Who would have thought we’d ever be uttering the words “Sony is making a comeback”? 5 years ago, we would have been laughed at.
Hard.
But this is our current reality: Nintendo is still winning in overall sales, Microsoft is second, and Sony is in third. Sony’s position is actually better than most perceive, but the competitive nature in human beings tend to ignore some of the supporting facts. I digress.
Recently Sony pleased the gaming community by announcing a much anticipated $100 price drop and a brand new, “PS3 Slim” model. Some analysts believed this wouldn’t change a thing in their warped scope of the console race, but like always, I took a “let’s wait and see” approach.
It’s been a few days and some of the sales estimates have been released:
- 999% sales increase (Week over Week) in the UK
- 150,000 units sold in Japan (1500% increase week over week) – Launch number was 90,000
Judging by the large percentage increases, it’s easy to assume that sales were pitiful to begin with, or lots of people were waiting for a price drop on the PS3. Either way, Sony is in a better position than before.
It’s not just sales, but Sony has launched a very successful new marketing campaign. The slogan of “It Only Does Everything” is sticking with gamers whether they like it or not. The witty advertisements are not only making the Sony faithful sigh with relief, but they’re also attracting the “curious” gamer crowd. These guys are thinking, “I wonder how those PS3 exclusives are”, “I wonder if I’ll like Blu-ray”, “Will my friends get one if I get one?” (Yes, there are kids who ask that last question, believe it or not)
It’s amazing what proper marketing and successful sales figures does to the public perception: Yesterday, I streamed gameplay of a popular PS3 exclusive game called Killzone 2. As users came and watched, I saw a lot of statements like:
“Wow, I’d get a PS3 for this”
“How much does it cost?”
“What does that/this/that do?”
“This is better than CoD4 ever was” [Yes, that's an actual quote]
Before the price drop/new SKU, I would see this:
“PS3 Sucks”
“No one plays online on KZ2″
“It’s a dead game”
“PS3 Sucks, I feel sorry for you guys”
I could go on and on. I still get these kinds of negative comments, but much less than before.
Public perception definitely influences opinions of the PS3. People who bashed the Playstation 3 before, are now looking closer at upcoming exclusives like “Uncharted 2: Among Thieves” (My Game of the Year prediction), “MAG“, “Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack In Time“, and “Heavy Rain“. Playstation Network exclusives like “Fat Princess” are also drawing a lot of attention (See my review here)
What does all this mean in the end? No one really knows. The fact is this: The PS3 is gaining incredible momentum and is shaping up to be the big shake-up story in the console war. I only wish my friends list weren’t full so I could play with all the new PS3 owners out there.