The Convergence That Wasn't

by Luis Levy
Staff Writer

The term “convergence” means a change in direction for home appliances and electronics in general. In the past, we got used to having a stereo to play LPs, TV, videogame and VCR. Each of these could be from a different manufacturer: for example, the videogame was usually Sega or Nintendo and JVC made the best VCRs. Okay... Back from the Time Machine, “convergence” is simply putting all these inside a single “box”, saving (in theory) space and money.

It’s nothing new, really. In 1991 Phillips gave it a shot with the ill-fated CD-i, a machine that could play games, Video CD, CD+G, Karaoke and it’s proprietary format, called “Green Book”. All for “only” $400. Sega tried it too: the Sega CD, a relic from the CD-ROM era, also boasted being a cd-player, CD+G and videogame. And it bombed just as well.

Those two have many things in common: for starters, they were expensive, didn’t offer a satisfactory gaming experience, had few supporters and (important), no killer app.

So why was the Playstation 2 so successful? Here’s why: the PS2 was NEVER a convergence device: it was a videogame which used DVDs as its media. Also, as a gaming platform, the PS2 excelled. Playing movies on DVD was never a primary objective: it was seen by consumers (and Sony) as “a plus”.

When dealing with convergence, nothing is just “a plus”. The Sony PSX had many primary functions: DVD burning, videogame, PVR. It was engineered to be a complete entertainment center – much more than a basic videogame. And not that different from the CD-I, some may say.

Now everyone knows the story of the Sony PSX. Bad marketing, poor sales, a failure by any means, the PSX was named from “ahead of its time” to “very bad idea”. Does it mean that convergence is a dream?

I believe that the consumer holds the answer. Of course advancing the consumer’s needs is a useful technique, but in some cases we really need to listen to them. The key is offering “compatible functions” – like Sony did with the PS2. If the market doesn’t ask for DVD-burning, the costs of implementing the function simply don’t translate in sales, because the price tag goes sky-high. That’s the PSX lesson.

Even though, convergence may become a reality in the next two years. The buzz on the Internet tells the Playstation 3 relies heavily in this concept and other initiatives (like the N-Gage) may finally start selling well as platforms evolve in functionality and become cheaper. Let’s just hope the industry learned its lesson, keeping in perspective the ever-important maxim: the consumer is always right. That’s not so hard, especially if we are dealing with the geniuses behind the original Playstation, NES and Xbox.