Does Sony Need A PR Makeover?

It’s hard to ignore the fact that since E3 this year Sony have been all thumbs in their handling of the PS3 and public relations, it seems the guys over there just keep sticking their chins out to get sucker punched. Just a few days ago Sony’s long time PR boss Molly Smith called it quits and left the company, granted the burn through rate for positions like that must be pretty high but it has to be noted the timing was a bit suspect. We’ve been hit with stunning comments and quotes from Sony’s numerous public faces over the past few weeks and it’s questionable whether their scattergun approach to public relations, thrusting Phil Harrison, Kaz Hirai and Ken Kutaragi in the public eye on an almost weekly basis has been beneficial.

Find out exactly how Sony’s dropped the PR ball the past few weeks, and what needs to be done to fix things

It’s hard to ignore the fact that since E3 this year Sony have been all thumbs in their handling of the PS3 and public relations, it seems the guys over there just keep sticking their chins out to get sucker punched. Just a few days ago Sony’s long time PR boss Molly Smith called it quits and left the company, granted the burn through rate for positions like that must be pretty high but it has to be noted the timing was a bit suspect. We’ve been hit with stunning comments and quotes from Sony’s numerous public faces over the past few weeks and it’s questionable whether their scattergun approach to public relations, thrusting Phil Harrison, Kaz Hirai and Ken Kutaragi in the public eye on an almost weekly basis has been beneficial.

Microsoft for their part seem to be faring a little better, they’ve changed their approach since the 360’s debut from focusing on Robbie Bach, Peter Moore and J. Allard, to a more laser like focus on just one person: Peter Moore. Where Harrison, Hirai and Kutaragi often come across as brash and unnecessarily aggressive Moore has been firm but respectful, occasionally dealing the odd back handed compliment to his company’s main rival (that would be Sony), and cunningly initiating the now widespread Wii60 movement by embracing self proclaimed non-competitors Nintendo. Where Microsoft has been pro-active, Sony has been reactive and that’s not befitting of a market leader.

Ken Kutaragi: Many label Ken Kutaragi “The father of the PlayStation”, he’s a great man who’s done great things, a true visionary and his input in the game industry cannot be overstated, however, it’s become glaringly apparent that his translator is either sipping the booze, or Mr. Kutaragi is simply not cut from the PR mold. He may be a brilliant hardware engineer but he should not be talking to the public about the future of the PlayStation. It seems with each new interview his comments become increasingly ridiculous, brash, or just plain bizarre, at this point Ken Kutaragi is doing more damage to the PlayStation image than good simply by being in the spotlight.

On the PS3 Price: Kutaragi apparently believes the PS3 is “probably too cheap,” continuing with,”Is it not nonsense to compare the charge for dinner at the company cafeteria with dinner at a fine restaurant? It’s a question of what you can do with that game machine. If you can have an amazing experience, we believe price is not a problem.”

Now obviously we understand where Ken’s coming from here but that’s just bad PR, stating that the most controversially priced  game console of the next generation is too cheap is only asking for a fan lashing.

On the PS3: “The PS3 is not a game machine“

Wait, what!? Did he really just say the PlayStation is not a game machine, so why would gamers want to buy one then?

Kazuo Hirai: I kind of like Kaz Hirai, partially because his nickname sounds like Taz (you know, from Loony Tunes?) but this man was not born to be a public speaker, and the past two E3 Sony Press Conferences have proved this. Speaking on stage in front of thousands of people is a gift reserved for only a few people, Kaz Hirai is apparently not one of those people. He just never seems comfortable or self assured, and I have a hard time believing he actually makes time to play any of the games he talks about. While Kaz Hirai doesn’t blunder verbally anywhere as much as Kutaragi does (which is why there are no real bungled quotes in this section), there’s just something ultimately plain and vanilla about the fellow, I think every PlayStation fan cringed a little during his saddeningly unenthusiastic display of “Riiiiiiiiidge Racerrrr!” on the PSP during the Sony press conference at E3 2006.

Phil Harrison: Before E3 2006 Phil Harrison struck me as the best speaker Sony had and I still think he is a great speaker… when Sony isn’t on the defensive. Since E3 the press and fans have been on Sony’s back about a myriad of things, from pricing, to the initially obscure differences between Sony’s two PS3 models, to the decision to include tilt technology in the controller, and Harrison seems to be struggling to keep up.

In response to accusations that Sony copied Nintendo’s motion sensing controller: “On one level I understand why people say that. But it’s a little stupid, if you don’t mind me saying so. When we launched Playstation in 1994 we introduced the concept of real-time computer-generated 3-D-graphics for the first time. That was the innovation that drove the platform. When Nintendo released the N64 in 1996 and they had real-time CG 3-D-graphics, did you hear us say, “Nintendo, you’ve stolen our idea?” Of course not.“

First, you never call people stupid in the PR world, not even a “little” stupid. Second, everyone knows the PlayStation did most certainly not introduce the concept of real time computer generated 3D graphics, that’s an Al Gore-ism if I ever heard one. The Sega Saturn, the Panasonic 3D0 and videogame arcades all featured real time 3D computer graphics.

Speaking in the same interview on the PS3’s multimedia funcionality: “Playstation 3 is a computer. We don’t need the PC.“

We’re not even going to touch that statement, blame it on a faulty translation, a misunderstanding, maybe it was taken out of context, but we won’t even start on how wrong that statement is.

The bottom line is that Sony needs a Reggie or a Peter Moore, someone who’s into kickin’ ass and taking names, or tattooing (or some other form of body art) someone gamers can relate to and rally behind. We need a guy we can focus on and trust, we can buy that both Reggie Fils Amie and Peter Moore hunker down for the occasional game of Halo or Smash Bros. but it’s just too weird to picture Sony’s men in suits having fun, and at the end of the day that’s what the business is about right?

Understand that I’m not saying the PS3 is a failure, just that Sony’s recent PR has been nothing short of disastrous,  they’ve got a great product on their hands, they just need a good face to shop it around. Sony have always been the masters of hype without even trying, and for the first time in the PlayStation’s history the brand is under major fire, unfortunately company officials simply don’t seem to know how to handle that negativity and spin that into something positive. Despite a few hiccups in the past few weeks and the quotes above, I personally feel Harrison is the man Sony ought to highlight, they need to draw the focus away from the other two suits and train it on the guy who actually plays the games and who usually has some smart things to say about the console:

In an interview with Edge Magazine, when asked about the loss of GTA and how that would affect the PS3, Harrison replied with a statement that is true, humble, and spins positive about the PS3’s future:

“GTA has been incredibly important to the PlayStation 2 in the PlayStation 2 era, perhaps in the same way that Tomb Raider had an impact in the PlayStation 1 era and maybe there’s something else in the PlayStation 3 era.”