Rory Reid
Rory's earliest memory is of taking the back off his radio to see what was inside. His mum wasn't happy. Nowadays he breaks other people's stuff for a living: the latest laptops and even high-tech automobiles crumble and die at his hands.
Tuesday 29 May 2007, 5:10pm
Has Sony lost the plot?
Sometimes I think Sony barks up some very odd trees indeed. The company still makes uber-desirable consumer electronics, but I reckon the people running the gaming division are in need of a good sit down and a nice cup of tea.
Evidence of its questionable behaviour first surfaced when Sony unleashed the PSP, which was gorgeous but had no interesting or original games -- and consequently had its backside handed to it by the Nintendo DS. Then there was the disastrous UMD movie format, which has pretty much died a humiliating, bargain-bin death.
As if the PSP wasn't rubbish enough, the company is now planning the release of VoIP, video-conferencing and instant-messaging software for the beleaguered handheld. It'll take advantage of Sony's webcam attachment, special software from BT, and of course a nearby Wi-Fi network.
But I'll give my eye teeth if anyone buys this stuff. Not only does nobody seem to give a damn about the PSP any more, but don't we all have mobile phones already? And forgive me if I'm mistaken, but didn't the whole concept of mobile video calling, as pioneered by 3, fall flatter than a badger that's been run over by a Hummer?
Give me the name of one person -- just one -- who wants to make calls, let alone video calls, on their PSP, and I'll eat my own face. Not only would you look stupid holding it to your noggin, but there are no number buttons, you can only use it in a limited number of locations, and (if you ask Panorama) the Wi-Fi will completely fry your brain.
You can almost imagine the Sony execs at the planning meeting. I believe the conversation went along the lines of: "We've already made a bunch of stuff nobody really cares about -- how can we combine it with a bunch of other unwanted stuff to produce the most yawn-inducing idea in the history of the world?"
And don't even get me started on the PS3. Sony, sort it out. -Rory Reid
Comments on this post
I have a PSP but i seriously agree with you, most of the games are just plain and as for the VOIP idea, I certainly wont be buying it
Posted by Anonymous on Mon 11 June, 2007 9:14 PM
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I don't know what is funnier, their idea of creating a useless device or me getting a rag to wipe up the piss from me laughing so hard reading your article.
Posted by John Nordstrom on Sun 1 July, 2007 11:44 PM
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Im soorry, but when did people stop caring about the PSP? I have one and its awesome. Pisses all over the DS. What annoys me SO much is people labeling things as rubbish just cos its too expensive and they had to settle for 2nd best or they suck in only bad press against things that they cant have just to have another reason not to have it than 'I cant afford it'. Its a rubbish excuse. The people that have bought PSPs and PS3s even, none of them have said they suck. Whats wrong with PS3? Sure, the release was a shambles, but that and its price tag dont make the console bad in any way. I thought someone on CNET would be so na?ve and inconsiderate.Daniel (Writing this message on my PS3)
Posted by Daniel on Thu 9 August, 2007 10:42 PM
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Ahh such a naive comment by cnet(well roy reid). Personaly im on the homebrew side of the PSP and i can see why i would be boring but if can run homebrew,custom fws etc then i dont find it boring at all. As for the DS i find that more boring then my socks only good game for it is super mario bros. Seems your article was based on the amount of units sold which again is a very naive thing to do. So the DS might be raking it in? Just shows us that theres more kids in the world. Andyet the only thing you can find to pick on it is the VOIP rubbish that wont be released
Posted by Anonymous on Sat 20 October, 2007 8:36 PM
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