This is in reaction to a couple of recent announcements around demos for upcoming titles on the PSN. Namely the arrangement with Gamestop in the U.S. to hand out codes for pre-orders for Killzone 2, and the recent announcement that only Qore subscribers are going to get early demo access to Fear 2.
First of all just...fail...again fail. From the launch of the PS3 with the drivel from Sony Corporate about rumble being uneccessary and irrelelvant, to the craziness of launching a product that at $799.00 at launch for the premium PS3 with a couple of games and an extra controller plus taxes, was in excess of $1,000.00 to now screwing us over to just get access to demos on the PSN, Sony has shown nothing but contempt for their fan base.
I use the word contempt intentionally. Sony's arrogance over their console from the beginning has been palpable, and they continue to ride the cell processor's alleged awesomeness as an excuse for their decisions. Essentially; "our console is soooo much better that we don't have to worry about fostering faith in our community because the community will eventually come to us"(paraphrase obviously). They just keep telling us that as PS3 fans and consumers we should be grateful for the brilliance of the PS3. It IS brilliant by the way, and I love the games and the blu-ray, don't get me wrong. But why should I have to be manipulated like this when I'm already supporting the last place console in the current race? What would have happened to the PS3, if it was an unreliable piece of junk like the 360, or a sub-standard product that is more of a toy than an actual console like the Wii?
Maybe if Sony Corporate took a few pages from Valve's book when it comes to giving your consumers incentives to be faithful, or even Microsoft's about building a community then they might be making some money off of the PS3 instead of just being also-rans this generation.
now screwing us over to just get access to demos on the PSN, Sony has shown nothing but contempt for their fan base.
M$ has been doing it since the start with their "Silver members" so we all get to suffer... You think you've got something to complain about, try making a Benelux account and have a look at our PSN-store, there's absolutely NOTHING in there, we get demos 4/5 weeks after the US, and a lot of the times not at all... we couldn't even get the Dead Space-demo...
And at least you still get the chance to get those pre-order-demo-coupons, us poor eurofags can't get them at all, even though KillZone 2 is a game that is entirely made in Europe!
Well If you where the person that bought the ps3 at launch then I'm sorry but your a fool. I'm a PS fanboy but no way in hell was I going to spend more than 700 bucks on a console, not gonna happen. When 40 gig was annoiced and I knew they wanted to get ride of there 60 gigs of store shelves thats when I saw an ad in best buy. 60 gig for 449. That was when the 80 gigs were still like 600 bucks. :S Naturally Sony has not been perfect with the way they treated the fan base, but having demos that are given out for pre-ordering or through Qore makes sence to me and I see no problem with it. I mean the people who are actaully subscribed to Qore should get some exclusive content. And its nice that the people who pre-order stuff get a little sometime to tie them over. For the rest of us we have to wait, and while it sucks that we have too I wouldn't say Sony "hates" us. Maybe that's how you feel but not matter what company you support ether way your going to get shit on because we aren't people we 'consumers' and this is a business.
Stop bitching. At least you don't have to sacrifice a calf to your PS3 every time you turn it on, begging it not to die. And you can upgrade your hard drive on the cheap.
They give us free online, if they want to charge a small fee for early demo access, I'm all for it.
Yes I'm sure a profit driven international corporation actually hates its customers.
Remember that report that came out a couple months ago that showed that games that release demos before the product comes out actually don't sell as well? Making some one pre-order for a demo is just a gift to the person who knows they're going to buy it anyway.
And Sony loses money every time they sell a console. I think the Wii is the only console in history that actually sells for more than manufacturing cost (at launch price anyway).
The point your raising is "Should a company be allowed to charge for something that is established as a free entity?" You don't typically found a service on paying for "exclusivity" to things that should be free anyway. But that's the way these things go.
I don't see why the "early demo access" is such a big deal, at least in the case of FEAR 2. We get it a week later than the QORE subscribers. Oh wow, such a big slight. It's not as if there aren't freely available demos that are going to be available.
Rewarding people that A) Pre-order a game (and thus is pretty much guaranteed to buy it), and B) Subscribe to a service they're paying for, is a pretty common technique business wise.
...Where did you see PS3s at launch for $799.99? Was this in the US? They weren't that expensive in retail locations. Ebay maybe, but not retail.
I agree that having to reserve the game to get the demo is a bit stupid, but if you don't like the demo, then you can cancel your reservation. That's why it comes out beforehand.
i got a luanch 60 gig. $669 bucks w/tax. resistence. $65 buck
w/tax. not $800. your blog is fail and flamebait. and i still use that ps3 more than any other console.
Sony has had it's share of problems, but it was really irrelevant to the core subject of your blog post. Also that was the past; this is the now and so far Sony has pleased me in ways no other company could.
They want you to pay for Live, that's why you miss out on stuff or get it a week later, its not MS fucking you over, its them giving them an advantage to people who PAY for their service.
Its 50 bucks, don't be a cheapskate if you want the stuff so bad.
'Well If you where the person that bought the ps3 at launch then I'm sorry but your a fool.'
You're calling me a fool? Really? Because dude, do the math (and check your fucking spelling while you're at it):
Buy it day one = more time with console.
Buy it 2 years later = 2 years less time with console.
If you're one of those cheap motherfuckers go right ahead I don't care but don't call me a fool.
An American complaining to Sony about being unfairly treated? Live in the PAL region, We get shafted on release dates, we have to pay more than you guys for DLC more often than not, we get under featured Special Edition releases, RE5 being a great example. Not to mention you guys are used as a testing ground for Niche games that may or may not see a release over here depending on whether or not you guys buy it. Ala Disgaea 3, which was not going to see an EU release untill S-E saved the day.
Throw on top of all that the fact that the 60gig PS3's released over here did not have an Emotion Engine chip in for PS2 games, like the US one does, despite the chip reportedly costing a mere 20 dollars. The lack of that chip means that the PAL 60gig PS3's have to rely on software emulation, rather than Hardware emulation. The result being that PS2 games have alot more chance of being buggy or unplayable.
PAL customers have to deal with 90+% of the problems US customers have todeal with, + those on top of it. Sony are saints to the US market in comparison to how they treat European markets.
No I didn't get a launch PS3, I waited for the 40 gig as well.
Plus, I'm a fan of the PS3, but I don't need to suckle the sweat off their balls like some.
Also, I think the Euros are entitled to a lot more fury than I have. I'm just pissed off atSony's stupidity, but the Euros get raped daily by Sony, and they as a region have been pretty good to Sony over the years.
in and of iteself this isn't a massive issue, I just want to highlight the disparity between what some companies are doing to win, and what Sony is doing and failing.
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about me
CURRENT PRIMARY TIME SUCKERS: Batman:Arkham Asylum, CoD4, and Katamari Forever
Favourite games of all time?
1. Resident Evil 4, Gamecube
2. Super Mario Brothers, SNES
3. Call of Duty 4, PS3
4. LoZ:Twilight Princess, Cube, Wii
5. Half Life 2, PC
6. Half Life 2; episodes 1 and 2, PC
7. Puzzlequest, DS
8. Metroid Prime 3, Wii
9. Mariokart 64, N64
10. Donkey Kong Country, SNES
Favourite games of this generation?
1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, PS3 and 360
2. Drake's Fortune, PS3
3. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Wii
4. MGS4, PS3
5. Halo 3, 360
6. Burnout Paradise, PS3 and 360
7. Gears of War, 360
8. Mariokart Wii, Wii
9. Fallout 3, PS3
10. Killzone 2, PS3
Current Consoles;
Sony PS3
Nintendo Wii
Nintendo DS
iPhone (hey, I'm sinking a lot of time into puzzlequest and fieldrunners...what can I say?)
Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press living the dream since March 16, 2006
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now screwing us over to just get access to demos on the PSN, Sony has shown nothing but contempt for their fan base.
M$ has been doing it since the start with their "Silver members" so we all get to suffer... You think you've got something to complain about, try making a Benelux account and have a look at our PSN-store, there's absolutely NOTHING in there, we get demos 4/5 weeks after the US, and a lot of the times not at all... we couldn't even get the Dead Space-demo...
And at least you still get the chance to get those pre-order-demo-coupons, us poor eurofags can't get them at all, even though KillZone 2 is a game that is entirely made in Europe!
Well If you where the person that bought the ps3 at launch then I'm sorry but your a fool. I'm a PS fanboy but no way in hell was I going to spend more than 700 bucks on a console, not gonna happen. When 40 gig was annoiced and I knew they wanted to get ride of there 60 gigs of store shelves thats when I saw an ad in best buy. 60 gig for 449. That was when the 80 gigs were still like 600 bucks. :S Naturally Sony has not been perfect with the way they treated the fan base, but having demos that are given out for pre-ordering or through Qore makes sence to me and I see no problem with it. I mean the people who are actaully subscribed to Qore should get some exclusive content. And its nice that the people who pre-order stuff get a little sometime to tie them over. For the rest of us we have to wait, and while it sucks that we have too I wouldn't say Sony "hates" us. Maybe that's how you feel but not matter what company you support ether way your going to get shit on because we aren't people we 'consumers' and this is a business.
Stop bitching. At least you don't have to sacrifice a calf to your PS3 every time you turn it on, begging it not to die. And you can upgrade your hard drive on the cheap.
They give us free online, if they want to charge a small fee for early demo access, I'm all for it.
You're right I'm so angry ARRRRRRRR I'm going to eat Sony alive.
meh its no dreamcast..
Yes I'm sure a profit driven international corporation actually hates its customers.
Remember that report that came out a couple months ago that showed that games that release demos before the product comes out actually don't sell as well? Making some one pre-order for a demo is just a gift to the person who knows they're going to buy it anyway.
And Sony loses money every time they sell a console. I think the Wii is the only console in history that actually sells for more than manufacturing cost (at launch price anyway).
The point your raising is "Should a company be allowed to charge for something that is established as a free entity?" You don't typically found a service on paying for "exclusivity" to things that should be free anyway. But that's the way these things go.
I don't see why the "early demo access" is such a big deal, at least in the case of FEAR 2. We get it a week later than the QORE subscribers. Oh wow, such a big slight. It's not as if there aren't freely available demos that are going to be available.
Rewarding people that A) Pre-order a game (and thus is pretty much guaranteed to buy it), and B) Subscribe to a service they're paying for, is a pretty common technique business wise.
...Where did you see PS3s at launch for $799.99? Was this in the US? They weren't that expensive in retail locations. Ebay maybe, but not retail.
I agree that having to reserve the game to get the demo is a bit stupid, but if you don't like the demo, then you can cancel your reservation. That's why it comes out beforehand.
i got a luanch 60 gig. $669 bucks w/tax. resistence. $65 buck
w/tax. not $800. your blog is fail and flamebait. and i still use that ps3 more than any other console.
fuck you fanboy
Oh god, troll central.
RAWR RAWR RAWR.
you suck.
It's a demo, get over it fag.
Sony has had it's share of problems, but it was really irrelevant to the core subject of your blog post. Also that was the past; this is the now and so far Sony has pleased me in ways no other company could.
Oh yeah!
@ Mistic
They want you to pay for Live, that's why you miss out on stuff or get it a week later, its not MS fucking you over, its them giving them an advantage to people who PAY for their service.
Its 50 bucks, don't be a cheapskate if you want the stuff so bad.
yes sony hates you.
but not as much microsoft.
also, capitalism.
@pascuz46
'Well If you where the person that bought the ps3 at launch then I'm sorry but your a fool.'
You're calling me a fool? Really? Because dude, do the math (and check your fucking spelling while you're at it):
Buy it day one = more time with console.
Buy it 2 years later = 2 years less time with console.
If you're one of those cheap motherfuckers go right ahead I don't care but don't call me a fool.
@Bart999
Hide this fucking blog, it's a piece of crap.
All big companies hate us, and Sony and Microsoft are no exception, despite what they tell you.
Nintendo seems to hate us the least, but then again they put out some shitty product so I'm not positive about that.
You are just a means to an end for them. They don't love you.
Someone get working on an open-source video game console now plz.
What qraze said.
An American complaining to Sony about being unfairly treated? Live in the PAL region,
We get shafted on release dates, we have to pay more than you guys for DLC more often than not, we get under featured Special Edition releases, RE5 being a great example. Not to mention you guys are used as a testing ground for Niche games that may or may not see a release over here depending on whether or not you guys buy it. Ala Disgaea 3, which was not going to see an EU release untill S-E saved the day.
Throw on top of all that the fact that the 60gig PS3's released over here did not have an Emotion Engine chip in for PS2 games, like the US one does, despite the chip reportedly costing a mere 20 dollars. The lack of that chip means that the PAL 60gig PS3's have to rely on software emulation, rather than Hardware emulation. The result being that PS2 games have alot more chance of being buggy or unplayable.
PAL customers have to deal with 90+% of the problems US customers have todeal with, + those on top of it. Sony are saints to the US market in comparison to how they treat European markets.
No I didn't get a launch PS3, I waited for the 40 gig as well.
Plus, I'm a fan of the PS3, but I don't need to suckle the sweat off their balls like some.
Also, I think the Euros are entitled to a lot more fury than I have. I'm just pissed off atSony's stupidity, but the Euros get raped daily by Sony, and they as a region have been pretty good to Sony over the years.
Are you really complaining about that? Wow. There's really no reason to.
@ Takeshi, I'm sorry I shouldn't of called you a fool, that was a very bad choice of words.
@angelsdontburn
in and of iteself this isn't a massive issue, I just want to highlight the disparity between what some companies are doing to win, and what Sony is doing and failing.
Well, if you are angry now, I hope your bluray drive will last you longer than 0.5-2 years :)
But at least it works !
I remember when we had to pay 10 bucks just to play a demo of Angel of Darkness.
So you and your problems can suck it. We're spoiled.