Playstation Move Games

[patsu]

I love my PS3 and hope Sony gains some success from the Move, but this stuff isn't fooling anybody. MS spent half a billion dollars and targettted every other demographic outside the usual 14-25 male audience.

If Sony wants to make PS Move move of the shelves, they can't show some statistics and a PS Eye ad on the internet, or an occasional Kevin Butler TVcommercial. They need to be smarter with their advertising and increase the budget a bit. Sure MS may have more money, but making some of these dumb marketing cost them.

Sony is being smart in a different way (marketing efficiency). I don't think those stats aim to fool anyone. It's a work-in-progress update. If you're a marketing junkie, you'd track those; but they will need to provide the numbers regularly first.

Oh and they should've had some more interesting games out by now. I may not a give damn about Kinect's Dance Central, but the novelty of it will be eaten up by the casuals, and the PS Move needs one really strong game to rely on until better games are released next.

Yes, the product experience and vision is the one that falls down this time. The marketing is lost because they don't have a central product vision. Afterall, "precision" is the only thing their top management highlighted in interviews.

 

[patsu]

When I was shopping around today I saw that most of the stores I went in had big 3DTV setups with the PS3 in their television sections, but pretty much just stuffed the Move in with the PS3 accessories. Has Sony chosen to focus on 3D rather than motion gaming this holiday season? Maybe there is better money by driving sales in the 3DTV business, but it seems like accessories are always a nice way to turn a big profit, and I'm surprised there wasn't a heavier in-store presence. I don't have any television service, so I have no idea if they're flooding the tv with ads and feel they don't need the big displays, in prime locations, in the big box stores.

Nope. Different divisions are pushing different things. Heck, they also have Internet TV that are not 3DTV (yet ?).

It seems there are a lot of games, and the stores are well stocked with Move bundles and controllers.

Depends on where you live. Move should be well stocked to prepare for the holiday season. They are moving quickly in some areas (May be areas where Internet penetration is high, where their interactive marketing can reach more effectively). Even if the products seem to be in-stock, it does not mean they don't move at all. The supply chain should be working to replenish them. I agree they should be able to sell faster had Sony integrated and refined the experience into XMB and useful apps.

 

[patsu]

I created an OT by the way on GAF for this game, because I like it a lot, and I think many others will too. While I don't know that many others buy this game (we'll find out later this week when it's out in the US), most people that come to the OT and play the game seem as happy with the game as I am ...

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=24272749#post24272749

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/11/08/machete-molds-you-into-a-badass-in-the-fight-lights-out/

Am a little surprised at the production value.

I may not get this game though. Looks too violent to let my kid see me play.

Will look out for SingStar Dance instead. The song list includes Lady Gaga's Poker Face. It's my wife's and son's favorite.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

They are not useless.

Well I don't kow the context of the advert, but the actual figure is meaningless to anyone who understands them. Sure, it probably sounds to the masses like interesting growth, but without any idea how large the interest was in real numbers in May, doubling that gives no idea on the idea of real interest. Could be small enough figures as to be statistical noise. I mean, a company that starts up on the Mondaay and employ s asecond person on the Tuesday can claim to be the fastest growing company in the country, doubling in size every day, but it's a silly measure. The "60% of interested parties already own a Wii" could mean a large amount of people, or that most PS3 owners don't care and it's only those who own PS3 and Wii who are interested in Move, making that a pretty small amount. 25% are over 35, meaning it's something for the 'young folk'. Half are parents - lots of people at the specificed average age of 28 are parents; doesn't mean it was bought for the family or suitable for the family.

To me it's a list of hints, conveying an impression of diverse users and popularity, but the actual content is very wishy-washy. And they fact they can't present a strong message and are instead using a wishy-washy message, just as politicians do with their spin-doctoring, suggests the reality is quite the opposite of what they were wanting to suggest. Move is being bought by young male core gamers to play their mainstream games and the wider appeal of Move is lacking.

 

[patsu]

There have been surveys on Move and Kinect in the same time period. The increase in interests and intent to buy are usually expressed in %. The more $$$ you spend to reach the audience, the more customers you get as a function of the %. You can't express them in absolute numbers (They probably surveyed hundreds and thousands people but they are not the only customers).

As for the composition, it helps them decide where and how to market Move and games later. It's an on-going exercise.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

As for the composition, it helps them decide where and how to market Move and games later. It's an on-going exercise.

Sure, but why publicise your monitoring data?

 

[Arwin]

Am a little surprised at the production value.

It's not as great as that video makes it look, but it's not outright bad either.

I may not get this game though. Looks too violent to let my kid see me play.

I never play this game in front of my kid either!

Will look out for SingStar Dance instead. The song list includes Lady Gaga's Poker Face. It's my wife's and son's favorite.

Living La Vie Da Loca was already a youtube favorite of my son (of course those favorites are filtered by my wife's tastes because she picks those )

 

[Scott_Arm]

Nope. Different divisions are pushing different things. Heck, they also have Internet TV that are not 3DTV (yet ?).

Depends on where you live. Move should be well stocked to prepare for the holiday season. They are moving quickly in some areas (May be areas where Internet penetration is high, where their interactive marketing can reach more effectively). Even if the products seem to be in-stock, it does not mean they don't move at all. The supply chain should be working to replenish them. I agree they should be able to sell faster had Sony integrated and refined the experience into XMB and useful apps.

Yeah, I didn't mean to suggest that it wasn't. I'm just saying the games and accessories were well stocked, but they were buried amongst all the cheap garbage peripherals. I didn't see any signs or posters advertising it. They were just lumped in with everything else. There may have been a poster for it at EB Games, but not in Best Buy, Futureshop, Walmart. I just found it interesting in contrast to the very big 3D TV display from Sony that showcased their TV as well as the PS3.

 

[patsu]

Sure, but why publicise your monitoring data?

To engage the gamers since they/we seem to like numbers ?
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/11/08/playstation-move-by-the-numbers/

It looks like Sony intend to publish more stats later this week.

I never play this game in front of my kid either!

Yeah, but he sticks to me when I get home. "What should we do next ? What should we do next ? Play with me." ^_^

Yeah, I didn't mean to suggest that it wasn't. I'm just saying the games and accessories were well stocked, but they were buried amongst all the cheap garbage peripherals. I didn't see any signs or posters advertising it. They were just lumped in with everything else. There may have been a poster for it at EB Games, but not in Best Buy, Futureshop, Walmart. I just found it interesting in contrast to the very big 3D TV display from Sony that showcased their TV as well as the PS3.

I don't know about your GameStop but the one over here has a special LCD display showing Move demoes on the game shelves. The Move games are right below the display.

"Cheap" setup is indeed one of the advantages of Move. Otherwise, why would people buy them just to try out ? ^_^

For Best Buy, Walmart, etc., based on how Sony communicate (and the patched games to support Move), I don't think Sony is ready for casual gaming yet. They will focus on core gamers first. For casuals, they already have Blu-ray as a draw -- in the mean time.

 

[patsu]

Lights Out, SingStar Dance, and Sly Collection released today in US:
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010...ight-lights-out-singstar-dance-hit-ps3-today/

 

[rabidrabbit]

The Fight was supposed to release in EU already the November 3rd, but I haven't been able to find a single copy anywhere.
I'd really like to buy this game, hopefully this week there'll be some copies in stores here too.

 

[Scott_Arm]

"Cheap" setup is indeed one of the advantages of Move. Otherwise, why would people buy them just to try out ? ^_^
.

Yeah, I wasn't suggesting the quality was cheap. I've never tried it or handled one of them. What I meant was it was buried amongst a whole lot of garbage accessories, like third party controllers, cables, coolers, stands, Blu-Ray remotes. The move peripherals didn't have their own distinct display to make them noticeable.

 

[Rotmm]

Sure, but why publicise your monitoring data?

Because by publicising such data, you're giving 'soundbites' that the gaming press, websites and blogs are likely to pick up and reprint, effectively getting some free publicity and further embedding Move into the consciousness of gamers out there.

Additionally, there are many consumers out there who will buy into something because it is, or appears to be, popular. I had no desire to purchase Move, but somehow allowed myself to be pulled aboard the hype train and a couple of weeks after release, when my subconscious had decided that it was a successful product, ended up picking up a starter pack and game. Sadly, my PSTripple died the true death only a couple of days later so I haven't really been able to make a decision on it myself. But a sale is a sale.

 

[Arwin]

The Fight was supposed to release in EU already the November 3rd, but I haven't been able to find a single copy anywhere.
I'd really like to buy this game, hopefully this week there'll be some copies in stores here too.

Really? I hope that's a good sign - I bought it on release day in Europe.

Singstar Dance got a Eurogamer 7/10 review by the way.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-11-08-singstar-dance-review

 

[patsu]

Yeah, I wasn't suggesting the quality was cheap. I've never tried it or handled one of them. What I meant was it was buried amongst a whole lot of garbage accessories, like third party controllers, cables, coolers, stands, Blu-Ray remotes. The move peripherals didn't have their own distinct display to make them noticeable.

That would depend on the stores. The stores I went to have dedicated sections for PS3 peripherals. There are indeed all sorts of attachments, charger, nav con around the Move controller.

I just found out that the Gamestop nearest me has given up on standalone Move controllers. The empty spaces are all replaced by Move bundles now.

Because by publicising such data, you're giving 'soundbites' that the gaming press, websites and blogs are likely to pick up and reprint, effectively getting some free publicity and further embedding Move into the consciousness of gamers out there.

Additionally, there are many consumers out there who will buy into something because it is, or appears to be, popular. I had no desire to purchase Move, but somehow allowed myself to be pulled aboard the hype train and a couple of weeks after release, when my subconscious had decided that it was a successful product, ended up picking up a starter pack and game. Sadly, my PSTripple died the true death only a couple of days later so I haven't really been able to make a decision on it myself. But a sale is a sale.

That's true too, but I don't think the intention is to fool consumers. You can tell from this thread that their published numbers just generated more discussions amongst gamers.

 

[patsu]

Living La Vie Da Loca was already a youtube favorite of my son (of course those favorites are filtered by my wife's tastes because she picks those )

Singstar Dance got a Eurogamer 7/10 review by the way.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-11-08-singstar-dance-review

It's not here yet despite what the blog claims. My Gamestop will only carry it tomorrow or day after.

 

[Rotmm]

That's true too, but I don't think the intention is to fool consumers.

I never meant to imply that they are using such methods to 'fool consumers' (I don't think I did imply that, but it seems that's how you read it) but rather that releasing info such as they have is a very, very cheap way to continue to generate buzz about their product, and that continued positive buzz is inherently likely to pull in those punters who may have been 'on the fence' previously.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I never meant to imply that they are using such methods to 'fool consumers' (I don't think I did imply that, but it seems that's how you read it)...

I think patsu means I'm implying it (which I am!)

...but rather that releasing info such as they have is a very, very cheap way to continue to generate buzz about their product, and that continued positive buzz is inherently likely to pull in those punters who may have been 'on the fence' previously.

As I say, the real info isn't being presented. It's being diguised in representations that make it sound more promising. To the average consumer, doubling interest sounds good, like people are starting to notice Move. But in reality that doubling could be an insignificant amount. By reporting it this way, Sony are providing a bit of marketing spin. It likely works, but that doesn't stop them from being useless stats as I first said, at least regards understanding the real state of the Move market. The use to generate interest is valid.

 

[patsu]

It may be because they don't have the result yet. They only have sales-through numbers and they have already announced it.

The intent to buy is a common marketing term, and they mentioned since May. So I doubt people will confuse it with real sales.

They are not necessarily useless because personally, I think Wii owners may not "upgrade" to Move given the similarity or disappointment for core gaming. It gives a rough indication of who the buyers are, before they analyze the real customers info. In the physical world, it may take as long as 6 months to see the outcome.

 

[KongRudi]

Couldn't care less about advertisement spending, for my Move.
Had enough fun with Sports Champions to make it a worthwile investment allready..

Would much rather they put money into game-production instead of insane advertising campaigns.
Fix small issues in Sports Champions.. i.e. let us export our victory poses out of the game, without having to take the facebook detour..
Don't take time to add online play..

Just make a new game where you combine gladiator duel and archery in a multiplayer big open area, with warhawk-like servers. Single move-controller setup, plus navigation controller. Kind of like the PC game called mount and blade.. Would be cool..