Now, I won't say that Sony's got only one problem with strategy and PR: obviously there are plenty to choose from. But this quote regarding the new 40gb PS3 from the Wall Street Journal today really seems to get to the heart of the problem:

No surprises here -- we knew the real motivation had to be something like this. But to hear it out of his own mouth is really something.

This attitude, I think, is a prime example of what's wrong with Sony's strategy: instead of convincing consumers to support the PS3, they try to trick them into supporting it. Instead of giving consumers something they want, they give them something they don't want and tell them they do.

This pattern goes back to the beginning. "The PS3 is too cheap," they said before release. "BluRay is necessary for HD games," "Rumble is incompatible with motion controls." "Rumble is a last-gen feature." When the first price drop came, they claimed the new 80 gig model would be the only version available soon, and that it would have no price drop. When the 40gb came to Europe, they claimed the other, BC-enabled, models would be phased out so people would run out and buy them. And so it goes on.

 All of these things were lies (well, the Europe one hasn't been proven yet, but it will be) fabricated for some short-term gain, to trick the consumer into buying something he doesn't want. The problem with this strategy is that it relies on customers having no long-term memory. Is the puny boost in sales from these moves really worth the PR hit and the lingering bad feelings against them? Do they really think people are going to be fooled into buying a bunch of PS3 games they don't want just because they can't play PS2 games on the machine? And even if they are (and even if the lack of BC justifies the inflated price of the other models for customers), wouldn't it have made a lot more sense over the long term to just keep backwards compatibility, make a whole pile of customers happy instead of bitter, and sell a hell of a lot more units?

 But that's not the way that Sony works. And it's killing them.

I just think the problem is the PS3 cost too much out of the gate, as such it's not the "cool system" like the PS2 was last generation.

That and America is the most critical videogame market, and Americans more often then not want "the best" version of a product so the lower spec models at cheaper prices just arn't as likely to do well.

 Well that and their original marketing campaign was just creepy.

Rather than pinpoint one single individual factor, I think Sony's plan for the PS3 has failed on several levels all of which have culminated to the situation Sony now finds itself in.

However.  None of that matters.  All that matters now is what Sony plans to do now and for the future.

Totally agreed. I know for a fact that there are customers in Europe who are feeling quite pressured to buy a PS3 now due to the things you mentioned. I hope this will bite Sony in the ass because it's a total disrespect for their customers...

One thing is to not announce price cuts in advance, we can all agree that that's necessary for business to keep going before the price cuts arrive... another thing is to threaten your customers about discontinuing BC if they have no plans to do it.

I guess that my point is that SCEE is doing one of two things now:

1- Stupidly underestimating the value of having BC on the PS3.
2- Bullying their customers into making them buy something they're not ready to buy yet.

And my bet goes to number 2.

Sony's main problem is their long-term memory. They should quit living in the past. And analysts are worse because they talk of Sony's successes with the PS1 and PS2 and assume the PS3 will win in the end. That is not the case this time. Unfortunately, Sony's tactic of 'Take what we give you because you'll buy it anyhow' is not working as expected. What I find laughable is - how Sony is going in circles with the PS3. They initially had the 20gb model that was stripped down - and took it off life support almost immediately. Then, the 60gb wasn't moving as fast as they liked and they axed it. Now, the 80gb without hardware emulation is here but at a high price point - hence why they *added* the 40gb crippled. And what's really sad? The 20gb has more features! Correct me if I am wrong but ...

The Wii has showed two things that can't be overlooked - that gameplay, not graphics (as always known) sells consoles - and that price DOES matter. The 360 proved that, like the PS2, reability doesn't matter if the system has awesome games. Gamers are forgiving if they have something to look forward to - but lack of games? Look out.

Right now, Sony is trying to find a winning formula and will do anything, even drop *core values* (Phi Harrison, May 2006) to make a quick buck. What will they get in the end? A lot of folks will be even more likely to avoid them in the next gen fight. Don't think folks aren't still peeved by the disk read drama.

Oh yeah - gamers have long memories. And pissing them off with hollow promises will only hurt them in the long run.

First they say the 20gb version isn't selling because consumers want a fully featured PS3.

The solution? Make a a stripped down PS3.

Does not compute. 

It helps to play the theme from Benny Hill whenever reading any of their press releases. Things tend to become clearer that way.

For those of you too young to know what the hell I'm talking about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spz8_rpE0e0

When did you become a mod rocketpig?

ssj12 is also a mod :-0

About an hour ago.