All I want for Christmas is a PSP. PSP! PSP! PSP!

[Xizer]

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2219944

I am constantly amazed by Sony's marketing team. It's like they're intentionally trying to suck. Every new advert Sony puts out seems to be shittier and shittier.

First, we had the talking Mexican pubic hairs. Then, we had the racist PSP ads. Then there was the creepy, nonsensical baby commercial. Now...Sony proudly presents:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJxIWUKM0hQ&eurl=

These are the actual lyrics from that video:
Four...three...two...one.
I love the big screen,
So fresh and so clean.
It's all in my dreams.
And make me wanna scream.
PSP! PSP! PSP! PSP! PSP! PSP! PSP! PSP!
Games so crazy,
The totally amaze me.
Gotta ask my mom for one.
For sheezy.
PSP! PSP! PSP! PSP!
All I want for Christmas is my PSP,
When I play it when I'm walking down the street,
All I want for Christmas is my PSP.
Tell my mom and dad, "Get one fo me."
PSP! PSP! PSP! PSP! PSP! PSP!
Four...three...two...one.

What do my fellow DP members think about Sony's new marketing campaign for the PSP?

[PapaStu]

I think this is just a really really really really really really really bad rapper. Sony has made some stupid decisions, but making this one of their commericals is not one of them.

[dbiersdorf]

I think this is just a really really really really really really really bad rapper. Sony has made some stupid decisions, but making this one of their commericals is not one of them.

Really (http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/games/archives/2006/12/11/new_sony_viral_marketing_ploy_angers_consumers.htm l)? It's been confirmed that Sony is behind this, and it's absolutely pathetic.

[MrRoboto19XX]

I tell you, this guy's no Johnny Turbo...

[n.ooka]

I don't know about you guys, but I want a PSP for christmas now.

Cause...you know....they are so fresh and so clean.

[nate1749]

I think they're selling plenty of psp's and that's what the marketing depts. job is =)

[kainemaxwell]

The song itself is enough to want to buy a DS.

[jcalder8]

I like big screens.... maybe I need a psp too

[Jorpho]

Come now. Remember the Sega Saturn "Theatre of the Eye" ?

[ubersaurus]

I think they're selling plenty of psp's and that's what the marketing depts. job is =)



I know sony wishes they were selling plenty of psps. But i think at this point the failure of UMD as a movie format coupled with pisspoor game support for the first couple years of it's life have pretty much doomed the system to playing second fiddle to the DS.

[Nature Boy]

Sony is taking a lot of flack from what I've read over it's marketing campaigns, but they still say there's no such thing as bad press so I'd be suprised if it didn't work for them anyway.

The more interesting sidebar to this story is that I've heard they might try to legislate this type of marketing (viral), by forcing the agency performing it to disclose it's client.

[Joker T]

Those mexican dust balls in the TV ads are still worse.

[PapaStu]

Really (http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/games/archives/2006/12/11/new_sony_viral_marketing_ploy_angers_consumers.htm l)? It's been confirmed that Sony is behind this, and it's absolutely pathetic.



OH DEAR LORD.....

SCEE really has some big issues when it comes to advertising then. Thats just beyond horrible. I was thinking that it was just some dumbass considering the horrible quality of the video and everything. My bad.

[Cryomancer]

Come now. Remember the Sega Saturn "Theatre of the Eye" ?

Hell yeah, that thing is actually pretty cool.

[Jorpho]

To say nothing of Sega's viral marketing campaign from the early days of the Internet. Remember that thread?
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=76891
http://web.archive.org/web/20010501201742/www.prismaweb.com/sega/

[Synergy]

Whoa, that vid was OFF THA HOOK! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!

Ahem.

Haha, it's funny. When I first saw this thread, I thought it was Xizer actually wanting a PSP. Oh well. :)

[Niku-Sama]

what the "ELF" is this shit!

[Berserker]

Might this just be the byproduct of a downspiral; Could we just be now seeing what death-throes from a ginormous video game division of a ginormous corperation look like? It really seems as if they're just grabbing at straws now, desperately attempting a cling to the greatness they've been so used to, for so long...

This is a really crucial time for Sony. They've managed to work themselves into a very uncomfortable position. With the PS3 being sold at such a loss already, the previously accepted notion of pricing the system down in the future seems highly unlikely. UMD movies are being cleared off of store shelves, and not by people buying them but by store clerks who are just making room for other things that actually sell. They need to start pushing out solid content, solid games, and FAST.

It's do-or-die time.

Something I've thought about a few times lately is what the history might read like a few years down the line. If we might look back and point to Sony as an example of the perils of simply going for bigger, more, flashier, and ignoring all else. How they lost focus, and then ultimately lost it all. Maybe it'll end up going like the phone monopolies of a few decades ago, with one giant entity splintering into several smaller development houses. Who knows.

It might be still too early to call this game, but I'm not going to be buying PSanything for a good while yet.

[Half Japanese]

While I despise marketing and advertising in nearly all of its forms with all of my body (including my pee pee), I have to admit that some marketing is pretty clever. Burger King's "King" character and the video games based on him: clever, borderline genius, especially given the despicable territory within which they were spawned. Sony's marketing for the past few years: absolutely awful. If anything this tells me exactly what the marketing people knew they were faced with: they desperately need to move something that isn't selling. The UMD as a format for anything but PSP games is an utter flop and as hacked as the original Xbox came to be, I'd venture to guess that a much higher percentage of PSP users hack their consoles and use them in ways Sony never intended.

I have no bias an wouldn't consider myself a fanboy for anything (seeing past that fanboy haze and knowing that every game company out there solely to make money and not to hand-feed you a bowl of cherries and tickle your ass with a feather), but anyone that actually thinks this sort of thing is the least bit amusing probably has far more serious mental problems than modern psychiatry and medicine are prepared to deal with.

[Richter Belmount]

Eh this ad defianley is nothing like their demographic or core audience . Instead of making crappy ads , they should try using their money to get some more exclusives or infact more games onto their psp console , the only way I feel like I get most out of the psp If I start actually importing some titles , just the fact they dont localize certain titles. But I guess they are going to continue to pour money into poorly made ads for image alone, instead of satisfying a customer.

[Nature Boy]

I personally think you guys are grasping at straws that you only *wish* were there.

Sony is taking a huge risk with their PS3 hardware, no question. If it works everyone will think they're brilliant, if it fails everyone will question how they could be so stupid. But it's *way* too early to make pronouncements on it. And really, I can see them being okay with losing console market share if it means they end up winning the DVD format game.

The PSP, from what I gather, has around 25% market share at this point, with the DS at 75% say (handhelds only). Does that mean DS games vs PSP games are sold 3:1 ? Yup. Would Sony be overly concerned to the point of panic about this? Not at all. Two years ago, Nintendo had 100% of the market, didn't they? I don't know what market share Sony would be happy with, but having a quarter of the market after a couple of years is *nothing* to sneeze at.

They might even consider their viral campaign as a success. Who knows how much information they got by people hitting their website, to say nothing of the free publicity associated with getting 'busted'

[s1lence]

I still say the Baby and the PS3 commercial is one of the worst, though this rap one comes in with a close 2nd.

[poloplayr]

this makes me so so so very angry, why on earth did i end up buying a psp after holding out for so long. the system is a boring POS and this ad campaign is the biggest f--k you from Sony to the consumers. This cements my choice never ever to get a ps3 or any other sony product.

[JJNova]

I would just like to point out that Sony hired an outside marketing team to do this Viral Video type thing. YOu have to remember, right now, a lot of television channels are doing "Viral Videos of the Week" specials. The way it worked out is that the video linked people to http://alliwantforxmasisapsp.com (which is now removed) and it ws a site that was supposedly put together by some teenage kids, in order to convince one of the site owners moms to buy him a PSP for christmas. Someone ran a WhoIs on the site, found out that it was registered by a marketing company, and then did some research to find out the whole story.

So the real crime here is that the company Sony paid really sucked. Unless, like all viral marketing, is was just to get people talking. Which, is working very well.

[XYXZYZ]

I tell you, this guy's no Johnny Turbo...

Everybody sing it with me-

o/` All I want for Christmas is a TurboDuo! A TurboDuo! A TurboDuo! o/`
The games are fsking great,
Make me stay up real late,
Trying to get to level 8,

The games are totally ill,
They actually require skill

New-school scrubs can't step to LORDS OF THUNDER, word.

..okay, I'll stop now. ^....^

[zektor]

There is only one thing I observed just the other day. I went all over (Walmart, Target, TRU, and a few others) looking for a black NDS lite. I was shocked to see that none of the locations I went to had one....actually none of them had NDS units period. But, ALL of them had a massive supply of PSP units. This is two weeks before Christmas. The sales speak for themselves.

[crazyjackcsa]

I used to beleive that no publicity is bad publicity, but I no longer believe that to be the case. I also doubt the power of the internet to spawn any real sales of anything (take a look at Snakes on a plane) The movie did more for the internet than the internet did for the movie. This fiasco was only seen by net savvy individuals, which by and large have now said, "screw you" To Sony (How long that ill will lasts is unknown) And the casual gamer at large probably missed the entire thing, which is the best thing Sony could hope for.

[Berserker]

I personally think you guys are grasping at straws that you only *wish* were there.

Sony is taking a huge risk with their PS3 hardware, no question. If it works everyone will think they're brilliant, if it fails everyone will question how they could be so stupid. But it's *way* too early to make pronouncements on it. And really, I can see them being okay with losing console market share if it means they end up winning the DVD format game.

The PSP, from what I gather, has around 25% market share at this point, with the DS at 75% say (handhelds only). Does that mean DS games vs PSP games are sold 3:1 ? Yup. Would Sony be overly concerned to the point of panic about this? Not at all. Two years ago, Nintendo had 100% of the market, didn't they? I don't know what market share Sony would be happy with, but having a quarter of the market after a couple of years is *nothing* to sneeze at.

They might even consider their viral campaign as a success. Who knows how much information they got by people hitting their website, to say nothing of the free publicity associated with getting 'busted'

You're right, it really IS too early to predict anything. My previous post is, of course, 100% supposition. It's not meant to be misleading in that sense and if it is, then that really wasn't what I intended. Basically it's just me wondering.

I know that, looking at it objectively, it really could go either way. I know that, in a purely objective and logical discussion, we should come to a standstill, as an overly or even moderate amount of of convincing evidence is not present -- the facts just aren't in yet.

It's important to realize that, I think. And it's important to play devil's advocate when the threat of groupthink draws near. A year ago, I might've just done that here without hesitation, and if I thought the situation really called for it, even now I probably would... but, these days I just don't feel like being so purely objective anymore. I'm not a journalist, or an analyst. I'm actually just this dude, with my own opinions.

So, while realizing that objective reasoning is important, I also think that it's very important to wonder, in a personally biased yet genuine, non-mindless-fanboyism way. And personally, I'm just not a fan of a world where video gaming is dominated by an entity that is simply focused on more, bigger, and flashier. I am a fan of anything that takes video gaming in a genuinely new and interesting direction. I think what Nintendo is doing right now fits this criteria, though I also think it could stand to be more fully realized. When they stop doing this, I will cease being a fan. If Microsoft or even Sony does this, then I'll be a fan of that too, know what I mean?

Sorry for this sort-of-tirade, but I thought it was important to try and go at this in a complete sort-of-way.

[Nature Boy]

And it's important to play devil's advocate when the threat of groupthink draws near.

Couldn't agree more. Which is why I feel I have to post ideas that *don't* bash Sony for it's various perceived gaffes.

[n.ooka]

http://www.uptojump.com/phonysony/

He's a real gamzer.

[Synergy]

These are the actual lyrics from that video:
Four...three...two...one.
I love the big screen,
So fresh and so clean.
It's all in my dreams.
And make me wanna scream.
PSP! PSP! PSP! PSP! PSP! PSP! PSP! PSP!
Games so crazy,
The totally amaze me.
Gotta ask my mom for one.
For sheezy.
PSP! PSP! PSP! PSP!
All I want for Christmas is my PSP,
When I play it when I'm walking down the street,
All I want for Christmas is my PSP.
Tell my mom and dad, "Get one fo me."
PSP! PSP! PSP! PSP! PSP! PSP!
Four...three...two...one.

I seriously think I need help. I've watched this almost 10 times now. It's just so hilariously bad, I can't help it.

I mean, just watching this guy having random seizures in a random room somewhere with an orange couch, a giant banana, and a reindeer head COUPLED with the thought of suits actually sitting in a room watching this while thinking "This is it! I think we have something here, ladies and gentleman! Pure genius!" is just about enough to make my lungs almost collapse from laughter.

Now the more I watch it, the more I weep for humanity. This wins the "Internets Best Video 2006" award. Permanently.

[petewhitley]

The PSP, from what I gather, has around 25% market share at this point, with the DS at 75% say (handhelds only). Does that mean DS games vs PSP games are sold 3:1 ? Yup.

As a matter of fact, it's not even that lopsided for Sony, at least in terms of installed user base. It's not clear if your 75% to 25% stat was in regards software or hardware, but the just released NPD data for lifetime hardware adoption rates shows this:

DS - 7.6 million
PSP - 5.7 million
(Source: NPD, Gamedaily, Kotaku, etc. etc.)

Over and over the hard facts have shown that the PSP has been a resounding success for Sony (the UMD format however ...).

[ubersaurus]

As a matter of fact, it's not even that lopsided for Sony, at least in terms of installed user base. It's not clear if your 75% to 25% stat was in regards software or hardware, but the just released NPD data for lifetime hardware adoption rates shows this:

DS - 7.6 million
PSP - 5.7 million
(Source: NPD, Gamedaily, Kotaku, etc. etc.)

Over and over the hard facts have shown that the PSP has been a resounding success for Sony (the UMD format however ...).


I wonder what the sales figures for Europe are? It's done fairly well stateside, and is getting slaughtered in Japan by the DS, but I've heard nothing about Europe.

[Nature Boy]

As a matter of fact, it's not even that lopsided for Sony, at least in terms of installed user base. It's not clear if your 75% to 25% stat was in regards software or hardware, but the just released NPD data for lifetime hardware adoption rates shows this:

I believe it was game sales - I'm not sure hardware sales mean much since we know they're a lost leader of sorts for the most part (they might make some money on hardware sales but the *real* money is in the games of course).

[Celestial Avenger]

Sony is so smart with their marketing campaign.

Sorry if this has been posted.

http://www.vgcats.com/comics/images/060410.jpg