Cognition Dissemination: Is Sony Starting to Slip?

You have to hand it to Sony for playing their cards right going into this console generation, regardless of what you think of them. They zeroed on what the gaming audience wanted from a video game console with the PlayStation 4, all while Microsoft gaming sector was imploding in slow motion due to an Xbox One with an uncertain target market. Even after Microsoft realized the mistakes made with their system, shown through the numerous price cuts they’ve made over the years to drop it to a mass market-friendly price, Sony’s early showing of goodwill has carried them through this generation thus far. It’s been nearly three years since the system launched, so it’s evident how long those effects lasted.

But in the last year, I’ve seen quite a few jokes about Sony’s old ways coming back — “Arrogant Sony,” as some say. You might be familiar with them, from the time where they were consumed by hubris in the mid-00s, shortly before and slightly after the PlayStation 3 launched. It’s where glorious quotes like “The next generation doesn’t start until we say it does!” and “We want consumers to think to themselves ‘I will work more hours to buy one’” emerged, from current CEO Kaz Hirai and former PlayStation engineer Ken Kutaragi, respectively.

The evidence for this was in how the company’s first-party lineup for PS4 wasn’t quite as strong as it was for previous consoles, with the company relying more on third-party partnerships. In other words, they’re essentially taking a page out of Microsoft’s strategy during the 360 era, even down to partnering with Activision to co-market Call of Duty games. But this is less due to them being lazy and more an acknowledgment of market realities. With games being more expensive to make and requiring larger resources, it’s not as easy for developers to make as many titles simultaneously, and for Sony to fund them. Not to mention that first-party titles often (but not always) sell less due to being only on one console.

However, as more time goes on, the more they might have a point. Pin that on decisions and announcements they’ve made in the last month, and the way they’ve announced them.

This started when they confirmed their decision to raise the price of PlayStation Plus subscriptions, announced unceremoniously through social media. Starting on September 22nd, the price for a 3-month subscription will cost $24.99 and one year will cost $59.99, up from the previous prices of $17.99 and $49.99, respectively. It’s now on par with an Xbox Live Subscription, whose prices Microsoft raised late during the 360’s life. They knew this wouldn’t go over well, which explains why they didn’t make a new post for this on the PlayStation Blog. Instead, notice how they attached this news to an old post featuring August’s PlayStation Plus games, so new comments would get buried from those related to the games made available for the month. It’s a pity to see, but perhaps we should have seen this coming.

If Sony wants to make this deal look good, they’ll have to show why consumers should be OK with paying an extra $7-$10 for a subscription. They should do this through providing better offerings as PlayStation Plus freebies, in the form of games or other extras. If not, it will look like they did this just because they could.

A display of hubris could also be seen during the PlayStation Meeting presentation last week, though in this case, it was admittedly faint. It was evident they were caught off guard by Microsoft’s Scorpio announcement at E3 and the leaks of the PlayStation 4 Pro’s specs, since they refused to give many hard numbers for its specs during the presentation. They also didn’t have much new to show, which gave some the impression that the company thinks they can coast along and do whatever they wish for the next year or so, since they’re far and away the market leader. There’s a chance they may have unintentionally given off that vibe, but they didn’t show enough to sell the Pro other than show its power upgrade while playing the same games.

It’s the lack of moves here that could bite them, as Microsoft has gone a long way towards repairing their image and making their hardware look more attractive. They recently launched the Xbox One S, which came in three favors that offer different storage sizes last month — not including the bundles. It also has the ability to play Ultra HD Blu-Ray movies, a feature even the PS4 Pro doesn’t have, let alone the PS4 slim.

Interestingly, Sony Interactive Entertainment chief Andrew House doesn’t view any Microsoft platform as competition, as he believes their real competitor is PC. It sounds like he’s writing off Xbox as serious competition, which shows pride that could bite them if they’re not careful, especially after XB1 outsold PS4 for two straight months in America. Companies are at their best when they have good competition, so it will be good for everyone if Microsoft fully turns this around.

That’s not all; there’s another move that left people raising their eyebrows and shaking their heads. Despite mods being available for the Xbox One and PC versions of Fallout 4, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition in the future, they’ll be absent from the PS4 version. Bethesda pinned the blame for this solely on Sony, and despite news posts like these typically remaining neutral, this one took a rather negative tone to hammer home their upset. You can’t blame them either, considering they originally promised the PS4 versions of those games would have it, after not expecting any resistance from Sony. It doesn’t appear Sony will relent here, but if they do, you could see an update about this in a future “Examples of Damage Control in Gaming” feature.

Despite Sony’s recent slippage, Microsoft isn’t completely innocent here. The employees handling their Twitter accounts have been gloating a little too much, despite it being good bait for some hilarious reactions. Their response after the PlayStation Meeting was well-timed, and got a good chuckle. But this had already run its course when their UK arm tried something like it again a mere two days later, especially the part about Xbox Live being the fastest online gaming network. Let’s hope they aren’t exhibiting any signs, too, or we’ll never hear the end of this.

Even when you combine all of these examples, they don’t show that “Arrogant Sony is back,” or whatever variant some internet types have latched onto. Instead, they’re more the representations of the hubris level some companies and employees tend to exude after recent successes. Always keep in mind a key adage: Corporations are not your friend, and believing they’ll always make the right consumer-friendly moves will too often lead to bitter disappointment. We’ll get another chance to see Sony in action through their Tokyo Game Show conference in less than 12 hours from now, which might show that they’ve already reeled their pride in.