So as you may or may not be aware: the PlayStation 3 has gone through a new rebranding and jump-started marketing campaign. What with the new PS3 Slim hitting shelves at an all-time-awesome price of $299.99, who doesn’t want one now? It’s oh so tantilizing. Although, the price drop is not all that has changed.
The new PS3 Logo is a bit like the old PS2 one, but the edges have been lost, for a more sleek feel to it. It’s classy is what it is. Even the boxart for games have changed to accommodate this new logo. Stacked upon that, the new push to advertise.
How many commercials advertising the PS3 would you see? Not many, if any at all. With this new drive, we’ve seen some very well done ads boasting that the PS3 “Only does everything.”
And with the PS3 Slim, comes Firmware Update 3.00. Or as some have nicknamed: 3.NO. Why would people be hating on something so trivial as an update? Because it’s not just an update. Issues about how they “hate the ticker under the clock SO much,” really dislike the new Friend’s List boxes surrounding everything (which does look incredibly underthought and unprofessional), upon other things.
Sony’s changing the PS3’s look, how people perceive it, and they’re doing a lot of things right. Of course, things being done right always means some things are being done incorrectly. For example, the PlayStation Store icon being bombarded all over the place.
It used to be in a very good place, and for whatever reason, they decided to put in under the Games and Video section, making it the default, rather than the disc in the system. Very tideous, seeing as how it was fine where it was (and still is). But of course, to probably counter-balance this issue, dynamic themes have been introduced.
The ability to make themes moving is a step in the right direction. Very fun and amusing to see them move, but we all know how that’ll be used inappropriately. It is nice to see the background be dynamic in new ways, very cool.
If you haven’t purchased a Dynamic Theme (I must say that $3 a theme is quite outrageous), I would recommend the PixelJunk Monsters Dynamic Theme, very entertaining and fun to watch. Although, it’s really up to you if you want to spend that kind of money. I probably won’t buy another for a very long time.
This new endeavor to restart the system’s marketing strategy, redesign many aspects and make the PS3 more appealing to others is quite impressive. And very challenging, seeing as how the PS3 is about to turn 3 years old. But is it worth it? Hopefully so, the new commercials are light, funny and gets the point across. The new logo is sleek, the new boxart could be better, and the effort being put into this is impressive.
Hopefully this new price drop will encourage many new users to purchase the PS3. At $299, the PS3 has never looked better. Some may have discrepancies with how it looks, what 3.00 has done to make it “worse,” or love it completely. Me? I love it, I have some issues, but it won’t kill me. In essence, I’ll be using it to play mostly, so I’m not complaining too much.
Here’s to wishing for some great new updates, some new functionalities, a bigger community and a new life for the PS3.
