SPECIAL COMMENT: Sony, it's time to hit them, and hit them hard!

There is a quote that a wise man, Albert Einstein, once said. Even though no one should mistake the usage of the quote with anyone thinking that any gaming company, past or present, or those that support them in any form of imagination, as evil, there is only one quote that fits the situation that we now are examining. While he said it three different ways, there is one way that he said it that applies to a situation in the gaming world now:

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.

To Sony, Microsoft is the evil doer, and Sony is the onlooker that is doing nothing about it.

Back in 1996, the Playstation One began its quest to get into homes. At the time the main worry was the directional buttons and how arc-like commands that fighting games made popular were able to be executed by such a pad. Little did we know how popular it would be. While third party support was strong and exclusives like Crash Bandicoot and Wild Arms took to the scene, Sony became the attack dog. Who can forget the Crash mascot filming a anti-Nintendo commercial right in front of the main Nintendo headquarters? Who can forget how much Sega was trying to cut into the piece of that pie that it had lost along with the trust after the Genesis "you can have all these better games if you hook up ten different peripherals to your system at the same time" fiasco, while Sony and Nintendo were jockeying for position. In short, Sony was an attack dog, but it was a damn pitbull. It had shown that it was not only the new kid on the block, but the most feared kid on the block. They showed that they were not going away for a long time.

However, fast forward to right now. Microsoft has become a pitbull. Not only has it spewed venom at Sony more than it has any other game console manufacturer, but it has done its best to make sure that Sony didn't win this cycle. It has surprised us with announcement after announcement. Just how many people actually knew Peter Moore had a GTA4 tattoo two years ago? Just how many people knew that Microsoft possibly paid Rockstar $50 million dollars to receive two exclusive pieces of downloadable episodic content? Just how many people expected Square Enix to come out onto the E3 08 stage to deliver the jackpot-hitting announcement? I challenge any of you to go out there and find any normal gamer that knew of all these announcements beforehand. Don't waste your time trying to find any. Microsoft has been able to do things that we have never seen before in this console war. With the conception of the internets and it being able to provide the gaming industry with it's own version of the now infamous 24-hour news cycle, we can be able to find out any rumor, any news, any interview that you could ever hope to see. And yet, through all of this, Microsoft has kept so many people in the dark with surprises.

This is to belabor one simple thing: Microsoft has been rallying the fanboys, the hardcore gamers, and those looking for a good time, and saying that the 360 is the absolute only system that deserves to be in your home. They have spent a ton of money on advertising campaigns, slogans, and other things that delve into controversy-land. All of these, and there are more, there are just too many to list, have shown to us that this relatively new kid on the block wants to be the pitbull. They want to be the bully, they want to be the attack dog, they want to be the one that keeps another company from getting a piece of that gaming industry pie. They have succeeded, and in dividends.

But where is the counters from Sony? Where is that Crash mascot going to Redmond, Washington? Where are those two page ads from third parties that admitted to giving Sony the edge when all they thought they were doing was making games? Where is that aggressiveness that we saw out of them 11 years ago when they needed to get that slice? Where is the spamming of advertising? Where are those megaton announcements that could set the gaming world on fire? Sony's fight has become that of a chihuahua rather than a pitbull.

Sure, Sony, we've seen that you want to fight, but it doesn't even look like you're trying to win. Do you realize how Microsoft is actually winning this fight? Do you realize how many anti-trust suits Microsoft has had to settle because they might lose those and lose those in a huge way? Do you realize how many customers Microsoft has hung out to dry because they didn't want to adopt their new version of the XBox, or their next version of Windows? Do you realize that they do not like to compete? Sony, you must realize this. You are fighting with the notion that Microsoft wants to compete against you. They do not. They want to take you out of the gaming industry, for good! They want you to quit making games and game systems! They want you to leave behind your mark in the gaming industry like it never happened! They want you, as a gaming company, to die, and die slowly and painfully! They have tried to do this with other companies! Why in the blue hell do you think those anti-trust suits were filed in the FIRST damn place? Why do you think that they won't somehow try the same thing with you? You must realize this, and fast, if not now!

You need to stop fooling around and stop thinking like Sony! Inject that chihuahua with rabies. Microsoft is going to the front steps of third party developers who have loved you for years, and delivered a blank check stapled with a ball-and-chain contact, and the only way they would receive the blank check, is to sign that contract, and pretend that you are the worst game console manufacturer on the face of the planet. They are going to gamer blogs and paying them off to write how good of a job Microsoft is doing instead of doing any job at all, while stretching for new ways to slam any worthwhile exclusives coming out for your console, and yes, they will stoop so low as to character assassinate in order to fulfill wishes. Do not be afraid to counter. Make the claim. Tell the world about Microsoft's dirty deeds. Expose it, and expose it well. Make the developers realize that the money Microsoft gives them is in fact dirty money. Make the developers think that Microsoft is the evil, and you are finally going to do something about it.

Furthermore, tell them that it comes with consequences. Tell them how much longer a game will be delayed before it is able to come out because Microsoft must have it at the same time as Sony. Tell them that Microsoft wants the same quality as Sony's version will get. Tell them that Microsoft likes to control how much content they get into the game, and that they call all the shots. Tell them how much better a game can perform on your platform. Tell them about the lackluster Japan showing that even two games could not rescue for long. Tell them that your install base will come if they release the game for your system first because the gamers will BUY the system for the game if it is good enough (if you build it right, they will come, regardless of price tag). Hell, since they were moved by money, counter the offer, say that you have a bigger bank account. Just do SOMETHING other than stand there and talk without acting! Do not be afraid to rouse a few heads with what you say. You weren't before, why are you now? Even if some people do not believe it, say it, and be proud and unapologetic that you DID say it! Microsoft would have to answer such a claim carefully. By just voicing that Microsoft is buying their victory, you will have already made Microsoft backpeddle so much that the opening will be there for you to bite. Yes, you have built a first-party empire, but we are afraid that will not be quite enough. Some of those third party games that you have not been aggressive with have been loved since the NES days, and just by the name of the title will get someone to flock to whatever system they know it's on, and they are not blind or deaf. All it would take is for someone to mention that the game would now be available on the 360 to get the message. Don't think that people will do this, because they can, and already have.

Then hit the commercials. Advertise and attack the 360. Why haven't you? The 360 does have major shortcomings. Highlight a red ringed 360 console next to a working PS3 console playing the same game and flaunt the point to everyone. Highlight the trolls that populate XBox Live while highlighting that your community is more welcoming (even if it is exaggerating the point, you are advertising, which requires such), and also highlight that all good things in life come free. Show the blu ray capabilities when compared to the DVD-9. Show how much more you can do because of remote play, or Play TV, and how much more you can do with the PS3 than with the 360 besides gaming. Please, Sony, you've been so good in the past. Why are you letting yourself become a coward now?

Also, do not forget about genres that have made your system. It is not only the PS2 that was big for JRPGs, but the PS1, as well. Wild Arms 1 and 2, the Final Fantasy series that got it's mainstream breakthrough on the PS1, Vagrant Story, the RPG-influenced Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night, and many others that I am sure I am not thinking about or forgetting to mention. Ignoring the genres while embracing those that have been overplayed and overdone is basically shortening the life of the console. Stop ignoring how much Square Enix is embracing the 360 while basically ignoring the PS3, and call them out on it. Do not be afraid to piss them off with your words, and do not be afraid to let them know that your Sony faithful are pissed off at their actions, as well. No fanbase means no money. Do not be afraid to go after those that take that dirty money and sign their company souls away for profit, because it will make a huge difference if you say something. Do not fall into the trap of embracing what you think people will like, and stop ignoring the elements that got you to the dance in the first damn place! Start listening to these pleas to fix the droughts of a certain genre. They've helped you through this far. They are trying to help you now. Listen to them, and let them know you hear them and are willing to do something about it, by any means necessary, even if it means ruffling a few feathers.

Finally, God forbid it would come to this, file that anti-trust suit. Somewhere along the way, something that Microsoft has done would have some implications that would make the Federal Trade Commission cringe. Do not be afraid of filing the suit. Just by filing it, you would turn heads. Microsoft is an American hardware and software developer, and they have to comply with the US laws. Again, where do you think those previous anti-trust suits on them came from? It wasn't just because someone thought it was a cute thing to do! It's not just one anti-trust suit. It's been many, from all sorts of people for all sorts of reasons. Do you think that every single one of those suits were frivolous? Of course not. Don't be afraid to take this step, because this could be the difference between a thriving Sony, and a dead Sony, and no matter what you hear from the extreme Microsoft fanboys, no one wants to see your legacy be tarnished because you wouldn't fight back hard enough!

The fact of the matter is this: You have begun to pick up momentum with your first big third party exclusive in Metal Gear Solid 4, and no character assassination from any paid off blog was able to slow it down. You have a ton of first party titles that are turning heads, but you also have to turn the heads from the third parties and the genres and attitude that got you here. You were a proud and tough gaming company, and you can be again, if you just stop willowing around in pity and make sure the people who are stabbing you in the back, and those that are using dirty tricks in order to win this console war know that you will not stand for it, and will make sure they know you are willing to fight to make sure they give you a fair fight. Microsoft is not looking for a fair fight, and unless you fight fire with fire, you will be just someone who looks onto evil, and does nothing, about it.

Good night, and good luck.