Jay520 said:
Jay520 said:
Haven't read the last 50 posts, but I was wondering what some of you guys thought about my theory that Sony's relatively low sales is an effect of lack of quality/appeal rather than lack of marketing. Here's a post from earlier in the thread that I want some opinions on (besides those from Sales2099 of course)
Advertising plays a large part in the low sales of many PS3 exclusives, but from what I've experienced through research and a lot of anecdotal evidence, the main reason behind the low sales of some PS3 games is a lack of good combination of quality and appeal. Games like Uncharted and God of War are high quality and appeal to the masses, hence, the higher sales.
But then you have a game like say Killzone which is a well-made, quality game. But it lacks appeal. It's not very accessible. You try to get some new people to play it and the aiming feels clunky and slow. It's not necessarily low quality (well it is to some people), but it's not appealing. It's too hardcore to be largely successful on the PS3. (There are other things that hinder sales also like lack of competitive splitscreen).
Or you take something like LBP, which is clever and innovating, & is certainly considered quality by a lot of people. But most PS3 fans won't even give it a chance because they think it's too kiddy. LBP problem isn't necessarily a lack of quality, it's a lack of appeal. And in some cases, it's a lack of quality due to most of the levels being mediocre and/or short.
Or you take a game like SOCOM 4 which is just low quality.
And in some cases, there are games like Infamous & Resistance which are good, but aren't considered top tier of their respective genres.
At least that's from what I experienced. Most accessible, non-niche, high-quality games do sell well. Sony can make a lot more blockbusters. They just gotta make them the right way. Uncharted & God of War are great examples of high quality AND appealing titles. You could market most of the other aforementioned games (Killzone, LBP, InFamous), but they probably wouldn't see any drastic benefit due to lack of quality/appeal. Marketing isn't the factor crippling PS3 exclusive sales in my opinion. |
I want a reply before I go to bed, dammit! I will not be ignored! |
I was going to reply yesterday, but wanted others to talk. Now that they did, I'll have my go.
For the record, I share opinions with Archbrix almost 100% of the time.
Jay, I radically agree with your post.
But the 1st paragraph is ambiguous (if you're looking for constructive criticism). The question I ask for 1st para is, low sales of what? Overall?
"Overall", if you're being really pedantic, lack of sales is due to marketing, and the reason I say that Jay, is because the sales that could be achieved by marketing a game like UC could raise it several million (Maybe a full 5). However, a game like Resistance, as you said lacks appeal. Give it appeal, give it marketing, the most it can make is Gears sales, which is about 6Mil. I don't think that kind of game can really go that far, since the theme itself doesn't appeal to the masses. Plus, it's a highly competitive and saturated market the "us versus aliens" thing.
So marketing here is the most important factor, since Sony already has games with appeal; they just need to drop those that don't. I would also say LBP has lots of appeal, another thing I see a little differently.
But other than that, I agree 100%. If they are to make more IPs though (instead of pushing their current ones or while pushing their current ones), they need to make sure they are unique, of high quality, and appealing (either by theme, by content, or both). Sony needs to be on its A game now, they blew all their buffers for 2nd chances.
