Spong - Interview with Kaz Hirai

[FJ-Warez]

HappySqurriel said:

Wow, I'm shocked by how oversensitive some people are becomming ...

The comment "When we launched the PS2, the Dreamcast had a head-start and they had an installed base and we had to ensure we caught up and surpassed." is what most people are going to gravitate towards for a wide variety of reasons:

1. The PS2 was (at the time) the fastest selling console of all time, had demand which was far greater than supply for months after release, and third party publishers loved the system because it was amazingly popular. Any mention of the PS2's sales from a Sony executive in relation to the PS3 is bound to bring up comparisons between the two systems which are not favourable.
2. The Dreamcast was a great little system which regardless of the quality of games that were released, its affordable price, or the advanced (for its time) online system failed to generate sales and had its life cut very short. Any mention of the Dreamcast from Sony is bound to bring up comparisons between the PS3 and the Dreamcast which will not be particularly favourable to Sony.
3. Beyond the price, technical, and sales problems the biggest problem Sony has had over the past few years is a serious PR problem. Sony executives have not know what to talk about, when to talk about it, and more importantly what not to say. Kaz Hirai is supposed to be part of Sony's fix to these problems and he appears to be just as bad as every other Sony executive.

I'm not trying to be a dink here, this was one of the worst comments Kaz Hirai could have made. His initial comments on the Playstation were reasonable and he could have expanded them with the (see through) "10 year life" comments that Sony has been pushing for awhile; he could have made a comment along the line of "With the release of the PSP Lite and Final Fantasy in Japan we have seen a large increase in demand for our system and it is currently passing the demand for the Nintendo DS. At Sony we believe that when you mix the right software with the right hardware you will get the right results. In 2008 the PS3 will see the release of Metal Gear, Gran Turismo, and Final Fantasy which we believe is the right software to demonstrate why the PS3 is the right hardware."

 

 

Basically, looking at the interviewer with a blank stare and an open mouth that is causing drool to spill down your chin and form a puddle at your feet would have been a better response than what he said.

Please, after this gen, ask for a PR job at Sony's place; you will do it better anytime...