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October 24, 2006
Sony: As the Legend Falls, Part I (UPDATED)
Sony has become quite the prominent resident in the news these days. Unfortunately that is the result of pissing people off moreso than any other reason. After putting people's lives in danger, causing property damage, and instigating the largest recall in consumer electronics history with their faulty batteries... all Sony has to say is "Sorry for the inconvenience."
Furthermore, they've taken greater strides at pissing the gaming community off today by having the most popular video game importer on the web shut down. Lik-Sang today announced that they had to shut down due to lawsuits from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and it's parent Sony Computer Entertainment. Granted they were selling consoles designed for the asian market to Europe, which, though not illegal when they were doing so, was later deemed unlawful by a judge in London.
Sony, of course, combats this by saying "European customer's don't mind waiting for Sony products." What the hell does that mean? Does it mean that they enjoy watching every other market recieve their consoles and games before them?
Of course this is hot on the tail of the statement that Sony wants you to work overtime to be able to afford the PS3. Can somebody do me a favor and just shut each and every member of Sony's executive team up? They say the most insane things then wonder why the Sony brand is unable to compete with the likes of Apple. At least when Steven jobs is saying crazy shit, it's somewhat true!
So I have decided to dedicate this as the first blog to document the fall of Sony as a desirable brand name in the consumer electronics business. Their cell phones cease to amaze or sell, their console is being delayed from here till infinity, not to mention it's inhibitively priced for most youngsters. Their PSP is barely holding it's own against the less powerful and less graphically advanced DS. Their portable audio players are pretty much reknowned as years behind, they have no true competitor to the iPod, and their music download service continues to dwindle in patronage by the hour. Their once thriving digital camera business is being leapfrogged by Nikon and Canon.
They do have a few strong points left. They still make the world's best hi-def TVs. Unfortunately Samsung is right on their tail and underselling them. They make some of the most desireable laptops in the Windows-based PC market. Their PS2 continues to hold it's own against the Xbox and Xbox 360. Then they have their camcorders. That's about as good as it gets. I'm sure that their battery business is pretty much shot, or should I say it blew up in their face.
UPDATE:
So it comes out that Sony is now accusing Lik-Sang of blasting them on false grounds. Apparently Lik-Sang could not have incurred legal fees due to the fact that they did not contest the multiple lawsuits from Sony. However, Sony unintentionally unveils that several European execs purchased PSPs from Lik-Sang before they were available in Europe, which is the very sort of option that Lik-Sang opened up for early adopters in Europe, and was getting legally roasted by Sony for. Indeed, the plot thickens, how are you going to tell the masses not to do it, when your execs are busy doing it? Of course, Sony claims that this was "investigatory" not because the execs were impatient. Because, as we all know Eurpoeans don't mind that they are last on Sony's list. They'll gladly wait. Sony, you just keep digging yourself deeper. You need to get your head on straight and get rid of your new Prez.
Posted by Decemberice at October 24, 2006 07:58 PM
Comments
More to the point - Sony's arrogance and actions as of late have gotten me to the point of, most likely, buying a Microsoft Xbox 360 in the future.
Hear that? I might buy a Microsoft Xbox 360 in the future. Instead of a PS3.
If that's not a testament to their stupidity, I don't know what is.
Sucks, because I've always like Sony... And have always loathed Microsoft.
- Jeff
Posted by: Jeff at October 24, 2006 12:57 PM
Does this mean that you won't be purchasing a Mylo either? LOL I forgot to mention it as yet another of their product lines doomed to fail.
Posted by: Decemberice at October 24, 2006 01:33 PM
What in the hell is a Mylo?
Hrm. I guess not! :)
- Jeff
Posted by: Jeff at October 24, 2006 04:55 PM
MYLO or (My Life Online) Is a new wi-fi messenger from Sony that should, in my opinion, be a firmware update to the PSP instead of a separate more expensive device with half the functionality. But then again, that's just my opinion. It's safe to say I won't be buying one anytime soon.
Posted by: decemberice at October 24, 2006 08:31 PM
Ahh - looks like a Hipster Sidekick for the MySpace crowd. Thanks but no thanks. I need a device that keeps annoying people from bugging me, not facilitates it. :)
- Jeff (grumpy old curmudgeon)
Posted by: Jeff at October 25, 2006 05:52 AM