Ray Maguire, the managing director of Sony UK, criticized America as a "massive land with cheap people," to emphasize his point that the price of the PS3 in the States is not nearly as expensive as units in the UK, because of all the added taxes. Apparently, this logic is supposed to make Americans feel better about spending $600 for a game console. Maguire, who spoke with GamesIndustry.biz, continued, "The cost of retail is vastly more in the UK than it is in the US and that’s before you even stop to consider the US doesn’t have VAT at RRP, they put a small amount on afterwards. Whereas, we get stung by 17.5 per cent. And pity the poor Irish and places like Sweden."
Maguire, ever the English gentleman, decided to take on the press as well, for its relentless attack on Sony and the PS3, saying that all the negative coverage was due to "lazy" journalism. He argued that misinformation about the PS3 was due to inaccurate blogs and how this distorts the truth — at least, the truth that Sony labels as acceptable.
"Nowadays, with how the media works, not only does information fly around at the speed of light, so does mis-information. With blogs on the increase, people’s thought processes are transferred from one place to another and picked up by people who might be lazy when it comes to finding out whether something is true or not. The old adage of never let the truth get in the way of a good story is probably more prevalent than it has been before."
In just a few short statements, Maguire has basically encapsulated what many people in the industry and gaming community have long suspected and felt — that Sony has become arrogant and has lost touch with its constituents; the gamers. While Sony has tried desperately to get its PS3 to be favorably accepted into the mainstream, it’s clear that this is not the right course. Blaming everyone else for its woes, except the prime suspects — those who reside in the corporate offices of Sony Computer Entertainment — most likely isn’t the key to the PS3’s success.
