Sony's PS3 European launch just plain flaccid, free Bravia's to boost sales!

[Gamer From '78]

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/775/775340p1.html

"UK, March 23, 2007 - At 11.00pm last night, it looked like the official UK PlayStation 3 launch may be a bit limp - with only around 100 people in line for the console - but Sony pulled out the big guns moments later by announcing everyone in line would receive a free £2k Bravia television.

At 11.45pm Sony UK head boss Ray Maguire made the announcement while standing in front of a Bravia in the store. Maguire said the best way to play the PS3 was on a television like the one behind him. Then, in moment of altruistic glory, he revealed that everyone queuing - by this time numbers had swelled to roughly 120 expectant punters - would be walking away with a free TV.

"I just want to say to all of you that we appreciate the support," said Maguire. "Without you we would not have anything to sell to anyone. You are the guys that make it all happen."

However, the revelation didn't quite cause the impact that Sony may have been expecting. Most of those in line didn't understand what Maguire had just said and looked at each other with confused faces. In fact, Maguire had to explain himself a couple more times before it dawned on everyone. "You are walking with a £2,000 flat panel too!", he boomed, finally prompting whoops of joy.

Shortly after midnight, we spoke to Phil Harrison, Sony's head of worldwide studios, and asked if Sony was setting the standard high for future console launches. "Thankfully we do not do launches that often but it's a great event to have."

Hearing the cries of joy from the first customers to get their console, Harrison added: "That's what makes it all worthwhile - seeing someone that has queued up for hours finally getting a PS3. It means a lot to them and us."

Wow...a whopping 100 to 120 people with "swelling numbers" lined up at the UK Premiere launch of the PS3. And the only excitement came when Sony gave away a $2,000 HDTV. :rolleyes:

But I guess it doesn't matter, because those lucky souls who just got a new TV still have to buy a HDMI cable or Component Cables ($39.99 MSRP from Sony) to watch Blu-Ray movies on their fancy new Blu-Ray player. Heaven knows their ain't poo to play on the PS3! This whole thing? LMFAO!!!!

[Dancer O_o]

This makes absolutely no freak'n sense, and frankly I can't believe it...."here take a 2500 Euros flat panel and a PS3 for 800 Euros total!"...IF this is true it smacks of desperation. Why not just give the first 100,000 PS3 away, it would be cheaper probably.

And, if this is true Sony is in deep sh!t and knows it...

I'm thinking that maybe the Sony War Mongers realized the games division is bleeding red ink so bad now that they have to start bleeding red ink into the flat panel division so as to spread the doom and gloom a little for some insane reason. It's like 3 monkeys Fing a football.

[Gamer From '78]

This makes absolutely no freak'n sense, and frankly I can't believe it...."here take a 2500 Euros flat panel and a PS3 for 800 Euros total!"...IF this is true it smacks of desperation. Why not just give the first 100,000 PS3 away, it would be cheaper probably.

And, if this is true Sony is in deep sh!t and knows it...

I'm thinking that maybe the Sony War Mongers realized the games division is bleeding red ink so bad now that they have to start bleeding red ink into the flat panel division so as to spread the doom and gloom a little for some insane reason. It's like 3 monkeys Fing a football.

LMAO on that monkey comment Dancer O_o! Check out my other thread about more PS3 UK launch MADNESS!!! :idea:

It just seems that nobody seems to really care. Even the harcore UK gamers aren't turning out like their US and Japanese bretheren did! PS3 sold out in the US and Japan in mere hours, but the UK launch seems even worse. Retailers are "hoping" and "expecting" stock to be depleted over the weekend? WTF?

With anemic sales, 3rd parties jumping ship like Cuban's spotted off the coast of Florida by the coast guard and a 95% stinker rate on software released so far, the S.S. Titan...errr...Sony just smacked head-first into that big iceberg called "chilly consumer reception."

[Dancer O_o]

being more expensive and gimped with no PS2 chip would not have me rushing to the store, if I was a Euro gamer I would buy a US or Japanese Ps3 off Ebay

[ilnadmy]

It's a publicity stunt people.

And 78, while I appreciate the flourishes in your metaphorical description of Sony's launches, I can't help but smell a hint of desperation/anger/jealousy at Sony. No one would put that much thought and pure, unadulterated emotion into such a description unless they were trying to get something off their chest. So what is it, exactly? Sony killed your cat? PS2 gave you cancer? PSP hurting your thumbs? I'm dying to know what it is.

[Gamer From '78]

It's a publicity stunt people.

And 78, while I appreciate the flourishes in your metaphorical description of Sony's launches, I can't help but smell a hint of desperation/anger/jealousy at Sony. No one would put that much thought and pure, unadulterated emotion into such a description unless they were trying to get something off their chest. So what is it, exactly? Sony killed your cat? PS2 gave you cancer? PSP hurting your thumbs? I'm dying to know what it is.

Are you referring to the whole Cubans bailing when they see the Coast Guard thing? I kinda have a Robin Williams knack for improv. :thumbsup:

The only anger I feel towards Sony is because they are arrogant a-holes. The PS3 debacles/disaster is a direct result. I'm not saying it's a decent piece of hardware. but $100-$200 more than the competition? Can't decide whether or not to have rumble? No HD cables thrown in? Would it have really hurt to include component cables?

I like my PSP. And I like my PS2 and PS1 before it. No problems there. But the PS3 is the worst form of slapstick comedy I have ever seen. It's like watching the Three Stooges. "Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck!!!" :rolleyes:

[Mochan]

Man I wish I were at that launch! What a supreme deal.

[Gamer88]

I don't understand why you PC gamers don't support microsoft more. Isn't microsoft more likely to release their games for the PC also? Hell, if the 360 wins, you don't even have to buy a next gen console for their games, just play the mostly superior PC ports.

[Mochan]

I dunno, must be a conditioned reflex. Strictly speaking though MS doesn't make a habit of bringing its Xbox games to the PC. Also, games on the box tend to suffer consolitis.

Finally, I'm not so much anti-MS than I am anti-Xbox. Xbox1 in particular. I've noted many times in the past though that the 360 is better.

[Gamer88]

I dunno, must be a conditioned reflex. Strictly speaking though MS doesn't make a habit of bringing its Xbox games to the PC. Also, games on the box tend to suffer consolitis.

Finally, I'm not so much anti-MS than I am anti-Xbox. Xbox1 in particular. I've noted many times in the past though that the 360 is better.

Yeah, but microsoft definatly doesn't mind it though....for obvious reasons. I just think that a microsoft-dominated console market would probably (if even slightly) boost PC gameing, while the PS3 (if it's graphical promises are ever delivered upon) would probably draw people away from PC gaming, because you can get good graphics for a cheaper price. Of course, the same could be applied to the 360....er...

[Mochan]

I see little benefit to PC gaming from having a MS-dominated market. Maybe if MS had the market, that would give more clout to MS to force Devs to make XBox-type games that would port over to the PC easily, but that's not necessarily a boon for PC gaming especially if it means the defact game types coming out will be XBox-type games. I still want to see other types of games like were found on the PC and not just XBox games.

[Gadfly2317]

Good post.

I don't see any desperation or anger in this post, Ilmadny. Just some wry amusement at the sad state of Sony.

Giving away free TV's. A publicity stunt? It just seemed like a sad, last minute gesture. A publicity stunt actually garners positive publicity. It's not good publicity to focus the news on a sad little line of gloomy gamers who took being told 3 times they were getting TV's before they cheered up. Not to mention the line wasn't big enough to move all the systems.

I think getting a delayed launch, they've had time to get over the hype and see how badly Ps3 is doing, and to see where the action is really at.

[slade]

It's a publicity stunt. MS had tons of these deals around launch last year including giving away free 360's in that Mountain Dew/Pepsi promotion as well as giving away free HDTV's at one of their events last year.

[DrunkenThumbmaster]

there is no way to spend not selling out a launch. Retailers couldn't even sell out there allotted pre-orders.

[Gamer From '78]

It's a publicity stunt. MS had tons of these deals around launch last year including giving away free 360's in that Mountain Dew/Pepsi promotion as well as giving away free HDTV's at one of their events last year.

So you are saying that you think if Sony had a THOUSAND people in line, they would have given away a free Bravia to each? I doubt it. In fact, it's flat-out BS. There were only around 100 yawners in line to buy the damn thing. If that's the best that Sony can muster for their premier launch event in the UK, Sony is in deeper water than I intially believed.

With everything going multiplatform these days, it will fall on the exclusives for each system and a few other factors. Here it is, in plain English for all to read.

1) Price. The Xbox 360 Premium is $400 and includes everything needed to get started in HD-gaming PLUS a headset and free game. The PS3 Premium pack will still run you the cost of a game plus Component Cables-currently priced at $39.99 from Sony. That's $700.00 folks, or $300 more than the 360 with it's pack-in content. You can pick up the "tard" version of the 360 for $300 or the "tard" version of the PS3 for $500. But it's all irrelevant. $400 for the Premium 360, $500 plus extras for the PS3 tard pack (which you can't find BTW since Sony doesn't WANT you to buy the tard pack!).

2) Exclusives: Sony this, Sony that. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Instead of a next gen Jak game, we get a cheesy cornball Indiana Jones rip-off from Naughty Dog. Gran Turismo is nowhere to be found. The few other 1st party games scheduled for release anytime soon are unproven. Will Metal Gear Solid 4 even BE an exclusive? How about the fate of the Final Fantasy franchise? :confused:

Sony is unwilling to pay for exclusive deals. Tretton already said so. So what happens? Capcom greats like Lost Planet and Dead Rising are exclusive. And the first party offereings from Microsoft aren't slouches either. Gears of War? Halo? Forza? And what about titles like Ace Combat and Splinter Cell 5 which are 360 exclusive? Or GRAW?

3) No noticable difference between systems: Aside from the higher-price tag, the PS3 does nothing to differentiate itself from the 360. Oh, except having shoddy ports of 360 games.

[slade]

So you are saying that you think if Sony had a THOUSAND people in line, they would have given away a free Bravia to each? I doubt it. In fact, it's flat-out BS. There were only around 100 yawners in line to buy the damn thing. If that's the best that Sony can muster for their premier launch event in the UK, Sony is in deeper water than I intially believed.

That's got to be the most idiotic thing I've read in the last few months.

No, they would have given the first hundred a free Bravia and ensured mass rioting so people like you and me could argue about it over the internet.

I, for one, am still pissed that the PS3 launch death toll stands at one person shot in line.

[folken001]

I, for one, am still pissed that the PS3 launch death toll stands at one person shot in line.

haha. Is that too many or not enough?

[slade]

haha. Is that too many or not enough?

Not enough. I said 25 in the pool.

[folken001]

Not enough. I said 25 in the pool.
Don't hold your breath but it might come true on your birthday!!!

[Gamer From '78]

That's got to be the most idiotic thing I've read in the last few months.

No, they would have given the first hundred a free Bravia and ensured mass rioting so people like you and me could argue about it over the internet.

I, for one, am still pissed that the PS3 launch death toll stands at one person shot in line.

Thanks for pointing out my mistake. I was tired when I typed that. What I MEANT to say was "Do you think that if there were a thousand people in line for the launch, Sony would still have given away free Bravia's to boost morale and get some cheers?" To me, the pics looked like the people were half-asleep.

It was a publicity stunt no doubt about it. But it was done to get some media attention. That's all. It was DAMAGE-CONTROL because the biggest launch site in all the UK coldn't muster more than 100 gamers. That's not even what most little rinky-dink shops like EB and Gamestop get in a line for a new system release! Hell, Halo 2 had lines TEN TIMES that size at some locations when it was released at midnight! Pitiful. Just pitiful.