How the Sony PlayStation story reflects the publisher outlook has changed

Remember the days when the PlayStation 2 was freshly launched? Sony advertised the system as having an internet browser & being able to play movies over and above the regular gaming capabilities. This became a heavy selling point as it was something new and innovative the industry had never seen before. The PlayStation two was the one machine that can play video games, play movies and browse the internet! Although Sega's Dreamcast (1998) has pioneered the browser in a gaming console concept, PlayStation introduces it to the masses and popularized it. The PlayStation 2 was a Pandora's box for entertainment. Undoubtedly, this was a smart feature set in the second iteration of the hugely successful PlayStation gaming console. The reviews of the new PlayStation were generous and the consumer rewarded Sony appropriately in terms of units of consoles sold. Sony quickly realized that this 'one box for all entertainment' concept is a successful marketing strategy. It is actually what a consumer wants. No one wants to bother with a separate box for playing TV, movies, games & the revolutionary new world of internet which could only be accessed from yet another messy combination of boxes, input devices and a display. The idea of paying just once, to get all of the above mentioned features is a very appealing one to the consumer. It just had to be polished.

With these observations and conclusions in mind, Sony conceived its newest baby - the PlayStation 3, the ultimate gaming console. Actually, more of a complete entertainment center rather than a gaming console. Apart from the excelled gaming capabilities the PS3 got a proper well polished browser complimented by keyboard and mouse like accessories. It had the capability to play movies in the new and now immensely popular Blu - ray format. Eventually with the release of the PlayStation Network, it integrated Netflix, YouTube & other video on demand services, it also added online radios and a huge library of songs and podcast to choose from. All this coupled with a simple UI of PSN and XMB, The PlayStation 3 was now truly an entertainment behemoth. No one piece of electronic device could match the entertainment capabilities of the PS3 for a big time after its release.

As critical gamer myself (blame the internet for this!) I felt this was one thing that Sony did completely perfect! Sony identified what people wanted and simply gave it to them. It improved upon and perfected the features which were experimental but popular. This should have continued down the next gen right? After all, a considerable player base of the consoles is the casual to pro-casual gamer who doesn't just plays games, he watches movies, watches serials and browses the internet. It only made sense to further centralize the idea of an ' all in one entertainment center', to incorporate more and more mediums of entertainment in one. That is how people like be are attracted into console gaming. Part of the reason I has purchased the PS3 was that it could play Blu-ray and I continued to use it because it could also stream netflix. The PS3 had essentially replaced my home PC, my DVD player, my DTH box and a lot of wiring as a direct result of this.

 "The idea of wholeness or completeness has now been destroyed by the gaming industry, now everyone wants to divide and sell their product piece by piece. The rise of DLCs is a clear example of this. "

The PlayStation 4 on the other hand, backtracks on this idea of one entertainment center. Is Sony to be blamed for this? Not really as the gaming industry itself has moved on from this idea. The idea of wholeness or completeness has now been destroyed by the gaming industry, now everyone wants to divide and sell their product piece by piece. The rise of DLCs is a clear example of this. The PS4 by design, is suited to this deconstructed product business model rather than the integrated product  business model.. Sony has not taken any major step in terms of integration except for the social media integration with games. Being able to play 4K videos for example was a logical progression which many people wanted the PS4 to do, but it is only now after pestering from Netflix and a sizable consumer demand that reports of a new redesigned 4K compatible PS4 are doing rounds. This simply shows that the idea of oneness is not one of the central elements in the next gens. 

With what is happening, I can see a future where software and hardware alike will be divided and modulated more and more and each 'feature' sold separately. Is that a good thing? Well DLCs have had there share of controvercy and opinions have varied across the industry. A Hardware version of the same DLC - like concept will also receive mix opinions if the DLC history is an indicator. Personally, I feel the consoles should not modulize themselves and have multiple paywalls to access all its features. A console is only supposed to be a medium through which you 'receive entertainment' and any complications in a console are not really welcome

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Have a look at the source article which inspired this story

The Evolution of the Sony PlayStation