Sony - lies and on the take?

2000-09-08

Let’s just get this right. The Sony PlayStation 2 has sold 3 million units so far, the US has just pre-ordered 1.5 million units and meanwhile, in the UK, only 200,000 of the things are going to be available for Christmas. The nice people from Sony are trying to tell us that this is not a marketing ploy and, frankly, we believe ‘em.

The UK pre-order launch of the Sony PlayStation 2 happened at midnight on Thursday last week. High street retailers such as Dixons opened their doors to bleary-eyed queues, determined that little Jonny would get what he wanted this Christmas. Consumers hoping to wait until after the weekend may well be disappointed.

According to Sony’s Playstation \link{http://www.playstation-europe.com/hardware/playstation2.jhtml), the European release date for the PS2 has been delayed to Novemer 24 “due to completely unforeseeable and unprecedented consumer demand for the PS 2 in Japan.” This may or may not be true – production is production. However its paltry rationing of the devices for the UK market smacks ever-so-slightly of “looking after one’s own.” Does that sound at all like sour grapes to you?

With what is currently the most powerful games platform (and, arguably, some of the best titles) out of all the console manufacturers, Sony are in a position to gamble with the consumer. By the time that the PS2’s nearest rivals, Microsoft’s X-Box and Nintendo’s GameCube, get anywhere near the market, Sony expect to have already shipped a good 10 million units across Europe, roughly half of what the company expects to ship worldwide this financial year. Competitors will arrive at the party only to find that the guests have already moved on (no doubt forming an orderly queue for the PlayStation3). Meanwhile, before the event, Sony can afford to pump up the prices (to £100 more than what is to be paid in the States) and justify an additional 25 quid for the right to buy.

Grumpiness aside, there can be no doubt that Sony is onto an absolute winner with its games console. The manufacturer is already a victim of its own success – fortunately it has no real competition at the moment otherwise it could have missed the boat. Ask any child which device he would rather had and brace yourself for the reply that will appear obvious to anybody under 20. “Why, a Play Station of course!” This attitude does not limit itself to the younger generations – we know plenty of seemingly mature adults who are holding out for this latest device.

How exactly the company has done it is unclear, but there can be no denying that (in the material world we call Europe) the PS2 is a thing to have. If it achieves nothing else, the arrival of the PS2 will set the minimum standard for games consoles. Bargain hunters, look out for older devices going for a song in second hand stores and online auctions, from January 2001.

(First published 8 September 2000)