January 27, 2004 - According to The Nikkei Weekly, Japanese electronics retailers are not ecstatic about sales of the PSX, Sony's new all-in-one gaming/DVR/DVD recorder device. In a survey of chief managers of retail stores in Japan, 40% said that sales of the PSX were below expectations. Analysts have been buys pointing fingers at a number of possible problems with poor marketing and a lack of features in the PSX.


Beyond being disappointed in the sales figures, those surveyed also said that they hoped the PSX itself was better. About half said that they were disappointed in the device compared to 20% who gave it high marks. Some of this may be due to Sony's Nov. 27th announcement that revised the PSXs features. This included dropping the DVD burn speed to 12x from 24x and making it incompatible with CD-Rs. Unlike other DVR/DVD recorder devices on the market, the PSX cannot record directly from a TV signal to a disc.

Some of the complaints about the PSX aren't even so high-tech in nature, such as the problem with no output terminal for TV antenna. There is an input for a TV antenna, but without an output, there's no way for consumers to pass the signal through the PSX to the TV. To cope with this, some retailers have been putting up signs in front of PSXs recommending that consumers buy an antenna splitter with the PSX so that the signal goes to the TV and the PSX.

Beyond the PSX itself, retailers have been unhappy with Sony's marketing as well. In the same survey, 14% of retailers gave the PSX campaign high marks while 36% expressed dissatisfaction. While the ads worked hard to embed the PSX brand, others felt that they didn't get the idea across that it was a DVD recorder as well. Even Takashi Asayama, Sony's Marketing general manager in charge of the PSX admitted that, "About half of consumers may still think it is a game machine."

To improve retailer relations, Sony is planning to have another round of publicity this spring. Sony is expected to have showrooms where consumers can try out the PSX and see all of its features for themselves. The speed of recording from the hard drive to DVDs is going to increase, more recording media will work on the PSX, and upgraded versions of the PSX will be on their way.

All of this can only help if Sony decides to market the PSX in America. By the time the device makes it to American shores, we'll have the advantage of Sony learning from its earlier mistakes.