It's been fascinating to witness how swiftly things can change in the games industry. Gamescom has proved to be more significant than I would have predicted earlier in the year. Gamescom may well mark a turning point. This is the time for Sony's "feel good moment". The one biggest complaint the console has received since that moment at E3 2006 was that it was too expensive. Sony, a stubborn company by nature, stuck firm with this for a long time, even when the world began to collapse all around them. 
 
But now they have made the move that everyone wanted them to make. The PS3 Slim is arriving early next month, and all PS3 models have been cut significantly in price. Rejoice! 
 
Except perhaps not. Sony has definitely generated positive buzz around the brand going into a competitive holiday season that is rapidly running out of games to sell, but the metamorphosis is not complete. They took a dramatic step forward, but continue to take steps back. 
 
Figures show clearly that Europe is, in terms of total number of systems sold, one of the strongest markets for Sony. Around 30-40% of PS3's sold worldwide ended up in European homes. Compared that number to their true market competitor, the Xbox 360. Only 10% of 360's sold worldwide were sold in Europe. For years one of Sony's biggest strongholds has been in Europe. Ever since the Xbox arrived and took America by storm, Nintendo and Sony could still argue greater sales in Europe and Japan. 
 
And now Sony has undermined their position in the territory drastically. Yes, their video market is coming to European territories, but at a huge cost. More specifically, Europe will pay 299 euros for a system Americans will pay 299 dollars for, and in current exchange figures, 299 dollars converted to euros is 220. And in the UK, the price will be £249, even more expensive when compared to the USA. 
 
Now Euro gamers have paid the price for a long time, but this is one of the most offensive. The cost of Rock Band equipment could be justified because of the complications of the hardware. General game sales are higher here in the UK partly due to VAT and taxes, meaning we can have a National Health Service, many great universities and such. But for a console that you want people to start feeling good about, it's a dramatic slap in the face. It's no more expensive for Sony to produce hardware for European territories then it is for NTSC territories, and it's that cut in production costs which led to this price cut. That's what makes this so baffling.
 
There are certainly other issues. Opinions on the aesthetic merits of the PS3 Slim are somewhat divided, but I'm sure many people will appreciate the smaller size. But then there's the matter of the features provided with the system. There is still not cross voice chat, and there is no PS2 backwards compatibility. 
 
I've been pondering this back compatibility issue recently. Now I'm someone who truly would appreciate backwards compatibility, because the only PS2 in my house belongs to my sister who may well take it away back to university at any point. But I now own my own games for it, and they would be useless if she reclaimed her PS2. A backward compatible PS3 would be extremely tempting. But I'm an exception. Over 100 million people, the populations of France and Spain combined, have bought PS2's. Nearly ten years since its release, Sony are still selling copies. 
 
So why is backwards compatibility such an issue for people. The issue is that Sony gave us b/c with the first PS3 model and then took it away in order to sell PS2's. Now in terms of marketing errors, this is a major one. You don't give people something and then take it away. People have long memories. That decision took a massive toll on the brand, and if Sony really wanted this to be their feel good moment, they should have included it. Rumours are circling about software emulation based backwards compatibility that Sony could introduce in the near future. I think they absolutely must by next year's Gamescom. That will nearly be the tenth anniversary of the PS2. That is a very long product cycle. Let it go. Give the people what they want. 
 
I don't mean this to sound like too much of a downer. It's just been fascinating to see people gushing over a brand that is still not where they need to be yet. The diehard fans want backwards compatibility, and the European fans want a lower price. I think the casual audience is by far the sector who benefit most from the price drop, and I'm sure Sony is happy with that. But that approach is a little at odds with their E3 presentation, where the games and the diehards were the focus. That image of the monolithic impenetrable black goliath of a system may be dissipating gradually, and the new trim system is the biggest step in the right direction the brand has made yet. But let's not be too quick to jump on the bandwagon, not with a Gran Turismo 5 date still ever elusive, Tekken 6 arriving on the 360 this autumn and Killzone 2 failing to set the world on fire. 
 
Now to be fair, the other brands are also not exactly thriving at the moment. The Xbox 360 is still having its identity crisis, and rumours of a price increase in the UK are also baffling. And Nintendo continue to out-stubborn Sony when it comes to price drops. But the sad fact is that the Wii and 360 had their times in the sun during a stable and happy economy. Sony's system may now be coming into its prime, but the timing couldn't have been worse. 2009 could well by Sony's year, but does that matter? This year has seen terrible lows across the board, and the number of games being pushed back to 2010 is doing nothing to help that cause. 
 
The best thing to take away is that Sony is positioning their system to be very strong in 2010. God of War III is already dated for 2010, and unless a miracle occurs, GT5 will also be 2010. The two biggest system sellers coming in the same year. And who knows, by 2010 the economy might be on the upswing. But for all the positives for the brand, they need to take advantage of this opportunity and improve the features list with cross voice chat and backwards compatibility. This strategy could well cement the PS3 as the most successful system for the remainder of the console cycle. Whatever emerges from this, it will surely be fascinating to witness.