Imagined Perks of Working at PlayStation

When people find out I work for Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) which is the part of Sony responsible for the PlayStation product, they always ask if I can get them a free console. If I know the person really well I respond with something polite like, "No but that would be nice wouldn't it?" If it is a total stranger I might respond with something a little more cheeky like, "I only get one free one per year and I keep them for myself." The real answer is that employees get a minimal discount on console hardware, especially after a new product launch like the PlayStation 5. The discount, if anything will only be around $5 to $15. Towards the middle of the console's lifespan we are given the ability to purchase refurbished machines at a significant discount but are limited in how many we can purchase.

My son had a neighbor who failed to get a PlayStation 5 pre-order and was asking if anyone knew how to get one as her son's birthday is quickly approaching. My son replied, "My Dad works at PlayStation and can't even get me a PS5." It is a true statement and I appreciate him not setting me up for failure. I have seriously looked for ways to get each of my own children PS 5's but have come up short. Looks like I have to come up with some other idea for Christmas gifts.

One of the best perks of being an employee at SIE is that we do get a discount on games. Once again we are limited to only 2 copies of the same game per year but the price has been $15 per game. I imagine the price will go up for PS5 games as the retail price for video games has also gone up. I am also limited to games published by SIE. That means I can't help you with anything from Electronic Arts or Activision. One Christmas I had a neighbor come to my house and go through whatever games I still could purchase and buy them. After that, I put a limit on how much I help others with their Christmas gifts.

There are strings attached to the perks at working for a video game company. If I purchase the disk version of a game, it comes with the barcode scratched out so I can't return the game to a store or resell it as a new game. That means when I help someone get a game, he or she also has to abide by those same rules.

Finally there are the peripherals. I don't know why but every time I play any of the "God of War" games, I completely destroy a controller. It happened with the original 3 games remastered for the PS3 and again with the latest title on the PS4. So when I purchase any "God of War" game, I also pick up another controller as I know my current one will not make it through the end of the game. We get a nice discount on controllers, headsets, and other console peripherals. Once again, we do have some restrictions on how many we can get but each color counts as a separate product. That means I may only be able to get 2 black controllers per year but I also can get 2 red ones, 2 white ones, etc.

Now if you run into me at the airport or in public you know that I can't get you a free PlayStation console. Please don't ask for one. I wonder if people who work at Ferrari get asked if they get free cars?

Form vs Function

I was driving in Utah this weekend and pulled up next to a beautiful black Ferrari. I have always wanted one and so it surprised my wife when I told her I would rather have my buddy's tricked-out Jeep (see the picture below). "Why?" was all she could ask once she recomposed herself. I explained that it all boils down to functionality. While I like the idea of owning a fast Italian sports car, it really isn't all that practical for the things I am doing in my life right now. I am happily married and so I don't need an expensive car to help beautiful young women see past my bald head and chubby belly. The speed limit is easily reached in even the most basic car. Yet a vehicle capable of operating in the worst travel conditions comes in handy when you spend as much time in the mountains as I do. Yep, right now I would take the Jeep.

What does this have to do with computers? Well I recently had a conversation with one of my coworkers who is in the process of upgrading one of his computers. He is really into music and so he purchased some expensive sound equipment. No, he didn't just get a high-end sound card, he picked up top-of-the-line studio speakers, mixing equipment and stuff that most normal people would never use, let alone be able to afford. While we were talking, I realized that it would be fun to do the same thing to my computer, but I don't need it. That made me think about how I really use my computer.

To be completely honest, I hardly ever really use my desktop computer. Instead, I use it to connect to other computers that are much more powerful and do the real processing on them. That means I need a fast network connection, which I already have. I also have a lot of windows open into these other servers and so it is nice to have a lot of screen real-estate. That means I need a graphics card capable of displaying to multiple large monitors. That graphics card requires a lot of memory to run well. So while my coworker built his computer for audio, I should concentrate on video.

A Ferrari is a beautiful car that most people would love to own. There are a lot of computers out there that are similar. They are really fast and look amazing. However it is important to look at your needs before buying one. If you are doing a lot of number crunching and need to be "seen" with the latest and greatest, I encourage you to get one. Otherwise if you are like me or my coworker, you might be better suited with a Jeep-like computer that is specialized for specific tasks.

Now that I think about it, I actually have both . . . computers that is. I am typing this blog tonight on my high-end Mac laptop (the Ferrari) while I also have the really fast computer with multiple large-screen monitors in my home office (the Jeep). Now I just wish I could afford both cars.

Free Content - Part 2

My last posting provided a little history about how we went from software pirates to music pirates and now to movie pirates. Congress has proposed legislation to help curb this piracy, but is has been put on hold for the time being. This brings up the question: Is legislation the answer? In a nutshell, no.

If you look at the software and music industries, enacting new laws didn't really help. A combination of enforcing existing laws coupled with simple technological advances like software licensing keys had the largest success for the software industry. As for music, piracy just went underground. The same will happen with movies.

Talking with one of my co-workers exposed a mindset of the younger generation that was new to me. He expressed that teenagers and young adults expect certain things to be free. If you look at the software industry, open source is a large movement that gains more and more projects every day. The same thing is happening with music. If you look at iTunes, they constantly have the free song of the week. There are also bands that make their music freely available from their websites. One would think this would kill innovation. I personally believe it has the opposite effect. If you are a commercial software company and put out a sub-standard product, there is an open source project that your customers can replace you with. That means your product had better be good enough that people will pay money for it. I see the same thing happening with music.

So what is the solution for Hollywood? My suggestion would be to embrace the Internet and don't try to litigate or legislate it. Use it as a new medium for distributing your products. While fewer people are interested in actually buying DVDs, more people are interested in streaming movies from places like Netflix. Think about it. If you don't have to create a DVD and ship it somewhere, you shouldn't have to charge nearly as much, but still be able to make the same amount of profit.

Unfortunately movies are not the end of free content. Today I saw a prototype of a new electronics device created on a 3D printer. It is only a matter of time before you will be able to download plans from the Internet and create your own Ferrari. Let's see Congress try to figure out how to legislate that one.