VG247: Sony has told VG247 that it's "captured the hardcore" with PS3, and while it will serve that central user with titles such as Heavy Rain and God of War III later this year, it plans on pushing further into the casual space with the console.
Find this a little tough to swollow since you can't capture a causal market at hardcore prices. There's enough well thought out casual content available on the PS3 as is, but the price for the system isn't there.
Sony certainly has a more than decent share of the hardcore population, which raises the question though, as why this population isn't buying their most hyped games (i.e. LBP, Killzone 2, Motorstorm 2, Resistance 2) whereas they do buy 3rd party ones (SF4, RE5)
If Sony wants to go in a hunt for the casuals they better consider what else they need to do to keep pushing the hardcore market, currently dominated by Microsoft and also, perform a $100 price cut to be in reach for the casuals.
You are right. Sony can pull out a lot of casual aimed games but the price (both console and games) is really an issue for the casual audience. In this sense I dont expect any relevant casual stuff to come out before the PS3 price cut.
Casual games are much more about the right gameplay and less about graphics, so I expect them to be less expensive and faster to produce. Perhaps some titles could go the cheaper PSN exclusive way and only the bigger ones retail. A 300$ PS3 bundled with a retail casual game and a voucher to another PSN's could work wonders :D.
Sony is getting ready for a two fronts war, that fight will be long and interesting to watch. Meanwhile, just keep the amazing games coming!
Hey, W. Bush must be consulting for Sony now that he left the white house. I wonder if Sony delivered this edict from the deck of an aircraft carrier. "Mission Accomplished", my ass.
You can't just say you captured the hardcore... until you actually do.
My 360 streams from my NAS drive better than my PS3 about half the time. The other half, they work the same. I usually stream from the PS3 anyway because I like the BT remote, but I've never seen the 360 fail to stream something the PS3 can, but the PS3 has choked on plenty of files the 360 streamed just fine.
Just because Sony says they are a better streaming media hub doesn't mean they are.
It's a business,and Sony do need to look into casual games.
Thing is they have to an extent,look at buzz and singstar...Eye pet will be in full blown unveiling mode at E3,me predicts...
Family party games are just around the corner...
You want casuals? "Price cut",is 80%+ of the battle...
What I dont like is that these casual games may take a piece or even "chunk" of my hardcore gaming away from me... Not this year or even next year so much,but slowly but surely casual games could take small bites out of the amount of hardcore games,until a few years from now we will only get a small choice of hardcore games....
Don't get me wrong, I love Uncharted. BUT it is definitely not a family friendly title. Its family friendly title as much as Fallout 3 is the feel good video game of the year.
I really think that the PS3 has alot more hardcore fans to capture. They just need to do something about the price. I know so many people that want the PS3 so bad but are just frightened of the PS3's price. Here in Swe the cheapest PS3 still cost $500+ while the 360 is around $200-250 (for the arcade). My friends call me rich for owning a PS3 and that raises an eyebrow if you are called rich just because you bought a PS3.
I think games like LBP was a brilliant move by Sony, couse I had my sister and GF screaming for that game even though non of them like videogames in particular. And I can only imagine that there are ALOT more people then just them. But the avarge dad with a meium income won't dish out $500+ just for a PS3 and LBP. If they want the casual and to some extend the hardcore market, Sony has to slash the price.
I totally agree. LBP is definetly the first step in reaching that casual market, but with the price so high, its not going to kick off. I think if they were to drop the price by £100/$100 then people would be more motivated to buy and with some more casual games then they could really increase those sales. Plus they would be bringing in more hardcore gamers, because from people ive asked, its not that they dont want a PS3, its just to expensive, and that includes people who have 360s.
Sony have always catered to as many different demographics as possible. Didn't result in any shortage for the "hardcore" back in the PS1/2 days. PS3 shouldnt be any different.
One way to capture the casuals IS a price cut, and Sony so far has ignored every single plea by EVERYONE to drop the price by even a penny. Hopefully this is the clue we needed to hear about that.
im just hoping that the casual games will be done by sony's 1st and 2nd party devs. Sony hasnt let me down not once with their awesome 1st and 2nd party titles this gen. They are on a roll and if LBP was any indication of the start of the casual market then it can only get better and im all in to support my fav team.. SCE!
Ms had been failing with the casual market for over a year now. Fixed.
They captured absolutely no casual players according to sales, which is normal when your image is so 'hardcore' : they built everything on 12 year old games with pink space marines or big soldiers on steroid, after all.
It's hard to convince my grandmother to buy a 360 with that cause she's not 12 and she's not into pink space marines anyway.
I think Sony has a much better chance with Singstar, Buzz, LBP and Eyepet. I've got a friend who makes parties with firends based on Buzz Quizz and Singstar, it's quite successful.
Copying singstar with lips and Miis with Avatars just won't make it, which you could guess from the start, but hey, that's microsoft, it's not like they didn't fail with everything they tried these days (Zune, yahoo, browsers, Vista, office losing market shares... only failures)
And for your information Foxgod. I know you started gaming with the Xbox360, but you should know that Sony is the true innovators of the casual market. The SNES, N64 and perhaps even GameCube was presented as hardcore gamers consoles. It's a reason that PS1&PS2 are the most sold consoles ever.
Yeah, the ps3 is really casual with its price. At least the 360 has the arcade edition to buy in casuals.
Remember how the sales went up since MS started selling that package ? They instantly wiped out the lead sony had in 2008, and they have been owning sony all 2009 so far.
Dear god, not everyone is a down and out homeless bum and can't afford the PS3.
Most PS3 sales will be for the Blu-Ray side of things and Games would be a side issuse for them, Casual games would be a sales boost for these people because they simply not interested in FPSes and the like and rather simple games like Buzz etc.
A lot of girls love Singstar too the point they buy everything that is Singstar, I'm thinking of buying not to play but simply for the fact that it'd be there for someone to use at some point at a party.
Also a lot of people won't have started to upgrade yet from the PS2 yet as there's no major need with games still coming out for the PS2 but it'll be closed down soon, I'd say E3 2009 might have Sony cloing it down and starting to make the push for people to upgrade to the PS3 with a price cut to make the push nice for people.
MS are simply trying to buy out the market it's what they do all the time in all markets but these days it just doesn't work anymore as they don't have the market sown up anymore.
13 years for me :D. Still remember the day I bought my PS1. It was early 96 and I was 13 years old :P and I bought Warhawk with it :D. Those where the days.
i remember when my bro was asking me if i wanted the ps2 or the gamebuce back 2002 lol,i was a huge Nintendo fan, he bought the PS2 with MGS2, that.... was the best game to start with a console, 1999 with PS1, then PS2 on 2002 ..then PS3, on 2007 with Motorstorm. aa... such an excellent console for me, im with SONY until they stop doing games and consoles, or worse... go all casual D;
Hahaha, you amuse me Mooks. Yes I'm 26 and yes I concider myself not to be the most mature guy on the planet. But calling me a child when 110% of you comments are 10x worse and more childish than mine is just plain idiocy.
This sounds like what MS stated after E3last year and everyone was complaining about them concetrating on the casual crowd. Now it's great strategy on Sony's part.
The PS3 user-base is still Skewd, how much of that Hardcore Sony is talking about, that are just Hardcore Movie Addicts? and buy no games.
Of course, caputuring the casual crowd needs a price-cut responce from Sony.(It's not brain science) You can make/announce all the exclusive games you want but most of them games will not be bought by "new" PS3 adopters, if they cannot afford the console.
So is the the PS3's Hardcore Market tapped? A Hardcor egamer will do whatever to afford the PS3, at it's current price. We know PS2 did not begin to take off until the affrodable market-price but then again, PS2 did not have RECESSION breathing down it's back. some seem to think everything is exactly s the same as last-gen.
How low will Sony have to go to have that same PS2 market-price buzz effect? All depends how the market reacts, as well as, current PS2 owners, with more choices this time around.
a price cut would be effected to capture more of the casual gaming market, but all i pray is that sony does not go too far and forget that its the hardcore that gets them the most buck and would play the hell outa the ps3 so they are the most important.
All the hardcore are on the 360. Sony well have to completely overhaul it's online network to attract the pro's the 360 has ( halo 3 MLG, cod4 MLG, R6v MLG...all the euro leagues etc.)
Has been nothing but slated for everything they do by there competitors,the media,everybody. I think its there given right to fight back,don't you? Oh and Haze had a pretty good moral and philisophical story if you actually engaged your braincells and realised what it was about. Pity the gameplay was sub-par.
and Eyepet. My 7-year sister doesn't go near my ps3 but i after i showed her eyepet she is begging me to buy it for her birthday. If they advertise eyepet correctly it will be a beast. Im mean look how good those tomigocha pets did in the past
As long as they don't forget the core gamers (and they don't seem to, with Uncharted, GOW, Heavy rain, MAG...) there is no problem if they want to attract some casuals too... But then, they absolutely need a price drop. EyePet, Singstars and stuff like that may be cool, but customers won't pay 400$/€ to play that. Besides, Sony already captured some casuals with games like Buzz, Singstar, even with multiplatform games like FIFA that anybody can enjoy (if he likes football of course) and with other features like BluRay movies
No you haven't. Killzone 2's sales prove that the hardcore PS3 users prefer it as a bluray player. And casual users will not pay that much for a "so called" game machine. Fail.
Nothing will happen without a big price cut though...$50 won't do it.
Edit: I wonder if they'll release a "dumbed down" casual version of the PS3...no WiFi etc for a cheap price? Although I'm not sure what else they could cut out.
I love being true hardcore!!
Price cut, blu-ray, casual games like Eye Pet, Singstar, Buzz, and Little Big Planet
Family Friendly titles such as Uncharted, inFamous, and Ratchet & Clank- all rated "E" through "T"
I think this could be a hint at Persona 5. Forget about Final fantasy it's All about persona's
It would be a great exclusive!
I really think that the PS3 has alot more hardcore fans to capture. They just need to do something about the price. I know so many people that want the PS3 so bad but are just frightened of the PS3's price. Here in Swe the cheapest PS3 still cost $500+ while the 360 is around $200-250 (for the arcade). My friends call me rich for owning a PS3 and that raises an eyebrow if you are called rich just because you bought a PS3.
I think games like LBP was a brilliant move by Sony, couse I had my sister and GF screaming for that game even though non of them like videogames in particular. And I can only imagine that there are ALOT more people then just them. But the avarge dad with a meium income won't dish out $500+ just for a PS3 and LBP. If they want the casual and to some extend the hardcore market, Sony has to slash the price.
Why am I worried about this?
Nintendo and MS both did a casual swan dive at last years E3. If Sony intends to do the same this year, I'm going to be extremely disappointed.
Stick to what you've been doing Sony, great games, for gamers. Don't ditch us.