LittleBigInsideJoke
Kylie Prymus is the first columnist for PS Fanboy. A Ph.D candidate in philosophy, Kylie specializes in the sociology of technology. Through this new weekly column, Kylie will explore the impact of PlayStation on thought and culture.
I believe I owe it to you, Inconstant Reader, to let you in on a little secret. I haven't booted up my PS3 in nearly 3 weeks. There's no opportunity that I foresee which will allow me to press that glorious PS button for at least another month. Most summers I spend 6 weeks away from home teaching existentialism to high school students (don't be ashamed CTYers, I know at least a few of you reading this were once one). This summer a series of logistical difficulties forced me to leave my beloved system behind, though I shouldn't complain as this may have prevented an inadvertent bricking. Aside from a few softly stolen moments with a dozen warmongering eyeballs, my sole interaction with the Kingdom of Sony consists of several hundred RSS feeds per day and the occasionally glimpsed television commercial on the dining hall's plasma screens.
While thoroughly enjoying my undercooked homefries one morning I happened to hear the snippet of a rousing pre-battle morale speech the likes of which long preceded the Mel Gibsons and Viggo Mortensons of the world. Lifting my head to peer through the digital window I caught the tail end of Sony's most recent commercial for the PS3. You know the one - I call it Acronymial 2008 - with the MGS4 and the GT5:P and the LBP and the spiritually affected voice of KB. It certainly showcases a good lineup of exclusive titles, two of which I own and one which I assuredly will, and it brought a tear to my eye to see them, ever so briefly, in all their high definition glory. But then it got me thinking (because I certainly didn't want to think about planning that morning's class): What does that particular trio of games say about our beloved product?
What sort of narrative about the PS3 does this ad suggest? I make no claims to be an advertising deconstructionist, but let's look at it from the perspective of an insider which, if you're reading this, you most likely are. Firstly, of the 3 games shown only half of them are out yet*. This sends us a clear message that there are great things to come. Most of us (well, those lucky ones with access to their PS3s) are probably still playing MGS4; seeing the ad reminds us of some very recent good times. "That game is the eel's ankle", you might say to yourself, would that you were a time-traveler from the 1920s, "and well worth the long wait for it to finally be released." Then, eyes glazing over, you would begin to daydream about a future filled with little sackboys and girls and a Gran Turismo with thrice the number of cars as there were heroes at Thermopylae. All this future nostalgia is enough to make us forget Microsoft's leeching of our beloved FF XIII.
Alright, enough preaching to the choir. What might an outsider's perspective on this ad be? I asked a non-gamer colleague of mine to give me her take and her immediate response was that it felt like a 30 second inside joke. The games meant nothing to her and had no apparent connection to the monologue. More than anything she felt alienated, as though the advertisement wasn't meant for her, but only for those "in the know". She saw glimpses of a war game, a driving game, and something cute, cuddly, and decidedly Nintendo-like - all in all a good cross section of genres. Her immediate interest was in LittleBigPlanet, but upon the second viewing she noticed the glaring "coming soon" disclaimer and lost any desire she had to fork over her hard earned skrill for an amped up blu-ray player. Nothing about the ad made the system stand out in her mind, save for the gratuitous Shakespearean monologue.
Let's talk about that monologue for a moment. What, exactly, is Sony trying to say to us? At face value it's about fraternity, the common bond shared amongst those with a PSN ID. "We few. We happy few." Where is the emphasis here? On the happiness? Or on the minimal membership? Are we so few because we belong to an exclusive club, or because we are the last holdouts? Let's not forget, this is an inspiring battle speech, a prelude to war. Are we, then, to take up arms in defense of our beloved system? Should we expect casualties in this fight?
Well, at a minimum I suppose we could find some comfort taking up the banner in defense of our home. Would that we had one to defend. . .
On an entirely unrelated note, I turned the big 3-0 this week. As one of my students kindly noted, I am now closer to being 60 than I am to my birth. I guess I've only got 3 or 4 more console generations in me, so let's make them count!
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*Before you flame my lower order math skills let me explain. No, there is too much, let me sum up. GT5:P is, let's be honest, only half a game. A promise for the future. The crappy t-shirt you got for pre-ordering Pimp My Ride. Compared to the full thing it's really one tenth of a game. But I'm a generous man.
