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Sony and Kotaku kiss and make up

kotaku.com — That didn't last long, though there's still a PR hit for Sony for pulling this stunt to begin with.

Who dugg this? Made popular Mar 2, 2007

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  • distrbnce, on 10/12/2007, -21/+57Almost dugg, but I disagree with the description.

    Neither Sony or Kotaku did anything wrong, and the only "PR hit" will be limited to geeks in forums. Most of whom weren't exactly planning on a PS3 purchase anyway. Let's be realistic fellas ;D
  • Scottish, on 10/12/2007, -10/+28Kotaku didn't give their word and break it... they just decided to do it and did it.
  • babylonian, on 10/12/2007, -17/+29Am I the only one who thinks Kotaku had the brunt of the responsibility in this? I mean, yes, there are countless reasons to hate Sony, but what did Kotaku expect? Sony did exactly what they threatened to do.

    I do love that the internet backlash had them retract their decision within hours.
  • MechaZain, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12"...the only "PR hit" will be limited to geeks in forums. Most of whom weren't exactly planning on a PS3 purchase anyway. Let's be realistic fellas ;D"

    This can be applied to anything concerning the gaming industry though. Mention "giant crabs" or the "The Revolution" and most people will have no idea what you're talking about.

    This is the same general public that it takes twenty minutes to explain the reason why they can't play Mario on the Xbox to.
  • sterling1989, on 10/12/2007, -8/+17If anyone thinks Sony would have gone back on banning Kotaku had it not gotten quick flac from other gaming blogs is crazy.
    Once this thing hit Digg it became a BIG story and Sony once again is trying to spin it.

    We didn't ban them.....we were THANKING them for all their hard work! It's a FEATURE!
  • aegis9975, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13In all seriousness, while its good that all this drama has ended, blogs like Joystiq and Kotaku are really getting out of hand with all this trolling and fanboy flamebait they publish. Honestly, we have three great consoles that each have their unique strengths. Fanboy-ism has always existed and will likely continue, but these blogs are really inciting so much hate that is largely unnecessary. I'm not sure why they can't publish gaming news without spinning every story into fanboy wars.
  • distrbnce, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10That's exactly what I want to say.

    For geeks at their keyboards, this is the absolute end of Sony, and there simply isn't anything more just. Sony's just a big bad machine after all, forcing us to buy things and such. What with their decisions to make expensive hardware; a risk to them more than the consumer.

    Now they want to protect their own secrets!? The nerve!! Now we all grab our little wooden swords and battle the evil dragon in our forum of choice.

    Meanwhile, the real world keeps spinning.
  • totorototoro, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10Wow, another earthshaking news story that reverberated throughout the blogosphere....and nowhere else :p
  • biggyfred, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11@distrbnc: They most certainly took a hit. Digg is filled with (among other things) geeks whom other people depend on to inform their purchases.

    @JordanRL: Nothing in what they did today helped their stock price. You don't go to the mat over something this trivial. It makes your company look petty and vindictive. Neither are appealing traits in a trading partner that wants $600 for a system that's largely based on trusting them for future content and support. This alone doesn't do it, but these things add up...

    @donkeydrop: "Other media sources have this information under non-disclosure, so what Kotaku did was essentially a screw-you to all of the big media organizations."

    They're not under any obligation without an NDA of their own. Why on earth would you expect them to honor an NDA that *other* people signed? That's absurd.

    Perhaps I'm the one that's confused. Was Kotaru under an NDA for this specific information? If not, what the hell are you guys whining about?

    If so, I'm a jerk.
  • jacksons98, on 10/12/2007, -6/+13What are you talking about? This is the first good PR move Sony has made in a long time. Dave head of Sony PR made the first move to pick up the phone and talk it over. They resolved the situation and everyones happy. Maybe they aren't so arrogant after all.
  • Neorio, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Somebody on the kotaku blog mentioned that the CORRECT way to handle the whole situation would have been to offer some kind of NDA to Kotaku, with the promise of exclusives when whatever SONY is or is not doing becomes a reality. Give them a choice of rumour or exclusive!

    It's much better to give carrots than threaten with a stick. Making ultimatums is never really a good strategy.
  • distrbnce, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8And did you read that email david sent?

    That was incredibly cordial and honest. Maybe it was *****, but he really sounded disappointed that Kotaku chose to throw away their privileges.
  • TheKricket, on 10/12/2007, -8/+12kotaku made no promises whatsoever - they told sony "we're posting the rumor - thats what we do - you know, journalism" - and sony said "if you do, we're uninviting you from events that we promised you can come to, and wont invite you to anymore"

    also - "the only 'pr hit' will be limited to geeks in forums" - are you referring to the geeks that are true hardcore gamers and get all of their news from said forums? the same people who are willing to shell out huge cash on the items they read about in blogs?

    yeah - youre right - thats no "pr hit" at all - im sure sony doesnt give a hoot what the "geeks" think
  • donkeydrop, on 10/12/2007, -10/+13Sony's response was exactly what it should have been. Other media sources have this information under non-disclosure, so what Kotaku did was essentially a screw-you to all of the big media organizations. If Sony let it slide then every other media group they work with would be even more pissed off.
  • greedycheese, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3It is kind of sad that this has over shadowed the Immersion deal. That is the best PS3 news I have heard in a while. Immersion has some really neat rumble tech that could really make the sixaxis awesome.
  • TheTjalian, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Sony and Kotaku making up? Sony and Immersion finally settling? Ok, who drugged Kaz Hirai and made him kick ass and take names? Could this be the start of the Kazzinator?
  • TheTjalian, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I personally don't think this has overshadowed it whatsoever. The Sony/Immersion deal is rather well known in the tech world, just wait until it hits the BBC, then wait until it goes onto IGN, then slowly but surely the mainstream gamers will know. And everyone will go "SIXAXIS X DUALSHOCK PLZ". Now the only problem is the name, lol.
  • coheedcollapse, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I so predicted this in the first thread about it. Glad it happened too, first good thing Sony has done in a while
  • romainechester, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Silly Sony...
  • greedycheese, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2PS3 home would just be a software update for existing PS3s. There is no new hardware involved.
  • JordanRL, on 10/12/2007, -17/+19@mike

    Why not? Sony did their job (trying to promote their brand and sell their product) and kotaku did their job (report on things that interest their readers). Are you suggesting that Sony should not try to defend potential loss to their shareholders? Do you think Microsoft or Nintendo would take this approach?
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Secret, what secret? It was a rumor. People speculate and start rumors about existing and up coming products all the time.

  • jjasonf, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6Has anyone heard heard of journalism? It's bad enough that all of these gaming news sites follow embargo rules, but deciding what to publish or not to publish based on what a PR person says would just make you a mouthpiece.
  • saigumi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Exactly.

    "If you don't give us good free advertising in your blog, we are cutting you off! Now go back and be a good little PR monkey. Wow, these blags or blibs or whatever the hell are sure saving us a ton on having to pay for billboards and other advertising space."
  • gamerzworld, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I can't wait for the first news from the GDC!
    "Sony's Dave Karraker kills a Kotaku blogger during an interview."
  • pasmith, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Here's what I think happened. This is just speculation, but its based on my time spent in the press.

    I think Kotaku was given the information by Sony under an NDA/embargo agreement. "Guys, this is what we're going to introduce next week at the GDC. We want you to have time to prepare a great article about it, but please don't post anything until we announce it." That kind of thing happens all the time between companies and publications.

    Then Kotaku got the same information from a 3rd party source. Anonymous, of course. So they figured "OK, this is now information that we didn't get from Sony, so the embargo doesn't apply." and of course Sony disagreed. But it would've been kind of a gray area, which would explain why they were able to 'come to an agreement' once they talked it over.

    Again, 100% speculation on my part, but I think it fits that facts and explains the actions/reactions on both sides of the matter.
  • alx242, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1learning by doing...:)
  • coheedcollapse, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Sony reacting to an article that totally ruined their big press event's surprise is hardly murder. Of course they panicked, but as soon as they saw the reaction to their panic, they went back and fixed what they had screwed up.

    Sony fixing anything that they've screwed up is a good thing right now with all of the negative press they've gotten.
  • greedycheese, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2@ distrbnce

    The point, for me at least, isn't that Sony doesn't have a right to protect its product information. They certainly have that right. The point is that websites like kotaku are good for consumer electronics companies. The exposure they give is effective, cheap advertising in a world where consumers are every day becoming more resistant to traditional marketing. They are the standard bearer for a technology consumerist sub culture that CE companies should be thanking their lucky stars for.

    What Sony did wasn't illegal or immoral it was just myopic.
  • ErinIsADrunk, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2anyone think this was a PR stunt by Sony do draw more attention to the rumor and step up hype for Phil Harrison's Keynote at GDC?
  • distrbnce, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3Uh, brilliant hypothesis.

    Also, the lizard people are responsible for Mad Cow.
  • Wytefang, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Considering that I find Kotaku to be full of crappy journalism in the first place, I tend to side with Sony on this one and I'm by no means a fan of Sony at all (I don't own any of their systems at present, though I have in the past from time to time).
  • saigumi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@dstrbnce

    "piddly little blog" = Kotaku

    in the same way that

    "piddly little social link site" = digg

    Get your scale right..
  • distrbnce, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5No, you would be pissed if Sony didn't try to protect it's secrets, not because it upset a piddly little blog and a few hundred nerds.
  • Endovior, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2But that's the thing... Kotaku was under no obligation to do anything. They heard a rumor, they repeated a rumor. There's no law against gossip, and Kotaku at no point agreed not to reveal rumors they heard. Sony threatening them for doing so works no better then if they made that same threat against, say, CNN. Can you imagine the backlash if Sony tried to ban CNN reporters from it's events for something similar? Kotaku's not as big a name, but the same principle applies, and it's about time Sony realized it.
  • distrbnce, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4biggyfred, be realistic. This story has changed NO ONE'S mind.
  • samdu, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3"should never of tried to control a website in such a way basically trying to blackmail them"

    So... They asked them not to run with a rumor story. Kotaku did so anyway. And Sony decided not to give them any more information and that's blackmail?!?!? So if someone you knew was telling people something you didn't want people to know, you'd KEEP enabling their ability to do so by continuing to tell them things that you may or may not want other people to know? Yeah. THAT makes sense.
  • Leo55, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Why are they so afraid of Kotaku posting info on PS3 home....?
    oh wait...
    people just got the original PS3.
  • deathtom64, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2well im glad sony was reasonable about the whole thing.....that or Kotaku gave a BJ of many.
  • JayD16, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Did Sony take a PR hit? No.

    In a week people will not remember this. Are you really going to sit in a store and ask yourself "Well they did pressure Kotaku to keep important information a secret....Nah ***** Sony for wanting a good GDC."

    But guess what. I see three articles on the front page of the gamer section about this. Two positive and one about how gizmondo hates Sony(this is news?) Its a ton of press for this thing that would not have happened if Sony did nothing.

    How many more people want to listen to the Sony's GDC event now? I would guess a considerable amount more.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4Wow, is Sony actively trying to destory their brand and business? The rootkit, all crap with the PS3, and now this.
    If I were a Sony share holder I'd be mighty pissed right now.
  • sterling1989, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1"I so predicted this in the first thread about it. Glad it happened too, first good thing Sony has done in a while"

    A good thing? WTF?

    That's like a guy killing a man in cold blood but then saying how great a guy he is cause he turned himself in.
  • saigumi, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1@samdu

    Secret Service to Reporter: "If you don't put a positive spin, stop running that article we don't like, and don't publish that rumor you heard of that the US can't find any WMDs, your company will not allowed to come to the next speech to report on it."

    Don't even start with a "these don't compare because this is just about a video game". The industry is a multi biliions dollar industry. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if it's actually trillion.

  • miketuck3r, on 10/12/2007, -26/+25couldnt disagree more they should never of tried to control a website in such a way basically trying to blackmail them, they have reversed the stupid earlier decision mostly to avaoid more bad pr

    its the way sony go about things that is wrong if they had said to kotaku look its part of the GDC talk hil dback on the info until X time and we would appreciate it... but no they say print it and you are banned
  • petersms, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1@Samdu

    If we took your advice, then we'd all be sitting here believing Jack Tretton, and the reason that there are so many PS3's on shelves nowadays, is because of how fast they sell out and how effective Sony is at getting the systems back on shelves.

    baaahhh bahhhh baaahhhhh.....
  • thefaithful, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I love how they said the "Internet imploded" due to the story and subsequent goings-on.
    Probably 99.9% of Internet users didn't even know what happened.
  • Robbothehood, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1The truth of the matter that I gleaned is that Kotaku came upon information, that they were under no obligation to withhold, and they spoke to Sony about its validity. Sony threatened to retract any invitations to Sony events, or exclusive interviews, and demanded their debug PS3. This is blackmail, and interfering with the freedom of the press. I don't normally like to fall back on freedom of the press. I think it should only come into question when reporting things so trivial and intrusive as the private everyday lives of celebrities, or something so important to saving lives as military secrets or troop movements and the like. The heavy-handed response from Sony seems odd, probably because this rumour was actually their big GDC surprise. I will say this, Sony's reaction was understandable, but attempting to control a source of news in the way they did is wrong. I saw someone suggest that it would have been better to offer an exclusive for the information, or some other exclusive since they wanted to reveal this themselves. Kotaku was stubborn, but as a video game news blog, they made the correct decision. When reporting news, reporting the news is the important thing, not pleasing whomever the news concerns.

    Kotaku was correct.
    Sony was wrong.

    It does not matter what any of you say, if it played out as I understand it, the statements above are indisputably true. Freedom of the press, despite Sony not liking it, in spite of their threats, Kotaku performed their duty as a news blog.
    To anyone who will try to diffuse the issue by saying gaming news is unimportant and we should all get a life, it is obvious that you just disagree and have found a clever way to oppose me. Gaming news is corporate news, less important than some news, more important than others. The importance of the news does not affect controlling it as being wrong.

    If I misunderstood what happened then sure I've stuck my neck out pretty far and I should get bitten.
  • guerrilla_suit, on 10/12/2007, -7/+5Can we get back to real news? Like, why my xbox 360 keeps breaking?
  • PaiZuri, on 10/12/2007, -12/+10"there's still a PR hit for Sony for pulling this stunt to begin with"

    Uh, yeah, right...

  • TyrantJanitor, on 10/12/2007, -8/+5Personally I think Kotaku handled this in complete dick fashion. Not only did they just go with the story after being nicely asked by Sony not too, but when Sony did exactly what they said they would, Kotaku whined about it and put the emails crying about it. Very unprofessional and I know Sony will take this into consideration for any future information to give out.

    I couldn't care less about Sony or their products, but I still think it was a very ***** thing by Kotaku to do.
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