If you look at the major criticisms of the PS3 at launch and throughout most of its first year on the market, one of them (if not THE) most prominent complaint was that it was too expensive. Analysts and consumers were constantly asking for and predicting price drops for the system.

When the first price drop finally came, it wasn’t without a metric crapton of controversy. You see for Sony, it’s never as simple as “take a price and lower it,” they have to counter every potential positive with some sort of negative whether it’s simply a perceived negative or one that’s legitimately justified.

Read on for more Sony lunacy…

The day before E3 2007, SCEE president David Reeves revealed that the imminent PS3 price drop was nothing more than a clearance sale, moving the existing “higher cost” units out of the pipeline to make way for newer cheaper to produce SKU’s, sans Emotion Engine, somewhat affecting PS3 Backwards Compatibility.

What logic led to Reeves’ move, is to this day, unknown. I mean, if you’re the president of a large organization, I’m not sure what benefit there is stirring up negative connotations to the business decisions of one of your other divisions brings you. It seems extremely stupid and hurtful when viewed by consumers. Frankly I’m amazed the guy still has his job. He single-handedly tainted what could’ve easily been seen as a great move by Sony by simply changing consumers’ perception

In all actuality, if you were buying a PS3 (and who really buys more than one?) this “price cut” did in fact get you a fully features PS3 at a lower price than you could get one before so in actuality, this was a price cut, but the way it was divulged and referenced, the move couldn’t escape its negative buzz and even though people gobble up stuff at clearance sales all the time with absolutely no negative spin on them, somehow this was seen as a negative move on Sony’s part.

Being the (apparent) sole defender of Sony on Sarcastic Gamer (and I’m sure I’ll catch flak for this), I have to wonder where these same naysayers were during the Xbox’s recent price cut… you know, the one that took the $399 Premium down to a $349 Pro (but still required you to buy a $50 optical audio adapter if you wanted 5.1 surround sound — and frankly, who doesn’t?) Where were the complainers when THAT happened?

At first I balked on covering this story because I’ve always felt it was a crock of excrement but then I realized the story is more about the idiocy of people making a mountain out of a molehill instead of anything stupid Sony had done (well, other than SCEE’s David Reeves who seems to just be an idiot looking out for his division at the expense of the rest of the company.)   When it comes down to it, what exactly is “negative” about getting a PS3 $100 cheaper than you could before?

This unsubstantiated, but “oh so fun to add to” negative buzz surrounding the PS3’s price drop is what puts it at #6 on Sarcastic Gamer’s Top 100 Gaming Moments of 2007.

Click here for the rest of Sarcastic Gamer’s Top 100 Gaming Moments from 2007 all in one place!

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