Network now...NEWS
New Purple PSP Aimed At Girl Gamers
Sony will release a lilac purple PSP-3000 bundled with Disney’s Hannah Montana: Rock Out The Show.
Arriving this October in PAL territories, the new hardware bundle represents the platform holder’s latest attempt to target a more diverse audience.
Hannah Montana: Rock Out The Show allows players to customise concert venues, show routines and character outfits before taking to the stage to perform tracks. It will be the first Hannah Montana game released on PSP and publisher Disney Interactive says it's aimed at girls aged 7-11.
“As girls spend as much time listening to music, taking and editing photos, watching movies, chatting with Skype, surfing the net and playing games with their friends as boys do, we thought it was about time that they had their own colour of PSP – and we’ve styled this one up just for them,” said Isabelle Tomatis, European marketing manager at SCEE.
SCE president Kaz Hirai first announced last week at E3 that a new Hannah Montana title would be bundled with PSP. “We've sold nearly 52 million units of PSP worldwide and clearly we have engaged with the core gaming audience. But to grow the market we do need to attract more casual or light games players to expand the install base even further. So we hope announcements like the Hannah Montana PSP will really help here,” he told the Guardian.
SCEE also recently launched a new community-focused campaign site in a bid to widen the portable’s target market to 8-15-year-olds.
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I think you are all really missing the point. This is designed to attract a very specific market - 7 to 11 year old girls. I have 2 daughters in this age bracket and Hannah Montanna is bigger than god! Plus (in anecdotal evidence of their two combined school classes - nearly 60 girls) their favourite colours are Pink/Purple (tied) followed by (surprisingly) yellow!
They are not going for your older "gamer grrl" or wife of a hardcore fan etc. and I think it will probably work well for Sony. It's a cliche and we are all cynical - yes - but it does make sound sense for their target market. Nintendo has done it for years - build the fan base from the young ones up and you get rabid supporters when they are older.
be honest, it's really aimed at the Gaymers
@ StealthBadger: I see your point. Still, after fifteen years in which they could have tried for a greater female direction to both marketing and games, and they're still trying things like this, I think they're worthy of ridicule.
It may increase sales, and if multiple colors have shown anything, any new colors increase sales, but they should be far beyond this.
Oh, and trust me, feel very free to stereotype Gamespot users. I was thinking the same thing. Cnet provides demographics and Gamespot has a stunning 97% male audience with an average age of 24.
http://www.cbsinteractive.com/advertise/properties/gamespot.html?tag=con...
@Aaron: Remember that they're bringing LBP to PSP, and probably some other games which could be construed as more girly than your average console game. I agree with you that the marketing director suggesting that they've "styled up" the PSPink for girls is a bit silly, but I just don't see any loss in releasing a pink one. The cost is essentially negligible, and it might drive sales a teeny bit.
w.r.t. DS colours, Pink is the 5th highest on that thread, after white, black, crimson-black (whatever that is) and silver. It has 7%, which is higher than any of the other actual colours (i.e. not w/b/silv). Also, without wishing to stereotype gamespot users too much, I doubt there's much of a female presence on their forums, especially 7-11yr old females!
In conclusion, I agree with you, it's certainly not a marketing revolution, but I still think it's worthwhile them doing it (why not with a Go! instead of a 3000 though?)
Because most 7-11 year-old girls don't have credit cards.
@ StealthBadger: I'm not saying that this isn't a decent marketing decision. But when years, decades even, go by with video game companies epic failing to provide girl games apart from "Hannah Montana" and "Barbie's Adventure," an action like this seems like not only too-little-too-late, it seems downright ridiculous.
Their history of total failure indicates to me that yes, they do indeed think that a simple purple PSP will bring scores of women into the fold. And I don't think the young age matters. I, again, know many young girls. Ranging in age from 4 to 15. Only one of them likes pink, girly stuff. Their personality types are varied and complex. The idea that a PSP with a single game can be aimed at "girls," as though they're some unified entity, is retarded.
And about DS color distributions, the best I was able to find was this link
http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=26528449
It shows black and white as the far-and-away winners. Pink garners only 7%. Anecdotally, I know many girls and women who own the DS and not one owns the pink version. They all own white.
Well, you do see lots of girls with pink mobile phones, don't you? And the pink DS is the most popular of the coloured versions, I believe (Disclaimer: not sure where i read that, so i might have made it up). And as they said, it's aimed at 7-11 year olds, not your wife (Paedo joke avoided! I'm maturing!).
It's not like sony are thinking that pinkness on its own is going to bring scores and scores of women into the playstation party, but it's a very easy move for them to make, which might have a little bit of sales impact, so why not?
Sony Exec 1: Girl's aren't buying the PSP.
Sony Exec 2: Something must be done for which we can take credit.
Lowly Sony Intern: There are lots of great games out there that are very popular with girls. We could maybe stimulate development of games like Loco Roco and Katamari.
Sony Exec 1: You idiot. Girls don't like games like that. Females are simple creatures who like clothing and bright colors.
Sony Exec 2: Exactly. What we need is a... PINK PSP!
Sony Exec 1: Oooooooh. But wait, Exec 2, I think you're maintaining a sexist stereotype.
Sony Exec 2: Oh yes?
Sony Exec 1: Indeed. Females apparently prefer shades of purple like lavender and lilac. Pink is a common misconception.
Sony Exec 2: This is excellent. We can easily take credit for this.
Lowly Sony Intern: But... what about games like The Sims, which are incredibly popular with both sexes. Shouldn't we try and make more of those?
Sony Execs 1 & 2: ....... You're fired.
Could this be the super-secret HPV-Go I've been hearing so much about?
Have they kept the new "girl-focused" button interface - Rose, Circle, Plus, Vagina?
It's a good thing women are so stupid that they'll buy anything with a "male-stereotyped" girl color. For a second there, I saw this as a desperation manuver. When my wife saw it, she said, "So it's just purple? It's not more powerful or anything?. Silly Chick, she should have listened to the marketing department to know what she wants.
"Rose, Circle, Plus, Vagina."
Had me rollin.