Seven Ways to Turn Around the PlayStation 3
Via Game Pro
You could view the current situation of the PS3 in one of two ways; either everything is going as planned and the geniuses at Sony are gifted with insane amounts of foresight, or things could be better. Being that Sony appears a little bit, shall we say, defensive about the whole ordeal, we suspect the latter. So assuming Sony still wants to appeal to the mass market, here are eight ways the company can turnaround the PS3 in the shortest amount of time. Behold our armchair quarterback skills!
1. Admit there is a slight problem. No one likes to admit they're wrong. And we're not saying all is lost for the PS3; far from it, in fact. But it hasn't been the best start especially considering that over the last two generations, the PS3 sold worse in the first six months than any other console, including the soft-selling GameCube. Rather than take offense or assume there is some mass conspiracy against them, Sony could turn the situation into a positive by asking and listening to the majority of gamers as to what it would take to earn their business. Sony doesn't need to save face at the moment. They need to sell systems.
2. Acknowledge the high price. I don't think I've encountered any logical person that isn't impressed with the PS3's technology. She really is a beaut. But the dancing around her high price has got to stop. Every time the system is mentioned, its price instantly becomes the elephant in the room. You want to get excited for the games, but your inner-economist just won't let you. Fact: Sony's console price doubled in just less than seven years since first releasing the PS2 for $300. I'm no expert, but that has to be one of the highest relative price increases in recent history. The short-term solution: acknowledge the high price rather than making excuses for it.
3. Drop the PS3's price, like NOW! The NPD aptly summed up the PS3's dismal sales last month: "While there has been good content available for the [PS3], there hasn't yet been the 'killer' title that tends to drive hardware sales acquisition among the broader audience. As the content ramps up, we're confident the hardware sales will too." Agree to disagree. There have been some solid games hitting the PS3 already (Resistance and MotorStorm, anyone?). The real issue is that it's difficult for most gamers to justify the $660 asking price (console + one game), not that they're waiting for games. It's doubtful that most gamers would even be willing to pay that much for the next Mario or Halo game. Hence, Sony seems to have underestimated gamers' sensitivity to high prices. "What should they do?" you ask. Drop the price by $100 right now then by another $100 six months from now. This tactic may be unheard of, and Sony will incur even more losses on hardware. But they're in it for the long haul, right?
4. Hire ninja lawyers to write more exclusive game deals. It has been said that Sony has the best relationship with third-party publishers and developers. But those relationships appear to be waning while Microsoft wines and dines developers away and early Wii success shifts the focus to a new, cheaper way of making games. Granted, the third-party exclusive may have lost its luster since the last-generation, but it still helps move hardware. Sony should bend over backwards to keep and woo publishers in their favor.
5. Promote the thing as a game console, not a supercomputer. Again, the PS3 is capable of doing just about everything besides filing your taxes. Everyone likes extras, but Sony needs to market the PS3 as its name implies: a play station to "play" video games first. Movies, music and other content should come secondary. If the systems ends up being used as a computer like the PS2 was used as a DVD player, all the better for Sony. But last time I checked, the PS3 was selling in the video game department at retail, so let's keep it that way. Either market the machine as a video game console or rebrand it as the Sony ComputerStation and sell it at CompUSA.
6. Make the system easier to develop for. To ensure that more games grace the console, Sony needs to help developers use the Cell processor, something it currently don't appear to be doing to its full potential. The common belief is that the Cell is difficult to develop on, thus its benefits are still untapped. If the PS3 processor is in fact twice as fast as the 360 and googles faster than Wii, Sony would be wise to bank on what its competitors are incapable of doing. To offset developer learning curves, how about waiving a set number of licensing fees to publishers? That's sure to get people excited to develop for the PS3.
7. More games, please! Assuming Sony gets the price to a more tolerable point, games are sure to open the flood gates further still. Though disputable, I'd argue Nintendo and Sony are tied for first when it comes to stellar first-party games (sorry Microsoft). Sony should start announcing and showing games like never before. Just show me Shadow of Colossus 2 or something of similar importance, and I'll be doing Chris Farley cartwheels. For real.
Sony has upped the PS3's chances already by keeping their feet out of their mouths, announcing the well-received Home, LittleBigPlanet and @Home folding projects, and showing off countless titles at their recent Gamers Day event. Even then, some dispute our hasty remedy. "I don't think Sony needs or wants a quick fix," industry analyst Michael Pachter tells us. "They're not worried about being outsold by the competition at the moment. They're in it to maximize profits over a 10 year period."
Yes, the 10 year PS3 lifecycle aspiration. But you can't last 10 years without first lasting five. Baby steps, people.
