Months after it was necessary, Sony has thrown their blogging hat into the ring... of blogging. I've heard people compare it to Larry Hryb/Major Nelson's blog, but with a rotating "crew" of bloggers - like a public relations version of the Wu Tang Clan - it's more like Microsoft's Gamerscore blog. Which, coincidentally, I never read because it is run by a rotating "crew" of bloggers, like a public relations version of the etcetera etcetera. The mental image is that of a corporate hydra, the brand seared and scabbed upon its breast.
Sony's offering is, at the moment, much more groomed and less idiosyncratic than you might receive from a Major Nelson - but the reality is that their offering is simply too young to make serious appraisals. As the luminous avatar of Xbox Live, Larry Hryb's role is often simply to be a punching bag for the community. It is his job to be kicked in the balls over and over by a queue of enraged consumers that circles the globe. You can't really punch a diffuse group of calm, measured representatives who post according to a secret calendar, although from the looks of it people are certainly trying to.
The CEO posted on there, which is... weird, like having Poseidon clean your pool. Is this sort of thing going to happen a lot? Who knows. Right now it's a lot of damage control and platitudes for the faithful, but to be perfectly honest the Playstation faithful deserve platitudes at the very least. My only complaint is that I could stand to hear less about Jack Tretton's cat.
It's a nice move I suppose, but this year's Very Sony Christmas will be more potent, as long tethered brands snarl and bite through the leash. Ratchet and Clank Future is probably worth a hundred such blogs.
At last year's PAX, we announced a ten thousand dollar scholarship that would go out to a reader. We've been sitting on our top three for a long time, unable to complete the process.
The Penny Arcade Scholarship is a good idea on paper, and it's also a good idea in real life, but as an act one must perform it is terrible. It doesn't feel like you are selecting a person so much as you are denying hundreds of people support they desperately need. I'm sorry to complain about it, but I thought I was engaged in awesome behavior, and instead I've seen the enormity of our task.
Michael Stein of USC, we choose you. We chose you from many. Now earn it.
(CW)TB out.
