According to a new report, PlayStation is doubling down on hardcore gamers with the PS5, just like it did this generation with the PS4. The report comes way of Wall Street Journal who claims Sony will focus on its more PlayStation hardcore base with the PS5. And this is quite different than what Xbox and Google's marketing plan has been so far, which has been to expand gaming to bigger audiences. The PlayStation 5 is targeting players that obsess over the latest features and less mainstream titles. So, if you fall into this camp, it sounds like the PS5 will be for you. But the question is: is this a good marketing strategy? Well, it worked for the PS4.

As you may know, Sony has somewhat referred to the brand of PlayStation as a niche product in the past, so perhaps this news isn't that surprising. That said, while the PlayStation brand used to be a bit of an afterthought for Sony, it's now its flagship product, and a big reason why the company has rebounded recently with massive success. And so the bigger the brand gets for Sony, the more people started to assume it may widen its ambitions and chase the larger, more mainstream gaming market. But it doesn't appear like this is the case, not yet at least. That said, video games are making way more money for Sony than movies and television, electronics, and smartphones, so maybe Sony is thinking why change something that isn't broken?

As always, take this report with a grain of salt like any report, but this one comes from a reliable source and the information seems to align with what we've heard Sony say about the system, as well as other reports.

Sony hasn't begun the marketing push for the system yet, so it remains to be seen how it positions the console, but it's probably going to position it like the PS4: a console for the hardcore gamer who wants to play games and isn't concerned about the other bells and whistles.

The PlayStation 5 doesn't currently have a release date or release window, but it's expected to release sometime holiday 2020. At the moment, there's been no official word about the price.

Posted: Jul 01, 2019 6:36 pm
Related Forum: PlayStation Forum

Source: https://comicbook.com/gaming/2019/06/29/ps5-playstation-5-hardcore-gamers/