So-called fanboys are the lifeblood of the games industry. As with comics, manga, films and music, certain games franchises or even games companies attract fanatical followings convinced that the object of their affections can do no wrong, and who habitually buy every product they make. A quick trawl around the internet will show you that Nintendo and Sega have massive fanboy support – and even Microsoft, although Microsoft’s fanboys are pretty much hardcore ex-PC gamers whose lives now centre around Xbox Live. Obviously, World of Warcraft has an enormous pool of fanboys, as do, for example, Square-Enix’s Final Fantasy Series and Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer and Metal Gear Solid franchises. But do Sony fanboys exist? If they do, there’s precious little evidence on the web to suggest it.
In a way, Sony is a victim of its success – when it launched the original PlayStation, it cleverly courted the early-90s clubbers, who grew up with games but had drifted away from them, in line with the then-prevailing belief that games were the sole province of thirteen-year-olds. The PlayStation asserted that it could be cool to play games, and the PlayStation 2 reiterated that. But being a fanboy is definitely not cool – indeed, it is utterly geekish. So, are Sony’s fanboys too cool to admit what they are?
Possibly so, based on the evidence of having a PlayStation 3 and taking it around London to show various people. I took it, for example, to Radio 1Xtra, to show Rampage’s Mike Anthony and TTT, and the response was ecstatic to say the least, as you can hear for yourself by checking their blog on the 1Xtra site. They spoke about their loyalty to the PlayStation brand and were generally so enthusiastic that it took me about an hour to extricate myself from the building.
But does the prevailing view on the web and the blogosphere – that Sony has terminally shot itself in the foot by bodging the PlayStation 3 launch, and thereby alienated its loyal PlayStation customers – hold up among the larger population which doesn’t treat the internet as the centre of its collective life? And that is PlayStation’s core customer group.
However, there are question-marks which Sony will have to answer, as far as the PlayStation 3 is concerned. PlayStation enthusiasts have become what they are thanks to unforgettable games experiences, most notably the Grand Theft Auto series, which has appeared first on PlayStations since it went 3D. But that will no longer be the case for the next instalment, GTA IV, which will come out on PS3 and Xbox 360 simultaneously. Admittedly Metal Gear Solid 4 will be a PS3 exclusive, as will the most desirable of the forthcoming (and confusingly profuse) Final Fantasy games.
But is that enough? Sony has come up with some fantastic new franchises recently, such as Shadow of the Colossus, God of War and LocoRoco, but it needs to bring these, as well as the likes of Gran Turismo, to the PS3 as quickly as possible, to give potential PS3 owners the justification for lashing out £425. And the more exclusive agreements with third parties it loses (the same, for example, applies to Pro Evolution), the more important it becomes that its internal studios come out with stunningly brilliant – rather than mediocre-to-good – games. Eight Days, for example, could be such a killer game, but so little is known about it that we can’t count on that, and would anyone who played either of the PS2 versions of The Getaway, for example, use the PS3 version as a spur for upgrading their console?
By Steve Boxer
I am getting a PS3! and I cant wait!
Comment by AmericanNinja — Nov 6, 2006 @ 2:56 pm
What’s the link for the 1xtra blog discussing the PS3? I can’t find it on Google.
Comment by Andy — Nov 6, 2006 @ 2:57 pm
AmericanNinja - “I am getting a PS3! and I cant wait!”
So does that make you a PS fanboy??
Comment by Gul — Nov 6, 2006 @ 3:03 pm
“even Microsoft, although Microsoft’s fanboys are pretty much hardcore ex-PC gamers whose lives now centre around Xbox Live.”
This is what makes a Sony fanboy, such assumptions.
People don’t have just issue with the launch price, they have issue with the late late EURO launch, the fact that we in Europe apparently don’t mind, the fact that Sony puts companies like Lik-Sang.com out of business. I could go on by why bother?
Comment by Peterfll — Nov 6, 2006 @ 3:36 pm
Peter, if you knew anything about Steve Boxer you’d struggle to label him a PS fanboy…
Comment by Gul — Nov 6, 2006 @ 4:05 pm
Perhaps he should be more careful then, as by making sweeping generalisations you fall foul of being labelled as such. I’m sorry, I don’t have the time to know the life history of every jorno who choses to chip in on this subject.
I own both Xboxes and have never been a “hardcore” PC gamer in my life.
Comment by Peterfll — Nov 6, 2006 @ 4:09 pm
My understanding is that S Boxer is one of the least console affiliated journos in the UK. Think there’s a lot of truth in what he says about the trendiness of PlayStation but feel he could have gone a lot, lot deeper with this topic
Comment by Gul — Nov 6, 2006 @ 4:24 pm
“What’s the link for the 1xtra blog discussing the PS3? I can’t find it on Google.” - http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/rampage/diary/
Comment by Three Speech — Nov 6, 2006 @ 4:59 pm
Great, thanks! Seems like they were pretty impressed with it.
Comment by Andy — Nov 6, 2006 @ 6:04 pm
Brand loyalty is everywhere, even for Sony. For example:
http://gamingtengoku.livejournal.com/1929.html
I know a Sony fanboy; he acts like a dick every time I play my GameCube.
Comment by ToxicWaste — Nov 7, 2006 @ 2:51 am
I think, right now, it’s the -fan boys that are shouting the loudest, and the genuine Sony fans are actually just sitting there quietly confident.
There are a few that protest (and just get shouted down), but the majority just look at the negative fanboys (ie 360 and Wii fanboys/owners having a dig at Sony at every given opportunity) and simply shrug and laugh it off. We actually think it’s a tad sad that people have to ‘hate’ so much - but why?
I can only come to the conclusion that it’s because they are feeling threatened… which is not surprising as Sony is such a huge player in the market and the likelihood is that it will again come out on top…
But there are a number of reasons for that, they give us excellent products, not just technically brilliant but with long life cycles along with excellent content, and that’s just for starters.
Yes us Europeans are pissed off that we have to wait an extra 3 months or so, but, on balance, we know that if Sony could have done it any better they would have - why would they not? We are prospective customers after all (with a choice), and what do companies need more than anything else? ;-). Us.
What really annoys me though is that the net hooliganism is left unchecked and out of control - none of the major websites seem to give a shit. They appear to care more about ‘traffic’ than decency or respect.
It’s through dark times we see the light, and through this particular episode, actually, something good will come. If three speech are connected with Sony in anyway and would like more info about what I speak about, then please contact me.
For everyone else, I will post details soon.
Comment by Timeless — Nov 7, 2006 @ 5:03 am
An interesting article elaborating on what it means to be a fanboy… http://play.tm/story/8483
Comment by Three Speech — Nov 7, 2006 @ 11:20 am
AmericanNinja1 is a Sony employee with an XBOX LIVE GOLD account that goes around trolling on Major Nelson’s blog about why PS3 is vastly superior and why MS is not.
Comment by bob dobbs — Nov 8, 2006 @ 3:52 pm
Peterfll, good comments. It sucks that Europe has to wait. I’m in Canada, so I’m lucky to have one pre-ordered and waiting for me on the 17th.
(I am a Sony fanboy, but I’m also a tech-geek, so I own PS2, Xbox, GC, PC, Mac).
I take only one exception. Your comment about Lik-sang is well received. However, how many companies do you think Microsoft has put out of business? If people are hating on Sony because of that, they should absolutely loathe MS.
Comment by dorellie — Nov 10, 2006 @ 2:47 pm
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