Home Gaming The PS4 will need to engage the casual consumer

The PS4 will need to engage the casual consumer

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Filthy-casual-console

I like the current crop of consoles this generation. Each one has their own charm, and you can’t go wrong choosing either device this generation. With the PlayStation 4, Sony has delivered a console that feels like a pure gaming device, and thanks to early marketing, it knew that when it began building up momentum. But the key to long-term survival, is in attracting more casual consumers.

Looking back at the first year of the console, PlayStation UK managing director Fergal Gara spoke about keeping the existing user base engaged while bringing in more casual consumers in order to retain a market lead for the foreseeable future. “Adopting a very gamer-focused perspective from the outset served us extremely well. I think what we also learned is that it’s really important to keep innovating to keep interest in the sector,” Gara told Red Bull.

This year sees the introduction of Share Play, the introduction of PlayStation TV and as we look forward there’s plenty more to come – PlayStation Now and Project Morpheus looming in the background as a potential new project to take to market. It’s a great start but we can’t rest easy, we must keep exciting and delighting gamers – and of course broadening the audience as we go.

I’d like it to continue with the innovation stream I just talked about, but also what we want to see in the next year or two is a bigger mass market play, shall we say. So in order to broaden and perhaps fill the void that’s being left latent by, say, the Wii – which is a shadow of its former self.

We need to have the kind of product that will engage that more casual consumer. I think that’s a big opportunity for us, and that’s not yet clear on the horizon, but something we should and I’m sure will be focused on as we look forward into year two, three and four.

I’ve got no problem with that. More people playing more games is win win for everyone involved really. The only thing that truly frightens me, is being buried in a mountain of shovelware games of dubious quality. Because after the Wii era, I never want to be stuck as the go-to shovelware review guy again.

Last Updated: November 19, 2014

22 Comments

  1. RinceThis

    November 19, 2014 at 12:06

    Yay! More SUGAR *add noun* crap to play…

    Reply

    • ToshZA

      November 19, 2014 at 12:09

      Now in almost HD at 30fps! Get your copy TODAY!

      Reply

  2. Cadis Etrama Di Umar

    November 19, 2014 at 12:06

    Its not Steam though, there are actual quality checks as to which games go in, so there shouldn’t be any real worry that those games will be shovelware….Also were you the shovelware guy?

    Reply

    • ToshZA

      November 19, 2014 at 12:08

      Yeah but there is also retail – I’m sure there will be plenty regardless.

      Also, are you surprised?

      Reply

      • Cadis Etrama Di Umar

        November 19, 2014 at 12:09

        Surprised that Darryn was the shovelware guy? I won’t say surprised, just…Well, curious about it lol

        Reply

        • ToshZA

          November 19, 2014 at 12:10

          Curious about his pain, or why he was the chosen one? 😛

          Reply

          • Cadis Etrama Di Umar

            November 19, 2014 at 12:12

            Just his experience reviewing shovelware, must’ve been……..fun

          • ToshZA

            November 19, 2014 at 12:13

            So his pain. hehehe. Poor guy.

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          November 19, 2014 at 12:52

          I thought the shovelware guy was the one who has to review all those JRPGs & stuff, what’s his name again? 😉

          Reply

          • Cadis Etrama Di Umar

            November 19, 2014 at 13:05

            OUCH!! That hurts…… 🙁

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            November 19, 2014 at 13:10

            😀 You know I luff you long time!

  3. Sweet Spot

    November 19, 2014 at 12:11

    What does casual consumer mean. The casual consumer of video game consoles who will only buy and play some video games. They usually not serious gamers who buy ever video game and play games till completion.

    So how do you get the casual consumer to buy a PS4. Price. PS4 is still not in the price range for mass consumption.
    Don’t bullshit us with Shareplay, Playnow, The Matrix, just get the price down and more casual gamers will buy the damn thing.

    If PS4 has sold 13 million units, that’s from serious gamers. Just imagine how much more they would sell when the price hits the sweet spot.

    Reply

    • ToshZA

      November 19, 2014 at 12:13

      Ok but here’s the thing: the biggest market for casual gamers is the mobile market. Mobile devices are already more expensive than a PS4 (most of them) and their prices keep going up. So I don’t think it’s a price thing – It’s a value thing imho.

      If there’s enough value for the casual market, then the price is fine.

      Reply

      • Expensive Comment

        November 19, 2014 at 12:18

        Price per month for a contract for those expensive phones. And the people with the phones are not getting phones for the games.

        The portable gaming devices, no comment.

        It’s always a price thing. Only reason why PS4 has been selling well is because it was cheaper than Xbox One since the start.

        PS4 needs to drop the price this holidays or else Xbox One is going to sell well.

        Reply

        • Jonah Cash

          November 19, 2014 at 12:33

          Well on Takealot you can buy a PS4 for R5800…. Which is really not bad at all!! I bought mine for R6300 last year and I am still more than happy with it!! And one can buy a PS4 and pay it off over a few months….

          Reply

          • Ripe

            November 19, 2014 at 12:55

            At least that option is there. But that option is not really a mainstream option when people can’t afford the price tag. Debt is not really the answer.

            I want to say R4500 for these new consoles but I’ll say R4000 and under, is the sweet spot for mass consumption.
            End of 2015 price should be R5000. 2 year mark.
            End of 2016 – R4000. 3 year mark.
            Then 2 years left to reap from the masses.

            It’s only been a year. Sony should only worry about casual consumers and price drops from mid to end year 2015.

          • ToshZA

            November 19, 2014 at 12:58

            Exactly. Through FNB – an XB1 is cheaper per month than most phones. So price is still not the issue – it’s a value thing. Make the console valuable to casual gamers, and they’ll pay the current prices.

    • BMXWufam

      November 19, 2014 at 12:18

      Yep. I’ve got 2 x YLOD PS3’s and have moved over to playing games on my laptop. Really can’t afford R6000 for a PS4 and then R800 a game? I don’t have interwebs at home so all that fluff means squat to me. Laptop and older PC games for R100 = WINNING.

      Reply

  4. Alien Emperor Trevor

    November 19, 2014 at 12:30

    I thought they already were. HAH!

    Reply

  5. Nahuel Graziani

    November 19, 2014 at 12:32

    I cringe when I read or hear about “Casual Market”. Casual Market is a term coined by some marketing division to describe the type of crapware that gets pushed on to the cellphone market under a “Freemium” model. The kind of games like Candy Crush, and Farmville that soccer moms play in the masses with microtransactions and ads all up in your face like sausages at a bukkake party.

    Then, in this day and age where you have to be segregated into a box of others similar to you so you can be measured in market value, it’s hard to say what “casual” actually means. Casual, as in, “I only get to play for 3 hours a week, so I play Binding of Isaac in bite-sized sessions” or casual “I spend thirty hours a week playing this crappy Farmville clone”?

    Sony should realize that when they push a console out with a hefty price-tag, as is the case with the PS4, you should already be ruling out the “casual market” because they’re not the target audience. The target audience are the dedicated gamers that go out and purchase your consoles for the price of a monthly house mortgage. Recuperate your costs on the handheld and cellphone market instead, where it is possible.

    Reply

  6. CAE9872

    November 19, 2014 at 12:36

    The PS4 will need to engage the casual consumer
    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

    *deep breath*

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

    Reply

  7. CAE9872

    November 19, 2014 at 12:39

    The general public does not get gaming on consoles or more serious PC. Gaming is “what I play on my phone” to many.

    And I don’t mean 30+ age group. As I have said before I lecture to early 20 year olds and they get my passion for gaming. They have a vague idea that there is a PlayBox thingy but otherwise no idea.

    Reply

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