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Sony, the masters of spoiling the party

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Chittagong

Chittagong

Gold Member
The recent discussion on 8 Days and Getaway being just tech demos portrayed as games made me think of Sony's tactics overall to distract competition. Sony always comes up extremely strong at platform annoucements, and manages to disturb competition's game well.

To distract competition, Sony announces every possible demo it can come up with, or even a logo, as a "hot game for the platform". This gives the perception of an overwhelming catalog. See also: Gran Turismo Mobile, Devil May Cry PSP.

Then once the effect has been achieved, they (try to) quietly brush the FUD under the carpet. Usually they get away with it well.

Overall, Sony is a master in party pooper tactics. From PSP Japanese sub-$199 launch announcement (with a virtually non-shipping SKU) to showing empty PS3 mockup and calling it Spring 2006, and from displaying arrays of mockup game covers to trailer reels with CGI claimed to be real time, Sony is excellent in spoiling the party.

Now, you might say that "everybody shows work in progress stuff". But, I claim that nobody has left as many examples of products that never shipped as portrayed than Sony.

killzone-2-3.jpg


Killzone (PS3) demonstration - made in Lightwave, claimed to be realtime by "misinformed" company spokespeople.


gran-1.jpg
gtport.jpg


Gran Turismo Mobile. A game that probably had anything else than this PS2 track and boxart going for it... plus many people who got a PSP for it.


ps3_im_240505.jpg


PS3 mockup console. It was never going to fit this shell - that missed even all the vents.


8-Days-6.jpg


GetawayPS3ScreenTest_002.jpg


8 Days and Getaway for PS3. To tech demos carefully labelled to come across as games.


playstation3-3.jpg


PS3 with Dual HDMI jacks and three Ethernet jacks. Really.... really?


14c.jpg


Probably the biggest spoiler tactic ever. While it was clear in May 2005 that Spring 2006 was out of the question for the empty shell of a console, Sony positioned it close enough to Xbox 360 to keep people waiting... and then announced delay.


8277407862995931.JPG


Walls and walls of mockup content for PSP in E3 2004.
 
B

Busty

Banned
Sony's problem is that they run their SCE division like a business with fierce and capable competitors.

How do they sleep at night.
 
B

Bernbaum

Member
Hang on, one of the consoles is better than all of the others. I keep forgetting which one it is...

EDIT: Oh, it's the
ambiguous answer
.
 
R

Rlan

Member
You could expand the initially announced plans for GT HD and what you ended up getting.

But hey, they're actually releasing Afrika! :)
 
W

Witchfinder General

punched Wheelchair Mike
You forgot the mother of all Sony spoilers: Announcing and showing tech demos of the PS2 just months before the Dreamcast was set to launch.
 
W

wackojackosnose

Member
Chittagong said:
Then once the effect has been achieved, they (try to) quietly brush the FUD under the carpet. Usually they get away with it well.
Click to expand...

Interesting, but in the long run did they really get away with it?

There was all this talk about how PS2 / PS3 was going to be the must have all in one box that even Microsoft took note and entered the console / living room market, for fear of being overtaken by Sony. Now that MS have whittled away Sony's influence and dominance with their Xbox, I do find it poetic that Sony's FUD / overhyping, which helped cut down Sega and the Dreamcast, is largely responsible for their current position in the console market by forcing MS into the market.
 
U

Unregistered007

Banned
I think that E3 MS also showed a working 360 console with Mac in the back, thats quiet an irony considering 360's reliability is quiet opposite of the Mac's .. and Killzone 2 looks spectacular. Seconly the PSP software sales are were and always will be horrible considering everyone even here at NeoGaf pretends to be in the "HomeBrew" scene pirates games. I think SONY stopped bothering with High Profile PSP games there are usually one or 2 max big hyped games that do come out and they sell quiet well. So in a nut shell go in the corner and cry because not a single company has lived up to expectation, including ROCKSTAR what a mess GTA4 is ... just beyond belief.
 
W

Walshicus

Member
Metalmurphy said:
Wait, people are still complaining over the lack of 3 ethernet ports and 2 HDMIs? Really... Really?
Click to expand...
I don't think he was complaining, more as using that as one of many examples to support his claim.
 
P

pswii60

Member
Unregistered007 said:
I think that E3 MS also showed a working 360 console with Mac in the back, thats quiet an irony considering 360's reliability is quiet opposite of the Mac's .. and Killzone 2 looks spectacular. Seconly the PSP software sales are were and always will be horrible considering everyone even here at NeoGaf pretends to be in the "HomeBrew" scene pirates games. I think SONY stopped bothering with High Profile PSP games there are usually one or 2 max big hyped games that do come out and they sell quiet well. So in a nut shell go in the corner and cry because not a single company has lived up to expectation, including ROCKSTAR what a mess GTA4 is ... just beyond belief.
Click to expand...
I think Sony could easily have sorted out the PSP's piracy issues with the release of the redesigned Slim & Lite. But they didn't. Only themselves to blame.
 
U

Uncle

Member
Unregistered007 said:
I think that E3 MS also showed a working 360 console with Mac in the back, thats quiet an irony considering 360's reliability is quiet opposite of the Mac's ..
Click to expand...


Weren't those (non-final) dev kits?
 
T

Tony Rocky Horror

Member
I agree.. Those PSP titles all sounded sooo awesome. And the umd's look sexy, although you'll never see them while playing..

Edit:

ItAintEasyBeinCheesy said:
playstation3-3.jpg


Read bottom line of picture. Not saying im condoning it but meh, things change.
Click to expand...

That still confirms OP's point of Sony pretty much always hyping stuff up and then not being able to live up to it most of the times.

I mean come on, how many times have we seen/heard about Home already? That thing is just taking for ever!

Heck, they're fucking even hyping their patches! (Well maybe that's more thanks the community that hypes it..)
 
Chittagong

Chittagong

Gold Member
Cruzader said:
so we going back to 06 shit? Man some of you take this way too serious.
Click to expand...

Haha. No, this just came up again once more of the nature of 8 Days and Getaway was revealed this week. Also, it's quite timely just under E3 I'd say.

It's interesting that the model of this actually comes from the enormously successful Dreamcast spoiler tactic.

They pretty much took the same template and applied it to PSP and PS3 with mixed results. I wouldn't say that either one was a failure, and in fact, I think the "imminent arrival" of PS3 actually hurt 360 sales (well, that and the hw failures).

It'll be very interesting to see how they'll play the next portable (if they'll do one) and especially the next home console. They got burned pretty bad by journalists calling out their tactics this time - I don't thing they saw the FMV and "where are the vents" shitstorms coming.

EDIT: Also, having Mac G5s with an Xbox 360 shell bolted on front was borderline shady. Only thing that saved it in my books is the one working unit at the ATI booth.
 
A

AkuMifune

Banned
I could write an informed post about how these are standard marketing tactics taken by most competitive companies in any sector, but I'm too tired and this is obviously a joke thread or the OP is terribly ignorant.
 
G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
I think you're kind of pushing it a bit splitting the 'E3 05' PS3 into three bits :lol It's a fair point, but those were very, very minor changes that hardly mattered (and there were some positive changes also that were more significant). Re. the hardware delay..delays are practically the norm if you look beyond this generation. Wii was the first console in a couple of generations (at least) that shipped on time for Nintendo, for example.

I agree, though, with the cancellations of 8 days and the getaway that they shouldn't announce projects until they're fully 'approved', in full production...or at least, they shouldn't if they're not totally confident of it being greenlighted.
 
S

speedpop

Has problems recognising girls
Just remember that this is an industry run by businesses. It's up to the consumer what they think of silly things like this.
 
Chittagong

Chittagong

Gold Member
AkuMifune said:
I could write an informed post about how these are standard marketing tactics taken by most competitive companies in any sector, but I'm too tired and this is obviously a joke thread or the OP is terribly ignorant.
Click to expand...

I'm not claiming they are unique. What I'm saying is that Sony mastered the hype game. Microsoft couldn't come close. Nintendo did a pretty good job with the Wii controller + no game footage.
 
M

Metalmurphy

Member
Banzaiaap said:
Heck, they're fucking even hyping their patches! (Well maybe that's more thanks the community that hypes it..)
Click to expand...
Yeah... pretty stupid... you don't see the same happening about XBL Spring Updates n such!

Oh wait...




They're updates (not just patches) that bring new features, nothing wrong about being hyped about them.
 
T

Tony Rocky Horror

Member
Metalmurphy said:
Yeah... pretty stupid... you don't see the same happening about XBL Spring Updates n such!

Oh wait...




They're updates (not just patches) that bring new features, nothing wrong about being hyped about them.
Click to expand...
Agreed, but they're not AAA-games or something..

Right?




Right??
 
Z

Zedsdeadbaby

Banned
Sony/Guerilla is at least working their pants off making Killzone 2 look all the best it can be - and GTMobile is still on par for the course, Polyphony made the decision to divert the majority of resources to GT5.

As for the rest.... *weeps at Dreamcast shrine*
 
Yoshichan

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
8/10 thread.
 
B

Baha

Member
Every company has vaporware or even sometimes hardware that never gets released. It happens on a lot of platforms and is not exclusive to just Sony.
 
G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
If the point is, more simply, that Sony did a great job of spoiling Microsoft's party at E3 '05 with a fair bit of hot air, then that is certainly true. It's not like there's no impact for Sony when they're perceived not to deliver, though - the backlash was only a year away at E3 '06 and lingered for at least another 18 months.
 
W

Walshicus

Member
AkuMifune said:
I could write an informed post about how these are standard marketing tactics taken by most competitive companies in any sector, but I'm too tired and this is obviously a joke thread or the OP is terribly ignorant.
Click to expand...
Go for it. No, really - I'm genuinely interested this and the OP's sentiment feels true. I don't follow other tech sectors that much so I don't know the history of that tactic, but if you do and you know, then by all means please inform.
 
I

ItAintEasyBeinCheesy

it's 4th of July in my asshole
Banzaiaap said:
I agree.. Those PSP titles all sounded sooo awesome. And the umd's look sexy, although you'll never see them while playing..

Edit:



That still confirms OP's point of Sony pretty much always hyping stuff up and then not being able to live up to it most of the times.

I mean come on, how many times have we seen/heard about Home already? That thing is just taking for ever!

Heck, they're fucking even hyping their patches! (Well maybe that's more thanks the community that hypes it..)
Click to expand...

They line out their initial vision i guess and then put it in the realms of reality....... i mean Ken was in charge...... that mutha fuckas crazy, in a good way he looks to the future but yeah he gets reigned in. Things will undoubtedly be different next time round.

As for Home, we have never had a solid release date from Sony just a vague seasonal 0X thing and much like the Firmware its the fans who hype the shit out of it and who are then disappointed.
 
R

Ramenman

Member
I love how already half the posts in this thread thought this was an Anti-Sony thread. Do you really think someone would go through the trouble, and through the risk of doing such a thread on The NeoGAF if it was only a manner to say "SONY ARE A BUNCH OF LIARSSSZ" ?

The guy is just saying they do it well, and better than the two others.

Don't you think he has a point ?
 
Forsete

Forsete

Member
The shell was too small? Oh the tragedy!

3x Ethernet ports? I'd rather take that standard HDD. I agree that they should not announce games too early though, if they risk being canned. I guess they have learned that now, since games are now being announced just months before release. Siren for example, and has GoW3 even been officially announced?
 
D

DrXym

Member
I don't see it being some huge conspiracy.

3 ethernet jacks and 2 HDMI ports doesn't even make sense. Possibly 2 HDMI ports might be useful if the PS3 were originally intended a pass-thru device with PVR functionality. Or if Sony was worried that 1080p would require two outputs.

Otherwise nope.
 
M

Metalmurphy

Member
Forsete said:
The shell was too small? Oh the tragedy!

3x Ethernet ports? I'd rather take that standard HDD.
Click to expand...
Not to mention the HDMI being default on all SKUs.


But it's understandable, people only like to mention the negative things.
 
P

painful fart

Member
Metalmurphy said:
Wait, people are still complaining over the lack of 3 ethernet ports and 2 HDMIs? Really... Really?
Click to expand...
Yeah, I guess they are complaining about the harddrive that was added as well.

Anyways in war, love and marketing everything is allowed.

Sony isn´t worse than the rest of the pack.
 
P

Ponn

Banned
*checks watch*

Yup, just about time for E3. Time to hunker down with some popcorn and watch the crazies come out with their threads.
 
Haunted

Haunted

Member
Well yeah, they've really done some assholish moves in the past (just remember all the PR smack-talking), but if the loyal Sony fanboy consumer keeps supporting their products, they've done their job from a business standpoint. Shitty tactics or no.


edit: Nintendo and Microsoft also have done their fair share of stuff like that, of course.
not as much as Sony, though.
 
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