When searching for the term underdog on wikipedia, the first section after the initial explanation of the term is called “Sympathy for the underdog”. The first sentence in that section reads:
In a broader sense, “underdog” is used in reference to a social or ethnic group which experiences discrimination, persecution and/or economic disability, and which could therefore gain the sympathy of public opinion, either nationally or worldwide.
While the PS3 certainly isn’t a social or ethnic group, you get what I am trying to point out here, and that is the underdog almost always gets sympathy. So why aren’t gamers being sympathetic for the PlayStation 3 which is technically the underdog this time around? Or do gamers not consider the PlayStation 3 the underdog?
The main reason is the PlayStation brand, which has dominated the console market for over a decade. In a sense, the other consoles in the lead sales-wise could be considered the underdogs, which are taking down the “top dog” in an upset victory.
Another reason gamers aren’t rooting for the PS3, is because of the media. People look to the media to tell them how to think, even more so, it tells people what is “in”. This generation, owning a PlayStation 3 is not the “in” thing to do. On the core gamer side, Xbox Live, Halo, and Gears of War are “in”. On the casual side Wii sports, Wii Fit, and Wii Play, are “in”.
So why isn’t the PlayStation 3 considered fashionable? People must not understand the amazing value that is the PlayStation 3. Its an amazing console ready to go out of the box with free online service, integrated Wi-Fi, HDD as well as a Blu-Ray player. At the price of $399, it should be obvious, the PlayStation 3 offers the best bang for your buck, as well as the very best overall experience for both gaming and home media.
Why isn’t value” in”? In this economy, wouldn’t getting the best overall value for your money be the way to go? Maybe this amazing value, is yet another reason people don’t view the PS3 as the underdog. The good news is that it seems people are starting to, or about to start realizing, the value of the system.
PlayStation 3 sales are up from last year, and if Sony could just get that price tag a little bit more affordable, people would not be able to deny the value. Blu-Ray is already the standard for HD movies. Paying for a service such as Live, that you could get for free on PlayStation will start to become more important as the PSN grows, and people try to squeeze the most out of their penny. The diverse library on the PlayStation 3 has grown considerably, and now offers many AAA games. More to come by the years end. The PlayStation 3 is just now picking up steam, and when the PlayStation train starts chugging along it’s not easy to stop such a force. All of these things are my biggest reasons for not considering the PlayStation 3 the underdog.
The PS3 has just begun its fight.
