PS3 Slim Jolts The Sony Camp

8 Sep 2009

Who would have thought we’d ever be uttering the words “Sony is making a comeback”? 5 years ago, we would have been laughed at.

Hard.

But this is our current reality: Nintendo is still winning in overall sales, Microsoft is second, and Sony is in third. Sony’s position is actually better than most perceive, but the competitive nature in human beings tend to ignore some of the supporting facts. I digress.

Recently Sony pleased the gaming community by announcing a much anticipated $100 price drop and a brand new, “PS3 Slim” model. Some analysts believed this wouldn’t change a thing in their warped scope of the console race, but like always, I took a “let’s wait and see” approach.

It’s been a few days and some of the sales estimates have been released:

999% sales increase (Week over Week) in the UK
150,000 units sold in Japan (1500% increase week over week) – Launch number was 90,000

Judging by the large percentage increases, it’s easy to assume that sales were pitiful to begin with, or lots of people were waiting for a price drop on the PS3. Either way, Sony is in a better position than before.

It’s not just sales, but Sony has launched a very successful new marketing campaign. The slogan of “It Only Does Everything” is sticking with gamers whether they like it or not. The witty advertisements are not only making the Sony faithful sigh with relief, but they’re also attracting the “curious” gamer crowd. These guys are thinking, “I wonder how those PS3 exclusives are”, “I wonder if I’ll like Blu-ray”, “Will my friends get one if I get one?” (Yes, there are kids who ask that last question, believe it or not)

It’s amazing what proper marketing and successful sales figures does to the public perception: Yesterday, I streamed gameplay of a popular PS3 exclusive game called Killzone 2. As users came and watched, I saw a lot of statements like:

“Wow, I’d get a PS3 for this”
“How much does it cost?”
“What does that/this/that do?”
“This is better than CoD4 ever was” [Yes, that's an actual quote]

Before the price drop/new SKU, I would see this:

“PS3 Sucks”
“No one plays online on KZ2″
“It’s a dead game”
“PS3 Sucks, I feel sorry for you guys”

I could go on and on. I still get these kinds of negative comments, but much less than before.

Public perception definitely influences opinions of the PS3. People who bashed the Playstation 3 before, are now looking closer at upcoming exclusives like “Uncharted 2: Among Thieves” (My Game of the Year prediction), “MAG“, “Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack In Time“, and “Heavy Rain“. Playstation Network exclusives like “Fat Princess” are also drawing a lot of attention (See my review here)

What does all this mean in the end? No one really knows. The fact is this: The PS3 is gaining incredible momentum and is shaping up to be the big shake-up story in the console war. I only wish my friends list weren’t full so I could play with all the new PS3 owners out there.

Tags: consoles, gaming, playstation 3, price drop, PS3, slim

6 Responses to PS3 Slim Jolts The Sony Camp

kwonstein

September 8th, 2009 at 8:16 pm

I still think it’s too early to tell what would happen to this momentum but I think it’s pretty obvious that these new marketing moves by Sony would do the Playstation brand good. And even before the Slim announcement, PS3 has actually been on a very slooooow momentum, though there have been downs along the way (especially holiday sales of 2008).
Public perception is everything though and I’m glad people are finally, finally starting to see the system as more than a grill that’s only good for blu-rays with no good exclusives. How and why people viewed the PS3 even after KZ2, Infamous and MGS4 were released baffles me but I blame it on Sony’s awful marketing.
Now with the new “It Only Does Everything,” I sincerely hope that even if it continues in 3rd place in sales, that people give PS3 the respect it deserves.

Robert

October 1st, 2009 at 4:15 am

I agree, I think the PS3 is in a stronger position in the console war with the drop in price and the new console. Although with Microsoft dropping the Elite to $249, it means that if Sony’s plan all along was to match the price of a technically inferior console – it has failed, but it has a good bright side nonetheless.

Also, when you look at the PSP Go, it is the same price as the top end 360 – that has angered gamers and may hurt PSP sales. Just when I thought Sony were winning over gamers fully . . .