The challenges of being Sony's PR man
by Andrew Yoon 
{ May 22nd 2007 at 9:30AM }
Dave Karraker has quite possibly the roughest job of any PR director in SCEA history. Having come to the company only two months before the tumultuous PS3 launch, Karraker had quite an insurmountable task to face: combat the growing negativity surrounding the PlayStation brand and convince a questioning populace the value of an expensive $600 console. In an interview with GamePro, Karraker admits the job isn't easy. However, he thinks that the console's future success is nearly guaranteed: "I am pretty sure if you asked just about any real gamer out there if they would like to have a PS3, their answer would be a resounding 'Yes!'"Negative perceptions of PS3 can be seen within our own comments section, where Xbox advocates preach about the so-called downfall of Sony. This kind of attitude seems self-perpetuating on the internet, especially when internet media incorporates the negative spin into their reporting: "I think a lot of this goes back to the proliferation of the Internet, where a very vocal minority can make a lot of noise and potentially alter perceptions of the masses, whether they are accurate or not. A lot of this, naturally, is driven by the media who seem focused on taking swipes at us lately, without taking in the full picture."
So what can Sony and Karraker do to help gamers start understanding Sony's approach to the next generation of gaming? The games and hardware should speak for themselves. "A lot of the perceptions are not justified and seem fueled by people who don't have all the facts or have some kind of axe to grind. I think you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who wouldn't say PS3 is an amazing piece of technology."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Get Smart @ May 22nd 2007 9:54AM
So what can Sony and Karraker do to help gamers start understanding Sony's approach to the next generation of gaming?
1st Off why don't you UNDERSTAND that we want a Gaming Console!!! Not an 'I CAN DO IT ALL' & Lose Focus of the Agenda.
2nd Stop Shoving 'Useless' items down our throats.
3rd Get your Exclusives Back, & Make some Great Games.
4th Can you Down Size, Also Fix the Controller. We need a Real Redesign.
5th STOP w/ the BULL....
lenny0487 @ May 22nd 2007 3:59PM
@ get smart
I think that shoving stuff down our throats is sometimes the way to go, just like what they did with the DVD and now blu-ray
Thomas @ May 22nd 2007 10:11AM
I figure at this point Sony is far away from considering a price drop. If its possible to price drop, or maybe come out with lesser priced version of the ps3, then that's one option.
In the stores, have the ps3 kiosks, play videos of what the machine can do - in terms of showing the latest and upcoming games, Heavenly Sword, Uncharted, Rachet, Lair, etc. Show some video of people using blue tooth headsets, and show how the system uses blue ray technology. The Kiosks that I've seen are on TVs that are HiDef.
Have commercials that show all the ps3 abilities, not just the games, but display its features.
Have a commercial where a live action futuristic soldier is on the battlefield; soldier receives message - "what's your position?!" when the soldier answers cut to a person responding to teamates online via bluetooth headset in resistance (or any other online game)
Show the ps3 using linux in a commercial, where a gamer says - "oh my god, I got a report due in a couple of hours and my windows Vista crashed... have the ps3 do the levitation in the all white room - and show the gamer using linux based applications to complete his paper.
There's only one way to fight Negativity of the internet, be more positive, give the gaming community great games, and more to look forward to. After the Gamer's Day Conference, not many people could say anything negative, because it was a great showing.
Accentuate that the ps3 can handle ps2 games.... (via instore kiosk video) if the ps3 is going to upsclase, please set that up, or let us know its on the horizon.
Please have harmonix create a special Guitar Hero bluetooth Guitar for the ps3, that's sleek in design like the ps3...a special ps3 edition. Have a commercial for it.. show the ps3 morphing or taking over a plain guitar, and morphing it into the special ps3 edition guitar. (similar to how Spider man was taken over by the black goo[venom])
Spiderman 3 may end up being the biggest movie to come out this year, therefore, use it to show off the strength of blu ray. You know that the DVD version is going to sell more, and sufficiently.. release the blu ray version a week in advance, and show its abilities and features, and Hi Def, maybe in that week people wanting spiderman maybe willing to jump to high def via ps3 (or regular blu ray players).
ShadowHawk01 @ May 22nd 2007 10:14AM
Well put Get Smart!
This console needs games. Without games the 'Real Gamers' as he put it will find a console that does have games.
How about they stop preaching about the future potential of the console and start proving those claims. I am so sick of seeing ads and comments about how much potential the PS3 has. START PROVING IT!!!!!
Why would anyone want to make such an investment in promises that have yet to be met? Why should anyone buy a PS3 now when they can save their money and get one when there are more exclusive games for it? Start proving that those who own a PS3 made a wise investment.
Thomas @ May 22nd 2007 10:24AM
GAMES come first before everything..
Nes had great games, and it was unstoppable;
the ps2 had great games and it was unstoppable....
#1 is right... get those exclusives back... (and for heaven's sake, please don't let MGS 4 go to the 360) make sure SCEA makes their own great games for the systems... games that are solidified is PS3 games. How painful is it that the Playstation mascot, won't have a game on ps3...
[or do a commercial where th3 ps3 blow up crash (doll)... then say "real gamers needs no mascot; the ps3 needs no mascot!" ]
In the end, its going to be the GAMES that make or break the ps3. Wii is just popular, but as of now, it doesn't have any great games - cooking mama, Wii sports, BS!
don't get rid of Insomniac... let them get to work on a Warhawk sequel.
Thomas @ May 22nd 2007 10:28AM
#5
I didn't say, or imply that Sony had did anything wrong.. but they spent the money to allow the ps3 to do various things. 600 dollars for a console, blu ray player, and personal computer... isn't a bad price. But if people only see game console, then hell yeah, it just looks overpriced.
Matt B @ May 22nd 2007 10:33AM
The only thing crippling the PS3 now is the lack of a consistent launch of games. By the end of the summer, there will(read:should)be a different story on these blogs. That is unless every single summer launch title is pushed back.
Popfrogs @ May 22nd 2007 10:36AM
I think it'd be nice if Sony just quit talking about the PS3 and let the games/firmware updates do the talking for them. They need to put on their Nintendo hat, sit back and wait like the rest of us.
Home is coming, great AA and AAA games are coming, and the more they hype it, the more disappointed we get when it's yet another delay. We don't want more games getting Warhawked.
Personally I'd love to get more polls from them. I like answering polls. Polls say 'we care about your opinion, this is on our menu, what should we cook first?'. I know the PS3 has incredible potential. I know it has great value. However, Sony needs to know they have a limited time to impress everyone. Regardless of their internal life span of the PS3, they need to realize that today matters most, not tomorrow.
Ultimately of course it comes down to games. Sure, we're all happy watching BR discs and lots of new ones come out every month. However it's sad that it still doesn't upscale DVDs like any junky $50 player can do these days. Add to that a lack of exclusives and year-old, sad looking X360 ports and you get discontent. Sony, you have won the high def format already, let us upscale.
Darren Tilley @ May 22nd 2007 10:54AM
I really hate it when people get all pissed off when their console can do more than just play games. There are some of us out there who bought the machine because of all the features it has on top of gaming.
Fine, put gaming first, but if Sony wants to throw me a fully functional Linux computer, Blu-Ray player and Media Hub as part of the deal, well I'm on board.
People have to realize that they aren't the only customer Sony has.
truth @ May 22nd 2007 11:02AM
what a tool. as if you can believe anything the guys says. he is paid to be positive about the ps3. for all we know, he hates the dang thing.
blasphemizer @ May 22nd 2007 11:03AM
@5
Perhaps all the comments you bring up show that Karraker isn't doing that good of a job.
langx @ May 22nd 2007 11:09AM
He's not complaining about the internet is he.
That's lame.
Look
I just want to play great games so I'm no fanboy but
quite a few PS2 users acted as if other systems were
below them in the PS2's heyday.
That attitude permeated through numerous PS2 sites.
It was part of the dominance the PS2 enjoyed.
Those fans have not gone away. Some are playing 360
and Xbox but I'm willing to bet most of the Sony Fanboys are still playing their PS2.
If you sell the PS3 for the price of the Elite everybody will be in.
Sony can't make money with those systems on the shelves.
mccomber @ May 22nd 2007 11:09AM
As others have said, just bring the games.
I know that we can't really move those release dates up, so deal with it. Show what is coming, why people should buy now, or buy later... just show people why they should buy a ps3 instead of a Wii or 360. Make sure the public knows what the ps3 will be bringing us soon. The Heavenly Sword spot on Heroes was big; people at work who don't even like gaming were asking me about the ps3 after that. "Do the graphics really look like that? It was like a movie..."
Also, justify the BluRay player to the people who don't seem to get it. I know that it will be important to future games, and that we'll see plenty of titles that just couldn't be done on DVD. It's too bad GTA went multi; a big, streaming title would show why DVD is the past, and make gamers realize that BluRay isn't just for movies. This is part of what I'm hoping for out of Lair. It looks like the scale of the world is going to be huge; take advantage of games like that to show what the ps3 can do that no other console can. If MGS4 is taking advantage of BluRay like it's been rumoured to, make sure that point is part of the advertising. Only on BluRay; only on PS3.
Right now the 360 only has one huge title out in Gears, with several great games planned — but no more than what we're seeing for the ps3. Halo3 is huge, but it doesn't exactly get non-gamers, or even non-Halo fans excited. It will sell well, but it doesn't exactly grow the brand. MS doesn't have a stranglehold on this generation yet, and Sony shouldn't let them get a grip.
Basically, make the PS3's features relevant. The biggest problem Sony has right now is that people don't see why the ps3 costs as much as it does, and don't see what is coming for it. By now we were supposed to have some big games... figure out why everything is getting delayed. Put as many people into working on development kits and supporting developers as you are putting into working on Killzone2. Make people want to work with Sony on ps3 games exclusively because they want to, not because they have a contract to.
Make sure this fall lives up to what we are being promised. Another round of "sorry, it's delayed" will not work. Fire all the big guns this holiday season, just blitz everything so that all we see and hear is ps3.
It's incredible technology; do something with it, and show it to us.
GRT @ May 22nd 2007 11:15AM
@10, I'm right there with you. The only reason I was an 'early adopter' of the PS3 was for the Blu-Ray Drive. Otherwise, why buy it so early in its life cycle when there aren't many games for it. Not knocking Sony here, this happens with EVERY console.
In some ways I think Sony has stumbled into a 'perfect storm' of negativity. They were up high and so had far to fall, and they brought out a controversial piece of hardware right when the "blogosphere" was taking over for honest journalism.
Now you have hundreds of barely literate bloggers who troll each other's sites, and the few bigger, pseudo-journalistic sites, and grab anything they can put a negative spin on. Usually they do this by using partial, out of context quotes.
Then we, the readers, go crazy posting comments (like this one) fighting about the post, and the blogger laughs all the way to the bank from the large number of page views thus generated.
In real journalism, the sales team (money makers) and the editorial team are separated (the so called 'church and state' system). But with bloggalists, they people writing the copy are the same ones cashing the advertiser's checks.
And the irony is, they'll scream about the 'real' journalists being in the pockets of whatever company they've set their sights on.
GRT @ May 22nd 2007 11:16AM
@10, I'm right there with you. The only reason I was an 'early adopter' of the PS3 was for the Blu-Ray Drive. Otherwise, why buy it so early in its life cycle when there aren't many games for it. Not knocking Sony here, this happens with EVERY console.
In some ways I think Sony has stumbled into a 'perfect storm' of negativity. They were up high and so had far to fall, and they brought out a controversial piece of hardware right when the "blogosphere" was taking over for honest journalism.
Now you have hundreds of barely literate bloggers who troll each other's sites, and the few bigger, pseudo-journalistic sites, and grab anything they can put a negative spin on. Usually they do this by using partial, out of context quotes.
Then we, the readers, go crazy posting comments (like this one) fighting about the post, and the blogger laughs all the way to the bank from the large number of page views thus generated.
In real journalism, the sales team (money makers) and the editorial team are separated (the so called 'church and state' system). But with bloggalists, they people writing the copy are the same ones cashing the advertiser's checks.
And the irony is, they'll scream about the 'real' journalists being in the pockets of whatever company they've set their sights on.
[apologies if this comes up as a double post]
Chris @ May 22nd 2007 11:26AM
Speak for yourself GetSmart.
One of the reasons I chose the PS3 over the 360 was BECAUSE of all the additional capabilities beyond a traditional gaming console. I have a large HDTV... while would I spend more money for HD movies if my console can already do it? I love being able to access the web and watch video and listen to music all from one box.
None of those features are "useless".
As for games, if you don't think there is exclusive content coming after the most recent SGD... well, maybe you need to re-read all the info. Frankly, I am perfectly happy with Uncharted, Folklore, Heavenly Sword, Hot Shots Golf 5, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, the Darkness, LittleBigPlanet, Warhawk, Eye of Judgement..... and ALL of those are coming before the end of '07
Yeah, woe is us poor PS3 owners.
Jonathan @ May 22nd 2007 11:38AM
I love how people make posts without actually looking into the news and information that is already available.
Post #1.
- I love the media capabilities that the PS3 has. Watching an episode of Doctor Who on my couch on my large TV is so much nicer then watching it on my Comp.
- What useless items? oh you mean like the accessories that MS sells you for your 360 that can only be used with the 360? I can go out and buy any bluetooth headset or webcam and use it with my PS3, I can even go out and get a deal on a 120gb laptop drive and pop it into my PS3.
- Exclusives? Did you even bother to check out what's coming out this fall? and I'm sorry, but GTA wasn't exclusive, it was a timed exclusive. It came out on the PS2 first but was eventually ported to Xbox. You still have MGS4 and FFXIII coming which are in fact exclusives no matter how much rumor people try to spread about it.
- The controller is fine! If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Rumble will come and then you'll have to put down $40-50 for another controller. Is that really all that bad? I'll need to pick up another one anyway if I want to have more then 2 people playing Little big planet.
- I will agree that Sony has been BSing a bit, but that's the nature of any large company. Trust me.
Anyway I completely agree with this Post. The mindless Sony bashing has got to stop. People have to stop trying to push arguments that are based on information that we had back before the console was even released. The system is out, it's an great piece of tech and there are plenty of great PS2 games to play on it. I like to think that the true PS3 launch hasn't happened yet. Fall is the true launch, and I'm looking forward to it.
I think a price drop is coming, and Sony is going to lay it out right around when all the great titles will be released.
justincoool @ May 22nd 2007 11:58AM
he is right...the real gamers...115 million and counting who knows the PLAYSTATION 3 comes with the heat to melt other consoles....that is literally I hear..lol...anyway...any xbox fan who hates the ps3 knows deep down everything about it...from design...tech..marketing/packaging (yeah i said it)...sound...blu ray...kills competition. As if Capcom and Bethesda, even Epic will not give the true gaming brand good games? In less than 3 months the truth will come to light...get over it! I love everything Sony is doing right now..it has never been this good.....I just ordered my PS3(get it tommorow)...there are tens of millions of others like me who can't wait to upgrade!!!
KilgoreTrout XL @ May 22nd 2007 12:29PM
Everytime I see a PS3 kiosk in Best Buy or Gamestop my initial reaction is "yeah, that probably /does/ look better than 360." The looks undeniably sick (even Genji, by all accounts a mediocre title, looked absolutely gorgeous.) There's nothing wrong with the hardware, really. All they really need is to get more games coming down the pipe.
It's a vicious circle though. Less consoles sold means publishers will be more apt to delay titles until the install base has grown.
Take Ubisoft & its GRAW 2, for example. I bet that sucker is polished and basicallly ready to ship as we speak. The bean counters simply advised that it would make better financial sense to release it later, when the number of possible purchasers has risen.
Jared @ May 22nd 2007 1:47PM
20 said, "the real gamers...115 million and counting who knows the PLAYSTATION 3 comes with the heat to melt other consoles"
Buddy, there are millions of PS3 consoles sitting on store shelves, and ain't but less than 6 million sold world wide (meaning shipped, really, not sold). Where do you come up with 115 million?
I'm waiting for compelling games. Where's my Sly 4?
massive_98 @ May 22nd 2007 9:38PM
I agree with most of the opinions shared today. But I think we really need to give this guy some props. The dick who stepped down(or was fired) set this guy up for a marketing nightmare. A $800 dollar machine with little games and a late start.
I think Sony should start up a new ad campaign with a website. Something like 45exclusives.com
Stress the fact that there are 45+ PS3 games coming out within the next 14 months. Have a quick desription of the game and maybe some photos and a link to the official website.
Exclusives sell consoles.
matjet @ May 23rd 2007 3:18AM
people calm down. the post #1, "get smart" guy(how dare someone like you take such a memorable tv phrase) is just some hired Microsoft goon payed to stalk over ps3 threads that could possibly reveal the truth of something good about sony, and pretend to be disparaging fanboys.
GimmeSumGamez @ May 28th 2007 2:07AM
".any xbox fan who hates the ps3 knows deep down everything about it...from design...tech..marketing/packaging (yeah i said it)...sound...blu ray...kills competition. As if Capcom and Bethesda, even Epic will not give the true gaming brand good games?
Posted at 11:58AM on May 22nd 2007 by justincoool"
That's easy one of the stupidest things I've ever read, and every one here is dumber for having seen it. The "true gaming brand" WTF? You're either drunk, retarded, or a marketing hack. Get over the fact that we're NEVER going to see Dead Rising, Gears, OR Lost Planet on the PS3. They're bought and paid for exclusives. The "brand" has nothing to do with it. No more Kool-aid for you little guy.