PlayStation Blog: Sony's Best PR/Marketing Tool Yet?

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Many journalists, including yours truly, have taken Sony to task in recent years for not promoting the PlayStation brand as strongly as the market seems to require. And while we still believe they have a ways to go - why did we see the Resident Evil 5 ad a hundred times an hour but the Killzone 2 ad a mere three times in two weeks? - there's one source that hasn't failed the gamer for over a year and a half.

I still remember sitting down to do some news back in the summer of 2007 (provided my memory doesn't betray me), and I saw the Day 1 launch of the official PlayStation blog. Up until that time, we only had the "unofficial PlayStation blog" in the form of ThreeSpeech, which, while usually a source of much controversy, wasn't what we needed. What the PlayStation fan and info-seeker needed was a place that was updated with the most recent inside information on a daily basis; a site that kept both the public and the press up to date on anything PlayStation-related. Now, we don't want people to misinterpret the title of this article: the blog isn't just for promotion and hype purposes; it exists to educate and inform, and as such, it has now become one of the best sources on the Internet for any info associated with the PlayStation brand. Well, it drops in a close second to your favorite source, known as PSX Extreme. ;)

Anyway, it's the contrast that interests me: we all still have a few problems with the way Sony handles their marketing in regards to the PlayStation 3 and some of its products, but the blog hasn't let us down yet. Not only are Sony PR guys posting there, but designers, engineers, and other significant members of first- and second-party development teams make frequent contributions. There are videos, screenshots, Q&A sessions, and perhaps best of all, those same contributors actually interact with the readers. If you have a question, they'll likely answer it. As most of our loyal readers know, we operate by the same philosophy: our community is of the utmost importance to us, and we've grown with the belief that the readers are a top priority. The PlayStation blog clearly understands this as well, and it's another bonus.

We go from corner to corner on the Internet, seeking the most valuable and up-to-date news, and as far as we're concerned, there are only two sources you need to visit that will give you everything you need to know related to PlayStation. Guess which two? ;) We have to admit, the industry is that much more friendlier and accessible thanks to the blog in question.

4/29/2009 Ben Dutka

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