Every company has problems. Some have big problems. Others have really big problems. And no one is immune. So, on the UK launch day of the PS3 - while everyone else is singing Sony's praises - I am going to take a quick review of ten fairly major problems in an attempt to balance the rampant fanboy irritants that will be all-pervasive today.
Only the biggest blunders, IMO, will be covered, so your favourite (such as the PGR car image being used to promote GT4) might not be covered here. Remember - this is a history lesson for PR agencies and companies alike. And for the rest of us, it's a just a bit of fun!
31 October 2005 : Sony Blunder #1 : Rootkits
Mark Russinovich discovered a rootkit hiding on a CD he'd recently purchased from Sony. This would report your listening behaviors back to Sony and lead to class action lawsuits against Sony for violation o f privacy. The patch that Sony later released could also render your machine worthless because both it, and the original DRM technology, was badly written. Many already knew that DRM was bad and unworkable, but this really proved the case.
27 February 2006 : Sony Blunder #2 : PS3 Delays
Delays are common and expected in the technology field. But when a company continually says there is no delay, but continually acts is if there is, some of us have a problem with their honesty. From the 27th Sony removed its gag and started to admit there might be delays. They made further announcements on March 6 et al.
Throughout 2006 : Sony Blunder #3 : Limited Backward Compatibility
In addition to announcing delays for the PS3 launch in Europe, Sony also managed to omit the entire continent in their strategy. As well as forgetting to mention that Europe exists, they also announced that it would play fewer PS2 games than the Japanese version.
Autumn 2006 : Sony Blunder #4 : Exploding Batteries
Despite knowing about problematic batteries since October, 2005 (yes - 2005!) Sony continued to sell laptops that could explode at any moment. They also permitted Dell to sell their laptops with the same batteries. Ok - so Dell probably came off worse, and colluded with Sony, but knowing shipping a product that will destroy a users precious data is hardly good PR. Is it?
24 October 2006 : Sony Blunder #5 : Closing gamers favourite, Lik-sang
Lik-Sang is forced to close its doors after Sony realize they're better at seller PS3s and PSPs than they. Particularly since Lik-Sang included power supplies that didn't destroy machines, where as Sony... well... see Autumn 2006.
11 December 2006 : Sony Blunder #6 : Flogging the PSP
Zipatoni, floggers working at the behest of Sony, get busted when their paid-for-blog "All I want for xmas is a psp" is exposed as a shill to lure customers to the PSP by the marketing department masquerading as a couple of fanboys. They even resorted to removing comments that highlighted the charade. The marketing department must think that every potential customer is as dumb as they are for even trying to camouflage this!
19 January 2007 : Sony Blunder #7 : Blu-Ray and porn
The biggest selling point of the PS3 is Blu-Ray. The biggest selling point (pardon the pun) of a new media format is porn. So why Sony decided to ban it is probably down to the same thinking why they banned porn from their Betamax format in the 1980's. And you can all remember where that went! Sony still deny this by saying they're not against porn, it's up to the licensees of the blu-ray what they do with it. But they also mention that anything they don't like will result in the removal of said licenses.
2 February 2007 : Sony Blunder #8 : Want a PS3? Only if you buy a PSP, too!
Sony teamed up with HMV to provide a "special" launch deal for the PS3. This required you to buy a 4gig PSP pack as well as two games (total cost, 675 gbp) to get a PS3 on launch day. If you didn't want to buy a PSP, then you wouldn't get a PS3. This took those in charge a few days to realize the banality of this idea, and withdraw the offer and promise to level the playing field.
1 March 2007 : Sony Blunder #9 : Gagging journalists
Sony blackballs Kotaku for reporting rumours as, er, rumours! They didn't acknowledge the rights of the free press, the backlash that would occur, or the problems with coercing and threatening journalists into being their PR flunkies. They did, eventually, realize their mistake, but not until the nay-sayers had a field day.
23 March 2007 : Sony Blunder #10 : Releasing the PS3 at... how much???
Despite all the negative publicity, harassments, complaints, and problems with the PS3, Sony are still adamant they will sell it at 425 gbp, or 599 euros. This is despite the same machine costing the equivalent of 252 gbp in Japan or $599 in the states, which translates as 300 gbp. And for this extra 125 gbp we get delays, less backward compatibility, less free speech, more intelligence-insulting marketing... etc...