Funstation Turnaround?

We all know Sony has made quite a monkey out of themselves back in 2006. I feel Sony has been clueless of what it's been trying to tell people with the Playstation 3. Sure, it's a game machine and it's a multimedia hub, but I think seeing all their PS3 related PR, it's hard to sift through their mess and figure out what they want to tell consumers. To top it off, they have had quite a number of PR disasters since 2006. Flash forward to today, it's been a little more than a year since Sony has launched the Playstation 3 and it's worth looking at how well they are doing.

The PS3 had undergone some product revisions which I feel is definitely a multi-pronged purpose. On one hand, this allows Sony to reintroduce their product with new cost-cutting measures, but it also gives them a better chance at spicing up their "re-launch". The 40 GB and 80 GB model introduction is a good way of giving people a bit more value for the money they spend though this bit comes with the slight product confusion that now there are 20 GB, 40 GB, 60 GB, and 80 GB models existing. It is quite a problem for Sony but it's not as grave as in 2006.

The game line up is improving, fortunately. It's one of the prime reasons a console does well in any generation and thankfully for Sony, it's been getting better since the 'Resistance drought'. Japan sales are turning out pretty good for a pricey machine, so they could be gaining a bit of traction.

I think, though, that Sony's value proposition as of this moment comes in three aspects:

1. Games
2. Movies
3. Online

The first is really beyond their control. Nintendo was one of the sole flag bearers on the Gamecube and it didn't help them that they are practically the few developers that churns out decent stuff in the GC. Sony can product good titles, but this is really in the hands of the third party developers.

The second is already something Sony does for the PS3 since day one. The number of Bluray movies will increase at this point so this isn't really Sony's problem.

The last one is an online proposition. There's so much talk about PS Home. Sony has delayed this particular system and that's really a shame. But there has to be more from Sony. Home is just the starting point, they have to grow from this point on. That is where the real meat is added to the value proposition.