Trinitron. Betamax. Walkman. CD. MiniDisc. PlayStation. Blu-ray.
All of those things have come from Sony. Only one of them remains at all relevant. (I’ll give you a hint: it’s not the MiniDisc.)
Wednesday, Sony introduced its new PlayStation 4 gaming console to the world. The last time Sony had such a major upgrade to its gaming system was November 2006, which seems like eons ago. Think about it: When the PlayStation 3 was introduced:
Today we play games on mobile devices with abandon. Smartphones and tablets may not provide the experience that harder-core gamers look for, but they certainly satisfy the much larger group of occasional players. We’re accustomed to deviceless services now—streaming Netflix requires a commoditized piece of hardware that’s as unobtrusive as a drinks coaster.
Sony has a proud tradition of making great hardware. Maybe too proud: The company continues to develop new technologies, only to misjudge what consumers want. Sony was the first major manufacturer of an e-book reader, long before the Kindle, but the device was bogged down with a clumsy syncing process and a limited library of titles.
The PS 4 is not at all the same: It’s the fourth generation of a franchise that has been, at times, the only bright spot in Sony’s constellation of products. But developing a new console—even an extremely capable one—seems somewhat out of step at a time when the idea of the console itself is in question.
All of those things have come from Sony. Only one of them remains at all relevant. (I’ll give you a hint: it’s not the MiniDisc.)
Wednesday, Sony introduced its new PlayStation 4 gaming console to the world. The last time Sony had such a major upgrade to its gaming system was November 2006, which seems like eons ago. Think about it: When the PlayStation 3 was introduced:
- There were no iPhones.
- There was no Android.
- There was no iPad, nor any modern tablets.
- There was no Angry Birds.
- Netflix could send video directly to your home—by mail.
Today we play games on mobile devices with abandon. Smartphones and tablets may not provide the experience that harder-core gamers look for, but they certainly satisfy the much larger group of occasional players. We’re accustomed to deviceless services now—streaming Netflix requires a commoditized piece of hardware that’s as unobtrusive as a drinks coaster.
Sony has a proud tradition of making great hardware. Maybe too proud: The company continues to develop new technologies, only to misjudge what consumers want. Sony was the first major manufacturer of an e-book reader, long before the Kindle, but the device was bogged down with a clumsy syncing process and a limited library of titles.
The PS 4 is not at all the same: It’s the fourth generation of a franchise that has been, at times, the only bright spot in Sony’s constellation of products. But developing a new console—even an extremely capable one—seems somewhat out of step at a time when the idea of the console itself is in question.