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I’m Ashamed of Sony. You Should Be Too!

I’m Ashamed of Sony. You Should Be Too!

With one incredibly bad call, Sony just burned a lot of bridges.

In the court of public opinion, the tides can turn on a dime. One moment you’re on top, basking in the glory, as people line up to praise your name and shower you with accolades. The next moment, you find yourself face down in the mud, alone, without a friend in sight. Thus is the recent story of Sony. It’s also why they suck right now!

If we gave an award for console manufacture that started out strongest but then crashed hardest by the end of 2014, Sony has to win by unanimous vote. For over 10 months, they were unstoppable, keeping their boot firmly placed upon the throat of Microsoft the entire period. It seemed they would enjoy a clean sweep victory come the New Year. But when November hit, due to a series of insane discounts and price cuts, the Xbox One was able to overtake them in both the U.S. and U.K. markets (a lead which looks to carry over into 2015). Couple that with the absolute worst decision Sony could have possibly made regarding the recent hacking scandal. When terrorists demanded a full-stop on all fronts pertaining to The Interview, Sony instantly caved. Did you hear what I said? The actually buckled to F*CKING TERRORISTS! Last I checked, our foreign policy was NOT to negotiate with scumbags, but apparently the suits at Sony didn’t get that memo. They couldn’t wait to negotiate their collective asses off. Fearing further fall-out resulting from the embarrassing email leaks, the company folded faster than a cheap pair of overalls under Mario’s fat behind.

For those unaware, the film depicts the tongue n’ check assassination of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. After terrorists (yes, I’ll keep using that word because that’s what they are) ordered a cancellation of all interviews, press coverage and media promotion, the movie was pulled from cinemas across the country at the behest of the unknown assailants. Sony later released the following statement, which effectively points the finger at local theater operators instead of their own cowardice. You might not want to read the following if you’ve eaten in the last six hours, as it’s likely to make you sick to your stomach. “In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film The Interview, we have decided not to move forward with the planned December 25 theatrical release. We respect and understand our partners’ decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and theater-goers. Sony Pictures has been the victim of an unprecedented criminal assault against our employees, our customers, and our business. Those who attacked us stole our intellectual property, private emails, and sensitive and proprietary material, and sought to destroy our spirit and our morale – all apparently to thwart the release of a movie they did not like. We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public. We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome.”

I’m Ashamed of Sony. You Should Be Too!

This is a huge blow to Sony. Both from a public relations stand point and to their brand. Sure The Interview will now go down in infamy (and will one day do ridiculous Blu-ray and streaming sales), but that’s not the point. This was such a misstep, even A-listers like George Clooney and Rob Lowe are mercilessly bashing Sony in the press. Hell, even our own President took time out of his busy schedule of being the leader of the free world to call them out. I thought Microsoft’s woes with the Kinect and their uneven pricing structure were bad for business, but this is FAR worse. In my opinion, the Xbox One really came out smelling like roses in comparison, as Sony (and by extension the PS4) have been badly tarnished by this. Of course people have short memories and will likely forget all this in the coming months, but that makes it no less of a blemish on their record.

As if you couldn’t see this coming, the terrorists immediately came back with a second round of demands regarding social media, once they discovered their tactics worked (which Sony happily obliged). It really makes you wonder if there’s more to this story we don’t know.

More importantly, what the hell do the hackers have on Sony that they’re so desperate to keep hush-hush?

UPDATE – 12.23.2014

Stop the presses! It looks like Sony has pulled a complete 180 as a result of their very public flogging. According to TMZ , the studio has announced it will in fact run The Interview on Christmas Day all across the country. Actor Seth Rogan took to his Twitter feed to celebrate and thank the fans for their support. “The people have spoken! Freedom has prevailed! Sony didn’t give up! The Interview will be shown at theaters willing to play it on Xmas day!” he tweets.

While I’m glad to see Sony finally came to their senses, this really makes me no less ashamed (and my original premise written above still stands). Frankly, they were out of their ever lovin’ minds to pull such a stunt to begin with. That is…unless we’ve been suckered in. Could this have been nothing more than a deviantly crafted marketing ploy all along?

Let us know what you think in the comments section below and on our official Facebook page!

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