Crash test: TV versus PS3

By Derek Fung on 21 October 2009

commentary In the last few weeks, we've brought you some extreme car crash testing footage with small cars versus large ones and old cars versus new models. Sony has bammed it up a notch, rocketing a PS3 into a TV.

Has Sony gone too far this time?

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We're not sure if we entirely approve of this. Don't get us wrong, we love watching things smash into each other in slow motion. Recently, America's Insurance Institute for Highway Safety began a series of exceptional crash tests to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

First it collided a 1959 Chevy Bel Air into a 2009 Chevy Malibu at 40mph (64km/h). Then, last week, the institute rammed some large cars into some smaller ones, with the Mercedes-Benz C-Class running into a diminutive Smart ForTwo being the highlight.

While it's a shame to lose a series of perfectly good cars, there's at least a thin veneer of scientific research and public interest to be gained from these crashes. Hiring out a crash lab and launching a PS3 at 80km/h at a TV to promote a TV/PS3 offer proves three things we already know: we like smashing stuff up, two perfectly good devices no longer work and promotion is a multi-headed beast. Oh, and we've all come to expect a PlayStation 3 with a Sony TV, and now we need something extraordinary to grab our attention when the same promotion comes up.

Sonys promotion begins at midnight on Thursday 22 October with 25,000 PS3 slim-line consoles available, and the company has promised it will deliver the consoles in time for Christmas.

What are your thoughts? Leave your musings in the comments section below and vote in the poll above.

Topics: crash test, ps3, bravia, sony, playstation 3, television, cache, cms, lib, home

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Comments (6)

  • Romz commented on 02/11/2009 22:09 Report abuse

    Hey Pete, how about you pick up one of those Samsung gaming consoles too? And 'Realist' I find it very ironic that you call yourself 'Realist' and you misspell 'real'.

  • anthonettex commented on 23/10/2009 16:22 Report abuse

    Lighten up people, it's called advertising and there are thousands of company dollars used to produce it. These were probably two custom made products (or dysfunctional ones) that made it into the ads. The point of abstract advertising such as this is to get people talking and recapture their interest in an ocean full of uninspired ads.

  • Late commented on 22/10/2009 17:06 Report abuse

    They probably just used faulty units that couldn't be repaired. It would be silly to break perfectly good items.

  • ollie commented on 22/10/2009 16:57 Report abuse

    What's everybody's deal. Why are you being so analytical?
    Its an entertaining ad and i'm sure it will impress some... like cnet said, people like seeing things crash.
    I thin its also supposed to detail the "impact" a ps3 could have on you HD TV.

  • Pete commented on 22/10/2009 14:55 Report abuse

    I just don't get it. What's the point? Is it to show just how crap Sony products have become these days? The imagery isn't that amazing anyway. Seen heaps better on Youtube. I'm off to buy a Samsung ...

  • Realist commented on 21/10/2009 20:38 Report abuse

    Really, what benefit to mankind is to be made of a test such as this. The money spent in this exercise could have gone to better use. I have a PS3 and I have Bravia, its is very unlikely a situation such as this would be presented in rel life.

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