In PS3 vs. Wii, a surprising win for Wii

Is it possible for expectations to build too high? That seems to have been the case for Sony’s new Playstation 3, which is experiencing a minor online backlash after the introduction of the highly anticipated new console last month turned ugly. Reports surfaced of rioting, shootings, robberies and one stabbing in the days following its release as people competed to get one of a limited number of consoles released before Christmas. Prices for the machine soared upwards of $10,000 on eBay and people waited in line for days to get one. Meanwhile, the rollout of the less-anticipated but still popular Nintendo Wii did not have the same violence issues and seems to have been met with a more enthusiastic reaction by online gamers, according to a new report. New Media Strategies, an Arlington, Va., online marketing research firm, monitored 10,000 online conversations about the new consoles and found that negative reaction to PS3 was much higher than for Wii. About 38 percent of those monitored registered negative opinions of PS3, compared with 18 percent for Wii. PS3 received just 27 percent positive feedback, compared with 49 percent for Wii. One-third were neutral toward Wii and 35 percent were neutral toward PS3. Sam Huxley, vice president of marketing for New Media Strategies, talks to Media Life about the danger of too much buzz, what people love about Wii, and what they dislike about PS3.
 
Have you been surprised by any of your findings about Wii and PS3?
 
It wasn’t a shock that PS3 had more negative perception, it was just the level of how negative it was versus Nintendo. A lot of that was driven by the PR.

In the report we have a lot of verbatims from consumers. There was a ton of volume on both sides. The guy who got stabbed in line drove a lot of negative response.

It was just the level of negativity that I was surprised by.

People aren’t saying they got a Wii because they couldn’t get a PS3. There was a little of that. Wii was easier to get, but it wasn’t by any means an easy item to get.

Nintendo’s positive tone was almost three to one over negative. They were able to keep the buzz in line with what they were actually able to deliver.
 

Was negative reaction surrounding Sony and PS3 simply the result of the company’s inability to deliver what it said it would?
 
Sony already had issues to deal with in terms of pricing. It had similar problems with past generations. But the availability was down, from a shipment of 1 million at first to around 400,000 to maybe 200,000 or 250,000. So you had a lot of people waiting in line. A lot of Wal-Marts were only carrying two or three units. And they still did a large media blitz, without a product to fulfill it.

The perception went from the PS3 being an exclusive item to I’d be lucky to own to something that’s that unattainable.
 

More people have favorable reactions toward Wii than PS3. Is this a case of too much hype for the latter? Could it have ever lived up to expectations?
 
If Sony did have enough units, that would have helped a lot. But there is also a secondary negative thread about how they didn’t launch the PS3 with any existing franchise titles.

There was a lot of excitement for “Warhawk,” but that got pushed back. “Resistance: Fall of Man” has gotten good reviews, and it was their biggest launch title. But it’s new and people haven’t played it much. In terms of number of titles, it wasn’t as high as people initially hoped.

Comparatively, Nintendo was able to build a lot of buzz about the new “Zelda” title, which is a franchise that most people already know.
 

There have been reports of ridiculous circumstances for getting PS3s, like fights, muggings and waiting in line overnight. Has this heightened the PS3 experience or taken away from it?
 
I think it’s added to the negative. It crossed the line between exclusivity and unattainability. You had that combined with the ever-rising cost of the system on eBay, upwards of $15,000. Keep in mind that the guy who got shot in line wasn’t going to keep it for himself, he was going to scalp it on eBay.

A lot of it came off as profiteering, and that definitely took away from it. It was a must-have product, but I think the lengths people went to to get one drove a lot of the negative discussion.

By the way, one thing we don’t have in the report is the volume of discussion on PS3 is about double of that of Wii, and that’s I think because PS2 had a much larger base than did Nintendo’s Game Cube console.
 

Sony has long been seen as king of the game consoles. How significant could this buzz shift toward Wii be?
 
We looked at the Wii and the PS3 because they both launched on the same weekend. It was kind of a unique circumstance.

I think basically it becomes an issue of Sony having to work to turn things around, if not this season then next, relying on a combination of things, beginning with its impressive library of titles.

“Grand Theft Auto” was key to their success last time around, so we’ll see something like that.

They’ll facing too the issues of pricing and availability. If it’s 600 bucks next year, it will still be a tough sell. You can get a 360 and a Wii for the cost of PS3.
 

What’s been the most common complaint about PS3?
 
Availability first. And it’s not just people who wanted one and couldn’t get one. People disapproved of the lengths others were waiting to get one. It had a much larger ripple effect. There was so much press out there about what people were going through.

I mean, people were hiring temps to stand in line.  

The most common praise?
 
A lot of people love the graphics. They say they’re stunning. Plus,
“Resistance: Fall of Man” has gotten pretty good reviews.

Also, when people play PS3s, they can see the difference in quality compared to PS2.
 

What about the most common complaint about Wii?
 
There’re some minor availability issues. They’re still not easy to get.

One thing is people are trying to get used to playing it. It takes some getting used to.
 

The most common praise?
 
For a lot of people, it’s the game play element and “Zelda.” Both were mentioned a lot. 

Tags: eBay, marketing, media life, New Media Strategies, online, people, research, Sony