Sony's naysayers, then and now

Pop quiz time, readers. Guess what product a Salon author was referring to in the following quotes:

• "Whether or not Sony was sincere in its claim that a supply crisis led it to cut its initial shipments ... there's little question that the corporation was successful in the arena of hype marketing. Lines of obsessed PlayStation fans were a news staple ..."
• "Don't get me wrong; it's definitely the most powerful video-game machine on the planet right now. But that's not enough. ... There's just not much software available that can take advantage of it."
• "Sony is also under the mistaken impression that including the ability to play ... movies is a huge selling point. ... I'd rather pay less and get a machine that just plays games instead."

If you guessed the PS3, you'd be wrong. No, the October 2000 column that the above quotes come from was talking about the then-recent launch of the PlayStation 2. Careful readers might remember the PS2 as the system that went on to sell over 115 million units worldwide and dominate the console market for the better part of the decade. At the time, though, Salon recommended hardcore gamers opt for the cheaper, easier-to-develop-for Dreamcast and wait on the PS2 for the time being.

Why are we posting this? Mainly because it's always fun to point out just how different media opinion and popular opinion can be, but also as a way of tempering the gloomy predictions that are still surrounding the PS3 nearly five months after its launch. Remember, Sony has come back from negative media attention before, and there's still a chance it could do it again.

[Via Chrominance]