Something really bad is going on in the upper echelons of Sony lately. The company seems to be seriously mismanaged, getting into all those bad PR disasters lately. What happened?
It seems that their electronic hardware business is still somewhat solid, but it seems that the future is uncertain. Sony’s success or failure depends on the outcome of the BlueRay vs HD DVD conflict. If HD DVD becomes more popular, and BlueRay stinks, they will be in trouble.
Their entertainment sector is in the dog house because of the DRM insanity. It’s a plain example of how to ruin your business, and create the worst internet publicity shitstorm of the century.
PSP for the most part seems to be despised in the gaming circles. This is mostly due to the fact that Sony keep breaking user hacks, and goes out of it’s way to kill all homegrown software. Contrast that with Nintendo which embraces homegrown movement and releases kits for amateur DS tweekers.
PS3 already seems to be a disaster and it haven’t been released yet. The price tag is insane, and the features seem to be lacking compared to what.. Er… Wiiiiii seems to be promising. I also hear that Sony is for some reason withholding dev kits so some games will be released with half-assed hardware support.
I’m not even going to mention the Star Wars “Nerf-o-Rama” Galaxies fiasco. If you are unfamiliar with that whole thing just go to a random gaming forum, and ask the locals what they think about how Sony is handling SWG. And then just sit back and watch and enjoy the hateful rants :P
They used to be the king of the console world, and an all over big-shot. I used to be a big Sony supporter. But lately… They just make me sick. They already lost me as a customer after the DRM deal.
But I figured that this mismanagement was limited to their music division. Unfortunately, I keep reading unfavorable Sony news every day. It seems that the incompetence, and sheer spite for own user base seems to be evenly distributed throughout the whole company. They are getting worse PR than Microsoft, and they are getting really close to RIAA on the user-hate-meter. It is really not easy to be as evil toward your customers as RIAA is – but Sony is managing it quire well.
I am definitely not going to buy a PS3 or any Sony equipment anytime soon.
Update Wed May 17 10:20:18 EDT 2006
Regarding BlueRay situation, here is a very interesting take on it found on Slashdot:
Slashdot User Deathlizard (115856) said:
I though of something when they were taking about how cheap the PS3 was since Bluray was implemented, and it’s doesn’t look good for Bluray. Basically, the PS3 is going to kill off Bluray, and I’ll tell you why.Lets say you’re a manufacture of equipment and are choosing which player to make. The HD-DVD player is easier to build and cheaper, while the Bluray player is more expensive but has more storage and possibly better quality video. Now, when you look at your bottom line you can sell an HD-DVD player for $500-$700 but your Bluray player will sell around $800-$1000.
Now, here comes Sony with their BluRay equipped $500-$600 PS3. You know that you’ll be selling your Bluray player at a loss if you sell it any less than $800 and you know anyone that wants a Bluray player will just get a PS3 since it’s cheaper. You also know you can’t compete against it with Bluray but can easily compete with an HD-DVD player and even the XBOX 360 plus HD-DVD will be in that $500-$700 competitive range your player will be in.
As a manufacture looking out for your Shareholders, what are you going to build?
Basically, the PS3 will be the only Bluray player in the market because it will drive the market away from it and toward the cheaper HD-DVD. That is until Bluray drops in price, and by then, the format war will be over and HD-DVD will be the winner. >>
This nicely supports my point. Sony seems to be working overtime trying to shoot itself in the foot. Go figure.