International news pundits are writing headlines and waxing poetic about sellouts of Sony’s PlayStation 3 console in Japan. The Japanese launch, however, went as expected, and reports coming out of Japan aren’t all that terribly shocking.Let’s look at some of the high points of the official Japanese launch day and why they’re not all that surprising.
Long lines
News agencies reported people lining up hours and hours in advance of the console’s release. This one isn’t a shocker as the PS3 is one of the most anticipated gaming releases in a long time. In Japan, Sony’s home turf, the excitement is more than expected. No doubt, this will repeat itself in America later this week when the console goes on sale there, too.
Similar lines were reported with the release of the Xbox 360 in America and will no doubt repeat in Japan and elsewhere when Wii goes on sale.
From Cnet News, “I've been waiting for this day to come for so long. I'll play it all through the weekend. No time for meals," said hardcore gamer Tomoaki Nakamura, who already owns a PlayStation, a PlayStation 2, a PlayStation Portable handheld machine and an Xbox 360.
Nakamura, 41, was one of about 1,200 people in line at Bic Camera's Tokyo store.
Sellouts
Sales of the PS3 were brisk throughout Japan with console allotments going fast at retailers. This was the only expected outcome on the console’s home turf and in the country where discounted prices really churned up major excitement. Add to the fact there were only 100,000 consoles to go around and Bic Camera had about 1,200 people in line and the demand versus supply issue becomes very clear.
Guest appearance
Now this was a little unexpected. Sony’s Ken Kutaragi made a guest appearance outside Bic Camera to greet fans of the new console.
“"I'm really happy to see so many users waiting," he was quoted as saying, and we bet he was!
The skinny
The Japanese launch doesn’t prove Sony’s on the right track, nor should it be enough to help rebound the flailing electronics manufacturer. Even the American launch, which comes later this week, will not be enough to prove Sony has its ducks in a row.
Sure, the stories will be the same – long lines, sell outs, lots of fans cheering – but those are expected and not out of the ordinary.
It is my opinion that Sony will show signs of overcoming and conquering if, and when, it pulls off the 6-million-unit by March promise with consoles that perform, and perform well (not like Microsoft’s faulty first run units). If it does this, and gets Europe off the ground, then Sony and its costly, but cool, PS3 will be a force to be reckoned with. Anything less will not cut it in regards to mending fences with gamers, stock holders and fence sitters who are still deciding between a PS3, Wii or Xbox 360.
The Japanese launch was a good start, but Sony has a long way to go to recover from the black eyes it has obtained this year. The time for boisterous talk is over. It’s time for action.
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