Has Sony ever marketed the Playstation as a video game console back then?

[Ikagura Ikagura]

I've always wondered if their strategy was to sell the Playstation as a "multimedia platform (that could also play video games)" than something dedicated to them to set them apart from Nintendo and Sega back when they finally entered the gaming market (and to appeal young adults that saw consoles as electronic toys for kids).

 

[Goshikk]

 

[Sorion]

The PS3 was somewhat marketed for it's multimedia capabilities in 2006, it was described as a super PC on your living room, it could play blurays and read many different types of flash storage, you could also install linux on it, at least at the begining of it's life cycle, other than that, Sony hasn't been known to market their devices as multimedia devices first, Microsoft tried to do it with the xbox one and the results were quite catastrophic

 

[Graw]

Not the ps1 so much but the ps2 definitely sold a lot based on its ability to play DVDs. From what I remember of most of the ps1 marketing, it was a lot like Sega's during the genesis, trying to push for the edgy teen gamer market.

 

[TheMinuMaster]

Actually, it’s pretty funny to think about it, because the PS1 was also a CD player, the PS2 became one of the best and cheapest DVD players of its time, the PS3 doubled as a Blu-ray player, and even the PSP had movies, shows, and cartoons on UMD discs. So yeah, if you look closely, Sony has always pushed their consoles as multimedia devices, not just gaming machines.

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

So yeah, if you look closely, Sony has always pushed their consoles as multimedia devices, not just gaming machines.

I can understand since they are a multimedia firm that always sold various CD players (so they could get their non gaming userbase to use their consoles as well).

I think it's with the late PS3 (and PS4) that they took a turn with their "this is for the player" marketing campaign (whereas Xbox tried to catch the non gamer population with Kinect and the Xbox One being an "all in one" machine rather than a purely video game one, they've inverted their focus with them).

I'm wondering if Sony will still redo that whole "multimedia" thing with the PS6 with more options to do with their console.

 

[TheMinuMaster]

I can understand since they are a multimedia firm that always sold various CD players (so they could get their non gaming userbase to use their consoles as well).

I think it's with the late PS3 (and PS4) that they took a turn with their "this is for the player" marketing campaign (whereas Xbox tried to catch the non gamer population with Kinect and the Xbox One being an "all in one" machine rather than a purely video game one, they've inverted their focus with them).

I'm wondering if Sony will still redo that whole "multimedia" thing with the PS6 with more options to do with their console.

Well, here’s the thing: with the PS1 and PS2, Sony pulled a pretty clever move. Those consoles were basically 2-in-1, a gaming system and a media player, which let them catch both audiences at once. And it worked because, back then, it actually made sense to market a console as the multimedia center of the house.

The whole “For the Players” shift happened because the market changed. Cheap TVs already come packed with apps, phones do everything, streaming is everywhere… so pushing a console as a multimedia hub just doesn’t land anymore. The focus went back to gaming itself, plain and simple.

As for the PS6? At most we might see tighter integration with streaming services or something along those lines. But nothing like the old days, that’s for sure. Nobody wants a repeat of the Xbox One situation, coming with a Kinect forced in when nobody wanted it.

 

[Boofytan]

I remember thinking the thing sounds like a Fisher Price toy when it was first announced. Sony was a juggernaut in the 80s & 90s though. By the time they finally decided to stop dipping their toes in and release a console, it was almost unfair.

I don't know if they ever marketed the cd player aspect much. That would have been almost competing with themselves considering they did quite well with discman & home audio sales.

Unlike the DVD & bluray selling points of their next 2 home consoles, cd players were cheap enough by 95.

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

The whole “For the Players” shift happened because the market changed. Cheap TVs already come packed with apps, phones do everything, streaming is everywhere… so pushing a console as a multimedia hub just doesn’t land anymore. The focus went back to gaming itself, plain and simple.

Yeah, the DSi and 3DS had multimedia functions because smartphones weren't as commonplace yet those faded a bit aftrerwards.

In an era where everyone could have a tablet and phone it's obvious that they had to shift their focus.

As for the PS6? At most we might see tighter integration with streaming services or something along those lines. But nothing like the old days, that’s for sure. Nobody wants a repeat of the Xbox One situation, coming with a Kinect forced in when nobody wanted it.

True, I still hope that the "PSVR3" won't be at the same price as a console.

Unless the PS6 will be a VR focused console but I doubt that.

 

[Roy U. OmOm]

I remember that Sony advertised PSP at launch as device that is "video player, music player, GPS, web browser, comic reader, RSS client", not to mention the other gadgets like camera etc.

Also there used to be a vocal discourse about how "PS3 is the cheapest blueray player on the market".
It also used to have a backwards with all of the PS2 and PS1 games.