Readers may remember there's been a lot of negative economic information coming through lately - the High Street is performing particularly badly. Amstrad has said so, Dixons has said so.
But here's a story in today's Guardian that tells you that the mobile gaming device, the PSP from Sony, is selling incredibly well.
There are a few possible reasons for this. First, novelty, which has to be a factor. Second, the brand name - anything with Playstation on it tends to do well in retail. Third, though, is Sony's understanding of its market. Sell to the aspirational market, its logic presumably runs, and make it costly enough to be a treat without putting it out of reach, and your product will find its niche.
There are people who hate Sony's design-led approach. I also know a number of people in electronics who hate Apple's focus on image, although they tend to mellow a bit when iPod and accessories do well for their business.
I've already suggested in this entry that at least some of the High Street malaise is caused by inappropriate products and dated companies marketing themselves less well than they need to. It would be going too far to suggest the PSP experience proves the point - no one-off example can do that - but it's evidence that a sluggish sales environment can be overcome if you know what you're doing.
