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CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XL: AT&T CEO says no one wants $10 DSL
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson apparently subscribes to a different school of marketing and demand than most others -- speaking with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the telecom boss flatly denied that AT&T's $10 DSL plan is hidden on the company's website, and went on to say that "customers haven't been clamoring for it," and that since the 768Kbps "user experience is not what I would consider really state of the art," he doesn't really want to sell it to anyone. Of course, customers don't usually clamor for a product that barely anyone knows is available and that requires absurd hoop-jumping just to get set up, but don't let them pesky facts get in your way, Randy.[Via Techdirt]
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XLI: Sun's James Eagleton says Microsoft guilty of "patent terrorism"
In the most recent round of the Microsoft vs. Linux debate, Sun's systems product manager James Eagleton lobs the latest volley, stating that the Redmond-based software giant's business tactics amount to "patent terrorism," and that the current climate it's created is akin to a "cold war." Eagleton goes on to offer that Sun and even IBM have much fairer approaches to patent protection which don't go against "the spirit of innovation," in the way he claims Microsoft's policies do. If the dubious arrangements Microsoft has agreed upon with Novell and Linspire didn't convince you that something was rotten in the state of Washington, comments like sour-grapes-Eagleton's should at least make you take pause.[Via The Inquirer]
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XL: Acer's Gianfranco Lanci says "entire industry" disappointed by Vista
Acer President Gianfranco Lanci doesn't look to have minced any words about his thoughts on Vista during a recent interview with the Financial Times Deutschland, reportedly telling the publication that "the entire industry is disappointed by Windows Vista." As if that wasn't a big enough shot across the bow, Lanci further went on to say that it's "not going to change in the second half of this year," adding that "I really don't think that someone has bought a new PC specifically for Vista." Lanci apparently didn't have quite everything out of his system just yet though, also lambasting Vista for not being ready when it was released, saying that "stability is certainly a problem." We some suspect he won't be too pleased with Microsoft's recent pronouncements on the matter either.
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XXXIX : Stringer calls Jobs "greedy"
According to the always exploitive New York Post Page Six, an Anderson Cooper-hosted panel with Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin, and Barry Diller (amongst others) had been discussing how technology was changing the way people got their entertainment and news, when Sony honcho Howard Stringer apparently accused Steve Jobs of being "greedy." The report claims that Mr. Stringer went on to say that the Steve-man "Wants a world where only he makes money." The knighted gentleman then stormed out of the room and called his assistant on a Sony Ericsson, who proceeded to take him to his hotel where he watched the Sony-produced Spiderman 2 in Blu-ray format on his new Vaio while petting an AIBO with his metallic claw.
CE-Oh no he didn't, part XXXVIII: Peter Moore tells Sony it's failing
While Peter Moore wasn't exactly this forthright when chatting it up with us, it's not totally out of character for execs to lash out at rivals from time to time. In the latest chapter of CE-Oh no he didn't, we find Mr. Moore claiming that Sony's "long-term business plan of being successful in Japan is crumbling." Moreover, he continued to knock the PS3 by sidestepping questions of why the Xbox 360 has sold so miserably in the Land of the Rising Sun and suggested that Sony was the one that should be worried about "getting outsold six-to-one." As a finisher, Peter added that he had "built a business plan for Japan," and while sales have indeed been lackluster, he claimed that "Sony was missing its plan by much more" than he was missing his. Seriously, them's fightin' words there.[Via DailyTech]
CE-Oh no he didn't, part XXXVII: Sony's Reeves says PS3 will be "the winner" by March 08
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president David Reeves already caused quite a stir with his statement that the 60GB PS3 would soon be no more, and it looks like he's now set to kick up another hubbub, telling GamesIndustry.biz that he expects the PS3 to be "the winner" by March of next year. As if that wasn't a bold enough proclamation, he said that the PS3 "will be far and away the winner when you look at it by March '08," adding that "it's something that is going to be a slow burner, and suddenly it's like a tsunami; it will just overtake you." Let's just hope that tsunami comes at a discount.
Ce-Oh no he didn't, part XXXIV: Karmazin sez "we suck less" than XM
We guess that once your acquisition target has agreed to be purchased, you don't really have to go around buttering up its board members or executives anymore, but it still seems odd that CEO Mel Karmazin would defend Sirius' admittedly poor performance on Wall Street by arguing that at least his company "sucks less" than future partner XM. Yet that's exactly the case presented to shareholders at a Manhattan meeting last week, where the often-outspoken Karmazin admitted that he was "real unhappy" with the satrad firm's stock price -- although compared to the 61% decline in XM share prices since September 2004, Sirius' 8% gain over that same period was a relative bull run. Still, Mel, don't you think there are better ways to phrase that sentiment other than attaching the connotation of "suckiness" to your company and one you hope to acquire? Hey, just a thought. [Via FARK]
Ce-Oh no he didn't, part XXXIII - Microsoft's just waiting for Wii fanboys to grow up
Never let it be said that a console war doesn't benefit the consumer -- for the goldmine of quotes, if nothing else. This latest one is from John Rodman, group product manager for the Xbox platform and Xbox Live, who was talking up the Xbox 360 in a New York Times article of all places. "We don't feel like the Wii customer and the Xbox customer are the same thing," he said. "We think that as soon as the Wii customer turns 14 they want something else." Oh snap! Finally the truth comes out. We were getting a bit tired of all those backhanded praises Sony and Microsoft have been showering on the Wii, since it's not the "competition." Seems like it's worth Rodman's time to pay it such a diss (not that we have anything against sub-14 year olds, but let's be honest here) and there's no doubt the Wii is more of a threat to Sony and Microsoft than they'll ever admit.[Thanks, David B]
Ce-Oh no he didn't, part XXXII - Sony UK boss calls US citizens "cheap people"
In an interview with GamesIndustry, Sony UK's managing director Ray Maguire had something of a minor faux pas when asked why the PS3 is pricier in the UK (£425 or $833 US) than it is in the rest of Europe (€599 or $794 US), to which he replied:"... you have a look at the economic and financial situation in each and every territory. That's where the differences start to vary massively. ... If you take what's considered to be the most expensive and the least expensive – consider the US with its massive land and cheap people."We think we're gonna give Ray a pass here. If you read his whole interview, in context he seems to be talking about costs -- like tarriffs, fees, VAT, and the like -- associated with getting a console into a person's hands. But either way, people are people, and it's no surprise that when you start thinking of human beings as numbers or business units you start saying stupid things like the US is filled with "cheap people".
Ce-Oh no he didnt! Part XXXI - Stringer says if PS3 fails, it'll be due to the high price
The veritable genius of economic theory that he is, Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer has finally figured out a flaw in his grand scheme of world domination via the PS3: that hefty pricetag. "If we fail, it is because we positioned PS3 sales as the Mercedes of the videogame field," said Stringer. "PS3 is a different audience and it can be whatever it wants – a home server, game device, even a computer." It seems odd that he'd say the PS3 is limited to a different audience and that it can be "whatever it wants" in the same sentence, but who are we to judge? Stringer also praised the Wii as "a wonderful device," and stated that it "has a different target audience" than that of the PS3. Nothing new there, and his statements on the format war were also unsurprising: "We are selling 3-to-1 versus to them," he said. "At some point Blu-ray will take over based on ... this support." Good to see some things just never change.
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XXIX - Apple sez free phones are worthless
Sure, Apple and Cisco have been exchanging kind (and not so kind) words of late, but a loose-tongued COO gave us just tidbit we needed to satisfactorily craft the 29th running of CE-Oh No He Didn't. It's no secret that Apple stands to profit mightily off its eventual iPhone sales, and it's also not too far fetched to start dreaming of 3G on the imminent next revision, but laying the smack down on free cellphones in order to bolster your own product is just asking for it. Sure enough, Apple's Chief Operating Officer Timothy Cook said yesterday at a conference in Las Vegas that "A lot of people pay zero for the cellphone," but rather than contemplating his next move, he carelessly blurted out the reason by stating "That's what it's worth," essentially punking users of the ever-basic free cellphone that saw no reason to spring for high-end hardware when initializing their contract. Apple is currently predicting that "around 10 million customers will pay at least $499 to buy an iPhone" because they feel the value is there, but apparently a low-end mobile isn't worth its weight in plastic. C'mon Mr. Cook, we've got no qualms with pricing your mobile as your company deems fit, but slamming the hammer on folks who just need a handset that calls Aunt Susie every now and then is just a bit harsh, no?[Via Digg]
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XXVIII - Reggie pokes fun at PS3 shootings
Apparently Perrin Kaplan isn't the only spokesperson for Nintendo speaking a bit too "freely" these days. The man himself, Reggie Fils-Aime, when queried about the PS3 launch lines in an interview with GameHead, asked, "Were those the people ducking to not get shot?" What a comedian! This was following a staunch denial of the PS3 having any lines at E3, which isn't quite accurate -- the lines were just short and more of a per-console thing, since there wasn't the crazy kind of closed room setup at the Sony booth. Maybe he should spend a bit less time honing those witty barbs and more time figuring out a way to get some more of his own console onto store shelves -- before the Wii related violence starts to get out of hand.[Via Joystiq]
CE-Oh no she didn't! Part XXVI - Nintendo's Kaplan on why no one got shot for a Wii
This one kind of came out of nowhere, but when asked by GameSpy how the PS3 launch affected the Wii launch, Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan thought it was time to lay down the smack:"Well, we didn't have anyone in line that got shot waiting for our system. So there's one sign of the different approaches between our two companies. I think that there were really two different audiences. The core gamer probably went out and tried to purchase both systems. ... I think we were just really prepared. Years of experience doing this ensured that we would have a very good launch."So there it is, Nintendo's preparedness, experience, and approach to console gaming ensured nobody got shot over the Wii last holiday season. Surely it had nothing to do with more copious console supplies, or a pricetag of half that (or less) than the PS3. Oh, and Perrin did forget to mention the personal bodyguard Nintendo assigned each and every new Wii owner late last year, that helped too.[Via Joystiq]
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XXIV - Jack Tretton wants to give you $1,200
Electronic Gaming Monthly, in an interview with Sony's Jack Tretton in early January, mentioned the recent availability of his company's console: "...it seemed like about 50 percent of the people in line were there to make a quick buck on eBay. And now we're seeing a lot more units on store shelves." Jack seemed a tad surprised by this, but he put his money where his mouth is: "If you can find a PS3 anywhere in North America that's been on shelves for more than five minutes, I'll give you 1,200 bucks for it. I can get any retail buyer on the phone with you and get them to verify that there's not a single retail location in America where there's a PlayStation 3 on the shelf for sale. They've all been sold in a matter of minutes." After EGM let Tretton know they had indeed phoned 18 stores and found half of them had PS3s in stock, some stores with as many as 20 consoles, Jack held firm "if only nine of the 18 stores you contacted had supplies, that seems to be a clear indication that sales continue to be outstanding." So there you have it, Jack's not backing down. We're guessing our check is already in the mail.[Thanks, Corey B]
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XXI : Gates tells consumers to ditch DRMed tunes, buy CDs
For our latest episode of CE-Oh No He Didn't, we turn to a perennial favorite: Bill Gates. At a recent blogger event (read: junket) up in Redmond, Gates apparently told the audience that DRM has "huge problems" (despite the fact that his company is one of its biggest proponents). Bill's a smart guy and his belief in DRM's suckiness isn't all that shocking, but even we were taken aback when he suggested picking up a freshly wrapped compact disc instead of pointing your interests towards his own company's music store, or in his words: "People should just buy a CD and rip it. You are legal then." Say, doesn't the RIAA seem to disagree with Mr. Gates' assessment, given that it still views ripping CDs has being sorta, um, illegal? And doesn't Microsoft go out of its way to break precedent by ponying up cash on Zune sales to RIAA cartel commander Universal Music? We realize there's only so much dogfooding one can do before going off the deep end, and we don't necessarily expect Bill to agree with every decision Microsoft makes. But what gets us here is that this is such a subtle and tacit admission of defeat at the hands of the record industry. The man DOES carry a Zune, and the man does actually listen to music on it, but maybe he doesn't realize that Microsoft could have held the power to strike a blow in the RIAA's armor and change things for the better for consumers -- Zune carrying consumers, like even he.
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XX - Warner Music CEO "fairly certain" his kids pirate music
We're going to assume you're well versed with the RIAA, just about the most god-forsaken industry group that ever did roam the earth (much like its unofficial partner in crime, the MPAA); and more importantly for the purposes of this post, Warner Music, one of the four major labels, which all, incidentally, back the RIAA. So what did Edgar Bronfman, CEO of Warner Music, have to say when questioned as to whether any of his seven kids pirate music? "I'm fairly certain that they have, and I'm fairly certain that they've suffered the consequences." Funny, we haven't heard about any inter-familial lawsuits involving Bronfman sr. v. Bronfman jr. concerning definitions in fair use and music piracy. In fact, given that he knows what pirates live in his house using his internet connection, it should only follow that he sue his children into eternal debt (not before having Warner Music shut off their household internet connection at the ISP level). After all, what's good for the goose is good -- ah forget it. Every time we try to apply logic and reason to the executives behind the RIAA our brains do a zero divide.You, Bronfman! Monday at four o'clock, after school. Be there, punk.[Thanks, Josh]
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XIX - Watkins says Seagate "helps people buy crap... and watch porn"
Unexpected candidness is a recurring theme of our CE-Oh no! series of posts, but this latest example from Bill Watkins, the CEO of Seagate, truly takes the biscuit. At a recent corporate dinner in San Francisco, the Texan CEO produced a quotable line edgy enough to give any PR people in the immediate vicinity an instant heart attack. In his exact words: "Let's face it, we're not changing the world. We're building a product that helps people buy more crap - and watch porn." We're gonna have to give the guy a break for two reasons: a) alcohol was readily available, and b), all those naughty digital photos have gotta be stored somewhere, and Seagate is in the digital storage business. Besides, the rest of Watkin's quotes are relatively thought provoking: his views on media distribution ("It's the content that's important"), Dell's problems -- no, not those ones -- ("They don't understand the consumer"), and other areas of the technology industry appear to be fresh and honest. Maybe just a bit too honest this time around.
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XVIII - Gates sez Sony "bricks" would sell well
While we aren't sure if this is just another lashing from the lingering bitterness ole Bill is surely feeling from Sony's most recent criticisms, Mr. Gates has unwillingly volunteered himself for yet another episode of CE-Oh no he didn't. Shortly after praising Apple's iPod, he apparently felt a few brash phrases were in order to bring the world back into balance, and balance he did. In an interview with CNET, Microsoft's chairman explained that he knew very well the pain "of being a year late" -- presumably in regard to how belated the Zune is in hitting the iPod-filled DAP market -- but continued on by stating that he "wouldn't change positions with Sony in a million years" when referring to the Xbox 360's head start in the next generation console race. But fun and games turned staid when Gates remarked that "Sony could make 80,000 bricks, and people would buy them." While we can't quite decipher the true meaning of "bricks," we're fully aware that the stakes have been raised once again, but Sony might try fixing a few lingering problems of its own before crafting a rebuttal this time around.[Via 1UP]
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XV: Sony Australia exec calls the Wii "a bit pricey"
Welcome back to CE-Oh no he didn't, the game show where company executives get to mouth off about something that surely won't make their bosses happy. This week, we're playing with Michael Ephraim, managing director of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia, who made a very insightful comment recently about the pricing of a rival product. Now, while prospective buyers have grumbled at the high price (AU$1000, or $743) of the PS3, Ken Kutaragi, the head of Sony Computer Entertainment, has maintained that the company's latest console is "probably too cheap," but acknowledges that it's a "expensive toy" -- although to be fair, Sony did just drop the price in Japan. Well, it appears that Kutaragi's minions don't necessarily agree with his assessment, or at least Ephraim appears not to. He recently told The Age (Melbourne's major metropolitan daily) his opinion of the Nintendo Wii, which will retail for AU$400 ($297):"My only question for this Christmas on Wii is the price point. Even though it's affordable, at $400 plus whatever you need to buy accessories-wise, I'm guessing you need to spend about $500 to take home a Wii and enjoy it. For this Christmas, I think that price point is still not family entertainment because $500 is a lot to fork out . . . I think the price for what it specifically does as a video games machine is a bit pricey, but I think that their strategy long term we have great respect for."So by that logic, mate, the AU$1000 PS3 will be what, exactly -- really frickin' expensive? Not to mention it'll be even more than AU$1000 when it comes with all its accessories too, y'know? So that makes your PS3 even more than twice as much as the Wii, which you say is "a bit pricey?" Mike, wouldn't you think that would mean that you'd want to, um, perhaps bring the price a bit down? Can't you call up your buddy Kenji and tell him what you told those Aussie reporters? Or maybe perhaps your colleague across the Pacific, the Kazmeister? C'mon, you guys could set up a meeting in somewhere convenient for all of you (say, Honolulu?) and work out the details. Then everyone would be happy, especially us lowly consumers. [Via Joystiq]
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XV - Europeans "don't mind" waiting for Sony products
Alright Sony, this is just getting ridiculous. It's not like you guys haven't been a featured guest in this series before, but we had no idea it was such an honor. The third "CE-Oh no" moment for Sony this week came out of the mouth of SCE World Europe VP, Jamie MacDonald, who was asked: "What would you say to consumers who like Sony and want to buy your products, but perhaps feel that because they're in Europe they're always last in line?" Apparently Jamie feels little love for his whiny constituency, since his clueless response was thus: "European consumers have shown that historically they don't mind that, because they end up buying as many PlayStations, if not more, than the US and Japan. In Europe, it doesn't seem that the release of our platforms after the US and Japan - in the long run - affects how consumers feel." We're not even sure how to respond to that, so we'll continue with more "CE-Oh no" sound bite gold from our pal Jamie. In response to a query about Sony's UMD failure, he stated: "I think you'll find in general the market for movies on discs of any type is not particularly great at the moment." Again, we really have nothing to add, so we'll just hit up one more sound bite for good time's sake. When asked about the Wii60 concept, where prospective next-gen buyers compare the price of purchasing an Xbox 360 and a Nintendo Wii to the cost of the PS3 alone, Jamie further demonstrated his ignorance: "To be honest, I haven't heard that." Not a banner day for Sony PR by a long shot, but at least they're not trying to hide their seeming disdain for consumers and plain logic.[Thanks, Xavier G.]
