E3 From a Distance: Sony

Hey Gamers, and welcome to what I like to describe as ‘Pre-E3 Fever’. Considering that I’ve seem to caught it (insert prostitute joke here), I’ve decided to look at the big players in the industry and to try and outline their possible plan of attack. Truth be told, E3 is very much a game where all the companies fight to get as much of the buzz as possible. Thus, surprises, back room deals, swag, and parties are all tactics to get journalists’ attention, and in turn, they write about what they see and get gamers excited and ready to spend all their hard earned mula on game X. Pulling out the stops is essential at E3, and that is how companies win big. With that said, I believe it’s a good time to look at a company that is in desperate need of some good PR, and that’s Sony.

Hey Gamers, and welcome to what I like to describe as ‘Pre-E3 Fever’. Considering that I’ve seem to caught it (insert prostitute joke here), I’ve decided to look at the big players in the industry and to try and outline their possible plan of attack. Truth be told, E3 is very much a game where all the companies fight to get as much of the buzz as possible. Thus, surprises, back room deals, swag, and parties are all tactics to get journalists’ attention, and in turn, they write about what they see and get gamers excited and ready to spend all their hard earned mula on game X. Pulling out the stops is essential at E3, and that is how companies win big. With that said, I believe it’s a good time to look at a company that is in desperate need of some good PR, and that’s Sony.
   
First off, let’s get the painfully obvious out of the way, this E3 is about the battle of the next gen systems. Specifically for Sony, it is a chance to get their PS3 game together, and show gamers that their system is strong, reliable, at a price point which is feasible, and show that games are amazing on it. Sony’s been going through a rough patch as of late with the failure of UMD movies being the most recent hit, so the PS3 could literally make or break them. That said, the big things that Sony absolutely MUST tell gamers at this E3 is: the PS3’s price point, launch titles, the controller redesign, and the supposed online infrastructure. “Just that?!” you may ask angrily, but I implore you to hold on a sec; considering that those are things they absolutely must say, they must make them fantastic. Therefore, I believe that the surprises are going to be huge and hard hitting, and here are a couple of guesses: a $500 price point for a system jam-packed with goodies, a very very strong online system that will remain free, ridiculous launch games (FFVII? *fingers crossed*), and something completely out of left field like the PS3 can download games much like the PSP will be able to. Though I may be saying things that you may have already thought of about the PS3, the point I’m trying to make is that Sony is in the hole and they need to dig themselves out with the PS3 and restore gamer confidence. If they don’t, Nintendo will take their thunder and laugh all the way to the bank.
   
But wait, there’s more. The PS2 isn’t quite dead yet, and the PSP is ready for its time in the limelight, so a very strong showing on both fronts could really increase revenue for Sony. I expect to hear FF12 and God of War 2 in about every sentence that PS2 is in, and I expect that the that hard details on the PSP’s ability to download PS1 games will be revealed. Of course, I don’t see much going for the PS2 outside of software, but for the PSP’s backlog, the surprise comes when they announce the list of games that will be available. Also, with the failure of the UMD, Sony should really announce a further branching out of the PSP, but into safer arenas (PSPTV anyone?).
   
While this article was mostly speculation, I feel it is important to stress the dire important of this E3 for Sony. They are either going to pull out the big guns, or fall flat on their faces. In any case, we’ll be sure to relay the news to you in real time during E3, so be sure to be on QJ.net all the time!