The Toughest Job in Video Games: Sony PR

The PlayStation 3 has come under fire recently for its steep price. How is Sony corporate handling the criticism? Is Sony's corporate culture changing? We posed these timely questions to Dave Karraker, director of Sony Computer Entertainment America's corporate communications.

By Blake Snow

Sony's PR head talks turkey

Sony's PR head talks turkey

However justified, Sony has been fiercely criticized for both its approach and management of the PlayStation 3 to this point. The company just posted its biggest quarterly loss in four years shortly after dealing with several public relation mishaps related to the PS3. Just listen to these colorful quotes by former PlayStation boss Ken Kutaragi when describing the PS3: "It's probably too cheap," "It's 4D," and "[We want] consumers to think... 'I will work more hours to buy one.'"

Not very endearing, huh? So who's in charge of helping gamers see beyond such rogue statements? None other than Sony's senior director of corporate communications, Dave Karraker. Karraker, who is just eight months on the job, has perhaps the toughest job in video games; helping consumers regard the PS3 with as much esteem as the record-setting PS2 despite the former's high price and somewhat slower start. We sit down with the man to ask how he's coping with being the public face of Sony.

GamePro: You've been doing game PR for a long time. What's changed over the last 10 years?

Dave Karraker: I actually cut my teeth in PR working at Crystal Dynamics...the big game at the time was a really great platformer called "Gex" for the 3DO Multiplayer. About the same time, I helped launch a graphical Windows interface called "Bob" for Microsoft, but let's not share that with anyone. The funny thing is, so many of the people I worked with back then are actually still around in some fashion, whether as journalists or on this side of the fence. The biggest change has got to be the advent of the Internet. It simply wasn't a factor back then. Now, it is arguably what I spend the majority of my time working on when it comes to speaking with media, and consumers, for that matter.

How long have you been working for Sony?

I've been with Sony since two months before the launch of PS3. It was certainly a crazy time to come on board, but any PR person will tell you that a launch of that scale is exactly what they dream working on. There are just so many opportunities and so many challenges that you can't help but learn something almost every minute of every day. That is what I really love about working at Sony -- every day there is something new to experience. Plus, I am a gamer, so you can't beat being able to play games whenever you want. Getting to see early builds of a game is really fantastic. I was playing the new Ratchet & Clank for PS3 yesterday and it is simply amazing. I have also been spending a lot of time with LittleBigPlanet lately, as well as Uncharted. These development teams are really doing some cool stuff with the system.

Noting the PS3's unique approach, how do you deal with negative consumer perceptions from a public relations perspective?

That's kind of a tough question to answer. I am pretty sure if you asked just about any real gamer out there if they would like to have a PS3, their answer would be a resounding "Yes!" I think a lot of this goes back to the proliferation of the Internet, where a very vocal minority can make a lot of noise and potentially alter perceptions of the masses, whether they are accurate or not. A lot of this, naturally, is driven by the media who seem focused on taking swipes at us lately, without taking in the full picture. It is funny, but I remember people bagging on the original PlayStation when it first came out, and look where it ended up. Our biggest job over here is to continue to push out information on PS3 and our other systems and remind people that there are things you can do on our platforms you simply can't do on our competitor's. It is all about explaining those points of differentiation, particularly the value over the lifetime of the system, that is key in selling any Sony product.

Are some of those [negative] perceptions justified, assuming you feel they exist? Why or why not?

A lot of the perceptions are not justified and seem fueled by people who don't have all the facts or have some kind of axe to grind. I think you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who wouldn't say PS3 is an amazing piece of technology. Yeah, the price of PS3 is higher than other system, but look at what you get - the Cell processor, Blu-ray Disc, built-in hard drive, HDMI 1080p, Wi-Fi, the SixAxis. That is a lot of truly cutting-edge technology in one box. It is funny how myopic people can be when a new system comes along. They seem to forget that launching a truly next-generation gaming platform is never easy and it never has been. I like to say it is like birth: "The actual labor may not be all the pretty, but the result is pretty darn amazing."

But, as a gamer, I like to concentrate on the gee whiz factor when something new launches. No matter who's platform it is, I look at what is truly new and exciting. I am confounded by people who say they are true gamers but all they do is look for the negatives in a system, or a company, or in the industry in general. Some media, in particular, are just too easily caught up in all the bashing. It feeds on itself, and to what end? How do you benefit the real gamer by bashing on something? These are very smart people who can see through most of the BS.

Sure, there were some perceptions on PS3 that were justified. For example, we didn't have nearly enough hardware at launch to meet consumer demand. That was difficult for all of us and contributed to a tough climate with press and analysts. That's behind us now, but a bit of that still lingers. Frankly, I have stopped talking to media about the launch and am now really just focused on the games.


NEXT PAGE: Karraker talks Sony's response to PS3 criticism and Sony's response

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