A Media Backlash?

Like Two-Face, I'll flip the coin and examine the other end of this debate. There may be something else going on here besides Sony's own miscues: a media backlash. I'm not suggesting that the majority of the video game press is biased against Sony. I think others things are going on, however. For example, this is something that we often see in the sports media world: people get sick of dynasties. Perhaps people are just tired of Sony after six years of dominance with PlayStation 2, just as people began rooting against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls or the New York Yankees during the 1990s. People are now seemingly eager to watch Sony fail, citing the company's arrogance.

There's also a "what have you done for me lately?" attitude, which we see a lot in sports as well. No matter how you slice it, PlayStation 2 was a historic phenomenon. It absolutely destroyed the competition in the three-way console war, so there is a high level of expectation for PS3. Have the media set an impossibly high standard for Sony? Do we really expect the next PlayStation to be as dominant as the previous version?

(Sidebar: I can't continue without acknowledging my own work. Back in June I wrote a humorous riff on some rather odd comments by Harrison, who, in the course of discussing Microsoft's plan to integrate the Xbox with Windows PCs, said that "the PlayStation 3 is a computer. We do not need the PC." I found this to be an odd statement laced with hubris, since Sony has suggested that the PS3 could replace the PC as the ultimate digital home entertainment device. In my column, I outlined 10 reasons you don't need a PlayStation 3. Some reasons were serious, while some were attempts to be witty and clever. The point is, I felt like Harrison's comments deserved a little criticism. But I can certainly understand why many readers and forum members were upset with the column and accused me of being a Microsoft fanboy, as this was probably seen a yet another piece of negative press contributing to the snowball effect.)

Sony's PlayStation 3

Finally, Sony's plight in the eyes of the media may simply be a product of the sometimes perverted news cycle. Journalists constantly seek new angles and fresh perspectives for old stories; this is often what causes even the best opinion/editorial writers and columnists to argue the most insane and indefensible side of an argument (Terrell Owens is misunderstood, Rafael Palmeiro is a Hall of Famer, etc.).

After getting beaten up for a few years during the GameCube era and accused of being obsolete, Nintendo is now emerging as the media darling with Wii. Part of this is due to how Wii has separated itself from Xbox 360 and PS3 with an innovative approach and lower price tag. But don't underestimate people's "Nintendo nostalgia," which I think is leading to many folks to view Nintendo as the loveable underdog instead of an out-of-touch has-been. In addition, Microsoft has taken its lumps in years past, but releasing Xbox 360 on time and ahead of its rivals proved the company has staying power in the video game market and it has earned Microsoft at least some measure of respect from the gamer community.

But again, it's a news cycle. So-called purists are falling in love with Nintendo's commitment to fun gameplay over realistic graphics, but what will happen in a year or two? Will people begin to complain that Wii's processing power pales in comparison to PS3? What will happen if Blu-ray turns out to be the dominant DVD standard and provides a huge incentive to purchase a PS3? It's important to keep these things in mind. We live in the ever-changing world of technology where things can shift faster than Mel Gibson on the Pacific Coast Highway. What's true today may not be true a year or even a month from now. And I'm sure that's what Sony is banking on.

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