Sony’s Playbook: Insult the Competition and Hire Short People

Ah, Sony, you’re like my last girlfriend: great hardware, a sleek shape, and you look stunning in black. Unfortunately, you share all her bad qualities, too. You’re a little crazy, and too few of the games that we play together are any fun. Look, it’s not me… it’s you. I’m just looking for a little more out of my system. No, you haven’t changed, and that’s one of the reasons I can’t be with you anymore.

Where are all your good games? Yes, I know Metal Gear Solid 4 just came out and Gran Turismo 5 looks cool, but come on, I expected more.

So you saw me flirting with Wii and, my friend, Xbox. This is what I saw you doing:

Bashing the competition, as usual…

Former Sony President and father of the original Playstation, Ken Kutaragi, started the trend three years ago with his famous quote to PC Watch: “The Xbox 360 is more of a Xbox 1.5 than a next-generation console.” And let’s not forget when he said that “the PS2 might see a little competition from the Xbox 360,” days before the 360’s impending launch.

After Kutaragi’s departure as Sony’s head man in 2006, things quieted down for a short while, but now with the release of MGS4 these tactics have resurfaced:
Ahhhh, so it’s more of a two-pronged strategy…

So, is this game plan paying dividends?

Well, your PS3 has been gaining a bit of steam, outselling its arch-rival, Xbox 360, in the first two months of 2008, but since then you guys have flip-flopped from month to month. On the other hand, your old pal, Wii, has remained in the top of the console sales wars by a wide margin since overtaking the 360 in September of last year.

Until you put out more great titles and start winning some battles in the console wars, Sony, please refrain from the abusive language, or I’m not sure that we can be friends anymore.