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MCV 10/09/10 21 PLAYSTATION MOVE
It’s Sony’s Move
It has taken four years, but the first true rival to Wii has arrived – and it’s for PlayStation and is out next week. But who is Move for exactly? And what impact will it have on PS3? Christopher Dring investigates…
MOVE IS A major new member of the PlayStation 3 family, but it isn’t designed to reinvent the format.
Whereas Microsoft views Kinect as a rebirth for its Xbox 360, Sony sees Move more as an add-on – another reason to buy a PS3 alongside 3D, Blu- ray and PSN.
And who can blame them? The momentum is with PlayStation 3 at the moment, sales have continued to rise since the new slim PS3 hit the market last year – so why risk it all by switching focus onto a new controller? For Sony, Move is about continuing that momentum. And, hopefully, persuading those PS2 owners to upgrade to the new console.
“There is a lot of latent interest from PlayStation 2 owners who have yet to
upgrade, and we hope PlayStation Move can provide that extra tipping point, along with Blu-ray playback and all the extra functionality PlayStation 3 has,” says SCE UK marketing manager Adam Boita.
Of course, the main target audience for Sony is this new casual gamer introduced to the market by Wii and DS. In fact, Sony’s UK
marketing team has taken a leaf directly out of Nintendo’s book. Move’s retail tour focuses on Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, and not GAME and HMV. In terms of print advertising, the specialist press has been left out in favour of lifestyle magazines and
“
national newspapers. For Sony, Move isn’t a product that will see huge pre- order numbers – but one that will sell and sell and sell in the months and years to come. Just like Wii.
Move is not necessarily a pre-order product. It’s not like Halo where people want to get it day one.
Adam Boita, Sony
Boita adds: “Pre-orders are always important, but Move is not necessarily a pre-order product. It’s about the long- term. It’s not like Halo or a World of Warcraft expansion pack, where people want to get it day one. It is an
evergreen product. And
whereas pre-orders are very important, it is not necessarily the key focus.”
”
WHAT ABOUT THE CORE? Just because the initial launch is somewhat lacking in core titles (the big day one games include Start the Party and Sports Champions), Sony is still keen to cater to the elite gaming audience, too. Move-compatible LittleBigPlanet 2, Dead
Space: Extraction, Killzone 3 and SOCOM 4 are all on Sony’s release schedule, with internal studios tasked with developing titles for both hardened and casual audiences. But isn’t it a complicated task creating products for two totally different markets?
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