If you’re a keen gamer you are probably aware that the 23rd March signals the European launch of the PlayStation 3. If you’re unaware of this I suspect you won’t be for much longer because (despite the fact I’ve already told you) the Sony PR machine will undoubtedly crank into overdrive in the next week or two.

And overdrive it needs to, because Sony seems to have been systematically destroying its brand for a good couple of years. It is astonishing to watch such a hugely successful corporation attempt PR suicide over and over again.

Reports from the US suggest sales of the PS3 have been poor, and something tells me March isn’t going to be prime console-buying season in Europe either. The fact that Sony have made last minute changes to the spec of the European PS3 has angered consumers, and adds to the ever-growing tide of bad publicity for Sony.

Personally I fell out with Sony when their own constrictive licensing arrangements prevented their excellent proprietary MiniDisc format (which I owned and supported) from becoming anything more than a five-minute wonder. A mistake they’d made before with Betamax and one they seem to be making again with Blu-ray.

However, we mustn’t forget how successful the PlayStation 2 was, especially in the UK where it dominated by a vast margin for over five years. That success alone guarantees Sony will be there or thereabouts with the PS3 in the UK market at least.

But when people start spending hour upon hour of their own time, carefully piecing together cleverly worded lyrics and creating an entire musical composition, with DIY video track to boot, just to slag you off, you know you’re in for a bad time. Especially when half a million people download said video clip from YouTube, and post comments mostly agreeing with the notion.

Now who said there’s no such thing as bad publicity?