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A recent article I read courtesy of an online gaming site concerning the expectations of the next year, and the potential advancements we can expect to see in the industry acted as a catalyst for this post. After reading the article, a number of issues were raised in my mind, most notably whether I personally, having praised Sony’s PS2 console and openly admitted my intentions to stick by it regardless of the competition from rival companies, would feel cheated should Sony FAIL to deliver on one particular promise.
The marketing campaign that begun soon after Sony’s official announcement concerning the release of PS2 focused on a number of key elements. One of the most instantly noticeable improvements over the PS1 is obviously the improved power of the console in all areas. This, as with all consoles, obviously formed a large part of the campaign’s designed to entice us to invest in the new console, but much was also made of the ‘emotion’ chip (which we were lead to believe would GREATLY enhance the way we play and enjoy games), the superb support from third-party developers, AND, Sony’s plans for the PS2 being more than just a games console.
Possibly the one thing that we read most about during the months leading up to the release of the PS2 was Sony’s plans to make the console an entertainment system in it’s truest form, and not just a platform for games playing. We were informed that a massive hard drive would soon be available allowing us to play games quicker, save huge amounts of data, and be of great benefit to all PS2 owners. And, in conjunction with the release of an official Sony modem, it was suggested that we’d soon be able to download add-ons and updates to games, as well as even downloading music and even films directly to the hard-drive! Whether or not many of us made a conscious decision to buy a PS2 because of this ‘entertainment-system’ prospect is irrelevant. The fact is, most of us were well aware of this information when we purchased our consoles, and there are undoubtedly a huge number of people who were GREATLY affected by this promise. Such people thus opted for the PS2 system over another console such as the Gamecube that had not made any intentions for a hard-drive or full internet connection (of the ‘interactive-entertainment’ variety rather than simply games-playing).
However, how near are we to the prospect of full online gaming and making use of the PS2 as an ‘entertainment-system’? There are NO signs from Sony that either the modem or the hard-drive will be with us anytime soon. With no official date’s confirmed, or even any specific details on the hardware, Sony have showed no signs of living up to the promises yet.
The website who published the article in question made their own predictions for the future year, in particular for PS2 owners, and openly stated their feelings that we would be lucky to see a hard-drive add-on and modem (at least in the form as promised by Sony) before the release of the rumoured PS3 (which we can only expect MUST be in early design stages).
This is where I began to question, even though I bought my PS2 purely for gaming-purposes and was not enticed in any way shape or form by the prospect of online gaming OR any other form of internet related streaming entertainment (video/audio etc.) would I feel cheated if these promises really DID amount to nothing? Would I feel bitter towards Sony if the type of interactive entertainment promises was not delivered before the arrival of their next (and undoubtedly massively expensive) console?
The answer, I found, was yes. I would. To be perfectly honest, as already stated, it wouldn’t matter to me in the slightest if Sony didn’t deliver on the whole ‘entertainment-system’ idea, because I’m quite happy with my PS2 as it is, just simply playing games and watching DVD’s. But, that cannot detract from the fact that a MASSIVE amount of the marketing campaign was filled with lies. It cannot detract from the simple point that Sony have sold their console to be MUCH more than it really is, and there’s undoubtedly a lot of people who’ve spent £300 (or more recently £200) only to find that we have been manipulated, and have NOT received what we were lead to believe we would.
Britain isn’t ready for broadband connection ANYWAY, but Sony knew this, and as such why did they promise something that cannot be delivered? The reality is we’re unlikely to have this sort of broadband interactivity for a LONG time, and it’s certainly unlikely that we’ll be unable to achieve the things stated on just a regular 56k modem.
Is Sony really the money-grabbing corporation we always suspected it might be? Are they REALLY prepared to sell a console on merits that are not applicable to that particular machine?
I believe that this question will be answered within the next 12 months or so, and I strongly believe that if Sony fails to deliver, they will be a failure in any future involvement in the gaming industry. There are already many who would not buy a Sony console out of principal, and like myself, if the promises made by Sony are NOT met, many more will turn against the company who are currently leading the market.
I didn’t buy my PS2 for Sony’s so called ‘interactive-entertainment’ plans, nor did I buy it to be an ‘entertainment-system’ on ANY level other than games-playing. But, I’ll STILL be furious if I feel I’ve been proved in any way gullible by the company who SHOULD be moving this industry forward.
It has been said that the industry today is more reliant on the powers of marketing and advertising campaigns than of the actual quality of a companies console/games, but if this means we end up buying consoles under false-pretensions, then maybe we really ARE taking a backward step.
A failure to deliver = failure?
The marketing campaign that begun soon after Sony’s official announcement concerning the release of PS2 focused on a number of key elements. One of the most instantly noticeable improvements over the PS1 is obviously the improved power of the console in all areas. This, as with all consoles, obviously formed a large part of the campaign’s designed to entice us to invest in the new console, but much was also made of the ‘emotion’ chip (which we were lead to believe would GREATLY enhance the way we play and enjoy games), the superb support from third-party developers, AND, Sony’s plans for the PS2 being more than just a games console.
Possibly the one thing that we read most about during the months leading up to the release of the PS2 was Sony’s plans to make the console an entertainment system in it’s truest form, and not just a platform for games playing. We were informed that a massive hard drive would soon be available allowing us to play games quicker, save huge amounts of data, and be of great benefit to all PS2 owners. And, in conjunction with the release of an official Sony modem, it was suggested that we’d soon be able to download add-ons and updates to games, as well as even downloading music and even films directly to the hard-drive! Whether or not many of us made a conscious decision to buy a PS2 because of this ‘entertainment-system’ prospect is irrelevant. The fact is, most of us were well aware of this information when we purchased our consoles, and there are undoubtedly a huge number of people who were GREATLY affected by this promise. Such people thus opted for the PS2 system over another console such as the Gamecube that had not made any intentions for a hard-drive or full internet connection (of the ‘interactive-entertainment’ variety rather than simply games-playing).
However, how near are we to the prospect of full online gaming and making use of the PS2 as an ‘entertainment-system’? There are NO signs from Sony that either the modem or the hard-drive will be with us anytime soon. With no official date’s confirmed, or even any specific details on the hardware, Sony have showed no signs of living up to the promises yet.
The website who published the article in question made their own predictions for the future year, in particular for PS2 owners, and openly stated their feelings that we would be lucky to see a hard-drive add-on and modem (at least in the form as promised by Sony) before the release of the rumoured PS3 (which we can only expect MUST be in early design stages).
This is where I began to question, even though I bought my PS2 purely for gaming-purposes and was not enticed in any way shape or form by the prospect of online gaming OR any other form of internet related streaming entertainment (video/audio etc.) would I feel cheated if these promises really DID amount to nothing? Would I feel bitter towards Sony if the type of interactive entertainment promises was not delivered before the arrival of their next (and undoubtedly massively expensive) console?
The answer, I found, was yes. I would. To be perfectly honest, as already stated, it wouldn’t matter to me in the slightest if Sony didn’t deliver on the whole ‘entertainment-system’ idea, because I’m quite happy with my PS2 as it is, just simply playing games and watching DVD’s. But, that cannot detract from the fact that a MASSIVE amount of the marketing campaign was filled with lies. It cannot detract from the simple point that Sony have sold their console to be MUCH more than it really is, and there’s undoubtedly a lot of people who’ve spent £300 (or more recently £200) only to find that we have been manipulated, and have NOT received what we were lead to believe we would.
Britain isn’t ready for broadband connection ANYWAY, but Sony knew this, and as such why did they promise something that cannot be delivered? The reality is we’re unlikely to have this sort of broadband interactivity for a LONG time, and it’s certainly unlikely that we’ll be unable to achieve the things stated on just a regular 56k modem.
Is Sony really the money-grabbing corporation we always suspected it might be? Are they REALLY prepared to sell a console on merits that are not applicable to that particular machine?
I believe that this question will be answered within the next 12 months or so, and I strongly believe that if Sony fails to deliver, they will be a failure in any future involvement in the gaming industry. There are already many who would not buy a Sony console out of principal, and like myself, if the promises made by Sony are NOT met, many more will turn against the company who are currently leading the market.
I didn’t buy my PS2 for Sony’s so called ‘interactive-entertainment’ plans, nor did I buy it to be an ‘entertainment-system’ on ANY level other than games-playing. But, I’ll STILL be furious if I feel I’ve been proved in any way gullible by the company who SHOULD be moving this industry forward.
It has been said that the industry today is more reliant on the powers of marketing and advertising campaigns than of the actual quality of a companies console/games, but if this means we end up buying consoles under false-pretensions, then maybe we really ARE taking a backward step.
A failure to deliver = failure?
½pint wrote:
> I thought that the PS2 ad campaign was a loud of pants. 'Ooo, the third place,
> oo yay'. Great. Now though, I see billboards everywhere, and ads on TVs.
> Almost every bus I see has a PS2 ad on the side announcing the £200. Now,
> the campaign is good, but at launch? NAAAAA.
This is a great point. I think the thing is, Sony really needed something special to advertise, and at launch didn't really have anything. How can you advertise a new console without really having anything specific to use as the marketing idea?
Now that it's at £200 though there's a lot of material for them to work with because obviously it's affordable to the mass-market now.
There can be no doubting that the campaign DID help sell some of the 5 million PS2's that were sold over the Christmas period. Sony know how to do these things, and it was a VERY convienient time to change the price of the console.
> I thought that the PS2 ad campaign was a loud of pants. 'Ooo, the third place,
> oo yay'. Great. Now though, I see billboards everywhere, and ads on TVs.
> Almost every bus I see has a PS2 ad on the side announcing the £200. Now,
> the campaign is good, but at launch? NAAAAA.
This is a great point. I think the thing is, Sony really needed something special to advertise, and at launch didn't really have anything. How can you advertise a new console without really having anything specific to use as the marketing idea?
Now that it's at £200 though there's a lot of material for them to work with because obviously it's affordable to the mass-market now.
There can be no doubting that the campaign DID help sell some of the 5 million PS2's that were sold over the Christmas period. Sony know how to do these things, and it was a VERY convienient time to change the price of the console.
First off, thanks to anyone who praised my post. I assure you I didn't copy it. What's the point in posting someone else's work for discussion? Here's hoping SR agree on the GAD part - lol.
Anyhow, on with my response.
And surely if you didn't buy your PS2 as anything other than a games
> machine, then you shouldn't feel gullible, as you've got exactly what you
> wanted?
Exactly. I did get what I wanted, but my point is i'll still feel extremely gullible for ever beleiving that Sony were going to come up with this fabulous 'entertainment-system' thing. And anyhow, just because it wasn't my primary concern, it doesn't mean I won't feel bitter towards the company for not delivering on it's promise.
This is about more than what I wanted, it's about principals, and it's about the way we're treated as consuers.
Secondly, I didn't mean that the whole marketing and advertising campaign in general dealt with the 'entertainment-system' concept, but if you read articles in ANY games-magazine (obviously we're talking PS and multi-format magazines) the whole online idea was talked about constantly.
Similarly, i've lost count how many times various people of Sony's upper tier of gaming personal have spoken about this tremendous vision. How many times have interviews resulted in someone saying "Well, this isn't a games console, it's an entertainment system, and you'll soon be able to do this with it"
Anyhow, on with my response.
And surely if you didn't buy your PS2 as anything other than a games
> machine, then you shouldn't feel gullible, as you've got exactly what you
> wanted?
Exactly. I did get what I wanted, but my point is i'll still feel extremely gullible for ever beleiving that Sony were going to come up with this fabulous 'entertainment-system' thing. And anyhow, just because it wasn't my primary concern, it doesn't mean I won't feel bitter towards the company for not delivering on it's promise.
This is about more than what I wanted, it's about principals, and it's about the way we're treated as consuers.
Secondly, I didn't mean that the whole marketing and advertising campaign in general dealt with the 'entertainment-system' concept, but if you read articles in ANY games-magazine (obviously we're talking PS and multi-format magazines) the whole online idea was talked about constantly.
Similarly, i've lost count how many times various people of Sony's upper tier of gaming personal have spoken about this tremendous vision. How many times have interviews resulted in someone saying "Well, this isn't a games console, it's an entertainment system, and you'll soon be able to do this with it"
Yeah, the third place, where it belongs! More like the 't**d place', not in this real world!
I thought that the PS2 ad campaign was a loud of pants. 'Ooo, the third place, oo yay'. Great. Now though, I see billboards everywhere, and ads on TVs. Almost every bus I see has a PS2 ad on the side announcing the £200. Now, the campaign is good, but at launch? NAAAAA.
Umm, admitedly, I didn't pay a huge amount of notice to Sony's earlier marketing campaign, as it was a foregone conclusion that I'd get a PS2, being a console-****e. But I don't remember a huge bias towards those elements that you mention outside of the gaming press. That's just as likely to be my Emmental-style memory tho.
And it is a DVD player too, so they at least delivered on that, even if they did try to screw us with the green-screen thing.
And surely if you didn't buy your PS2 as anything other than a games machine, then you shouldn't feel gullible, as you've got exactly what you wanted?
And also, it's been done to the consumer time and time again. The MegaCD, Dreamcast's limited online capabilies to name but two.
Get used to it.
And it is a DVD player too, so they at least delivered on that, even if they did try to screw us with the green-screen thing.
And surely if you didn't buy your PS2 as anything other than a games machine, then you shouldn't feel gullible, as you've got exactly what you wanted?
And also, it's been done to the consumer time and time again. The MegaCD, Dreamcast's limited online capabilies to name but two.
Get used to it.
slave2games wrote:
> Since everybody says I copy my posts, i'm going to rebel against those people
> and say he hasn't. Just be happy for him that he has typed a great post and is
> worthy of a GAD if he gets it.
---------
Yeh, If its honest then a GAD should be on order :).
> Since everybody says I copy my posts, i'm going to rebel against those people
> and say he hasn't. Just be happy for him that he has typed a great post and is
> worthy of a GAD if he gets it.
---------
Yeh, If its honest then a GAD should be on order :).
Yeah I seem to remember ADH writing good posts before so I doubt this is copied.
Since everybody says I copy my posts, i'm going to rebel against those people and say he hasn't. Just be happy for him that he has typed a great post and is worthy of a GAD if he gets it.
Did you copy this?
A recent article I read courtesy of an online gaming site concerning the expectations of the next year, and the potential advancements we can expect to see in the industry acted as a catalyst for this post. After reading the article, a number of issues were raised in my mind, most notably whether I personally, having praised Sony’s PS2 console and openly admitted my intentions to stick by it regardless of the competition from rival companies, would feel cheated should Sony FAIL to deliver on one particular promise.
The marketing campaign that begun soon after Sony’s official announcement concerning the release of PS2 focused on a number of key elements. One of the most instantly noticeable improvements over the PS1 is obviously the improved power of the console in all areas. This, as with all consoles, obviously formed a large part of the campaign’s designed to entice us to invest in the new console, but much was also made of the ‘emotion’ chip (which we were lead to believe would GREATLY enhance the way we play and enjoy games), the superb support from third-party developers, AND, Sony’s plans for the PS2 being more than just a games console.
Possibly the one thing that we read most about during the months leading up to the release of the PS2 was Sony’s plans to make the console an entertainment system in it’s truest form, and not just a platform for games playing. We were informed that a massive hard drive would soon be available allowing us to play games quicker, save huge amounts of data, and be of great benefit to all PS2 owners. And, in conjunction with the release of an official Sony modem, it was suggested that we’d soon be able to download add-ons and updates to games, as well as even downloading music and even films directly to the hard-drive! Whether or not many of us made a conscious decision to buy a PS2 because of this ‘entertainment-system’ prospect is irrelevant. The fact is, most of us were well aware of this information when we purchased our consoles, and there are undoubtedly a huge number of people who were GREATLY affected by this promise. Such people thus opted for the PS2 system over another console such as the Gamecube that had not made any intentions for a hard-drive or full internet connection (of the ‘interactive-entertainment’ variety rather than simply games-playing).
However, how near are we to the prospect of full online gaming and making use of the PS2 as an ‘entertainment-system’? There are NO signs from Sony that either the modem or the hard-drive will be with us anytime soon. With no official date’s confirmed, or even any specific details on the hardware, Sony have showed no signs of living up to the promises yet.
The website who published the article in question made their own predictions for the future year, in particular for PS2 owners, and openly stated their feelings that we would be lucky to see a hard-drive add-on and modem (at least in the form as promised by Sony) before the release of the rumoured PS3 (which we can only expect MUST be in early design stages).
This is where I began to question, even though I bought my PS2 purely for gaming-purposes and was not enticed in any way shape or form by the prospect of online gaming OR any other form of internet related streaming entertainment (video/audio etc.) would I feel cheated if these promises really DID amount to nothing? Would I feel bitter towards Sony if the type of interactive entertainment promises was not delivered before the arrival of their next (and undoubtedly massively expensive) console?
The answer, I found, was yes. I would. To be perfectly honest, as already stated, it wouldn’t matter to me in the slightest if Sony didn’t deliver on the whole ‘entertainment-system’ idea, because I’m quite happy with my PS2 as it is, just simply playing games and watching DVD’s. But, that cannot detract from the fact that a MASSIVE amount of the marketing campaign was filled with lies. It cannot detract from the simple point that Sony have sold their console to be MUCH more than it really is, and there’s undoubtedly a lot of people who’ve spent £300 (or more recently £200) only to find that we have been manipulated, and have NOT received what we were lead to believe we would.
Britain isn’t ready for broadband connection ANYWAY, but Sony knew this, and as such why did they promise something that cannot be delivered? The reality is we’re unlikely to have this sort of broadband interactivity for a LONG time, and it’s certainly unlikely that we’ll be unable to achieve the things stated on just a regular 56k modem.
Is Sony really the money-grabbing corporation we always suspected it might be? Are they REALLY prepared to sell a console on merits that are not applicable to that particular machine?
I believe that this question will be answered within the next 12 months or so, and I strongly believe that if Sony fails to deliver, they will be a failure in any future involvement in the gaming industry. There are already many who would not buy a Sony console out of principal, and like myself, if the promises made by Sony are NOT met, many more will turn against the company who are currently leading the market.
I didn’t buy my PS2 for Sony’s so called ‘interactive-entertainment’ plans, nor did I buy it to be an ‘entertainment-system’ on ANY level other than games-playing. But, I’ll STILL be furious if I feel I’ve been proved in any way gullible by the company who SHOULD be moving this industry forward.
It has been said that the industry today is more reliant on the powers of marketing and advertising campaigns than of the actual quality of a companies console/games, but if this means we end up buying consoles under false-pretensions, then maybe we really ARE taking a backward step.
A failure to deliver = failure?
The marketing campaign that begun soon after Sony’s official announcement concerning the release of PS2 focused on a number of key elements. One of the most instantly noticeable improvements over the PS1 is obviously the improved power of the console in all areas. This, as with all consoles, obviously formed a large part of the campaign’s designed to entice us to invest in the new console, but much was also made of the ‘emotion’ chip (which we were lead to believe would GREATLY enhance the way we play and enjoy games), the superb support from third-party developers, AND, Sony’s plans for the PS2 being more than just a games console.
Possibly the one thing that we read most about during the months leading up to the release of the PS2 was Sony’s plans to make the console an entertainment system in it’s truest form, and not just a platform for games playing. We were informed that a massive hard drive would soon be available allowing us to play games quicker, save huge amounts of data, and be of great benefit to all PS2 owners. And, in conjunction with the release of an official Sony modem, it was suggested that we’d soon be able to download add-ons and updates to games, as well as even downloading music and even films directly to the hard-drive! Whether or not many of us made a conscious decision to buy a PS2 because of this ‘entertainment-system’ prospect is irrelevant. The fact is, most of us were well aware of this information when we purchased our consoles, and there are undoubtedly a huge number of people who were GREATLY affected by this promise. Such people thus opted for the PS2 system over another console such as the Gamecube that had not made any intentions for a hard-drive or full internet connection (of the ‘interactive-entertainment’ variety rather than simply games-playing).
However, how near are we to the prospect of full online gaming and making use of the PS2 as an ‘entertainment-system’? There are NO signs from Sony that either the modem or the hard-drive will be with us anytime soon. With no official date’s confirmed, or even any specific details on the hardware, Sony have showed no signs of living up to the promises yet.
The website who published the article in question made their own predictions for the future year, in particular for PS2 owners, and openly stated their feelings that we would be lucky to see a hard-drive add-on and modem (at least in the form as promised by Sony) before the release of the rumoured PS3 (which we can only expect MUST be in early design stages).
This is where I began to question, even though I bought my PS2 purely for gaming-purposes and was not enticed in any way shape or form by the prospect of online gaming OR any other form of internet related streaming entertainment (video/audio etc.) would I feel cheated if these promises really DID amount to nothing? Would I feel bitter towards Sony if the type of interactive entertainment promises was not delivered before the arrival of their next (and undoubtedly massively expensive) console?
The answer, I found, was yes. I would. To be perfectly honest, as already stated, it wouldn’t matter to me in the slightest if Sony didn’t deliver on the whole ‘entertainment-system’ idea, because I’m quite happy with my PS2 as it is, just simply playing games and watching DVD’s. But, that cannot detract from the fact that a MASSIVE amount of the marketing campaign was filled with lies. It cannot detract from the simple point that Sony have sold their console to be MUCH more than it really is, and there’s undoubtedly a lot of people who’ve spent £300 (or more recently £200) only to find that we have been manipulated, and have NOT received what we were lead to believe we would.
Britain isn’t ready for broadband connection ANYWAY, but Sony knew this, and as such why did they promise something that cannot be delivered? The reality is we’re unlikely to have this sort of broadband interactivity for a LONG time, and it’s certainly unlikely that we’ll be unable to achieve the things stated on just a regular 56k modem.
Is Sony really the money-grabbing corporation we always suspected it might be? Are they REALLY prepared to sell a console on merits that are not applicable to that particular machine?
I believe that this question will be answered within the next 12 months or so, and I strongly believe that if Sony fails to deliver, they will be a failure in any future involvement in the gaming industry. There are already many who would not buy a Sony console out of principal, and like myself, if the promises made by Sony are NOT met, many more will turn against the company who are currently leading the market.
I didn’t buy my PS2 for Sony’s so called ‘interactive-entertainment’ plans, nor did I buy it to be an ‘entertainment-system’ on ANY level other than games-playing. But, I’ll STILL be furious if I feel I’ve been proved in any way gullible by the company who SHOULD be moving this industry forward.
It has been said that the industry today is more reliant on the powers of marketing and advertising campaigns than of the actual quality of a companies console/games, but if this means we end up buying consoles under false-pretensions, then maybe we really ARE taking a backward step.
A failure to deliver = failure?