated a lot on /. about Sony's poor choices on the PS3 and how it expect it to hurt their sales, I have also been (finally) seeing more information on their games and their hardware and I'm pretty interested in it. Some of their screen shots are breathtaking.

    Was the most controversial, Blu-Ray, the right thing to do? Hmm... I'm still going to say no. However, like I've said in the past, looking at the perspective of adding it or leaving it, I can only defend adding it, all things considered once I think about it...

    • Add a stand alone Blu-ray option? No, it's a game machine, it should have a standard media and not duel/split media. I'd hate to see a game developed 'exclusively' for the Blu-Ray player.
    • Price? I cannot comment directly, but for some reason, I just don't see the price dropping significantly. Sony is already taking a big chunk of the cost of new units. Without Blu-Ray, Sony will be just taking less of a hit, but still charging $500. And lets face it. When it comes to gamers who can spend $400 on the latest video card, $500 for a full system can be justified for them. Such, it does suck when the competition is at $250 and $400, but hey, those are the rules.
    • Blu-Ray as a medium? This is Sony's baby. If they don't start forcing this down people's throats, it might not make it in the next-format wars. Sony's set to reap tons of profits off Blu-Ray licenses, likely more so than anything the PS3 could do, given the fact that if Blu-Ray becomes the adopted standard, it could very well last for well over a decade, much longer than any game console has lasted.

    While I think Sony has been doing things ass-backwards as far as Public Relations and response to the 'shock' of the new system on gamers, they do have room to make amends if they just started being a little more respectful and talking up their system on a positive aspect instead of the "you're n00b!" approach.

    Cheers,
    Fozzy

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by elrous0 ( 869638 ) *
      The main problem with Sony's PR to date is their (largely deserved) reputation of being heavy-handed, arrogant, control-freaks. It's going to take more than a PR blitz to shake THAT rep among us geeks, especially in light of the still-all-too-fresh rootkit fiasco, the various "The revolution doesn't start until WE say so" statements, their long-standing propensity for supporting only their own obscure proprietary formats, etc.

      -Eric

  • Nice straw man (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Control Group ( 105494 ) * on Monday November 06, 2006 @12:36PM (#16736583) Homepage
    An overall score doesn't really tell me much, it tells me you've spent a lot of time online, it tells me you spend a lot of time playing games, but it doesn't tell me how good you are at a particular game

    But the gamerscore isn't supposed to fill the role of "how good an opponent is someone," it's to fill the role of providing an official metric for the eternal "my dick's bigger than yours" competition that goes on amongst "hardcore" gamers. And that's a competition that's been going on since arcade denizens started sending Polaroids of their high scores in to gaming magazines.

    That's all the gamerscore means, and it's not meant to mean anything else. It's bragging rights by the numbers, and I think it's a bit disingenuous to say that it doesn't matter because it's not a record of how good someone is at a given game.
    • I think that was entirely his point.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Mongoose ( 8480 )
      I think gamerscore is just a lame way to make morons buy more games. Have you ever heard someone boasting about how they go out and import or buy crappy 360 games just to increase their gamer score? That's great for MS in terms of revenue, but I think it's a cheap gimmick. I would rather play multiplayer with more mature indivduals, and also like to 'opt-out' of sharing what games I play. Do you really need to know I play Shin Megami Tensei? What if your some ultra relgious zealot and see that? Think

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by elrous0 ( 869638 ) *
        I think gamerscore is just a lame way to make morons buy more games.

        Yes, God forbid Sony encourage that. All part of their new strategy:

        • Discourage gamers from buying more games.
        • ??
        • Profit!!

        -Eric

      • Then hide your details on Live. This isn't rocket surgery.

        Have you ever heard someone boasting about how they go out and import or buy crappy 360 games just to increase their gamer score?

        Then it's a winning business strategy then, isn't it? Makes it sort of self-evident that MS is providing something that people want, doesn't it? Makes it a little silly for a Sony flak to claim that it's something people don't actually want, don't you think?
  • 1) Piss in the koolaid
    2) Relish the fact that no matter what you do your loyal fan base will still throw their salaries at you
    3) ????
    4) Laugh some more
    5) Profit
  • After neglecting the Internet space, they've finally realized that there's a lot of unfounded trash talk against the PS3. Microsoft's been very keen at catering to the blogosphere that there are many pro-360 sites which have helped influence the minds of many gamers.

    Overpriced? Nope, it's a better value than the XBox 360 when it comes to technology and cost of manufacturing.

    Overheating? Nope, it's cooler than the XBox 360.

    Shortage? Doesn't take away from the console, just my ability to buy one.

    The only

    • Re:Sony's finally woken up (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Xugumad ( 39311 ) on Monday November 06, 2006 @01:12PM (#16737105)
      > Overpriced? Nope, it's a better value than the XBox 360 when it comes to technology and cost of manufacturing.

      Yes, except, fundamentally, it's a games console. There's over a decade's evidence that the $300 price point works well for a console at release. Personally, I'm not willing to spend $599 on a games console. It could be hand crafted, and cost twice as much to make as they're selling it for, for all I care, there's still the fact that it's games console priced outside what I'm willing to spend on a games console.

      Heard a lot of similar arguments about the Mac Pro, while trying to argue that it would be great if Apple released an upgradable iMac equivalent. It's brilliant value for money, if you want a quad core Xeon workstation, but fundamentally if you don't need that much processing power it's just not worth it.

      > Overheating? Nope, it's cooler than the XBox 360.

      Source?

      > Shortage? Doesn't take away from the console, just my ability to buy one.

      Agree. The late launch may be an issue, but frankly a launch shortage is going to have minimal impact 6 months down the line.

      > Free online service
      Yup

      > Better form factor
      Err... no, I'd call both equally ugly. But hey, each to their own

      > Linux capability
      Good point for the /. crowd, but it's not exactly going to make or break the console.

      > Blu-ray
      Which is great, if you want HD movies. I'm unconvinced this is going to be a major selling point, especially as so far HD-DVD seems to be doing a lot better than Blu-Ray. It could be an issue for games, but personally I'm not seeing two-DVD releases being a major issue.

      > Motion control
      I thought general opinion is this wasn't very good, or was it just not quite as good as Nintendos?

      The PS3 is one hell of a powerful console, released at a decent price point for the cost to make... I just personally don't think people are going to be willing to pay the extra, and that the XBox 360 and Wii will both gain serious ground before Sony gets around to price cuts...

      • > Blu-ray
        Which is great, if you want HD movies. I'm unconvinced this is going to be a major selling point, especially as so far HD-DVD seems to be doing a lot better than Blu-Ray. It could be an issue for games, but personally I'm not seeing two-DVD releases being a major issue.

        Most people keep talking about "Oh, I'll just wait till the dual format players are available".

        If that is true, and most people have dual format players, and a whole bunch more people have PS3s (over the number of standalone HD-DV

      • Good point for the /. crowd, but it's not exactly going to make or break the console.


        It's a big selling point for purchase justification:

        Hey mom, it isn't just a games machine, I can do my homework.

        There's a lot of "second PC's" being sold, the PS3 could make a dent in that:

        "Hey, we don't need another windows machine, when our PS3 can do double duty"

    • Overpriced? Nope, it's a better value than the XBox 360 when it comes to technology and cost of manufacturing.

      It may be a better "value" but that doesn't really matter too much to people when it comes to videogames. The reality is that people buy a videogame system when a game they want is released for it and (usually) not for the technology that is in the system; a high price acts as a barrier to entry because there are few people who are willing to spend $500/$600 to play 1 or 2 games.

      Overheating? Nope, i

      • Linux capability

        Unless it alows for homebrew development this is pretty pointless ...

        What part of the following do you not understand?

        Under basic agreement with SCEI, Terra Soft was granted a unique opportunity to develop and bring to market a complete Linux OS for PLAYSTATION 3. In development of Yellow Dog Linux v5.0, Terra Soft integrated and enhanced code from Barcelona Supercomputing Center, SCEI , and Fedora in order to offer the following:
        - kernel 2.6.16
        - gcc 4.1.1 and glibc 2.4
        - Cell SDK 1.1
        - OpenOf

    • Overpriced? Nope, it's a better value than the XBox 360 when it comes to technology and cost of manufacturing.

      Is a Ferrari overpriced? Depends on what you mean by "overpriced". Priced over what?

      If you mean priced over the cost of materials, research, manufacturing, and a reasonable percentage of profit margin, then no.

      If you mean priced over what most people buying a car -- even a sports car -- can afford, then hell yes it's overpriced.

      The Ferrari is not overpriced one way, but is in another, and that sec
      • Comparing the ps3 to a farrari doesn't make sense.

        in the console market, there are only 4 options (one being the pc). You simply can't take the farari approach to marketing, because the biggest sell point is the games available. To get a large library of games, you simply must have a huge install base. The problem being that the average consumer isn't going to buy the most expensive console out there. And where the average consumer goes with console money is where the games will be. ps3 will essentia

        • Comparing the ps3 to a farrari doesn't make sense.

          It does for illustrating the difference in "overpriced" as in "costs more than what you get (ignoring whether you need what you get)", and "costs more than what you can afford". Which is all I was doing.

          in the console market, there are only 4 options (one being the pc). You simply can't take the farari approach to marketing, because the biggest sell point is the games available. To get a large library of games, you simply must have a huge install base.

          Yep.
          • Maybe I'm exaggerating slightly with the paperweight thing. But really, Sony should pray that the competition is tight, rather than that they are a distant third. That's where I'd predict them. For all intents and purposes, their debut (as in joe blow has a reasonable chance of walking out of the store with a ps3, not a name on the waiting list) is probably spring '07. So they're coming out 4 months after the Wii, and 18 months after the 360. By the time the ps3 is available, the war could easily be ov
    • Shortage? Doesn't take away from the console, just my ability to buy one.

      The shortage could have a bigger effect than you think. The PS3 isn't coming out a year ahead of its competitors, leaving no real alternative but waiting. I'm guessing there will be more than a few people who will pass on the PS3 because the Wii and XBox360 are sitting right there on the shelf ready to take home. To add to that fun, it won't even be released in Europe and Australia until March. Meanwhile, Wiis and 360s will be selling

  • Retail Channel (Score:5, Insightful)

    by corby ( 56462 ) on Monday November 06, 2006 @12:52PM (#16736791)
    Hate to say it, Sony, but your biggest image problem right now isn't coming from the media. It's the retail channel.

    I walked into a Gamestop this week, and casually asked about the next-gen systems. The employees there pushed the Wii and the 360 hard, and slammed the PS3.

    Why? Because the retail outlets know they will be able to sell a bunch of hardware, software, and accessories for the Wii and the 360. They know that customers who hold out for a PS3 will simply spend the holidays on a waiting list, and not spend any cash at the store.

    Sony's shipping projections for the PS3 are shrinking every week, and the retailers don't see any reason to bend over for Sony at this time.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by _xeno_ ( 155264 )

      I noticed that when Best Buy recently sent me a catalog advertising all their "Holiday gift ideas."

      The Wii had a full two page picture as the lead-in to the video game section, plus it's own half-page within the game section next to the rest of the Nintendo games.

      The only mention of the PS3 was stuck on a quarter of the PlayStation page, split with the PSP and various games.

      And I'll bet you're right. Best Buy knows that each store will get something on the order of 5-10 PS3s total in time for Christm

  • The Rubik's Cube exploding is pretty cool, but the crying doll is just... whack.
  • Sony could take a leaf out of Snakes on a Plane's book and let the hype engine sell it. Christ, I could sell the PS3 myself by getting 1 single full page advert in a newspaper and writing the following:

    PlayStation 3

    November 17 2006

    And that's it.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Rayonic ( 462789 )
      November 17 2006

      Hell, they can't even do that part right. All the PS3 commercials I've seen have the date appear like this:

      ///7

      Where the ones and the slash look identical.
  • All I know about Sony's ad campaign for the PS3 is that the ad featuring the naked baby doll is really freaky (especially the expressions on its face when it laughs), yet also has a strong 2001: A Space Odyssey homage feel.

    I love that ad.
    • I'm guessing that the baby is crying because the parents can no longer afford clothes or an education for the child after purchasing the PS3.
      • I'm guessing that the baby is crying because the parents can no longer afford clothes or an education for the child after purchasing the PS3.

        That is a funny cynical take on it. I like the way you think.

        But I didn't think of it that way; I went more darkly cynical: if you look at what is reflected in its eyes--pretty much entirely explosions from violent games--and how the tears get sucked back up into its eyes, it's almost a commentary on how kids are getting desensitized to violence and that video games
  • The problem with some PS3 commercials is that you aren't sure whether they are trying to sell you a BlueRay player or gaming machine? I say this because a number of the adverts I have seen seem to have the whole gaming experience a distant second to its ability to use BluRay disks.

    The other thing I have noticed is when going into gaming stores and talking to the sales clerks: some of them are wanting to buy the PS3 to sell on eBay, but would rather have the Wii!? I want the Wii too, but it seriously needs s

  • With all the bad press and near disasters surronding the PS3 development, I was becoming more and more sceptical as to wether I shouldn't just get a Wii instead.

    Until, that is I went into my favorite game store today to pick up Liberty City Stories. The store had started their PS3 promo, with big signs saying "Coming Spring 2007: PS3" and lots of pretty posters and whatnot. None of that impressed me, but:

    In the center was a very good 50" HDTV rolling demo footage. The game in question was MetalGear 4. Ni

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Rayonic ( 462789 )
      to make things look good at that resolution you need a metric shitload of textures, and the PS3 can fit 50 GB of data onto a single disc.

      But it can only have 256MB of textures per scene.

      And it's not like the disc read times have increased as drastically as the storage capacity. But I guess Sony and long load times go hand-in-hand. (See: PS1, PS2, PSP)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rjung2k ( 576317 )
      "In other words, once you see what the PS3 can do on a good display, you'd never buy a Wii."
      Since I don't have a high-end HDTV, and Sony isn't bundling one with the PS3, all that eye candy won't do me any good.

      "Conclusion: seeing is believing. I'll get three, please."
      Sure, but that's only because you're a Sony marketeer in disguise. ;-)

    • In other words, once you see what the PS3 can do on a good display, you'd never buy a Wii.

      By this reasoning, once I see what my PC can do on a 36" LCD screen, I'd never buy a 19" CRT. Hang on, lemme check. Nope, I still have a 19" CRT. And a 24" TV, or is it 22"? To be honest, I'm not sure, I'd have to check the manual, because that's not why I watch TV shows/movies or play games. I'm more interested in, you know, the content.

      Of course that's besides the issue that I can't afford a PS3. Even if I reall

    • You can make the same argument about expensive cars, but what do you see more of on the roads, Diablos or Corsas?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Guppy06 ( 410832 )
      "In the center was a very good 50" HDTV rolling demo footage."

      I don't think my living room is that big.

      "Demo only, not full PS3 resolution."

      That statement could go either way. You're assuming what you're seeing is less than the PS3's capabilities, not greater than.

      That, and "demo only" sounds a lot like "cutscene, not gameplay" to me.

      "Conclusion: seeing is believing."

      You mean like Dragon's Lair?

      Welcome to video games. Playing is believing.
  • "An overall score doesn't really tell me much, it tells me you've spent a lot of time online, it tells me you spend a lot of time playing games, but it doesn't tell me how good you are at a particular game."

    You know what? I -prefer- to play 360 games over PS2 and PC games BECAUSE of that score. It's the ONLY lasting recognition that I played a game. Besides that, when I look at the 1000-point gamescores, I generally remember the pain I had to go through to get to the top like that... And I remember it f

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ivan256 ( 17499 )
      I think you're in the minority. I think that you don't think you are in the minority because people like you are also thousands of times more likely to post about their gaming habits on the internet. Perhaps I'm biased though, because the ranking crap is exactly the thing that turns me off the most about Live and games like WoW.

      You do make me wish it was easy to figure out what somebody's xbox gamer tag was though. It would be valuable information to have about somebody when deciding who to hire.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Aladrin ( 926209 )
        I'm not sure you can tell how good a worker someone will be by their gaming habits, really. I'm over 6000 points on XBL in just a couple months, surpassing all my friends with ease. It's what I do in my free time to relax. I'm positive my jobs thinks I'm an asset because they've told me in 2 ways: Verbally, and with a huge raise at 3 months. I'm talking a bigger raise ($ and %-wise) than my father ever got in his entire career as an industrial engineer. Nothing says 'we love you' like a huge raise.

        I w

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by ivan256 ( 17499 )
          I have to disagree with being in the minority, though. Think about all the bragging gamers do about their scores in various games, or their accomplishments. It's a HUGE part of gaming, and an even bigger part of online gaming. The new PSU has trophies you can win by beating the hardest bosses online. (It's more complicated than that, but still.)

          I'm thinking about all the gamers I know, and the only people I know who think like that (with the exception of one guy) are in the highschool to college age... And
  • So when Sony execs were running around for the past year making bone-headed statements that were so easily disproven it made President Bush look like an idiot savant, they weren't trying to craft the message about the PS3??? I fear for this guy, and the pile of crap he has stepped into. I fear what the PS3 marketing will look like now that they are *really* trying.
  • GS: Are you worried at all about Nintendo taking any marketshare from the PS3, or do you really feel like people will buy one HD console and the Wii?

    DK: Yeah, for us it's apples and oranges when you compare the PS3 with Wii. They've done a great job of saying exactly who they're going after, the casual gamer, the hardcore gamer, and we've said exactly who we're going after. And you can't, when you put the systems side by side technologically, and even price-wise, they just don't compare to each other.

    Okay,

    • Sure, Nintendo is trying to reach out to people who wouldn't normally game, and making it much easier for them to start. That's nice and all, but what all three companies are targeting is your time, on your TV.

      No, see, at the beginning there you start to get the point, but then you jump right by it. The "you" to which Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony's efforts are primarily directed are not the same. Sure, each of them would take anyone who wants to buy their machine, but their focus is not the same slice

      • Hmm... let me clarify. My arguement is for anyone who touts the philosophy Get a 360 + Wii, or a PS3 + Wii. Which is both MS and Sony. If I were MS or Sony, I would certainly want to endorse what looks like my least powerful competitor, but I really wouldn't mean it. If someone owns two systems, that means that both systems are going to fight for TV time for that consumer. And both Sony and MS know this.

        But with the console market saying you think your customers ought to purchase a different gaming sys

        • If someone owns two systems, that means that both systems are going to fight for TV time for that consumer.

          No, it doesn't. That assumes that TV time is fixed. Having systems (and presumably games: the only reason for one person to have two systems is because each is better for different kinds of games) that suit different moods means that you are more likely to want to sit in front of the TV and play games more of the time.

          The Xbox360 and the PS3 are more closely targetted to the same type of user and use

          • You still haven't addressed the issue. On gamer. Two systems. They WILL compete for TV time. You DO assume fixed time for gaming. 24hrs a day minus work, sleep, eating, etc. Sure, people with two systems likely play games more often, but that is still fixed time. Perhaps it will be more time with two systems, but you can't say that some guy goes home and games 2 hours a night will always play 4 hours with two systems (or 6 with three). Then again, you can't assume they won't.

            The software will utl

            • You still haven't addressed the issue. On gamer. Two systems. They WILL compete for TV time. You DO assume fixed time for gaming. 24hrs a day minus work, sleep, eating, etc.

              Er, "work", "sleeping", "eating" etc. are not constants. They can be varied, one factor in which is the relative importance of other activities (like, say, gaming.) And that relative importance is influenced by the options available for that activity. So, again, your presumption is wrong.

              Sure, people with two systems likely play games m

              • Sounds like you're arguing for the sake of arguing. You still haven't told me how to fit more than 24 hours in a day. Good day!
  • On Slate. Is the PlayStation 3 Any Good?A few things I hate--and one thing I love--about Sony's next-gen console.

    http://www.slate.com/id/2152794/fr/rss/ [slate.com]

    His conclusion. Can't wait for a Wii.

  • let me know when krakken has something to say.
  • It seems to me that all the negative press surrounding the PS3 is largely due to it's price, and due to the fact that the average fanboy teenager can't afford it. While I too believe it's a pricey console, the box itself offers a lot of features that I've been waiting for as a gamer for a long time:

    Hard drive standard - every PS3 comes with an hard disk, which means every developer can develop for it without excluding anyone.

    No region encoding for games - THIS IS HUGE! Have we as gamers not been waiting for
    • Hard drive standard - every PS3 comes with an hard disk, which means every developer can develop for it without excluding anyone.

      That is, assuming the developer has the cash to pay off Sony.

      No region encoding for games - THIS IS HUGE! Have we as gamers not been waiting for this since the beginning? It's finally here! We don't have to wait for marketing departments to choose what we may or may not like in a foreign game; it's all ours.

      Um, the Nintendo Gameboy/Gameboy Advance/Nintendo DS has never had regi

  • Sony needs to capitalize more on their music and movie assets and less on their high profile failures. Most of the attention is on a small number of high profile failures, despite the fact that Sony has had the most successful movie and music releases of our time.
  • The bastards, doing their job.

    How dare they.

    That tells me all what I need to know about the new "PR" person...

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