paul smith's Snaps & Bytes e-home
August 2000
Sony rarely get it wrong. You can't argue the Walkman revolutionised music-on-the-move, in a kind of 'best thing since the whole concept of bread, let alone slicing' way. Playstation showed games consoles weren't just for agoraphobic kids who couldn't get to the local arcade. If there was a hiccup, it was Betamax 20 years back. And you know I'm the kind of guy to point out that Betamax was the technically superior format, don't you? Higher definition, for starters… Which is Image quality, which in-turn is something Sony have never got wrong. The quality of their corporate image (i.e. they're the Mercedes of consumer electronics) has never been better. The gamble that produced the PSX has proven to be one of the best moves the business ever made, with sales now generating a third of Sony's income…
So why do I think they may be about to get it horridly wrong, from your point of view?
Playstation 2 is destined to be the biggest product launch since the solar system condensed, in just the same way that 'Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom menace' had all the ingredients to be the biggest movie of all time. And we all know what happened there, don't we? I'm not suggesting all your pre-orders are going to get cancelled (unless Curxions get all the stock. It may be worth praying to the god of your choice about allocation for the weeks running up to the launch) but in the current atmosphere of 'Rip-off Britain' punters are going to be looking for the better deal, the lower price. And many will be prepared to wait for that deal to show. None of which looks good for indies. And it gets worse. Lots of the others, I assume, are going to visit the on-line Sony store, as they did for the Japanese launch, and see what's looking good there.
The traditional distribution tree (manufacturing being the trunk, distribution being the branches, retail being the twigs and the end users being the leafs) is under serious threat, and the PS2 launch could be our clearest view of this yet. That tree exists because Sony have a million units to shift and a million lounges have a space a PS2 would fit just right in. Under normal conditions Sony would need retailers to promote their products and distributors to supply those shops, while they look after the simple task of supplying a few disties. However a product that needs no salesman to read aloud from the card which lists features and benefits, coupled to the wide open doors of the internet, means you don't get a tree, you get something which looks suspiciously like Cress. And why not? Manufacturers can cut out two lots of middlemen for the price of some huge servers and a call centre.
Much as I hate being a harbinger of doom, I believe Sony are in business to make money and their plans may not involve you forever. I know. I hope I'm wrong too.
Dale, 503 words on evil Japanese Capitalists. Chairman Mao would have been proud of me! I'm hoping this cuts the mustard. And now, to sleep… zzzzzzzzzzz
Paul
August 2000. (Original version rejected on the grounds of self-obsession. Which was fair enough!)
Easy-peasy. A walk in the park. Falling off a lo-aaaagh!
This isn't as easy at it looks you know. To the uneducated eye it may appear that my column is hastily thrown together at the last minute each month. It's simply not the case, or at least, it isn't usually. Normally I have weeks to beg, borrow or steal inspiration, carefully research my subject, hone my word-play skills and generally pull something vaguely coherent together. (All that effort wasted! Ed.) However…
This month my deadline has snuck up on me out of the blue, due to my busy jetset lifestyle as an international playboy and raconteur. Which brings me to this looking-at-the-screen moment. I have written for Indie since distant 1997 when, as Tammy (my weekend name) I began putting finger to keyboard. And this is the first time that an idea, of whatever dubious quality, has failed to arrive upon demand. My Muse, it seems, has taken that two week Cuban holiday. My creative spark has been bound, gagged and bundled into the boot of a fast car. Like I say, it's not all beer and skittles.
Editor Dale tells me a fellow columnist is about to bow out of the spot-light of fame which the Indie magazine affords us. The stress, it would appear, has burnt him out too. The brighter side of this news is that now there's a gap in the journalist market for someone else to fill. Who is going to step up to the microphone? My advice, for all it's worth, is that to write for a magazine one must have a good-sized ego. Every month I have to believe (often without the aid of drugs) that what I am about to commit will be of interest to thousands of people. It's quite a responsibility. This half-a-page would be worth what, five hundred quid in advertising revenue?..
Lying, as I explained to the Pope just the other day, is a vital skill too. Flattery has helped smooth my path and having an opinion on everything has been a helpful aid. These are the tools one needs to burgle the fortress men call Indie. If you are so equipped, why not drop nice Mr. Bradford a line? No, that's not another drug reference. But I give you fair warning; this life can be a cruel mistress. For example, before starting on this journey, I had a full head of luxury hair. Conversely, the rewards can be huge too; only yesterday I was approached by Shaven Ravers(tm) magazine to be their I.T. correspondent. I think I'll pass-up the offer because I'm holding out to be a staff writer for Top Gear magazine.
Hey! An idea! Wow! Harry Potter, the books that have taken the whole world by storm it would seem, must be the perfect licence at the moment. A Hollywood film is in pre-production and just imagine the PC/Console possibilities! Quidditch Manager 2000! Virtual Hogwarts! Hippogriff flight sims! And if none of that means anything to you, you must be a Muggle. Damn, I'm just warming to my subject and I've run out of ti-
Hi Dale! 510 words. Ooops! I hope this isn't too self-indulgent. If it is I do have a couple of better ideas about the use of the word 'clit' in popular journalism. Your call, Mr Bradford, your call.
Paul
Just to prove you really should believe it when magazines say 'All correspondence is assumed to be for publication...!'
