Topic: Sony's Motion in the Blue Ocean

[NWR_insanolord]

Also note: it only includes one Move controller, and no Subcon, so that's another $80 you need to spend if you want full compatibility.

[BlackNMild2k1]

That shield looks like it has a emblem from The Legend of Zelda.

The Legion of Zeldar

c'mon man get it right

[Chozo Ghost]

Most likely these cheap plastic shells were made by the same company or companies that made them for the Wiimotes, so they probably had a ton of molds or leftover materials from the Wii Zelda sword and shield shells so they just carried them over to the Move but didn't bother taking the emblem off.

[Ian Sane]

On Saturday I was killing time in a store and I go into the electronics section to look at the games and there's Move.  It's just there with all the other PS3 stuff.  No posters or cardboard cut-outs or "it's here!" type fanfare.  It's just there in the store and if you didn't pay attention to this stuff you would never think it was a new product.  It might as well have been some PS3 accessory that had been around for years.

How does Sony plan on Move being this big success when its launch is a complete non-event?

[TJ Spyke]

Maybe they are waiting for its release on Friday. Still, you would think Sony would try harder. They don't seem to be taking PlayStation Move seriously.

[broodwars]

How does Sony plan on Move being this big success when its launch is a complete non-event?

I wonder how long it'll take Sony before they write off Move as yet another "experiment" just like the PSP GO.  There are no games worth buying with the thing at launch (c'mon, even the Wii launched with Twilight Princess), there's no real marketing beyond viral marketing, the thing's way too expensive, and if the reviews are any indication few of the games at launch even use the Move well.  How can this accessory possibly be a success?
 
The only good I take from all this is that if the accessory fails hard, it'll probably be dirt cheap to pick it up a few months down the line to play the few games I want to play Move with (RE5, Heavy Rain, and Dead Space 2).

[Chozo Ghost]

On Saturday I was killing time in a store and I go into the electronics section to look at the games and there's Move.  It's just there with all the other PS3 stuff.  No posters or cardboard cut-outs or "it's here!" type fanfare.  It's just there in the store and if you didn't pay attention to this stuff you would never think it was a new product.  It might as well have been some PS3 accessory that had been around for years.

How does Sony plan on Move being this big success when its launch is a complete non-event?

I'm sure when it officially launches we will be hearing more about it. We'll probably see some commercials of that obnoxious Kevin Butler being the asshole he usually is. I would almost bet money on him bad mouthing the Wii and claiming it is "kiddie" and how Move is so much "cooler", or something to that effect.

[that Baby guy]

This is only slightly related, but the PS3 has experienced "Year-on-year" sales growth, and it's been about a year since Kevin Butler was introduced in an MLB 09: The Show commercial.

While I'm not saying correlation yields causation, I would venture to say that we'll be seeing Kevin Butler for some time now, since a lot of the more vocal fans seem to love him, the commercials seem cheap to produce, as they lack fantastical special effects, and they do get the point across: The PS3 has games people want to play.  It's leagues better than a lot of what was there before.

That said, I don't think he should be used to market Move, at least not this initial batch of Move games, at all.  It's a mis-match.  I've looked at several of them, just for the sake of my podcast, and they don't line up with the desires of "core" gamers, the folks who seem to love Kevin Butler so much.  I'd bring him in once they release the Ratchet and Clank multiplayer title, have Socom 4 move controls patched in, or bring out the Resident Evil 5 patch, instead.  Seems like that might be a better fit for him than, say, Tumble or Sports Champions.

[vudu]

For what it's worth, it's also been about a year since the PS3 slim was released and the price drop to $300 for the low-end unit.  I would think that has more of an effect the sales growth than Kevin Butler.

[that Baby guy]

Oh, not that I disagree.  I'm saying for Sony's marketing department, that little bit of evidence may be all they need.  I would attribute the growth mostly to the price drop and Uncharted 2, myself, with a few other games along the way, like ModNation Racers, a game that seems like it would appeal relatively massively.

[Ian Sane]

So did I end up seeing a store breaking the release date?  Was Move not supposed to be on sale yet?  What do you guys mean by "official" launch?

Move's biggest obstacle is that is is utterly unappealing to the PS3 target demographic.  Everything that core gamers dislike about the Wii is present in the Move.  There is no attempt to make anything beyond the same half-baked bullshit the Wii is infamous for, only Nintendo isn't involved so it's like just the third party crap.  Both Move and Kinect focus on casual stuff, which just continues the current motion control image of it being a novelty that impresses your mom while "real" games use normal controllers.  I think there was a chance to make Move the anti-Wii where it takes advantage of the Wii's casual focused image in the eyes of core gamers.  The goal should have been to do motion control the "right way" and demonstrate its full potential.  Instead it's like a lame Wii knock-off and who wants that?

Hell, I bought a PS3 because I was tired of the Wii's library being full of this kind of junk.

[Sarail]

The one thing I do notice about Sony's new advertising campaign is that they ARE pushing Move in the direction of core gamers by showcasing a few games that are directly aimed at that audience. All the while also pushing Move towards the casual crowd, too. The Fight: Lights Out and Time Crisis aren't games I believe your grandma would want to play. And that's what I think is great, they're marketing each individual game towards the correct audience.

This is something Nintendo can't really do, because frankly, they don't make games for everyone. They make a game that can be played by everyone. And sometimes, that's just not what a core gamer is looking for. You've got to expand... wait, I'm gonna stop myself right there, or else I'll start ranting.

Anyway, I think they're doing an okay job at marketing Move. Just need to start seeing more commercials for it on TV. That'd help a lot.

[TJ Spyke]

The only ads i've seen even mentioning "core" games is a ad showing different games (hardcore and casual) that support PlayStation Move. The majority of the adds focus on casual games.

[Chozo Ghost]

This is only slightly related, but the PS3 has experienced "Year-on-year" sales growth, and it's been about a year since Kevin Butler was introduced in an MLB 09: The Show commercial.

Hasn't it also been about a year since the PS3 dropped in price to $299? I would say that has a lot more to do with its sales growth than some rude jerk named Kevin Butler.

I think its time Reggie paid him a visit and gave him a little attitude adjustment.

[BeautifulShy]

So apparently Move came out yesterday for a midnight launch.Apparently the midnight launch wasn't spread around as far as it happening and I read on some sites that it was only known about 7 hours or so before the midnight launch.

Did anybody here know about the midnight launch?

Are you planning on getting Move?

[TJ Spyke]

This is the first mention i've seen of any midnight launch for it.

[that Baby guy]

I got a press release about it in my email the day it happened.  I hadn't heard of it before then, but I was planning on going, just to cover the event and have some information about how it went, how many people, etc.

Then I realized this was a Thursday night/Friday morning, and decided it had a relatively idiotic launch date, and I wouldn't get nearly enough sleep for school the next day.

[BranDonk Kong]

I think I might actually get this.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Move is out already?

I gotta admit that I haven't watched a whole lot of TV over the last week or so, but I don't remember seeing an actual commercial for Move on TV. Stealth Launch or have I just been out of the loop?

[that Baby guy]

Move is out already?

I gotta admit that I haven't watched a whole lot of TV over the last week or so, but I don't remember seeing an actual commercial for Move on TV. Stealth Launch or have I just been out of the loop?

As far as the net goes, I haven't seen much aside from Sony's own websites.  In fact, I'd say that the NDAs being lifted around the first of the month made it stealthier, in a sense.  Then, there's the whole "Friday Release" thing, which is pretty non-traditional.

Anyway, point is, online, I haven't seen that many commercials.  I haven't watched much TV, either though, but I've seen nothing on Saturdays, during college football, at least.

[TJ Spyke]

I saw a few PlayStation Move commercials yesterday. They all focused on casual games like EyePet though.

[Chozo Ghost]

One day I may buy a PS3, but I doubt I will ever get Move (unless it happened to be bundled with the system at not extra cost or something, which may happen one day).

[ThePerm]

yeah, because additional hardware has always been successful.

[TJ Spyke]

I've seen another PSM commercial this weekend, Sony paid Warner Bros. Interactive to focus on the PlayStation 3 version of The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest (which supports PSM). It still seems like they could be doing more to support it.

[Adrock]

Move is out already?

Yeah, tell me about it. I went to Target (to buy Jenga, don't hate) and I saw it in the electronics department.