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‘It’s too difficult to run a video games business on smartphones,’ says Sony
SCEE president says the upcoming PlayStation Suite will offer a viable, commercial alternative in the near future by Christopher Dring
THE CURRENT iPhone and Android app models are not good enough for gaming, says SCEE chief Andrew House. His comments come ahead of the launch of PlayStation Suite, a cross- platform system for PlayStation games that run on both mobiles and NGP. House says Suite can become a ‘destination for games’ on Android and make it easier for developers to build a business in this space. It allows for easier
navigation of quality game titles and launches with Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play Android smartphone on March 31st.
“If you talk to content providers they will uniformly tell you that it is very difficult to run a business within the Android model or the iOS model as it currently sits,” said House.
“
SONY’S plans to shake up the smartphone market are taking shape ahead of the UK launch of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. The device will launch on Thursday, March 31st, with six games pre-installed. Sony Ericsson says it is
being backed by its biggest UK marketing campaign ever, and is being sold by all mobile retailers and operators. The firm has also suggested the device could be sold through alternative channels – including games stores.
4 March 11th 2011
Consumers are prepared to pay a premium if they get a sense of quality.
Andrew House, SCEE
“There are huge amounts of competition and free content out there and it is difficult to differentiate premium gaming experiences from lesser quality ones. “So with PlayStation Suite we are trying to establish a PlayStation Store within the Android marketplace.
“This will be a destination for games that have a seal of quality which use the PlayStation tried and tested interface, either physically or via virtual or on-screen representation of that. “Where it is easier to differentiate your content of being of good quality, it becomes easier for consumers to navigate through. And we think consumers are prepared to pay a little bit more of a premium if they can get that sense of quality.”
House adds that he hopes
PlayStation Suite will serve an audience that sits
Sony says Android Market and the App Store are too busy for games
between the core and casual gaming market – an audience of around 9m gamers. “If you think about the audience for games as a pyramid, you have at the top the core or committed gamers who want the best of the best, the richest, deepest, most immersive gaming experiences. They will naturally be the NGP early adopters.
“Then if you look at the wider bottom of the pyramid, you have got a huge amount of activity in the area of casual mobile games. Much of the content in that area is free.
“Our feeling, and our research bears this out, is that there is potential for an audience that sits in- between those two.” Sony: 020 7859 5000
...as it reveals UK launch for PS Phone solution
“We are currently still in commercial conversation, but I’d be surprised if we didn’t see Xperia Play appear in other channels,” Sony Ericsson marketing director for UK and Ireland David Hilton told MCV. “All the mobile operators and retailers are selling it. It is rare these days to get a product that is sold everywhere, but this is one of those.
“This will be the biggest
marketing campaign we have had in the UK.”
The games available with Xperia Play are Bruce Lee Dragon Warriors, Tetris, Star Battalion, Crash Bandicoot, FIFA 10and The Sims 3. A further 50 games will be available to download through the PlayStation Suite, which will be a mix of PSone and current smartphone games optimised for the device. In terms of future Sony Ericsson gaming devices, Hilton said: “We will see how this one goes. But there is the potential for this to grow.”
The Xperia Play will come with six in- built titles when it launches this month
www.mcvuk.com
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