Sony CEO Kaz Hirai Says Core Gamers Should Be Served Before The Mainstream

"We have always started with the core audience and then expanded. A console always needs a solid core of games that appeal to gamers. Look at God of War. We launched that in the seventh year of the Playstation 2 and a lot of people wondered why we did. It's because we always wanted to keep the support of the core gaming audience.

That's not to say we're not doing anything to expand the demographics. Singstar and Buzz are obvious examples. But we need to do this in a controlled way. If you go mainstream too quickly and don't support the core gaming audience then you lack the pillar to support your platform. Without this pillar you end up with a fickle audience that might be big but will probably move on."

[lociefer]

amen , take note nintendo

[GWAVE]

Yeah, this statement is a good one to follow. In other words, Sony is saying "Take care of your fans, and your fans will take care of you".

[Kain81]

Bubbles to Kaz Hirai and you both^^

[callahan09]

Thank you, Kaz. I wish I could shake his hand right now.

[Simon_Brezhnev]

very true bubbles to everybody

edit

i see the delusional fanboys disagreeing

[raztad]

Very well said Kaz Hirai. Sony is a company that's always pushing game boundaries and supporting its fans. Lets the amazing games coming.

Dont care about Nintendo but SE at looking at you!!

[Sarcasm]

Thank you Kaz, now lower the price of the PS3 to $299 so the fans can pay you back by buying the console.

[SixTwoTwo]

This is why I bought a PS3. I knew Sony had my back =)

[edgeofblade]

I've had a hard time agreeing with Kaz in the past... But truer words have never been spoken.

Now all it takes is a 360 big wig saying the opposite and I might... just maybe switch my alignment.

[Uzesgelen_Goo]

(-^_^-)

[RememberThe357]

Kaz is the man. He had massive shoes to fill and I think hes doing as well as anyone could.

[IronChefWong]

And surely it shows. If you have a PS3 you're probably loving it. If you don't, you're either hating on it b/c of the price or that you don't have one yourself.

[ultimolu]

Word.
The man speaks the truth. :)

[LoVeRSaMa]

All kaz needs now, is +20 years of age and a long whiffy beard =]

[talltony]

I love sony! They cater to my needs and not the kiddies so much. Its a true hardcore system with the games I like to play the most.

[njr]

As right as he his, PS3 gamers also have to do their part. Support their core games! Which reminds me, I have to get infamous...

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

I agree with Kaz (because I don't play party games), but people seem to have forgotten when the PS3 was confusingly billed as the next super computer home movie entertainment system by Sony themselves.

[All-3]

No matter if the 'core gaming audience' moves on... Nintendo will always have the kids... just like Disney.

[Lifendz]

for reasons like that statement by Kaz. You'll get my money every time as long as you stay true to me.

[SaiyanFury]

I couldn't agree more with Hirai-san. Support your base audience, then attract the others. Kaz Hirai has some really large shoes to fill after Kutaragi-san, and I hope he can live up to the experience. So far, he seems to be doing pretty well. :)

[Syronicus]

Now that is a quote I can stand behind and appreciate.

[D R Fz]

I couldn't agree more.

[ukilnme]

I agree. Mario Part 8 got old quick just like many other Wii games.

[Gambit07]

I've been saying what Kaz said for a while, I seriously doubt I'd buy a Nintendo console again.

[thereapersson]

Do NOT sell out your fans -- it will backfire on you in the long run, regardless of how much money you earn up front.

[solidjun5]

While I respect that Nintendo is doing, I agree with Kaz here.

The statement:
"Without this pillar you end up with a fickle audience that might be big but will probably move on."

To me, if ain't Mario or the Zeldas or the wii fits, games on the wii (they sell) won't sell in the boatloads as it should. Like MadWorld.
I have the game and I hope Sega makes a sequel. So, hopefully more people will buy it.

[_Q_]

And with that attitude I do feel like Sony is doing just that. Taking care of the following before casual. I love it

[thereapersson]

I actually think they're doing a good job of serving both demographics. That's something that Nintendo could definitely learn a thing or two about -- balance amongst their consumers.

Thankfully I think after this year's E3 showing, we are starting to see them realize that they need to cater to their hardcore fans as well as the casual market (Metroid: Other M). Though to be honest, it's kind of too late for the Wii. I mean, just look at how poorly "Mad World" sold...

[heroicjanitor]

Makes me think a new console is on the way, and they want the old fans to buy the new one again. I can say I'll take the wait and see approach this time around.

[Sheikh Yerbouti]

that will keep me Playstation faithful for generations to come. I've always said that Sony understood the gamer and the industry best.

[Rifle-Man]

There's no way I'm going to be playing games made for babies and people in nursing homes on my PS3. Go Kaz!

[fossilfern]

Kaz you are a wise and intelligent man i like what your saying i think nintendo should take note

[fossilfern]

Well i liked the gamecube had some quality games like Prime 1 & 2. But since the Wii i just cant stand them i too grew up with nintendo first being the Snes (Super Metroid bundle FTW :D) but the glory days of nintendo are gone there wasn't even a starfox shown at E3 its been 13 YEARS since a good starfox WHAT IS GOING ON !

[pippoppow]

What other platform has as diverse a gaming lineup as the PS3 that is also of the highest caliber? They do not cater to just one group of gamers but to all. They are the most well rounded console out of the 3 consoles out now and just like in previous gens.

[R2D2]

Bring on the games Sony.

[Stryfeno2]

I hate to admit it, but you are 100% correct Kaz.

[ShinMaster]

Just wondering about your name..."Patchstation 3"

I suppose it's because Sony likes to patch any bugs or to add content to any game?

Guess it's better than getting no fix at all, right?
Silly fanboy :P

[PLAYSTATIONGENRATION]

I don't know were they are going know with this natal

[Ju]

I give Nintendo the biggest chance to grow their market, though - if they are smart.

They have successfully established their new control scheme and they can now, based on their success, build a new HD generation based on the Wii.

While, for Sony and MS it requires a complete re-definition of the audience. How to change a standard controller scheme to something completely different without loosing your current audience ?

MS takes the risk with Natal - if they want to push it like they say, they need to make this their main input method. But what's gonna happen with all current game(r)s ? Open question.

Sony is conservative, and plays the card of experience. A slow giant with traditional product. But can work, because you are not that vulnerable to each and every fad which comes along. They have one of the best motion controllers for gaming - which does not totally break with traditional controls. But to be successful, this, again, needs to be available for every (!) console (most likely bundled). They have the same problem as MS, but obviously are not convinced, that their current success isn't worth a dime.

Sony has the advantage, that if MS tries to go casual and target the Wii, they might actually suck up more of the hardcore crowd. But the real thread is Nintendo with a HD Wii and (hard core) content which can supersede Sony's top PS3 lineup. The marks are on the wall, and Ninti already said that: They are working on a new console. With their pockets filled now, and technology improving, this new thing could be the top of the line - with the benefit of the current Wii market.

[mastiffchild]

Good points. I've been saying for a while thatNintendo have a huge opportunity right now but, so far, haven't taken it.

The fact is they hit upon, maybe invented, the zeitgeist for this generation of consoles in terms of selling what most people felt they wanted. Having gained that huge market, however, has put them in a position of responsibility that they haven't had for a very long time and last time they did they failed badly to see which way the industry was headed in failing to pursue the new storage medium(CD)they were planning with Sony.

This time, I feel, they are making a mistake in not allowing third parties the tools to push and educate their big, new(and indeed their loyal "core" fans)market as they become gamers with more mature or demanding tastes. If they had lots of games with demos on the Nintendo channel maybe the likes of Madworld, GTA:CW and Deadly Creatures would have sold better on the respective consoles and provided a step rowards more demanding games for their casual gamers-we all started off with casual attitudes towards gaming but it was probably the more intense games which changed that attitude the most and kept us gaming-and on the platforms that gave that new, to us, gaming stimulous the best, most accessible way.

As it stands Nintendo run a risk of growing the industry but ultimately just for the benefit of Sony/MS who allow third party demos as well as their in house stuff on Live and PSN. Also Nintendo have allowed companies to dump lower quality games on their platforms than they would on PS360-just look at the Capcom Wii line up so far, if you ignore a couple of great ports it's been very poor(hopefully MH3 is a sign of better). Demos would mean this was lesslikely to happen and could, done the right way, look like a seal of approval from Nintendo for the games demoing on the system. I bet, right now, Sega wish that Ninty had let them put their core games up as demos this year.

Thing is Nintendo do know how to make good first party games-MP3, SMG stand as testiment to that but they haven't got the in house studios to fill the core gap that Sony have or the monetary might to secure games for their platforms that MS do-and while they haven't gone HD many devs that have may continue putting their B teams on the Nintendo games they make.

They haven't got their heads round the DLC game just yet either. WiiWare and VC are great but they need more expansions, available patches etc to really compete and serve their bravely acquired market.

Sony and MS have catered more to the core markets and , as such, have some loyal gamers still swearing by them and their output on PS360. They missed the boat on motion controls but are working t add that and chunks of Nintendos audience by taking it further plus offering more online features than Wii currently does.

We are definitely at a cross roads right now as the console manufacturers shore up their game to hold what they have and grow into the next gen and so far MS and Sony appear to be doing more than Nintendo. Which, for Nintendo, could be trouble. They deserve the market they found with Wii but doing nothing is what scuppered them last time they were on top and it would be both sad and bad for future competition, if they repeated that mistake with Wii2 and an attitude that doesn't push or include third parties more or educate/keep their new fans.

Good speil from Kaz, btw.

[All-3]

Where is Sony going with its motion controller?

The point Kaz was making is that the core audience isn't ignored. I doubt that either Microsoft or Sony are going to ignore their core demographic, and the 3rd party Publishers/Developers, that aren't into funding/making casual games certainly won't stop making their games.

[keops3]

ps3 ftw

[PotNoodle]

While sony wants a peice of that casual audience too, i'm really glad to know they know that the core audience is most important.

[Sarcasm]

I find it more Ironic, that Sony were the "Arrogant" ones coming into this generation, but as the time went on. They've become humbled. It's like they learned they're lesson.

While MS on the other hand, just gets MORE and MORE arrogant.

[bjornbear]

And it so sad =/

[PLAYSTATIONGENRATION]

the traditional 360 fan is either a pc guy...who cant afford the pc to run the games like they want them...

[kaveti6616]

Also, I prefer controllers to the keyboard and mouse configuration, and on top of that, I feel that consoles really absorb more developers than the PC. I mean, ask me to list the games coming to PS3 and 360 and I can name like 30 off the top of my head, but ask me about PC and I really can't name all of the RTS games, the MMO games, and the stray FPS title like Crysis (I guess I named one then). The idea here is that consoles really provide people with a sense of community and connection. Ask someone if they have a PS3 or a 360 and if they say yes, then you can automatically assume that they play games, but ask someone if they have a PC and if they say yes, then you can't be sure because PCs do a wealth of things.

Plus, with PCs you don't get everything bundled and fully advertised. Team Speak and equivalent programs are not something that everyone knows about, and it's separate from the gaming experience on the PC. On the 360 and the LIVE, you already know that the chat ability is enabled and exists. You don't have to download it.

If I had the cash to build a gaming rig I still don't know if I would do it, because the rest of my friends are playing consoles.

[olLANDSHARKlo]

Is this the same guy that said you'll have to get a second job to afford the PS3?

[BLuKhaos]

No that was Ken Kutaragi.

[eagle21]

PS3 2009 and 2010 games/line-up are amazing!

[360usetobegood]

Ive bought video games all my life why pay attention to the "Wii users" they wont be there next gen.

[CobraKai]

Now I have faith in their motion controller and actually have Hardcore games coming out for it.

[hatchimatchi]

AMEN

[name]

This is why the PS3 even survived its first year with very few games. They've established a reputation of support and innovation and it earned them a very loyal following. This is why ps3 gamers were able to "wait" for the games to come.

[bunfighterii]

when i bought my ps3 there was pretty much only 2 games worth getting. Uncharted and NBA2K7. I kept saying for a whole year... I've just got to wait, the games will come.

There were some good ones in 2008. But now It's like all my christmases have come at once!

[skatezero246]

I agree

[RealtorMDandDC]

Because of me...and the rest of core gamers...we have created this machine(console wars Nintendo/Sony/MS....so..on..on )..and we need to be rewarded(Thanks Sony)....and this is what has "nnoyed" me with Nintendo..I grew up..with super contra....Mario Bros........ Super Mario Bros..Mario 64..Super Mario....BattleToads.....Bioni c Commando.. Super Mario Bros.III......StarFox......... .Strider..(genesis)......Kid Icarus....Shinobi..Final Fight............so..on..and so..on...Nintendo just said..Screw me...you helped forged and create us..so we will forget about you...and go for the quick cash(which I do not mind it's a business)..Nintendo has not catered to me as a core gamer..

[Dante43]

It true, the 20 something million owner are the actual hardcore fan, the rest of the group which is around 100 millions ( ps2 sold around 120millions+) will go to ps3 when it's price is lower.

[hatchimatchi]

seriously, the moms and grandparents who bought a wii are not getting online and checking what is coming out in the future. They bought once because they saw john stewart playing it and because of wii fit. They probably won't even realize when nintendo releases a new console. Nintendo has set themselves up this gen to be catered towards the casuals for future systems. Look at the n64 and gamecube, they tried do what the ps2/xbox were doing and they were last in market shares. Now that they have their casual audience and are selling systems like crazy they have no reason to go back and trying to create a core experience for the users. It shows also with game sales, stuff like carnival games and other mini game comps sell in the million whereas the limited core games they have struggle with sales. Nintendo will always have mario and zelda, call me crazy but i don't like waiting 3-4 years for 1 new game. I'll stick with my ps3 where i can get 3-4 AAA exclusive titles a year and the rest of the solid multiplatform games.

[Gamer_Z]

Ooo nintendo you just got served!

[Covenant]

Never thought I'd agree with Kaz Hirai...

...but he's right.

Nintendo (and to a much lesser extent, Microsoft) should remember that.

[bjornbear]

Well spoken and wisely said.

Awsum photo too xD one of the coolest CEO's around imo =D

[bunfighterii]

that's ultimately why I chose the Playstation over all the other consoles. You can rely on Sony to always have great quality, deep, core games.

[Arkham]

F*cking right. Glad someone had the bulls to say it. Sure, it might be a bit of an about-face to what they were ballyhooing earlier, but they've achieved a lot of what they wanted to do and this is the best response to the current market.

This is great for the entire industry, as it's keeping each of the big three circling around each other on their toes.

None of the Three have sat on their arses, and luckily all we have to do as gamers is play, watch the antics, wait until the dust settles, play, rinse, and repeat.

It's a good time to be a gamer.

[kesvalk]

i agree, as much i like to play my Wii, i know they could do a lot of better job releasing games we gamers like, no one will stop them launching their wii-fits, i approve what they are doing bringing more ppl to gaming, but they should remember the guys that play with passion, and support them...

take note Nintendo, next-gen, you will have to please us much more than you are pleasing right now... easy, short games without online play will not do anymore...

[Seferoth75]

Yes SOny. Nintendo thought that last gen and look where it got them. The same place you are now. Dead last... Good call. If you are smart(Like Nintendo) you serve both. There have been far more core games from Nintendo than casual. Of course most Sony fans consider themselves experts on the library of a console they do not own but here is the list for you. Core games.

Mario Kart Wii, Metroid, SMG, Super Paper Mario,SSBB, Zelda, Punch Out, Sin and Punishment 2,Excite Trucks, Fire Emblem, Battalion Wars, Wario Land, Strikers. Casual games = Wii fit, Wii sports which is free and a demo, Wii play 10.00 demo, Wii Music, Animal Crossing.

Unless you just have some blind bias against NIntendo it is easy to see who is getting more games out of them.13 vs 5 its not hard to figure out. You give games to the core while bringing in new gamers. It's what Sony did last gen and they were first...

Those core PS3 owners cant even support games enough to get 1 game to number 1. The last was MGS4.. SO much for catering to your main audience.. Of course when your main audience is 12-24 you have to kinda expect that. They dont know anything about what it takes to sell a game to anyone but them. Nintendo learned that and soon you will too.

[-CautionHead-]

Why must people be blind imbeciles? The PS3 has a large catalog of titles, if you whine how it has no games then you obviously have no tastes in good titles, or are some stuck up fanboy.

LittleBigPlanet
Resistance 1
Resistance 2
MGS4
MotorStorm 2
Uncharted
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
Killzone 2
Heavenly Sword
Warhawk

These are all of the exclusives I own currently, at no point in the two years I have owned my PS3 have I been bored with it; I'll be picking up inFamous & VC soon as well.

[bunbun777]

At first I wanted to just argue and call you names-- but instead i will just disagree with your comment that "There have been far more core games from Nintendo than casual." Anyone could seriously flood a post with casual games here ---

but what i guess upsets me the most is that i have no idea who you are to say a thing, but I grew up with Nintendo (i am 30 years old now) and as a non owner of the Wii, it is because well...

i dont want to knock video games or the providers of such**edit-except Gabe N**, but any true Nintendo child from the 80's who has had a chance to play the Ps3 can't say they have not imagined Zelda or Mario on 1080p-- taking the nostalgia and genuine ingenuity and fun in those early games and seeing them anew with the power of the cell---

---well it ain't happening. At least not yet. Do kids today really need what the Ps3 offers to enjoy games though that are still far advanced from the early days of Nintendo, of Atari? No, a beautiful child will have fun no matter what whether its LBP, Mario on Wii, or even playing Halo.

[Senden]

Got one up on xbox there lol.. too true!

[Thoreau]

playstation 3...

[Thoreau]

stop crying like that baby on your avatar.

[JustOne]

God bless you Kaz and Sony. I love when hardcore gamers like me and you guys are respected .

[Enate]

That's how Sony does it, That's how gamers do it an its worked out pretty well so far :)

[kaveti6616]

It makes me wish that Sony would have tried harder to keep a bunch of amazing franchises exclusive to the PS3, like Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, and so many more. The idea here is not to bash my fellow 360 owners, but rather to say that during these tough economic times, it really is a shame that both the 360 and the PS3 offer such compelling reasons for purchase, and if PS3 had kept so many of the beloved franchises exclusive, there would be no chance in hell that I would buy a 360. As it stands, a few missteps with the hardware of the PS3 and the fact that 360 just let some amazing franchises go, that I went a bought a 360.

If Sony hadn't allowed Microsoft the ability to garner more sales and rights to games, then MS wouldn't even be able to breathe an advertisement on a foggy window. Therefore, this whole console war may have been averted. Before I have said that competition is a good thing, that companies that one up each other will bring us new technology, but with MS it has been different. Instead MS has found small loopholes into the gaming market. One great game ever year keeps MS swimming in cash, but Sony releases 2 or 3 great games a year and people are saying it's doomed.

I will never understand that.

[gano]

A company u can trust.
I don't know why the fake cats on here try to say nintendo instead of ms.
They lied about the hardware when they dropped they system. At least nintendo know
their place.

[Jdoki]

Sony are doing what they have always done, and Kaz has just reconfirmed this.

Sony have never looked to pidgeon hole 'casual', 'hardcore' etc in the same defined ways that MS and Nintendo have.

They let the games do the talking - Singstar was a phenomenon in the casual space long before Nintendo came along with the Wii - and yet we rarely heard Sony talk about the 'Casual' market. Same with Buzz.

I don't have a problem with Nintendo making huge gains in the Casual space, but they seem to be doing it by appealing to the lowest common denominator, and in some ways treating their audience like a bunch of idiots.

Sony have never done that, and conversely a title like Buzz appeals to the casual market, but doesn't feel dumbed down to the point where a hardcore gamer won't want to play it.