Microsoft spikes Sony PS3 launch

March 26th, 2007 by Wendy McAuliffe

The long-awaited European launch of the PlayStation 3 was a prime target for guerrilla PR activity, and Microsoft couldn’t resist the temptation.

The BBC reports that at the Virgin Megastore in London’s Oxford Street, Microsoft handed out chairs to those queuing that had a website address printed on them.

The address led to an Xbox 360 branded site that “welcomes” Sony to the next generation and chides the electronics giant for being “late”. A final dig against Sony for being the last of the big three to release its next-generation console.

The impact is likely to be far more long-term than Sony might anticipate. A branded chair is an ingenius PR stunt, as if done well, it might live in the home of the recipient for a number of years.

There has been a great deal of user-generated criticism around the PS3 in recent weeks. One only has to type ‘PS3′ into YouTube today, and a number of negative videos appear at the top of the search results. ‘Smash my PS3′ has received over 3.5 million views, while the infamous ‘PS3 song - how to kill a brand’ is still going strong with almost 100,00 views.

To my knowledge, Sony is yet to respond to its online network. A job that it should get to fairly quickly in my mind.

                              

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