Gamesindustry.biz article on FUD

[Killing Moon]

FUD", standing for Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt, is an acronym first coined to describe IBM's heavy-handed attempts to warn its customers away from competing products. More commonly, it has been used to describe Microsoft's approach to competitors, a careful PR move which the firm has used to undermine confidence in other products since the eighties. Although it exists outside the technology markets, it's no surprise that FUD was coined in this sector; it thrives in an area where many customers have only a vague grasp of the workings of the product they buy, and are easily swayed by an appeal to fear.

In general, companies use FUD tactics against the products of their competitors - and there's no doubt that in the videogames industry, Microsoft has applied FUD very successfully against Sony's PS3 in a few significant instances. However, the pall which currently lies over the PS3's launch may be full of fear, uncertainty and doubt, but it's not of Microsoft's making. Rather, it's a cloud of Sony's own creation - a rare and unfortunate instance of a corporation managing to FUD its own product rather spectacularly, albeit with willing (and certainly unwanted) help from the media along the way.

With the launch of the PS3 still a work in progress, Sony has battled to keep anyone convinced that a March date is really on the cards for Europe - including, seemingly, its own executives, with corporate boss Howard Stringer managing to peg the European launch for April in a recent interview. This added to a stream of speculation over the launch date which kicked off last year when Sony's worldwide studios boss Phil Harrison declined to comment on the March date - an innocent enough thing to do, since he runs the firm's software efforts and presumably has little involvement with the details of hardware launch schedules, but one which was pounced upon by the media as evidence that the firm was wavering in its commitment.

From tiny acorns, great oaks grow - and by the time Christmas rolled around, senior publishing figures around the UK were happy to openly (albeit off the record) speculate that the PS3 simply couldn't launch in the March timescale, with some going so far as to peg September as the date. It's unlikely that any of this was actually based on insider information, of course - the industry itself is as prone to baseless speculation as the media which surrounds it - but these comments, and the breathless reporting on them in the media, can't have helped the perception of Sony as a company whose plans for PS3 were up in a heap.

Over Christmas and New Year, though, a seemingly more serious problem emerged - with anecdotal reports from North America suggesting that the PS3 is languishing unsold on shelves across the continent. This, at least, should extinguish some of the doubts about the European launch date - after all, those reports were largely based on the assumption that Sony wouldn't be able to divert enough stock from the USA to satisfy a decent European launch by March - but this medicine is more bitter than the ailment it cures, and uncertainty over the prospects for PS3 is unsurprisingly high as a result.

As to the truth of the matter - who can say? The closest thing to a proper study into the question of Sony's stock levels is a check of the channel carried out by American Technology Research pundit PJ McNealy, who found that 28 out of 52 stores polled had units of the PS3 in stock, while none had Wii units. SCEA claims that this has more to do with good management of the supply chain for PS3 than actual demand; online speculation, of course, points to underwhelming demand for Sony's expensive console. The truth may lie somewhere in the middle, but the truth isn't really important - what's important is the FUD, and there's nothing that will spread FUD over a product as effectively as a seemingly undersubscribed launch.

And so to Europe, where the console will - apparently - finally roll out in March. Already the murmurs are there; today brought with it discontent over the price point of the system, which is pegged somewhat higher in the UK than on the Continent. UK retailers demanding higher margins is the reason being bandied about in some quarters; either way, it's deeply unfortunate that Sony has decided to price the system above the psychologically important 400 pound level, not least since the company has its work cut out for it undoing the horrendous FUD spread by PlayStation boss Ken Kutaragi when he went off on one several months ago about how people were going to have to work overtime to afford the new system. The lack of a 20GB model in this market will only serve to exacerbate price comparisons.

FUD is all about having question marks in places where there should be no questions, and the PlayStation 3 undoubtedly still suffers from this to a huge extent. People - both consumers and industry workers - are uncertain about the prospects for a machine priced at this level, and question whether Sony will be forced to implement a price cut early in its lifespan to invigorate demand. There is a huge question mark over the Blu-Ray format, which is usually cited by Sony as the reason why the PS3's price point is reasonable - we don't doubt (as many do) that the format has the possibility of improving PS3 games greatly, but from a consumer standpoint, hardly anyone actually wants a Blu-Ray movie player right now and few will be happy with the idea that they should be okay with the PS3's price point because it nets them a Blu-Ray player for free. After all, neither HD-DVD nor Blu-Ray seem to be making the headway their proponents wanted from them - and there's an increasingly strong feeling that neither format may be appealing enough to consumers to take off. Of course, there's the question of online services; many feel that Sony isn't moving fast or far enough to catch up with the headstart Microsoft has with Xbox Live, and they may well have a point.

Questions, questions, questions; fear, uncertainty, doubt. Whether any of this will actually matter when games like Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, Gran Turismo and the likes are on shelves is a question in itself - but for now, there's a cloud over PS3 whose presence has nothing to do with the system's rivals. Only time will answer these questions, of course, but for now one thing is clear - the launch of PlayStation 3 is only the start of the race, and it's going to be a tough race for Sony. The continuing dominance of PS2 is a positive point for the firm, but by no means a guarantee of future success - and with both Nintendo and Microsoft snapping at its heels, the pressure is on Sony to deliver, to silence its critics, and to clear the air of the FUD which has gathered over the most important product in the Japanese firm's history.

[Epix]

This article isn't on FUD, it is FUD.

[Sephiroth_VII]

Personally, I think this is a good read. This article is pretty much unbiased, it simply summarizes the current current rumors and FUD about PS3, and why they exist.

[Epix]

...However, the pall which currently lies over the PS3's launch may be full of fear, uncertainty and doubt, but it's not of Microsoft's making. Rather, it's a cloud of Sony's own creation - a rare and unfortunate instance of a corporation managing to FUD its own product rather spectacularly,...

This is FUDly

[Viper]

FUD it might be but truthful it is as well. People can be angered towards the truth all people want but it doesn't change the situation any.

Sony has set the stage for much of the FUD (sure, not all like those Kotuku or what ever the hell that site is) we read. If you delay, slash shipments, launch with minimal line up and at a high price point against stiff comepetition, what exactly do you expect?

[Epix]

Originally Posted by Viper

FUD it might be but truthful it is as well. People can be angered towards the truth all people want but it doesn't change the situation any.

Sony has set the stage for much of the FUD (sure, not all like those Kotuku or what ever the hell that site is) we read. If you delay, slash shipments, launch with minimal line up and at a high price point against stiff comepetition, what exactly do you expect?

Sorry but the quote I listed is an opinion and not a fact. I don't think Sony "spectacularly" spreaded FUD against itself.

Sony has set the stage for much of the FUD (sure, not all like those Kotuku or what ever the hell that site is) we read. If you delay, slash shipments, launch with minimal line up and at a high price point against stiff comepetition, what exactly do you expect?

Well I wouldn't expect it to sell faster than the most successful console of all time during the same amount of time.

[Viper]

Did Microsoft do any of those things I mentioned or did Sony?

[Domination]

Well, the artical definitely holds a lot of truth.

[gibmonster]

I would say some of it is Sony's fault. But it is also the fault of sites who don't do their research properly and down right poor journalism. I mean, their job is not lke a doctors or an accountants where their a strict penalties (25 years prison) for "creative" accounting.

[Garfunkel]

I thought the article was a good read and well written.

[Domination]

Originally Posted by gibmonster

I would say some of it is Sony's fault. But it is also the fault of sites who don't do their research properly and down right poor journalism. I mean, their job is not lke a doctors or an accountants where their a strict penalties (25 years prison) for "creative" accounting.

I totally agree with you here. As much as it is the other persons fault, I find it to equally be your own if you choose to be persuaded by every piece of info that turns up negative or positive about that particular product.

[Garfunkel]

Sony's PR department have done a horrible job of managing the FUD against them, in some cases they have created more, what with the stinger announcement of April and motorstorm being 1080p etc.

[Nameless]

Good read and I agree...
Sony really needs to justify the price point with software; hopefully this jusitification will come sooner than later.

[PUNK em 733]

It is a good article that makes some very good points. Sony has stepped in the doo-doo more times than naught, but I think they are gonna have to step it up for the march launch. This update that is coming better be huge, and there really needs to be some AAA titles released soon. We just can't wait for MGS4, the holy savior of all that is to show what the PS3 is capable of at the end of the yr, which more than likely will be pushed back to '08 seeing how most blockbusters never get pushed out in time. We need some phenomonal games sprinkled throughout the yr.

Oh well time will tell how Sony is gonna handle this.

[VideoGame mania]

WTH is this?

[PUNK em 733]

It's funny as hell is what it is! LOL

[Nameless]

^ If Heavenly Sword, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, DMC4, MGS4 & FFXIII are released in 2007 the PS3 should have a great holiday season. Also, if all those games hit this year you could debate it's the best year of gaming for any console ever... Plus, Warhawk is the wild card and I'm sure the Naughty Dog project, Eight days, Getaway, Killzone & several other titles could release with great success in 2007. (But the titles just mentioned have not received release dates except for Warhawk... )

The big question is how many titles will be pushed to 2008, because several of the PS3 winter launch titles were pushed to spring, summer & even fall 2007. If I had to guess what games will push to 2008 my first selection would be FXIII and second would be MGS4, but team Kojima is pretty good about hitting their target release dates. Peace

[PUNK em 733]

Originally Posted by Nameless

^ If Heavenly Sword, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, DMC4, MGS4 & FFXIII are released in 2007 the PS3 should have a great holiday season. Also, if all those games hit this year you could debate it's the best year of gaming for any console ever... Plus, Warhawk is the wild card and I'm sure the Naughty Dog project, Eight days, Getaway, Killzone & several other titles could release with great success in 2007. (But the titles just mentioned have not received release dates except for Warhawk... )

If they are released, then yes it could be the greatest yr for any console maybe ever.

Naughty Dog project, Eight days, Getaway, Killzone will never make it for 2007.

[Garfunkel]

don't forget GTA!

[Nameless]

^ Unless they do something fresh & new meh...