European PS3 slogan: "This is Living"
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Aug 30th 2006 at 9:55PM }
Unveiled at the Leipzig Games Convention and seemingly ignored by most, the official PS3 slogan for Europe has Sony proudly declaring, "This is living." Reeking of hyperbole and only tenuously linked to gaming, it's the sort of marketing that fits in quite snugly with an industry asking us to "jump in" (with your credit card details) and assuring us that playing is the equivalent of believing (the praise or the criticism?). Of course, as with the other snappy lines, it's only a matter of time before witty internet personalities pervert Sony's message into something scathing and occasionally amusing.
- "This is living. So, it's true. The cost of living really has gone up."
- "This is living ... in abject poverty!"
- "This is living -- it really does have four dimensions!"
- "The PS3 is living? Well, at least that's a few steps up from the thinking Dreamcast."
- "This is living (now attack its weakpoint for massive damage)."
[Thanks Neil!]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
C. Kent @ Aug 30th 2006 10:03PM
Must have been some marketing guy's first day on the job.
Good thing Sony will have a good supply of a nicely priced console this holiday season.
Oh wait...
pixelator @ Aug 30th 2006 10:03PM
You know what, Joystiq - you guys are an embarrassment to the industry. I've been working on games since 1990 and never have I ever seen such a biased group of fanboys passing off their slanted bullshit opinion in my life.
I mean - the name WII is OK? WIIMOTE? TOUCH ME for DS is fine and dandy, but somehow 'This is Living' is the very height of ridicule fodder for you Nintendo loving hypocrites.
Lame, guys. Very lame. At least there are other (any) more credible sources out there to get less Nintendo-colored news.
Brian @ Aug 30th 2006 10:08PM
@#1 boy, some people really hate Joystiq. Why do you come here?
Anyway, if you'd bother to read the damn post, they make fun of M$ and Nintendo right there. It's in the post. Sometimes if you hold on to your knee while you read things, you can keep it from jerking. Give it a shot, eh?
cap-n-crunch @ Aug 30th 2006 10:10PM
slogans okay, but the font sux. looks very 70s.
pukgreenuniform @ Aug 30th 2006 10:12PM
Oh so anyone who doesnt own one isnt living? Do they not have lives? Is Sony judging human worth? Are they trying to be as arrogant and "We decide what you do." as possible. Consumer culture is sickeningly confused. Their slogan should be,"This is it. We dont care what you think about it. We are cool. Buy it or be square."
They should present a glimpse of 4D graphics in the ads.
Johan Krüger-Haglert @ Aug 30th 2006 10:16PM
I think you guys are fun.
Sony should have used "is teh shit", "pure pwnage" or something instead. "omg wtf lol" or "this isn't really a supercomputer" or maybe "my other console is a super computer!!1!!eleven!!11".
"Cell
Blu-ray
Real-time weapon change"
I feel sad for Sony, I still hope their PS3 kicks Xbox360s ass althought from many of the screenshots it doesn't look that way and PC games such as Crysis looks so much better. I guess the quality of the graphics will raise a lot the coming two-three years thought. Go Sony, I love you more than Microsoft, but please lose against teh Wii, k thnx ;)
Pince @ Aug 30th 2006 10:17PM
@1
1.You must admit "You need this to play Metal Gear Solid 4" is a far better slogan.
2.As a previous poster pointed out, they made fun of Nintendo and Microsoft slogans as well (also, maybe you werent around for the straight week of Wii jokes...did you miss that? This slogan will be accepted in the halls of questionable marketing ideas much faster than "Wii" was.)
3.Its fun to make fun of Sony's PR and marketing departments anyways, because, frankly, they have made themselves look like complete A-holes as of late. Don't worry, I'm sure Nintendo will say something like "Wii is bigger than Jesus" and Peter Moore will get pregnant with some rapper's baby. Then you can just roll in the bad press.
AoE @ Aug 30th 2006 10:20PM
wow... why is it so difficult for companies to come up with slogans that don't sound lame?
And for the record, while "it's thinking" is pretty lame too, the sonic adventure/dreamcast spot is still my favorite video game commerical. For those that never saw it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbvDoAw6WNA
dave @ Aug 30th 2006 10:25PM
This is living, because you have to play it 24/7 for its entire lifespan to justify that pricetag.
Its a marriage not a one night stand. Just hope you dont wake up after the honeymoon and realise how fat the PS3 is, and how its always after more of your paycheck.....more than $60 for games? Damnit, time for a divroce!
Bob @ Aug 30th 2006 10:28PM
Whoa there, pixelator. Before you go off on another crusading rant against Joystiq's alleged bias, I would much rather prefer to bring it to your attention that they're making fun of the slogan simply because its a rather bad slogan. Besides, lets not forget all the Wii ymntds out there, so remind yourself that Nintendo has had its fair share of bashing.
I'm thinking Sony needs to fire someone... it seems to me that they would make a better living writing slogans for, uhhh... lets say Ikea?
At least Nintendo's slogans have made an obvious connection to the actual product and any idiot upon hearing it would be able to make the connection that its videogame related. But come on now, "this is living?"
"Play it loud," "Playing is believing," "Touching is good." You'd think Sony might actually learn something after copying Nintendo all these years. (OH NO HE DIDN'T!)
TRX @ Aug 30th 2006 10:34PM
And pixelator is first to rip apart the post and label it anti-Sony. Now I remember why I keep visiting Joystiq. The agressive fanboys are the ultimate source of entertainment.
Shogan @ Aug 30th 2006 10:37PM
Joystiq and it's sister sites have blasted Nintendo for every stupid thing they've done. Wii, Touching is Good, the whole controller concept, everything.
But, Sony does seem intent on making just as many reasons to ridicule them.
Optimus Prime @ Aug 30th 2006 10:36PM
People. Its just a slogan. Calm down. There are always gonna be people who have nothing better to do than to rip slogans apart. Big freakin wup. It speaks more to their insecurity (the need to put others, Sony in this case, down) than the viability of the slogan.
nick @ Aug 30th 2006 10:48PM
This is living (in denial). Seriously, why is Sony making it sooo easy?
Z-247 @ Aug 30th 2006 10:47PM
This is living really does seem to be a hair away from either a McDonald's slogan or maybe a Toyota slogan. Something *extremely* vague. And the goofy font makes me think we should be seeing bigger dorks jumping around, laughing with their PS3, ala the Wii demo actors.
Maybe this gen is about having the console cover your myspace needs as well as your dvd player?
The ZeroCorpse @ Aug 30th 2006 10:48PM
I have a better PS3 slogan:
"It haves teh 4th dimension!!1!. Get a second job!!1!"
distrbnce (at) gmail @ Aug 30th 2006 10:50PM
I think it'll work great in Britain. I don't see it being used in America though. Maybe.
I don't digg the font.
It seems like they're going for a much more mainstream approach, as opposed to David Lynch's highly mysterious, highly awesome The Third Place campaign for the PS2.
PlayStation used to have so much mystery around it. I used to love the easter eggs in PS1 demo discs that you accessed by hitting a short sequence of buttons. Sometimes the codes would appear in the small print of magazine ads, or on promotional postcards. Plus, probably my favorite slogans ever, URNOT(red)E and (red)ENOS LIVES.
Oh, oh, and "If you still want a Saturn, your head is in Uranus." Ahaha, that would never fly in the geekangst Hate-Sony hayride today.
The PS2 had The Third Place, the boot up screen was very mysterious, and the way that the logo would appear at the end of commercials, materializing from smokey swirls.
This in juxtoposition to the Xbox campaign/boot-up, with the X pounding through the black, showing that it was about power.
The PS2's case design, representing space, with the blue PS2 logo being Earth. The Xbox design looking like a bulging VCR with a tennis ball stuck in the top.
Even though we've barely seen any PS3 advertising (this, 06E3's Beyond, and 05E3's Chang3), it seems like they're going for more of a public, even Web2.0ish appeal.
Certainly "Jump In." has that flavor, and "This Is Living" goes right along with it.
reebo @ Aug 30th 2006 10:52PM
"This is living ... in abject poverty!"
Hehe, I like that one...
Nyuu @ Aug 30th 2006 10:53PM
So, is every fanboy going to ignore that Ludwig is mocking the humourless Gamefaqs posts that will undoubtedly come of any video game ad?
Dr.Swiss @ Aug 30th 2006 10:55PM
"I've been working on games since 1990"
pixelator
YOU'RE THE MAN NOW DOG
A person @ Aug 30th 2006 11:08PM
The slogan is alright, but the seventies called, they want their font back. I mean, you just expect a bunch of hippies to come out and dance to "the Age of Aquarius" while they throw peace signs and flowers onto innocent bystanders, making their heads implode with psychadelic colors, all in protest of a war.
csc @ Aug 30th 2006 11:13PM
@17,
nah, im english and i hate it just as much if not more than everyone else, font sucks too.
h2c @ Aug 30th 2006 11:15PM
"This is living" is fine as a slogan, if it is accompanied by an ad campaign that makes sense.
For example, let's look at the "Jump in." 360 ad campaign as cleverly alluded to in Ludwig's post:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D92kCJAYTqM&mode=related&search=
http://www.mediabum.com/html/xBox-Jump-In.html
Saying "Jump in." makes sense when combined with these videos. Jump in and play, everyone can do it yay yay buy me!
Saying "This is living" after showing a bunch of floating PS3's isn't an effective promotion because there is no connection between the slogan and what we saw.
The PS3 is a beast of a machine. Every single piece of promotion for it should be a demonstration of all the nifty things it can do, which would back up the claim that "This is living."
I realize the video in question isn't a commercial, but I'm still a little surprised at such a lackluster promotional piece at a games convention. More could have, and should have, been done to really demonstrate why getting a PS3 is living.
saboola @ Aug 30th 2006 11:17PM
This slogan reminds me of the village people, the color purple, a rainbow, other things. Dunno why, cant put my finger on it.
arch @ Aug 30th 2006 11:21PM
#1 and to all who say "why does joystiq act biased."
its not joystiq, its us and the whole industry. were fucking sick of sonys BS! and frankly dont care anymore.
B @ Aug 30th 2006 11:25PM
Other slogans:
"This is living-if you have 599usd."
"This is living(Giant enemy crabs included)"
"You need THIS to play MGS4" is the best so far. Lol,I fail at marketing.
>_> @ Aug 30th 2006 11:28PM
When the first reports of dead PS3s start popping up...
"This is dying."
Sony Fanboy @ Aug 30th 2006 11:33PM
X360 slogan in Japan: This is dying.
pixelator @ Aug 30th 2006 11:34PM
Just to give the Nin... Uh, Joystiq apologists something to read, here you go. The top 10 blogs at Joystiq atm:
# Sony's racially charged ad (398)
# Should we consider the PSP dead? (206)
# OPM editor doesn't even want a PS3 ... yet (200)
# E3 cancelled for next year and beyond [update 4] (182)
# PS3: 2 down, 200+ still in the works (173)
# Rumor: Will Nintendo punk us with the Wii? (167)
# Will Resistance: FoM justify the PS3 pricetag? (167)
# 360 : achievements :: PS3 : entitlements (164)
# No online support for 3rd-party Wii devs until 2007 (157)
# Catching up with Kaz and the PS3 [update 1] (150)
...Who's biased? Nah, not JQ. 7 out of 10 are outright Sony blasting, 1 actually questions Nintendo (woo!). Yeah, what the hell am I thinking, daring to question Joystiq's integrity?
Retrofied @ Aug 30th 2006 11:33PM
"jump in" (with your credit card details)
You don't need a credit card for xbox live. :|
El Hajjish @ Aug 30th 2006 11:45PM
Pixelator, just because those ten topics are the most popular for commenting, it doesn't mean that Joystiq is biased. Joystiq can't help what causes discussion. It just so happens that those topics have generated more discussion upon readers. If anything, that means that Joystiq readers are biased against Sony, not Joystiq.
As a Nintendo fan(....boy?) I can say that there are lots of times that I get annoyed because Joystiq keeps focusing on the Wii's graphics in every article. I wish they would cut it out - we get it: the graphics are current-gen. But I don't claim that Joystiq is anti-Nintendo.
Remember when the X-Box came out. Microsoft got a pretty rough ride then too, what with the power brick and the crashing and all.
carg0 @ Aug 30th 2006 11:48PM
I find the slogan ironic. "This Is Living"
We haven't seen anything from the ps3 except for a few underwhelming game videos and demos. So how can "This" be living? We still don't even know what "This" is since it hasn't even been launched yet. And right now "This" seems to be more of Sony's rhetorical garbage.
I don't think it's a bad slogan, it just seems out of place right now. This is the kind of slogan one would expect to see AFTER the ps3 has established itself in the market. Or perhaps they've already started selling this thing on Mars and have not told anyone about it.
Spencer @ Aug 30th 2006 11:51PM
Joystiq forgot my personal favorite:
THIS is living?!? I think I got gypped....
Dottie Smit @ Aug 30th 2006 11:57PM
PS2 GAMES AREN'T AS HARD AS PS1 GAMES , WE'RE PASYING MORE FOR LESS.GAMING SINCE IT BECAN
Pc @ Aug 31st 2006 12:00AM
Makes sense to me....simply put the PS3 is the most powerful system with the coolest new inovative shit (of course im just stating my opinion right now, but im right)!!! You guys are gonna have hell playin some of the games on the wii.....watch the madden video, then you have red steel that has controls like that resident evil on ps2 that used a gun(ewww)...i think more people will get pissed off at the wii's controls than anything.....one more thing...how can nintendo appeal to a larger audience when the controls are more complicated.??!! its not gonna be as simple as point and click on alot of their games( im sure the classics that they bring out on their virtual console will be easy to play because they will use mainly 2 buttons or so)..
completely off the chart, i know, i just had to say that stuff after watching some new videos.
alright guys.....comment away...i cant wait to read yalls responses ... lmao
SonicRift @ Aug 31st 2006 12:01AM
"This is living" sounds like they want the PS3 to be a luxury item. As in, "Living it up," or, "now this is the life."
I know people will argue that all video games are luxury items, but I mean upper class luxury.
Like, after driving home in my Lexus, I shout at the cleaning staff, plug my wife who is 20 years younger than me, turn on my 60 inch HDTV and play some Madden kind of luxury.
Maybe that's an extreme, but that's the impression I get from "This is living".
tiremfej @ Aug 31st 2006 12:11AM
Pixelator, I don't know why I'm even joining in this conversation...at any rate here goes:
The Wii got plenty of bashing when the name was out, that's seemingly the only mistake Nintendo has made in regards to the new system, but it was brutal around here for awhile.
The 360, well aside from a daily comment on the durability of the machine, everything seems to be running pretty well with that system as well, very few mistakes on MS' part.
The P$3, well, I don't think I have to even justify why there are many more anti- P$3 articles. Lies, Price, Arrogance, and more lies. They've made a ton of mistakes and the thing isn't even out yet, it may not be until next year even! So sure there's more to bash, get a thicker skin pixelator. And always remember one thing, it's only a video game system!
Markster @ Aug 31st 2006 12:16AM
Wow, that video...
The first 30 seconds were pretty good. Very... well... standard video game commercial.
And then when that phrase flew out of the PS3, I burst out laughing!
Negativecool @ Aug 31st 2006 12:27AM
Sony's marketing department frustrates me. They have a monster machine that has a lot of value to it, and will cost conusmers A LOT...and all they can come up with is..."This is Living??" WTF?
"This is living" is what Ken said to Kaz, and Phil when he wiped his ass with the profits of the PS2.
Better slogans would be:
"All your money are belong to us"
"This is living...*camera slowly pans to a disturbing image of a heart beating on the PS3...'jump in' flashes across the screen*
"Please buy the PS3...blu-ray, cell, and sony will fail if you don't"
"Now...for the FIRST time EVER in the history of the universe...real time weapon change, only possible on the PS3"
"For Massive Damage"
"599 US dollars"
"That E3 Killzone movie was totally gameplay"
"Force feedback is so last Gen"
"Because theres over 100 million PS2 owners...that probably don't want to pay 600 dollars...but hey, we sold 100 million of our last gen console....that counts for something this gen right?....right?"
"Lots of Ducks"
"From the company that brought to you the run away successes of the BETAMAX, DRM, and the ultra successful UMD, comes the PS3 packed with already successful and meticulously tested technologies such as Blu-ray which is essential if you call yourself a human being, and the cell processor, which has only 7 working spu's because 8 would be too hard."
"Its Ridge Racer, Riiiiiiidge Raaaaacer!"
Shogan @ Aug 31st 2006 12:30AM
pixelator -
Buy me a PS3 and I will never say anything bad about Sony again.
Striker Dude @ Aug 31st 2006 12:31AM
"This is living (now attack its weakpoint for massive damage)."
As soon as I this line I just bursted out in laughter. I seriously didn't see this one coming at all.
socrates @ Aug 31st 2006 12:31AM
Did pixelator go to far? Of course.
Are some of joystiq's bloggers exhibiting identifiable personal opinions vis-a-vis certain consoles? Yeah, some. Not enough to be annoying. To me, the most annoying tendancy Joystiq has is to focus a lot on stories I find completely irrelevant - the European slogans for the consoles! The fonts on whatever game! They're really all over empty bits of hype about upcoming things (Ringo Starr says he probably won't buy a PS3!) but a number of relatively big stories about actual gaming stuff go unnoticed (maybe I missed it, but I saw zero mention of the huge storyline and plot details released about Vice City Stories not to long back...).
But the real reason why Joystiq is interesting is because the comment discussion that happens here really is better than in most places, due to people drifting here from engadget. So slipping in a little bit of opinion is fine - they should just go ahead and write full opinion pieces really (but that would be an additional burden to create content like that). But the best thing they could do to improve the site that would be utterly painless, would just to recognize that lots of people come and re-visit here for the comment threads, and to find ways of prompting good discussions beyond just news items. For example, why not have a discussion once week about topics like:
-what games do you own but have never completed
-best gaming stories, proudest gaming moments
-retro gaming reviews/obscure cult games
-what were the best games on a certain platform, in a certain genre
I mean, there's all sorts of topics that would get hundreds of comments. Would make the site more fun on slow news days, and to give more topics than the typical console sparring! I think that would be a much bigger improvement than refraining from making snide PS3 jokes all the time.
El Hajjish @ Aug 31st 2006 12:41AM
I agree with socrates. If it's a slow news day, some general discussion by commentors on random video game topics would be a lot of fun.
Forgotten franchise most in need of a sequel? A game that you most regret selling to EB? ...I don't know, random stuff.
It would certainly be a refreshing change from the usual Sony vs. Nintendo vs. Microsoft discussions.
socrates @ Aug 31st 2006 12:41AM
tiremfej (37) -
I would disagree with pixy's vehement stance myself, but your statements are pretty bad. The "Nintendo has made zero mistakes with its console" is VERY far from an objective claim, not to mention the "sony deserves all bad press due to lies and whatnot". I've seen a few others here say the same thing, and each time I think: What lies? What did they lie about? Having to delay a console doesn't count. You really can't claim to objectivity the instant you start using the dollar sign in microsoft/sony's name. Silly, childish things like that are the rare cases when the term "fanboy" becomes somewhat appropriat.
The point is, Sony and Nintendo are both doing some fairly risky things, one or both could end up looking dumb in the long run because of them. There really isn't "more to bash" from an objective standpoint on either one. This site tilts a tiny bit against Sony stuff, but hey, it wouldn't be fun if everyone agreed with you.
Pat @ Aug 31st 2006 12:54AM
Eh, its not so bad. I don't like the font though.
OTAM @ Aug 31st 2006 12:59AM
You always have the people coming on here complaining about Joystiq being "biased" regardless of the matter. All you're doing is shooting the messenger here. It's like shooting the TV reporter for being "against George Bush" when he reports America is making no progress in the War in Iraq or something.Joystiq does not produce news about Sony doing stupid shit,Sony themselves produces it,Joystiq just reports it. What,should Joystiq stop just because you love the precious PS3? Guess what,call Sony and tell them to get their shit straight,not cry to Joystiq.
This place is like the game Counterstrike. You have people complaining nonstop about it,but they never leave to a different place. You don't like it? Leave. The URL bar is right at the top so type in anything your heart desires. If not,then shut the fuck up with your nonstop crying.
PS3 is the bad answer for the question nobody asked.
BklynKid @ Aug 31st 2006 1:08AM
Did everyone forget that this is a BLOG, and not a NEWS SITE? Sure you may find information here that you haven't heard before, which would make it "new to you," but don't mistake that as reporting NEWS. Again, this is a blog. The idea is to portray opinion and writing that may be interesting to some.
So to sum it up:
CNN is a news site. Joystiq is a blog.
CNN is comprised of facts. Joystiq is comprised of opinion about current events.
If you don't like reading peoples opinions... DON'T READ BLOGS! Any questions?
ill trooper @ Aug 31st 2006 2:07AM
It's very contemporary, actually, hand-drawn letterforms are huge in design right now and I'm thinking it's a little ahead of the target-audience, unless you're a Tokyo dweller - it's very Parco (http://www.parco-shibuya.com/web/) or Beams (http://www.beamst.com/). That logotype is very Japanese. I like it a lot, although I understand why others don't. That would make a nice t-shirt.
T-Bag @ Aug 31st 2006 2:07AM
@ AoE,
Please kill yourself, because the gaming culture doesn't want you or that laughably pathetic commercial. You deserve to be institutionalized just for saying it was good.
Fandel @ Aug 31st 2006 4:11AM
Well, I'll say this for the Playstation 3, after I buy that system, I'll be the most envied person living in a cardboard box! But then again, judging by the size of that system, you could probably find enough room to actually move into a PlayStation 3, and forgo paying rent altogether.