Where's Sony's 'Major Nelson?'
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Oct 5th 2006 at 5:15PM }
Sony lacks a community man, a public personality who is more than just a mouth. Sony lacks a Major Nelson.Microsoft's Larry Hryb has emerged as a personality capable of transforming the Xbox image from a cold, black box into a lively community of gamers, both hardcore and casual. What's more, he's built his celebrity on trust, successfully balancing his employer's expectations with honest commentary produced for the consumer's sake. In other words, he's likeable -- and he's selling the brand. Does Sony need that guy to succeed?
[Thanks, Joe]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Agent MOO @ Oct 5th 2006 5:22PM
Well, in terms of company culture, Microsoft is a geeky company full of bloggers, and sony is more buttoned down and threatened by that type of openness.
Drew @ Oct 5th 2006 5:22PM
Uh only nerds read Major Nelson/Joystiq, and nerds are the ones who will buy either system anyway, without a Major Nelson type personality or with it.
It is the casual gamers that Microsoft and Sony strive to reach, the ones who don't read about video games apart from EGM on the toilet.
darryl @ Oct 5th 2006 5:23PM
Sony doens't need a shill to sell the PS3. The console will sell itself.
bobeotm @ Oct 5th 2006 5:27PM
Personally I dont think Sony needs a major nelson, they just need to pay more attention to what they say. Kaz, Krazy Ken, and Phil Harrison could easily be that for the company, its just that they cant seem to stop saying things they later regret.
All sony needs to do is be a little more candid with the general public, and less about spouting hyperbole, and more about making the consumer feel confortable with the company. Its easy for people to like Miyamoto, or Jaffe, or Kojima, they have only one job, to make games. Sony's big guys have so many concerns competing for there attention on any given day, that its hard for them to be as close to our level as developers are. Sony may not be as large as microsoft, but there hand is in far more areas. They need someone with a way with words (thats not some PR drone) but closely connected enough with whats going on in the world of PS to be of use for the gaming public.
I think of the current batch of sony dudes, Phil has the highest probability of being that for us. He is fare less crazy than Ken Kutaragi, and less awkward than Kaz Hirai. He just needs to stop drink whatever water the heads of sony seem to be drinking, and be a little more personable.
aerial_daredevil @ Oct 5th 2006 5:30PM
My 1st post:
I discovered this site about a month ago - been reading it consistantly ever since. I have three opinions that I believe about the joystiq writers:
1) Pro XBOX360
2) Pro Wii
3) Anti PS3
I can't say that I disagree!
arghmatey @ Oct 5th 2006 5:32PM
did major hom....errr nelson come out of the closet yet?
Artimus @ Oct 5th 2006 5:34PM
Most random/pointless story ever?
When was the last time Major Nelson did something worth caring about?
-1 Star from Mr. Ransom-Whiney. That makes, what? -44 stars?
Stoli @ Oct 5th 2006 5:35PM
Well, one could also ask where's Nintendo's Major Nelson?
Tim @ Oct 5th 2006 5:36PM
I love how Joystiq singled out Sony and attacked them and left Nintendo alone. /sarcasm
Gamey McGee @ Oct 5th 2006 5:39PM
Who the hell is writing this crap for Joystiq. I have never seen a news source be so unabashedly pro-Microsoft/Xbox and Anti-Sony.
What childhood trauma caused such blind hate for something like this? Every since article is negative about Sony and it's getting old. Believe it or not, the news isn't that bad for Sony.
niindre @ Oct 5th 2006 5:39PM
Yes yes, Joystiq has nothing better to do than single out Sony, that poor little struggling company and yet not point out the same thing for mighty, totally dominant Nintendo. Oh the horror, the HORROR!!!
Blake @ Oct 5th 2006 5:45PM
5.aerial_daredevil
I have three opinions that I believe about the joystiq writers:
1) Pro XBOX360
2) Pro Wii
3) Anti PS3
I can't say that I disagree!
Good to see that you agree with yourself mate!Otherwise you might be diagnosed with multiple personalities...I'm guessing you're a Sony fangirl Judy.Fanboys from every faction believe that Joystiq is biased against whichever machine they wish they could fornicate with, that is the nature of the fanboy..
Phil @ Oct 5th 2006 5:49PM
PS3 SUCKS!
Bored @ Oct 5th 2006 5:50PM
Actually, guys, Joystiq is made up of a *team* of writers. All of them of biased in one direction or another. If you don't like James' posts, don't take anything they say with a grain of salt. Find the posters that you like and if you don't like any, don't come to the site. How simple is that?
*TIP*
If you click on a poster's name, it will show all of the past posts that particular writer submitted. Use that information to take in the big picture for each of them.
niindre @ Oct 5th 2006 5:51PM
Shouldn't that be 'PS3 Will Suck'?
Or are you from the future?
Petrie @ Oct 5th 2006 5:52PM
Though not exactly the same, people like Reggie and Miyamoto definitely have a similar connection with fans. There really isn't anyone like that for Sony, for better or for worse.
kinshadow @ Oct 5th 2006 5:54PM
The reason that Microsoft has a "Major Nelson" and Sony doesn't, goes back to the background of each company. MS (at heart) sells services (software) and knows the value of building a community of users for it. Sony is a consumer electronics company that has branched into content (games/movies/music). After all these years and shifts in revenue sources, Sony still doesn't understand that they are selling more than box. Sony wants (and tries) to sell the lifestyle and the community, but that still hasn't figured out how to integrate that into their corporate culture.
gamefan1975 @ Oct 5th 2006 5:58PM
Another waste of my time on this site. Patience is running thin on hope that Joystiq will have a decent string of news here. Who the hell is Major Nelson anyway? Some drone MSFT used to 'fool' the gaming community into thinking they care about the hard core audience.
Please Joystiq, add some decent commentary and insight into the constant mush of gaming news. I beg you. and MSFT and Sony beg you to stop acting like journalists and act like citizens of the gaming nation.
Spilt_Milk @ Oct 5th 2006 5:58PM
Major Neslon's site is the best place to get the news on what was put out on xbox live and THE best place to find out if it is worth spending points on downloading.
He is likeable and funny and the site is an awesome resouce for those that made the correct choice of purchasing a 360.
I think it is a fantastic part of the 360 experience and it's also nice having a place to voice concerns and get reliable feedback from those at the top.
Lex @ Oct 5th 2006 6:00PM
At this point sony doesn't need Maj. Nelson, they need a Nick Naylor.
m3mnoch @ Oct 5th 2006 6:01PM
it's a valid question.
sony desperately needs a major nelson right now. someone to woo questioning and coo the faithful. communication is never bad. especially with the amount of bad pr. (and not just from joystiq, but from the mm's like nyt, cnn, etc.)
and, as for nintendo not needing one? well. personally, i think they do, but, then again, they aren't the game company currently self-imploding themselves either. it's business as usual for them.
as to joystiq's bias? i'm okay with someone who's only been reading for a month or so feeling that way. the last 2 months have been one big popping-and-hissing sound as sony single-handedly dismantles any credibility they had. (how many laptop batteries are they recalling again?)
those of you who've been reading longer sure have short memories. when the 360 came out, it was all "overheating" and "recalls" and "360 hate lists" and "making fun of j allard." xbox owners were the ones crying foul! and biased! all over the place back then.
6-9 months from now, once all the consoles are out and any launch issues get ironed out, it'll be back to normal doses of love and flames -- all evenly distributed.
afterall, anyone with a brain has to understand this is a side-effect of a weird scattered launch cycle.
m3mnoch.
Pedro @ Oct 5th 2006 6:06PM
#10
News Source? Are you a botard? It's a gaming blog, not Gamespot.
I believe their focus is to elicit conversation amongst its community members on a broad range of topics concerning gaming (no matter how lightly). If it's narrow, direct fanboyism you are searching for, read a gaming magazine.
I agree, in part, with the writer. Sony seriously needs a reporter in the field, in the thick of the battle, ala Major Nelson. I had it with the 3 Xbox 360's I've burned so far, and if it weren't for the impressive Customer Care experience I received when I made the calls to return my units, or the helpful posts on the Xbox.com forums, I might've given up on the Xbox altogether. IMO, the product launch was certainly less than stellar and there are WAY too many faulty units. But if the PS3 launch is a repeat of the mess most of us went through for the 360 launch, who will be there to be our conduit for Sony? It's kind of unsettling, in the least.
Miniboss @ Oct 5th 2006 6:10PM
"Well, one could also ask where's Nintendo's Major Nelson?"
Reggie?
Endejas @ Oct 5th 2006 6:11PM
I think kinshadow's got the reason why Sony doesn't have a "Major Nelson", but I really doubt Sony needs it anyways. Nintendo barely says anything at all, yet they're still popular.
and gamefan, stfu. just move on. your need to tell someone that this is not newsworthy does not outweigh the opinions of others. many actually have opinions on the topic, and have responded. next time you see something like this, just keep on fucking scrolling.
Bored @ Oct 5th 2006 6:10PM
I wonder who the *scapegoat* will be if SONY somehow doesn't meet its projections by Q2 '07. The stocks could drop enough to warrant a termination.
SONY, collectively, believes that the PS3 doesn't *need* a popular face to help its image. Apparently, *these* faces are good enough:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH2w2l1JTs4
And “the first five million no matter what they are, even if it doesn’t have games.” That's how you sell a gaming console.
chiralfox @ Oct 5th 2006 6:13PM
Nintendo has Reggie Fils-Aimes. He's charismatic, believes in the product, but definitely takes a pro-consumer approach in the way that he addresses issues raised about Nintendo products.
Sony has um, Hirai, Tretton, and uh, Kutaragi. None of these men are particularly charismatic (I have heard Tretton speak in person at a manager's conference in days gone, and his speech was neither informative nor enthralling).
The problem with this trio is that they have been constantly feeding the gaming media with sound bites that make it easy to put an anti-Sony spin on just about any attached story. Said sound bites (and if you read gaming news on the web, you've heard them all) have been used to construct an anti-consumer Sony that firmly believes you will buy the product regardless of what it is.
While I personally wouldn't find Major Nelson a reason to purchase a 360 over any other system, I find his site interesting if only because it offers another avenue to find out what is new on Xbox Live without actually logging in. Let's face it, most official corporate websites lag behind the actual launch of products in the gaming world (a mild irony, really).
So if Sony wants to go that route, great. But I don't think it will make a difference in terms of sales at the end of the day.
Stoli @ Oct 5th 2006 6:15PM
To # 24:
Reggie doesn't really have the kind of position that Major Nelson does. Yeah, Reggie commands a lot of respect and attention, but he's not really in contact with the people like Major Nelson seems to be.
Mr. Khan @ Oct 5th 2006 6:17PM
Nintendo doesn't need a Major Nelson, they've already got two who, between them, do the job of the one
Shigeru Miyamato and Reggie Fils-Aime
Between them they have honesty such as, Miyamato's admittance that the Wii is not the best graphically, and has last-gen architecture (although this is not a deficit) and Reggie's take-no-prisoners promoting
Hunnter @ Oct 5th 2006 6:17PM
Major Nelsons an idiot, he has no clue.
Remember awhile back with those idiotic statements about system bandwidth?
Yes, i rest my case...
Sony can do without a Major Nelson in my opinion.
They can do better than Major Nelson.
Major Nelson is just "a mouth" as you put it.
Zilazapper @ Oct 5th 2006 6:22PM
Re: #6 "did major hom....errr nelson come out of the closet yet?"
He has a wife, stupid. I know his voice is kinda... that way... But how would you like if you sounded that way and people called you gay? Don't stereotype.
Scourn @ Oct 5th 2006 6:24PM
Sony needs SOMEONE to talk to the masses from the inside.
From the intro month to now, Msoft has done everything right with the 360 - and any mistakes are quickly remedied. Sony's been silent and we're nearly 30 days from launch!
Silenece = Death
mupwangle @ Oct 5th 2006 6:26PM
>>Another waste of my time on this site.
Unfortunately by making that comment you've actually proved that you really have nothing better to do. That is a bit sad.
>>I discovered this site about a month ago - been
>>reading it consistantly ever since. I have three
>>opinions that I believe about the joystiq writers:
>>1) Pro XBOX360
>>2) Pro Wii
>>3) Anti PS3
I don't think they are. I've been following this whole debacle from day one, as most people here have, and I chose to buy a 360. TO be honest the main reason was that my Xbox crapped out on me. I didn't buy a PS2 when it came out. I heard all the hyperbole then I actually saw one and decided to stick with the PS1.
I don't think Joystiq are particularly Anti-sony, but I think that it is really difficult to do with the whole 5 million laptop battery recall, rootkit DRM debacle, PS3 delay in europe, A-trac and so on. Sony are their own worst enemy.
I used to think (and at the time I think I was right) that Sony were the best of the best when it came to electronics. I had a Sony stereo which was made circa 1980 and it kicked the arse (both sound and build quality) out of any system I've ever used. It was my Dad's and he replaced it with a new Sony. It was shite in comparison. I've bought Sony TV's which are much inferior to LG, Samsung, Philips, etc. Sony used to be the brand everyone aspired to but they've lost the plot.
The future of Sony depends on 2 things. The success of Blu-Ray and the success of the PS3. The PS3 will sell shedloads just based on customer loyalty. IN the end I think Blu-Ray will fail. This is entirely based on Sony's track record. Betamax (althought superior to VHS) failed. Minidisk (although superior to DCC) failed. A-TRAC (Although superior to MP3) failed. MemoryStick (although superior to MMC and xD) has pretty much failed. The PS3.....
To be honest I'm starting to get irritated with all the "Joystiq is shit" comments appearing every post. This is a blog. Admittedly run by some big companies, but it has never pretended to be gamespy or anything. If you don't like the stuff being posted then feel free to **** off. I would prefer to be able to read comments relevant to the subject without having to wade through all the petulant, whiney bullshit. If Joytiq or any of the fanboy sites aren't doing it for you then please, please, please, please, sod off and stop getting in the way. Why not try making your own site?
Hunnter @ Oct 5th 2006 6:32PM
Kudos to you mupwangle!
Joystiq are doing what they do best, getting heated-discussions going!
And that can include making fun of bad news, if it gets a discussion going, alls well!
Nothing wrong with it at all.
ktmracer @ Oct 5th 2006 6:33PM
This is definitely a valid question. One I've wanted to know myself in the past. I know exactly what is happening with XBL, new xbox products, and get to hear awesome interviews from major industry people. I'm not a xbox fanboy. I've owned both sony consoles, and have a PS3 preordered. But I can't find any info on "entitlements." Sony leaves their fans in the dark. If I had any question , Larry would answer it. We definitely need a sony Major Nelson. Of course a Nintendo Major Nelson wouldn't hurt.
m3mnoch @ Oct 5th 2006 6:44PM
mupwangle certainly deserves a star for that comment. however, i'm not thinking they're giving any out these days.
i'm betting they're holding off until they move to the cool, new blog engine engadget uses. then, we can take care of things ourselves. that'll be nice. takes all the nepotism out of stars.
m3mnoch.
TheH2s @ Oct 5th 2006 6:50PM
No disrespect to Major Nelson but the best community spokesman for a console company was and always will be Howard Phillips. He was THE face of Nintendo back in the 80's. Nintendo needs someone like him again. I like Reggie and all but he just isn't it.
Now as for the question. Yes, Sony needs someone doing this. It'll never happen but they need it.
One parting thought...
RIIIIIIDDDDDDDGE RACER!
thegrey @ Oct 5th 2006 7:18PM
Does the internet need more BS?
Matt D. @ Oct 5th 2006 8:09PM
The only thing Mr. Nelson made was growns up stereotypes of the fat / nerd xbox fanboy with a life-crusader against Sony.
Oh wait.. there winners in America.. and of course they aren't playing HALO (Veronica Mars, S01E03)
Night Elve @ Oct 5th 2006 8:06PM
=[ I just want Elisha Cuthbert not a Major Naelson clone. :)
The1 @ Oct 5th 2006 8:20PM
You people who call Joystiq biased are total MORONS. This is an article from another gaming site; they are not the authors. To call this site PRO-anyone is not true. Joystiq bashes everyone including MS. I think you all who say otherwise are the true haters. Why the bashing? GROW UP!!!!
Joe A. @ Oct 5th 2006 9:07PM
You're welcome!
Jonn @ Oct 5th 2006 9:55PM
"3. Sony doens't need a shill to sell the PS3. The console will sell itself."
You misspelled "hang".
MetaHuman @ Oct 6th 2006 1:30AM
Sony really needs a person that can take all the stuff they make and make it appeal to fans and potential customers alike and make it sound cool and inviting. Of course that doesn't keep Kaz's, Phil's, or Ken's fat mouths from self-inflicted damage either.
J Allard does it for MS, shared with Peter Moore, I guess. "Cliffy B" does it for Epic? However, Reggie, Shiggy, and sometimes Iwata (:P) can rally fans and are quite fun for presentations to potential buyers as well like none other. Case in point: E3 2006. They didn't need a ton of numbers to say that they offered fun and a product with potential.
Peter Moore tries with his tattoos, I guess.
0_o
james f. @ Oct 6th 2006 1:50AM
I don't think anyone who openly shares his love for a competitors product(the nintedo ds)is much of a shill for microsoft.
And yeah they DO need a Major Nelson as they need to back that price up with some sort of sincerity. Everyone that sony puts up to talk about any given aspect of the ps3 are sony "believers" or believers in only the bottom line and obviously not gaming "believers". With this generation They've eschewd everything that has set them apart and made them quite sucessfull until now for the methodology of the companies that they defeated. Why? In the name of "quality" and "premium experience". Without anyone beleivably conveying exactly what this premium experience is going to do for us, apart from seprating us from more money than anyone else.
If they had a "real gamer", such as Major Nelson, who actually was excited about the product, as opposed to aloof suits with their hands out or official game mag yes men, that $500 or $600 might be a tad easier to choke down for your average gamer or at least it could be something to aspire to for those financially out of reach.
I feel bad for the fans they have had to play defense for many months now for a company that is either clueless, careless or desperate to pay for exploding laptop batteries and meaningless proprietary formats.
BMWM3P @ Oct 6th 2006 9:28AM
I love the way the idiot that wrote this say does sony need somebody to help them sell consoles. That's pretty fucking dumb sony has sold over 200 million consoles and counting. do you really think they need help selling consoles? I would say no, Sony doesn't need a biased wannabe Bill Gates geek to peddle their products. The console sells itself it doesn't need any help.
By the way you sound it looks like you got a hard-on for this guy maybe you should call him he'll probably let you play with his joystig.
Glarg @ Oct 6th 2006 9:59PM
Nintendo will never have a Major Nelson, due to the sole reason that they believe they are above the public and will always try to tell them what they want, rather than the other way around.
helio9000 @ Dec 6th 2006 4:26PM
Is the 'Sony doesn't need a blogger it will sell itself' comment serious?
It isn't about selling consoles! This is about having some sort of communication with users that doesn't come in the form of a press release. Right now Sony feels a lot like the PS3 in the ads - silent, kinda scary, floating untouchably above its users. That's not so much fun for the users. Wii60 has done a great job of embracing the FUN of gaming not just the cool. They have personalities for feekssakes! Right now, I don't get any sense that anybody at Sony has any fun. That all might be fine if it was a perfect machine, clearly superior to the competition but right now, I don’t know anyone who can seriously make that case.
[PS3 floats, impervious to comments.]