So other a month ago I got an email from jimmy-google with a rather good Lunchtime Discussion about his loyalty to Sony. Genius that I am, I completely forgot about it until last night. So here it is, for all to see. Enjoy! Oh and if you have an article of your own you can get hold of me from the staff page.
It was a Saturday afternoon in February about 13 years ago. The birds were singing in the trees. The sun was shining. The light reflected off the glossy box in my hands as I headed home. I sat down in my parent’s front room. Carefully pulled back the grey tabs. Slowly slide out each element in turn. Placed them in position. Opened the top. Removed the fresh film from the smaller clear plastic box. Took the circular black shiny piece out and popped it in place. And then flicked the power switch. The beautiful chimes started and it began.
That was the day. at the age of 14. when I got my hands on my first Playstation and my loyalty to the Playstation brand and Sony started. Within a couple of years my Dad had begun to refer to me as a Sony snob. I chose Sony MP3 players over iPods (I have one now but I still feel a bit dirty using it and I miss my old sleek Sony one which I swear has better sound quality). My mobile’s have been Sony for years (I think I’d pass out of a PSP Phone was released). My video camera is Sony and my TV would have been if I’d had the money (my 3D TV will certainly be Sony). Since the Playstation I’ve bought each Sony console at Launch (even the PSP Go which I love). I’ve had has a PS2, PS3 and PSP all die on me but I still go back to Sony.
Looking back on it my decision to go with all things Sony wasn’t that bad a choice but it wasn’t a perfect one either. The biggest problem is that I know it wasn’t based on logic.
My irrational loyalty stretches far beyond games. I’ll see a film just because a certain actor is in it, even if I know the film will be awful. I’ll buy an album I know I won’t listen to because I’ve bought every other album by the same band. My brain knows it’s stupid but I can’t help it. I’ll keep buying Sony, watching Simon Pegg films and buy Divine Comedy albums.
So the question is quite simple. What irrational loyalties do you have if any and how far have they taken you?
John Malcolm
I’ve got a PS3 – my first PlayStation – and got it because two friends had PS3s and LittleBigPlanet. In some cases software/games for a console should be the deciding factor in getting a console – it took the PS3 a bit to get a really good exclusive (LBP) – and of couse the price.
If I was buying today I’d still get a PS3 because I’m put off by (a) the Xbox 360’s reliability record, and (b) in my eyes the PS3 community seems more adult; less schoolkids screaming mindless swearing and abuse during games – although the number of kids I’ve heard on Modern Warfare 2 (isn’t this meant to be an 18-rated game?!) weakens my argument somewhat. Oh, and in the past the Xbox was cheaper, meaning that kids would be more able to afford it, where as the PS3 – due to cost – had a little bit of adult’s toy, even snob value, about it. THis younger Xbox community spread – my friends have one, I must get one – and so the Xbox became a hit.
I do have an Xbox – an original Xbox – but it’s covered in dust… The same, ironically, with a PSP 3000, which looking back I should never have bought.
BIGAL-1992
Here’s where I stand: Always like Playstation, but I always games on other consoles. I’ll start playing on the PC once my new computer arrives, and I’ll save up to buy a 360 once I’ve upgraded it to be futureproof.
Apnomis
I’m not crazy loyal at the expenses of rationality, but I am loyal to certain brands if I have good experiences with them – for example my last 4 TV’s have been Panasonics, and my last two cameras have been Panasonics too. But just because they have ‘first refusal’ so to speak doesn’t mean I would knowingly opt for an inferior product just because of the brand, but all things being equal that would edge it, a bit like away goals in the Champions League!
Consoles are a little different, I had a PS1 because I played Tomb Raider and Resident Evil and had to have one for myself, it was like nothing before it and like Sony says it really did legitimise gaming as a mainstream entertainment business. Previously I had not interest in other consoles so there was no issue that fat plumbers or blue hedgehogs were not on the system, who would choose a fat middle-aged Italian plumber over Lara Croft anyway? Especially at 14/15 or however old I was at the time! The PS2 was a natural progression to continue the franchises I’d been playing, using the controller I knew and loved, and of course the all important backwards-compatibility. Then with the PS3 I was well and truly in the broadband age and was sold on the potential of the system based on how the PS1/PS2 panned out (and unconvinced by the Xbox360 based on how the Xbox had panned out), it was the first console I could actually afford to get at launch so the price wasn’t an issue. I would say I was more forgiving of it’s shortfalls in the beginning based on my loyalty to the brand – but as I suspected back at the E3 2005 unveil they did pull it off eventually and I’m confident I made the right choice. The PS4 is a shoe-in for my next console unless the next Xbox blows my socks off (and no, Kinect doesn’t even undo a shoelace, let alone reach my socks!). In fact based on my experiences with PlayStation and it’s franchises I would probably get a PS4 even if I did get an Xbox too, but I just don’t think I could justify two consoles so the PS4 would probably edge it unless something really dramatic happens!
djhsecondnature
Anyone who uses Champions League away goals as an example wins in my book!
matty
The only thing I am loyal in is the consoles I own always owned Sony. Although if I had t he money to buy games for the 360 aswell i might own one not sure.
Paranoimia
I’m a Sony fan, and have been since the PS1. Console, TV, hi-fi, camera, phone, camcorder, DVD recorder, X-Series Walkman… I always buy Sony where possible. It hasn’t stopped me buying other console systems, but it’s always the PlayStation that gets used most.
Of course, it helps that I love many of the games that Sony make; even if I weren’t a big Sony fan, I can be quite certain that PlayStation would still be my preferred system. Brand loyalty aside, I don’t prefer PlayStation simply because I own one… I own one because I prefer what it offers me.
I’ve read in previous comments that some people aren’t loyal to any brand because the brands aren’t loyal in return, and I totally get that. But then we all have our favourite football/rugby/cricket/NFL/basketball teams that we’re fiercely loyal to, and they never return that loyalty either.
Same with cars – some prefer Ford, some BMW, and so on. It’s all part of the passion that these things invoke in people. Even though in many cases they’re inanimate objects, you have fun with them, and from then on you associate that particular brand with fun.
Some here are Sega loyalists for the same reason. I never owned a Sega home console (though I did later get a Game Gear), since I went the computer route. My first major system was a Commodore VIC-20, which was brilliant for the time – and thus a loyalty to Commodore was born, which saw me progress through the C64 and various variations of Amiga. Until I got my PS1…
Of course, if you have a bad experience, it can tip you the other way. I bought an original Xbox at launch, but swiftly came to hate it. The controllers were way too big; Halo turned out to be pretty shit (just my opinion); 4 weeks after launch, they dropped the price by £100; the HDD failed; it started scratching discs; and then I found out it was one of those with a faulty PSU and a fire risk.
So that’s why I put off getting a 360 at launch, and waited for the PS3. Then, of course, the stories started emerging about the RROD, and I felt my decision was justified.
I still haven’t bought a 360, but I was considering it. I even reserved a Live Gamertag. Then at E3 they launched the new 360 model. I’ve decided to give it 3 months or so to see how reliable it turns out to be before I reconsider buying one.
But for now, my PS3 continues to provide more than enough entertainment.
cam the man
The first console I owned was the Nintendo NES then the SNES. I was going to stay loyal to Nintendo and buy the N64 but got sick of waiting for it to be relaesed here in the UK. I heard good things about the original Playstation so, after a good deal of thought, I decided to buy one. It was one of my better decisions. Since then I have been loyal to Sony and bought every Playstation console since, including the PSP.
And will no doubt be buying the PS4 and PSP2 and so on.
Danza Di Fuoco
These days besides Sony being my number one console provider Nintendo are just awesome yes it doesn’t have much quality retail games but the download service is so much better just to play classics legally and with great control.
For music I am loyal to Rhapsody as they are basically kings of Metal same for Helloween kind of and Dimmu Borgir.. eh? who knows demons
AllTheApesEscaped
I have never had any loyalties to a console manufacturer – over the years I have owned (since launch or obtained many years later) pretty much ever console/handheld out there – I wont list them as the comments box probably isn’t big enough but suffice to say its nearly everything from the early 80s to present including rarities such as the Nintendo 64DD, Sega CDX, Sega MegaJet and Panasonic Q (gamecube variant).
Today I wish Sega were still in the hardware game, have grown to dislike Nintendo, have no real desire to use my 360 (any multiplats I get on PS3), am enjoying my PS3 but am playing PC the most.
With regards to consumer electronics I jump from one manufacturer to the other depending on my needs and best value/features. Mobile phones – my last 5 handsets have all been different manufacturers, only now my next handset might be the same if I stick with HTC – if I get an iphone 4 it’ll be my 6th manufacturer.
I suppose if I had to put myself in a manufacturers zealot camp it would have to be Canon – my first ‘proper’ DSLR was the 20D and have invested a lot of money in glass and accessories so will stick with them till death!!! ¬_¬
Biopulse
Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise. At first i just bought the ‘normal’ version of the game, when i played (and fell in love with) it, i searched all over ebay for the last few copies of the limited edition. When the 2 was coming out i put out another 90euros for the black edition, and now once again i’m falling for the limited codex edition of AC Brotherood, and will probably do the same for any following AC games
simplebob
When it comes to most electrical goods (tellies, cameras, mp3 etc) I’m swayed by reviews and price. When it comes to consoles I’m pretty much a Sony man since I moved from the SNES to the PS1. I’ve had 2 PS1’s, 2 PS2’s and now own 3 PSPs (two fat and a new PSP 3000) and my PS3 Fat which I am praying is not struck down by YLOD. I’ve never been let down by Sony when it comes to gaming. I own a rarely played Wii with a few games which are decent (have more classic Gamecube titles for it than Wii games). The range and depth of games on PS just outweigh whats on offer with Xbox in my opinion, and theres not been an exclusive Xbox game that has made me doubt my console choice.