Thursday, April 7, 2005
Sony PlayStation Underground / Gamer Advisory Panel
I wanted to do a short post about the Sony PlayStation Underground. The Underground itself is a group of community members who are interested in PlayStation products. The Advisory Panel on the other hand is an exclusive group of hand chosen contributors who actually work with Sony game developers in a sort of think tank! Most people haven't heard of the Advisory Panel or don't know what it is and I applaud Sony for not using it as a marketing gimmick in this manner. Being a Sony fanboy I have always admired the honest personality of the Sony company. Even at this years E3 Sony threw down with a "real" presentation that focused on the technology and the gaming instead of the marketing BS (like Microsoft). Don't get me wrong, Sony had some crappy Power Point slides and the presentation was definitely boaring in terms of language and flow but they kept it real!
I haven't spent nearly enough time on the Underground forums leately but I have competed in a few contests, written a few stories and given feedback for existing products. Sony has been sending me one email a month consistently for years with regards to "the Underground." Most of the time it has to do with a servey or poll and there is usually a reward involved. One of the neatest parts has been the constant flow of PlayStation beta tester invites exclusive to the Gamer Advisory Panel. Before I got on to the Underground and the Panel I had to spend a lot of time applying for tests and often I felt left out, but being a member has put me in a position of having to decline beta tests or having to give my pass to a friend. I guess part of the reason I have had to skip out on a few tests is because of my rampant system swapping (I have owned and sold two PS2's two Xbox's and two GameCubes to date!).
I think almost anyone can become an Underground member but I'm not sure how it works if you want to get into the Advisory Panel. I was invited when I posted a large article about getting a PS2 online at college on the public PlayStation forums. I didn't even apply to the Advisory Panel! That made me feel 1337 to say the least... For those of you who read my blog you will know that I posted a similar, more up to date, version of the "getting your PS2 online" article right here at manufacturedfreedom recently. For those of you who are truly dedicated and honestly interested in helping Sony shape the future of gaming, consider applying for the Underground at Sony's website, I would post a link strait to it but I believe that would be a little bit too easy for you...
Now you know I've gotta list off what it says on this Advisory Panel certificate right? ahem... "Acknowledged as an expert gamer, the owner of this certificate is helping to shape the future of gaming."
"Greetings, Because of your expertise in gaming and your PlayStation Underground membership, you were invited to join the Gamer Advisory Panel - a group of gamers whose knowledge, insight and experience could help shape the future of gaming. Because you are a member, we've sent you this exclusive Gamer Advisory Panel case, filled with some bla bla members only etc. etc... okay that was a bit overboard, I don't want to brag my head off here!
posted by Court @ 5:19 PM
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