Alex Donaldson over at RPG Site has a rather lengthy article asking if Sony needs a "Major Nelson" figure. Before I give my take on this, here's a little background for y'all.

For those not in the know, "Major Nelson" is the XBL Gamertag of Larry Hryb. Mr. Hryb is the XBL Director of Programming for Microsoft. So whenever he has things to say over at his blog, people listen. And as evinced by fan reaction, most people welcome it.

People like Major Nelson are so effective for Microsoft because fans feel like these people are fans too. Instead of "them, the console people" milking money from "us, the players", this results in "we, the console community."

So Alex Donaldson asks: Who for Sony? Who could be that "go-between" needed to bring the company closer to its fans. After all, Sony fans are some of the fiercest and most loyal of all. Who from the company could make Sony more available to the fans?

In the humble opinion of some of us, Nintendo still has to find their own Major Nelson, but they at least have the "gaming god" Miyamoto, who's quite good with the fans (that's him in the picture trying to be Link). So I say, Sony should hire Gabe from Penny Arcade. He did more for Sony with that "White knight? Well goddamn it" panel from their strip than Sony marketing did for Sony in the past few months. Then again, the Penny Arcade guys would probably like to stay independent.

Back then, Sony did well with the PS1 by targeting the older audience. They put ads for the PS1 in clubs, in sports events, and in parties for reasonably older fans. The PS1 was the big boy's console from the faceless company. All the younger kiddies wanted what their big brothers were playing.

Now that the world is online, Sony can't afford to be the faceless entity you get your entertainment drug from. Yes, as some say, Sony just has to get the product out (and out ASAP), but in a war this heated, Sony's drug needs a good pusher.