ps4 sales in asian markets, affected by the number 4

[binary solo]

plip.plop said:

ZhugeEX said:

No. Please don't make such ignorant statements. 

 

Look, I lived in Korea for a few years, I'm also half Korean. Im just talking about the Playstation being number 4.  Asian Culture does see the number 4 in a bad light. I completely forgot about this, until I came across this article today. 

http://www.tofugu.com/2012/03/27/growing-up-with-an-irrational-fear-of-the-number-four/

for the record I was trying to make some other articles than the usual, Digital foundry rehash. I just wanted to look at something at a cultural standpoint. Is that a bad thing? shit people, lighten up. 

But your OP made a claim that PS4 sales in Asia have been slow "But do you think slow sales could have been from Asian cultures superstious fear of the number 4?" which is a facutally incorrect statement, as Zhug has pointed out. Given sales are actually the best ever for PS4 it is clear that there is no 4 effect and therefore there is really nothing to discuss around Aisan cultural superstitions relating to the number 4.

If you want to have a different sort of discussion to the usual, particularly around cultural effects on sales, then at least find a sales pattern that actually appears to align with a cultural effect. In this case there is no alignment, so what should we discuss? Perhaps we should discuss why the irrational fear of the number 4 doesn't seem to be having a negative influence on PS4 sales.

My guess on that is PS4 is selling mostly to younger more globally aware and connected people who have largely rejected some of their traditional cultural superstitions. The grannies and perhaps even the parents may have shied away from a PS4 because of the number, but the current generation of 30 and under probably sees it as being a bit silly to get the heebie jeebies over a number.

Ironically though, if it ever gets that high I doubt the 13th PS console will be named PS13. Though I suspect Sony will move away from straight numbers well before the 13th PS generation. Sony seems to like the letter Z for it's gadgets, so why not start a new naming system by calling PS5 the PS Z1? Either that, or if the PS5 is still more of a traditional console then if there's a PS6 that is firmly oriented towards streaming that would be the time to change to a new naming system.