By now, you all are aware that Sony and Nintendo launched their newest consoles over the weekend: the PS3 on Friday and Wii on Sunday. With television commercials, news updates, eBay buys upwards of $4000.00, and the super long lines (and tents for those who lined up days in advance) outside of retail stores, it was quite the frenzy. Before you cast judgment on the entire ordeal, or begin to think how crazy people are to be standing in lines just to get one... I should probably tell you that I was among them.

I've been playing videogames since the age of 5 and now own several game consoles, subscribe to 3 gamer magazines, and read the many gamer websites online... basically I follow the industry pretty closely as it is a huge interest of mine. With that said, it shouldn't be that much of a shock to anybody reading this that I would be among the few who attained one of these very limited consoles.

Those who know me know that I am a huge Sony fan when it comes to videogames. In my opinion, no other videogame console to date has been able to compete with the Sony PlayStation counterpart of that same time period. Nintendo 64 was no match for the first Sony PlayStation, and neither Nintendo's GameCube nor Microsoft's Xbox could hang with the PS2 (PlayStation 2). The same can be said for today's generation of consoles.

When Sony unveiled the PS3 2-years ago, I knew then that I would be getting one on release date... no matter what. When Sony dropped the bomb that the price would be $599.00 for their premium model... I didn't bat an eye! When Sony failed to meet expectations and would only be shipping 200 - 400 thousand consoles to all of North America on launch date... I stood firm. The truth is, I had expected the price to be high and was prepared to stand in line for long hours just to get my hands on one. I even started a PS3 fund which consisted of spare change and some extra that I'd been taking out of each of my pay-checks.

So with all of that said... can you guess which console I stood in line for over 6 hours to get? Well, if you guessed the Sony PlayStation 3 than you absolutely... wrong! I bought a Nintendo Wii. A shocker? Yeah... it was to me too.

I've been a loyal customer to Sony for over 10 years... putting their consoles and games before every other that it contested. A week or two ago, I made the decision not to buy a PS3. Why you ask? Well, my reasoning is simple. It wasn't because I didn't feel that it was a superior machine, because it is, or because of the expensive price tag, or even because of the shortages, but rather it was because it is lacking some very much needed game support... meaning that it didn't offer any games that I was interested in playing. And that is a deal breaker. What good is owning a brand-new $600+ game system when there is nothing of interest that I'd want to play on it?

On the flip side... there is Nintendo, which I happen to also be a fan of and own their products as well. They are offering their new console at $250 and with several game options that I'm interested in. Seems like a very logical choice doesn't it?

I obviously wrote this to share my weekend experience with you, but I also believe there is something to learn from all of this... at least in the business sense.

• Know thy customer. Knowing your customers is the first step to being successful. You should know what the general customer wants and the price range they're expecting to pay for it.
  
  In the case of the Sony PS3, a large majority of their audience is going to be kids (ages 5 - 17). With that in mind, releasing a product that is $600.00 is probably not going to be well received... especially when the competition is offering it for half. So what happens in the future? Well, my guess is that Sony will lose ground as parents won't splurge to buy one. Thus there kids will grow up to be Nintendo loyalists and not Sony... meaning 5 - 7 years down the road the lines waiting for the new Nintendo will be larger than that of the PS4.



• Understand the demand for your product. Plan for each occasion/holiday and be prepared to spend a little more to ensure that products remain in stock.
  
  Sony was not able to meet the demand for their PS3, and thus if you weren't lucking enough to have gotten one last Friday you probably won't until March 2007. I can't help but wonder how many more Nintendo Wiis and Microsoft Xboxes will be sold on the account of the PS3 being out of stock. Sony has no doubt irritated many of their customers, and will probably loose their fans to other consoles.



• Understand the expectations of your customers. Knowing what your customers are doing with your products may in turn help you to be both innovative and successful. Simply put, if your product doesn't appeal to the needs of your customers they're not going to buy it.
  
  When people buy the PS3 or any other game console they aren't buying them for the sake of buying them. They want to play games, and games that interest them at that. If there are no games fans will go elsewhere, as was the case.

By failing to understand these 3 points, Sony will not only lose this round in the videogame console war, but future ones as well. My suggestion to you: Don't be like Sony... understand your customers and their needs, and be sure not to disappoint them with products that are "out of stock".