Business Week Online has just posted a curious article which ponders over whether the many multimedia features of PS3 might confuse consumers who just expect a games machine.
"Picture this," begins the wide-eyed reporter, "you plug your TV into a box the size of a phone book and go online to check headlines. You get bored and click over to a Giants game. Later you download Casablanca, play Metal Gear Solid against an opponent in Seoul, then chat with a friend in Seattle." Later he warns, "Some question whether Sony is trying to cram too much into the new box."
I've scanned the article several times and have found no mention of the fact that Xbox 360 is likely to offer an extremely similar feature-set - or of the general move toward the 'entertainment server' concept in the rest of the consumer electronics industry. Instead there are cautionary references to the failed PSX, Sony's hard drive-equipped PS2 spin-off.
Look, if a console that also lets you go online and download stuff is going to confuse you, you may as well give up on digital entertainment right now and save yourself a lot of mental torture in the long run.
NEXT WEEK: Consumers bewildered by Sky+ "witchcraft"!
