Play Beyond

[Mythos]

A gamespot article....talking about Sony's E3 ad messages:

E3 06: Sony launches new teaser campaign
By Tor Thorsen, Brendan Sinclair, GameSpot
Posted May 6, 2006 9:19 pm PT

The most obvious ads are a series of massive billboards prominently visible from the LACC's main entrance. One shows a surrealistic take on a game of rock-paper-scissors--with the person making "scissors" actually having steel blades for fingers, and the person making "rock" actually having a stone fist.

Another ad, which covers one side of the neighboring Staples Center, shows a massive canyon with a person in the upper-right-hand corner who looks as though he's about to jump off a cliff. Two ads on nearby triangular kiosks show similar scenes of extreme outdoor activity: one of a woman traversing a series of gymnastic rings above a red-hot lava floe, another of someone playing on a swing--underneath a structure resembling the 630-foot St. Louis Arch.

All four of these ads have two things in common--they each have the words "Play Beyond" on the top and the PlayStation logo at the bottom. However, their meaning is less clear. The most prevalent theory is that they are the beginning of the ad campaign for the PlayStation 3's online service, since they appear to be deliberately one-upping Xbox 360's current tagline, "Jump In." Others have taken the rock-paper-scissors ad as a portent that the new PlayStation 3 controller--which will be unveiled on Monday--will have some kind of motion-sensing capability like the Nintendo Wii.

However, until there is official word, these theories are just that--theories. As of press time, Sony reps were unavailable for comment. However, their meaning should be more clear on Monday afternoon following Sony's pre-E3 press conference, which will be streamed live as part of GameSpot's E3 Coverage.

Whats your thoughts... is this an indication that the PS3 console will add that extra factor to consider it beyond or an ad message that differs from the community centeric message of we or jump in?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Others have taken the rock-paper-scissors ad as a portent that the new PlayStation 3 controller--which will be unveiled on Monday--will have some kind of motion-sensing capability like the Nintendo Wii.

Good grief! What a crazy link to make. One pick shows a guy skateboarding off a mountain. Are we to believe PS3 will come with a 'surfboard' controller? And a full pneumatic feedback seat, indicated by the big swing? It's just an ad campaign, linking ideas of fantastic and extreme experiences with PlayStation gaming, same as many an ad.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

Good grief! What a crazy link to make. One pick shows a guy skateboarding off a mountain. Are we to believe PS3 will come with a 'surfboard' controller? And a full pneumatic feedback seat, indicated by the big swing?

Huh? What are you saying? It won't... Damn. And here I was still waiting for my water balloon peripheral for the 360!

Damn it!

 

[wco81]

Maybe the PS3 controller will have motion-sensing.

But will it still have rumble, given the lawsuit?

Maybe motion-sensing is the replacement.

In that case, maybe Nintendo sues Sony.

 

[DemoCoder]

They can't sue for motion sensing (the idea), they can only sue for the particular technique used. Motion sensing in video games is not new. If they got a patent on just the abstract idea "motion sensing in a video game, no matter how it's done", then we must immediately go and burn down the homes of the patent examiners for stupidity.

 

[wco81]

Ask RIMM and several other companies with successful products about patents.

 

[DemoCoder]

You don't need to lecture me on the idiocy that is patent law. If they get such a patent however, there is ample prior art to over turn it, unlike the RIM (not RIMM) case. And Sony has deep enough pockets to take it to court, unlike some wimp-ass corporations that cave in and license, which only encourages more patent drive-bys by IT acquiring law firms.

 

[wco81]

Well some other company served notice they're going to sue RIM, just this week.

 

[DemoCoder]

And your point? Another company suing RIM for a different patent doesn't mean their suing for the same claims that NTP was suing for. Whether there is prior art to overturn it is on a patent-by-patent basis. Of course, the fact that RIM caved in is just inviting a feeding frenzy now. Software and business patents are bogus and should be abolished. It's basically impossible not to infringe on a patent somewhere, except by not doing anything at all.

BTW, RIM was not sued for the *IDEA* of "wireless email" or "push email", they were sued on their particular implementation of it.

 

[wco81]

As long as they got deep pockets, they'll be targets.

Some of these litigants may think worst case, they'll get some settlement to go away.

Anyways, who knows, Sony may have thought of this motion-sensing thing as a replacement for the rumble feature, which they may not want to pay the license for.

 

[rounin]

I personally expected Sony to do better viral marketting. At this rate they'll be outdone by MS in terms of generating hype through viral marketing...

 

[DeathKnight]

Sony secured all the large and in-your-face ad locations.... Whodathunkit?

http://www.jeux-france.com/news15630_e3-2006-premieres-photos.html

 

[Mythos]

Sony secured all the large and in-your-face ad locations.... Whodathunkit?

http://www.jeux-france.com/news15630_e3-2006-premieres-photos.html

I'm diggin the steps one!

 

[rabidrabbit]

I like the these ads, they're fun, stylish, interesting to look at and in good taste, but I don't think they're a teaser for anything.
They're just brand image advertising, aimed at putting your mind at a certain state in which I think they succeed fairly well.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I personally expected Sony to do better viral marketting. At this rate they'll be outdone by MS in terms of generating hype through viral marketing...

Is that a problem though? Viral marketting is a new concept and unproven. Personally I've never seen that viral marketting is likely to be effective. Viral Marketting is better than no marketting, for sure, but given a choice between an obscure website only talked about by forum goers who already know all about the tech, and a massive board with your product on lining the World Cup stadiums, I know which I think more likely to communicate the message to the masses!

 

[StefanS]

Is that a problem though? Viral marketting is a new concept and unproven. Personally I've never seen that viral marketting is likely to be effective. Viral Marketting is better than no marketting, for sure, but given a choice between an obscure website only talked about by forum goers who already know all about the tech, and a massive board with your product on lining the World Cup stadiums, I know which I think more likely to communicate the message to the masses!

Ideally, viral marketing should be an extension of word of mouth propaganda. However, so far such campaigns have failed miserably, they didn't create a buzz, not even on the internet. Does anybody remember all the names of the MS campaigns? The only one I remember was called sg like the Hive.
Honestly, I don't know a single casual gamer who talked or knew about those hype-sites. In my opinion relating information and / or misinformation through journalists is far more effective, as the reader attributes far more credibility to that "respectable" channel of information.

Anyway, back on topic: The Sony are very stylish and have a certain "cool" factor to them. I particularily like the swing on the arc. Plus, the thing I noted about them was that they try to appeal range of different cultural backgrounds, not only to the US/ western market.

 

[weaksauce]

And then people will say "but sony promised motion sensitive controllers"

:smile:

 

[koldfuzion]

Personally I've never seen that viral marketting is likely to be effective.

Lookup the guy who owned Grey Goose vodka whether or not viral marketing works. He pioneered the idea of babes in bars. (Basically sent hot chicks into high-end bars to drink the stuff). Also pioneered another crazy concept: the Shot Girl...

If done right it can work. If done wrong, it can backfire and work very poorly. (Eg sending in hot babe spies in bars to drink Grey Goose only works if no one knows you are doing it).

Frankly given how huge the gaming market is, and how much publicity Sony already has--I don't think it's all that useful *in this context.* You have to be braindead not to familiar with Sony or PS brand by now. What is the point? It's much more useful for say, a developer trying to generate buzz for an as yet unheard of new game IP.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Lookup the guy who owned Grey Goose vodka whether or not viral marketing works. He pioneered the idea of babes in bars. (Basically sent hot chicks into high-end bars to drink the stuff). Also pioneered another crazy concept: the Shot Girl...

That's not quite the same as a bizarrely named website with a tree and rabbits that doesn't indicate the product at all, and when it is finally resolved everyone's disappointed. Or the Giant's website that was supposedly to advertise SotC but without mentioning the game probably just confused a number of paleotologists and random web-surfers.

I think true viral marketting, at least as embodied in it's latest incarnation, doesn't identify any products and is so abstract it can't get any message across. Advertising is supposed to be about making people aware of your product!

 

[NavNucST3]

That's not quite the same as a bizarrely named website with a tree and rabbits that doesn't indicate the product at all, and when it is finally resolved everyone's disappointed. Or the Giant's website that was supposedly to advertise SotC but without mentioning the game probably just confused a number of paleotologists and random web-surfers.

I think true viral marketting, at least as embodied in it's latest incarnation, doesn't identify any products and is so abstract it can't get any message across. Advertising is supposed to be about making people aware of your product!

In the case of E3, why exactly, if you were Sony, would you spend the advertising dollars on those large ads. Its not like EVERY SINGLE PERSON at the event doesn't realize what the PS2, -3, and -P are...