PS3 Midnight Launch vs Xbox360 Midnight Launch
| Now I can't report 100% accurately as I didn't attend the midnight PS3 launch last Thursday. But I can use the photo evidence and my own account of the Xbox360 midnight launch to make this analysis.
1: Crowds: You can't have a launch event without a crowd.  Xbox pulled about 1,000 people with little room to even swing a Wiiremote. PS3 was lucky to reach 200 people. Xbox also handed out free 360 caps to people silly enough to wear them. Winner: Xbox360 by a wide margin 2: Entertainment: OK you're expecting crowds of people to wait around for your product. Better keep them entertained or they'll get rowdy.  Xbox360 had cheerleaders and a hip hop krunk dance show. The cheerleaders were branded Xbox360. PS3 had 3 minute massages and a screening of Casino Royal. Maybe Sony forgot they have a music department? Also it couldn't have hurt to have event staff in PS3 gear? Winner: Xbox360. While the hip hop show was interesting, the cheerleaders were a crowd fav. 3: Food: Waiting for a console to launch is hungry work.  Xbox360 had little to offer the hungry masses. Although I do vaguely remember some dodgy finger food. PS3 had free drinks and ice creams although served by this excited fellow from 2DayFM. Would it have been too much work to get him in a PS3 T-Shirt? Winner: PS3 just. When's the last time you went to a launch event and all you got was an ice cream on a stick and a can of drink? 4: Try before you buy: You're launching a gaming system so let the plebs play with it.  Xbox had at least 15 demo stations setup playing their lacklustre launch lineup. PS3 had one jumbo screen playing Gran Turismo while a lot of bored people look on. Winner: Xbox360. I used to hate waiting to play the consoles at department stores and now that feelings magnified by the size of the screen and the fact you're there at 11.30pm. 5: The MC: You can't host an event for 2-3 hrs without an MC.  Xbox360 went with Nova and the James Matheson from Channel V while PS3 went with 2DayFM's Lizzy Lovette. Winner: Xbox360. While Lizzy is cute I'd say she thinks a PSP is something her tax agent deals with. James may be over saturated with the Idol gig but hey he's the best of the worst when it comes to radio/TV personalities. Also with Sony fingers in so many entertainment pies this is the best they could do? 6: Big Screen Impact: What better way to show off your HD gaming system than to show it big.  Xbox360 had one 46" screen setup in a VIP area playing Fight Night. PS3 had a massive projector screen screening Casino Royal and then used to display the PS3 game play. Winner: PS3. You can't mistake the impact of a big mofo screen. 7: People: You can tell a lot about a person by the friends they keep.  Xbox360 had these two lovely ladies in cosplay but I think they were paid so they don't really count. PS3 had this little guy Dalton, who looks to be the happiest little guy on Earth right now. Winner: Tie. Cosplay was so last week but you can't argue with sexy chicks to please the mass of male gamers and anyone who's seen Carnivale, LOTR and Twin Peaks know how cool little people are. 8: The first customer: OK now's the time to get some PR spin for the first Australian to own your next gen console.  Xbox360 pulled all the stops with Far North Queensland teen Jake Spencer, a recovering stroke victim, had his Starlight Foundation wish come true when David McLean, Xbox director Australia, presented him with an Xbox 360 console and stack of games before official trading commenced. PS3 wound up with some bald knob called Danny from Pyrmont. Also the Sony exec looks like the dad off American Pie while the Xbox Exec looks like a guy who may have actually played avideo game. Winner: Xbox360. Unless Danny's baldness is from kemo, then Sony don't really have much of a story to work with the press. Final Score:
Xbox360: 6 PS3: 3 Xbox's event was the biz and is rightfully the winner and even wet weather couldn't put a dampner on the night. Sony could and should have done a lot more to make this a grand event. Also isn't Microsoft boring and Sony cool? I guess it's the underdogs who try harder. Media Coverage: You can read gaming media reports about the PS3 launch here on Angry Gamer and Kotaku. Or you can read the main stream media like The Age, Cnet and News. Maybe the News team got a free PS3 for putting a good spin on the night. Last Words: How could Sony have saved the day? Do what they did in the UK and give every registered customer a 46" Plasma TV and a taxi ride home! Attribution: Photos taken from Charlie Brewer's Flickr Set, Ron Kurniawan's Flickr Set and Cnet. |
Posted by Ashley Ringrose at 3:13 PM | Link to this Article | Comments
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