Many have pondered whether Sony's slightly subdued approach to PlayStation VR has been due to a lack of commitment from the company, but PlayStation UK boss Warren Light has stressed that's absolutely not the case. Speaking with Games Industry.biz, the executive has confirmed what we expected all along: that the organisation's "measured" approach has always been due to supply issues.
"We kind of knew that demand would outstrip supply, so we had to be careful ourselves not to over-hype the product," he said. "That was quite tricky to do, because at the same time we also had a responsibility to let the mass market know that there was a viable and affordable VR new entrant. So we had to be clever in the ways that we did that."
Light added that the company decided to go underground with the product's marketing in the UK, as opposed to going crazy with a big television campaign. He continued: "One of the more clever things that I think we did was the installation of a giant PlayStation VR headset at Kings Cross Station. That gained a lot of media attention."
The good news is that Light expects things to change as the supply issue is slowly resolved: "As we address the supply issue, we will be able to go out with a lot more mainstream messaging on virtual reality." The suit is also fully aware that a steady stream of content will be key to the product's future success, and he has faith that the likes of Gran Turismo Sport will help fulfil consumers' craving for content.
One thing that's clear is that Sony is still very committed to PlayStation VR; the PS4 actually failed to grow year-over-year for the first time in 2016 in the UK, and Light believes that – alongside the recently released PS4 Pro – virtual reality will be a key driver in maintaining the momentum of the console moving forwards. All hands on deck, then.
[source gamesindustry.biz]
Comments 22
Had to be 'clever' not to over-hype?
Sounds a little fishy to me...
@GamerDad66 Why so?
Just seems odd to have a Marketing Plan that's designed to not effectively market something.
In January, there were rumors floating around that VR as whole was sinking. If that perception takes hold, they're going have bigger problems than supply issues.
I think the lack of games kept/keeps my hype in check. It's still early, but to me, the future of PSVR on PS4 doesn't look good.
@GamerDad66 That's not what he said, though.
He's basically saying they knew that it was going to be supply constrained, so they didn't want to spend exorbitant amounts of cash on a TV marketing campaign for a product people won't be able to buy. So they had to find other ways to raise the profile of the product and mark the launch.
Just seems like it took forever for PSVR to come out, so I'm not sure why Sony didn't have enough supply.
VR is in a weird place, people can't figure out if it's a Hit or a Bust.
There also may be some skepticism about company spin on VR sales due to the huge sums of money that were poured into VR (although not necessarily by Sony).
When you look at what Facebook paid for VR tech, you know that can't end well...But I guess they can afford it.
I've been trying to say this to hysterical people for months now. The reason they're not pushing the tech harder is because no one can purchase them! Why hype a product people can't get their hands on?
People kept saying "it's the Vita all over again!" These people are crazy. Sony didn't turn it's back on the Vita, sales weren't what they'd hoped for. They're a business. They have a board and they have stockholders they are beholden to. They kept releasing new games until it just didn't make sense to do so, and even then there are still new indie games each month.
Got kind of sidetracked there, but my main point is that Sony has invested a LOT into VR and they see the potential. It'll get pushed harder once the hardware catches up with the demand.
After hardware stock is resolved the other major problem is software! I loved PSVR but sold mine b4 Xmas. Went for £500 on Ebay! I view it as a new system (given the price) but what it will be getting is a "Sub-Wii U Drip Feed" of incoming games from now on. Naming 1 game, Gran Turismo Sport certainly isnt worth repurchasing it for me! Really hope next console gen has VR packed in, so devs have no choice other than to produce for it! Cant see it being worthwhile to develop for otherwise. Who wants to make games for an audience of 5,000,000 PSVR users when they can develop for 50,000,000+ PS4 users?!
@Neolit Agreed. He talks about that in the interview actually.
Personally, I think Sony will go big on vr and pspro marketing again when Scorpio nears release. Sony will no longer be able to beat the most powerful drum, but can make up for it by raising that pro is the most affordable 4k gaming console on the market, with the broadest range of quality software that can only be found on PlayStation hardware. VR can play into that too.
This is a little reassuring - we'll still need to wait and see on the content front. I actually saw the huge VR at Kings Cross on the day I received mine in the post but I was too focused running to get my train to get home and play I didn't really realise what it was!
@get2sammyb Is there a PSVR game sale happening on the UK PSN store too? There is one here in the US that has some excellent discounts on the big and indie games. Might be worth mentioning in one of the VR articles?
With that disappointing launch lineup Sony couldn't effort to hype anything. The PSVR box kills any HDR support, so using it with the pro is bothersome. At the same time you can't use wireless headsets together with PSVR. Sony sold not fully compatible goggles with mediocre graphics... so I don't buy the story. (Before anyone starts getting ready to beat me with a cane, I got the PSVR and together with it the right to complain about it.)
Yes Sony, you have my deepest sympathies. Shut up and crack on.
@NathanUC 49 games in 3 months, it has no games
@Neolit yep, if they can sink mountains of money into 'movies' then they need to invest in non gaming VR stuff. Imagine if they bothered to make the new Spiderman movie in VR, phwooooaaaarr.
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi That's a lot of tech demos.
@NathanUC that's like saying PS4 only does shovelware
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi PS4 definitely has A LOT of shovelware, but there are plenty of amazing games. For VR, it seems RE7 is just about the only compelling use of the tech so far. 3-4 months out, there should be much more. Even if there weren't shortages, what games are causing people to go out and grab a VR? People who are buying VR are doing so because of the technology, not the games. Not exactly a good marketing style for a PlayStation product.
This is from an earlier interview with Kaz Hirai on PSVR:
"We wanted to make sure we weren't going to upload or frontload a lot of inventory at retail, because then you're going to get this reaction from retail saying well it's not selling through," Kaz continued.
"We've always said it's going to be a slow start, unfortunately, we did produce a lot of units but we ran out of stock in some retailers, but I think based on reports coming out of the holiday season, we're actually happy with the numbers."
That kind of makes it sound like they created an artificial stock shortage (although maybe not deliberately, that depends on how you interpret what is said) so I think that what is being said now is more about marketing than letting us know exactly what went on.
Now we have them saying they had to be careful to not overhype VR, which is fine, but total silence on the issue is the other end of the spectrum where you make potential buyers keep their money in their pockets as they see no confidence from the business selling the item (especially as Sony has a track record of dropping tech that doesn't meet their expectations quickly). It still seems to me PSVR's success will hinge on how it performs in the next few months and Sony's actions will speak louder than their words. They need to get some good titles out over the next few months and show that a large selection of games are in development to be released over the next year or so.
Sounds like an excuse. Sony knew that VR would have low demand, so they kept the production runs low. And it's not like most people are clamoring for those things even now.
It's only been 2 months 😀! Look back in 10months and see where PSVR stands. Its like hiring a new manager for a new soccer team... expecting then to win everything in 2 MONTHS! get real sceptics! Can any of us take over a new department and in 2 months turn it into success!? Same sceptics trying to scaremonger consoles are dead around 8 years ago... the same sceptics that predicted physical media was dead 10 years ago... the same sceptics saying no decent games around 15 years ago. However we do need to see 2 or 3 triple AAA blockbusters within 10months that blow the socks of both hardcore and new gamers. If it has MMO / MMOFPS... or can last over 100 hours each.. then the price of £400 for VR can be justified. I keep saying... an amazing GTA VR, FIFA VR or COD/Battlefront VR Or RPG will do wonders... but it needs blockbusters like traditional 2D space. Haha idealist ideas to balance the visiting sceptics!
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