Forums » Software, Gaming & Networking » Gaming » Sony Shutting Down San Fran PlayStation Store

Sony Shutting Down San Fran PlayStation Store

rated by 0 users
This post has 3 Replies | 0 Followers

Top 10 Contributor
Posts 21,612
Points 956,355
Joined: Sep 2007
ForumsAdministrator
Reply
News Posted: Sun, Feb 22 2009 12:15 PM
It's the end of an era, so to speak. With Sony suffering a Q4 that even the most bitter rival wouldn't wish on its competitors, the company has seen fit to shut the doors on its US flagship PlayStation store in San Francisco, California. With company sales in the dumps and some 16,000 Sony jobs already on the way out, the corporation has decided it best to not renew its lease on the PlayStation Store in the Metreon retail center when it expires on June 16th.

Sony spokeswoman Liz Archibald said of the closing: "While we are always looking at new avenues for additional retail exposure and space, we felt it best not to continue with a dedicated PlayStation Store at the Metreon at this time. We are actively looking at other opportunities to offer PlayStation products through direct retail channels." The store was dedicated exclusively to Sony's video game hardware and software and was the only one of its kind in the entire United States.

Reportedly, Sony spent around $85 million building the 300,000-square-foot shopping center that opened up ten years ago in a highly trafficked spot in San Francisco, and while The Westfield Group purchased the Metreon from Sony three years ago for an undisclosed price, we suspect that the firm simply felt the rent wasn't worth paying anymore given the current economic situation. Though, the aforementioned quote from Sony makes us wonder if this isn't signaling a shift in strategy that will end up being far more wide-reaching than the shuttering of a single store. Will Sony begin to take a more hands-off approach to marketing and moving its PlayStation wares through sales channels? Will retailers begin to chip in to pump up availability of Sony products? Offloading these chores doesn't seem like such a bad idea in times like these, but we suspect only time will tell what's really the cause of this close.
  • | Post Points: 50
Top 500 Contributor
Posts 119
Points 1,405
Joined: Oct 2008
Reply
Jeremy replied on Mon, Feb 23 2009 9:29 AM

Maybe Sony will realize that making it intentionally difficult to develop games on a technologically advanced gaming platform isn't such a bright idea. Here's hoping they're a little smarter with the PS4. It sucks, the PS3 had such great potential.

  • | Post Points: 5
Not Ranked
Posts 72
Points 660
Joined: Feb 2009
Location: CT
Reply
Oblio211 replied on Mon, Feb 23 2009 10:39 AM

Does anybody even go to these type stores anyway?

  • | Post Points: 5
Top 75 Contributor
Posts 1,248
Points 11,580
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: Florida
Reply
InfinityzeN replied on Mon, Feb 23 2009 2:57 PM

Well, its not like the PS3 was doing anything anyway. It was a very distant 3rd and falling further behind every day. Of course, the Wii is a very distand 1st and pulling ahead further every day. Just goes to show you that the "Best Hardware" system isn't always the one that wins.

Smooth Creations LANShark "Blue Flame" + ASUS G73JH-A2 + ASUS EeePC S101H

"I frag therefore I am!"

  • | Post Points: 5
Page 1 of 1 (4 items) | RSS