30 Helens agree: no one give’s a crap about the PlayStation anymore
Matt Hawkins Well, they didn’t use those exact words, but that’s pretty much the sentiment. Also, does Kids In The Hall references still work in 2012?
A bunch of industry analysts were asked what the future holds for Sony, and it’s murky at best. The basic consensus is that the PlayStation brand, and the Sony brand as a whole, doesn’t hold nearly as much weight as it used to.
It would seem that Sony has officially lost the system wars, to both Microsoft and Nintendo, to varying degrees. Regarding the PS3, everyone says pretty much the same thing: its track history has been spotty, but there’s still a chance to rally somewhat, if cards are played correctly. Something that’s been uttered for years now, and this would be fine if such a sentiment was voiced two, even three years into the system’s lifespan (actually, as noted, it has been). But the console is approaching its sixth birthday, with the PS4 not that far down the road.
Sure it’ll continue to do well, and after all is said and done, may even end up outselling the Xbox 360 and Wii (actually, probably not). But does that even matter at this point?
Sony is no longer the hot thing; when the first PlayStation arrived in 1995, it took the world by storm and changed the face of video games forever. But now, it’s part of the old guard. Something routine, as opposed to exceptional. Can’t be helped; nothing is cool forever. Right now, Apple is the hot property, and speaking as a diehard Mac user for many years, and someone who obsesses over his iPhone 4S to downright pathetic degrees, even I’m clear-mined enough to know that, in the end, something will eventually come along to knock it off its pedestal as well.
As for the Vita, what was somewhat of a guaranteed hit, despite the dominance of iOS, is not longer the case. After respectable numbers in Japan, sales of the system, along with overall interest, has waned considerably. And most recently, Amazon claimed that the 3G version was cancelled, which led to Sony going into complete damage control mode (not unlike how it was mistakenly claimed that The Last Guardian had also been axed). The worst part is, unlike the reaction towards the game being canned, not many were all that surprised.
A few of analysts agree that maybe there shouldn’t be a 3G version to begin in, cuz it might lead to costumer confusion. I personally don’t buy that; that certainly isn’t happening in the arena of the iPad, which also has a WiFi only model. Still, the basic overall message is clear, and that there is indeed a serious lack of “consumer excitement” as it pertains to the Sony and PlayStation brands.
To be honest, I’m shocked that the PS3 is still being supported. For a while there, early on, it honestly seemed like Sony was going to pull the plug on, but they’ve stuck with it. But perhaps out of necessity, and I have to wonder how excited folks are for the PS4 if they had totally screwed up the PS3. But to be honest, I don’t anyone that’s still looking forward to it. Yet the same could be said for the Wii U and Xbox 720.
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