New Store Icons Pushing PSN Sales?
Welcome back. You're a regular here, so why not follow us on Twitter too...
A lot has been said about firmware 3.0. People have been very vocal about things they like and things they don’t like.
Well we hope you all like the new PlayStation Store icons that have popped up on the XMB, as well as the ‘What’s New’ section.
According to a certain developer, it’s driving sales way up.
Which developer, and how far up?
Recently, James Brooksby of Doublesix studio, was very vocal about the changes made in firmware 3.0. Specifically, it’s the new store icons and ‘What’s New’ section that James is so keen on.
And the folks at Doublesix should know; they’re the guys behind ‘Burn Zombie Burn‘ after all!
“We’re ecstatic at the 3.00 upgrade because not only have our sales gone up 40 per cent since the update but for me personally it’s what I’ve been calling for and looking forward to for a long time.
I’ve always been saying that effectively when you boot up the PlayStation 3 there’s a 40 inch advertising space waiting to be used. Now instead of saying to the user ‘what would you like to play today’ – which is the basic console offering – it’s saying ‘this is what we think you should play today’ and that’s a major step forward for the entire industry and the digital distribution sector.”
He went on to talk about the future of video games, digital downloads and how these new enhancements to the PS3 help drive digital purchases forward.
“We assume that consumers are all tech-savvy but they still buy discs and assume that’s how they get games. It’s so good that we’re going to be encouraging new people into this new world of buying games online on their console.
It’s endorsing digital distribution as a massive part of the future. This isn’t a store where you go and buy t-shirts, this is a store where games exist. Consumers make that mental leap, to not just know they are online but to go shopping for games and content. We’ve definitely seen a change.”
Regardless of whether you like the changes or not, you have to admit that there is a much larger space for marketing now on the PlayStation Network. In the past, we’ve seen how valuable marketing space can be.
It’s not always money the developers want when offering something exclusive, sometimes they just want the opportunity to get their game advertised more as a whole.
“Even though we weren’t featured on the front page of the store it’s just incredibly encouraging that when we do our next game we’ll know that people will turn on their consoles and be told our game is available.
There’s obviously a lot of general marketing to the masses that this space exists. In the same way that Apple is advertising games for the iPhone and pointing out how users can easily download them.
I still think there’s a long way to go in mass market advertising to people who still assume that the disc is the only way to get games.
It’s up to us and other developers to make sure there are quality games in that space. I am nervous about the space being undermined by bad experiences.
We don’t want users to buy a few titles and be disappointed if it’s confusing and quite a lot of games are low quality. If consumers get their fingers burnt, it won’t take much for users to not come back after an experience like that.”
A sharp increase in sales means a lot of things. It means more money for both Sony and the developers, which can potentially lead to more support, and the benefits from that are almost endless.
So for any of you that don’t like the new icons, does knowing what it can potentially do in the future make them any easier to look at?
I personally have no problem with the new Store icons. I don’t see why people are moaning about them.
The one in the Game menu is just one icon you need to skip over if you’re not interested in it – it’s not exactly a lot of extra work, is it? Plus, everyone knew from the previews before 3.00 was released that it was there, so why start moaning about it afterwards?
As for the What’s New addition to the PSN section, I do actually like it – but at the moment, I don’t see much point in it. Since the Store is only updated once a week, most people visit it on that day anyway – and the Store has a ‘Latest’ section for all the new stuff.
These combined mean that the What’s New section on XMB is rendered fairly irrelevant. It would be far more useful if stuff was added to the store as soon as it was available, as that would mean new things appeared at different times during the week. Then, What’s New would really come into its own, as you wouldn’t need to go to the store every day to see if there was anything new.
I agree, I think the playstation store should be updated all the time. That would encourage me and many people I know to sort through, much more often looking for new stuff. Usually when you go to the store and look for something. If they dont have what you want, many people will settle for something else amd still come back again looking for something else. The icons should be “sold” or delegated to other publishers to advertise for new games that cannot be purchased on PSN thus driving sales and making consumers more aware at what is being released that you cannot just go to the playstation store and buy. I think that is the way to go, that would definitely help get these games some more attention rather than leaving them to collect dust on a shelf somewhere. So as long as games continue to be sold on blu-rays, thats the way.
The PS Store icon in the ‘games’ section should be re-located. I don’t need another step between my currently playing game and the Trophy list for it, thank you very much.
Besides that, I think the 3.0 changes are a good first step towards making the consumer aware of what is available to them. As long as it is done tastefully.
I believe that the ‘what’s new’ section will only improve from now on. I think of this as a work in progress to something really worthy of having as our ‘welcome screen’.
hi dudes, check this concept XMB menu, it is amazing and i hope Sony hire the guy who did this.
http://web.me.com/steven.shaw/PlayStation_3_XMB/PlayStation_3_XMB.html
That’s a very nice concept. Nowhere to go but up from 3.0 in a design standpoint.
Here’s hoping that Sony comes up with something even better.
I like the recomendations on boot up. I think only good will come from this.
Digg this article up please.