Sony positioning PSP in the children's market
Hardcore console being redirected at younger gamers
Nintendo's often tried to shake off its 'kid's toy' reputation, though it's hard to argue with the 100 million plus sales that aspect of the games market has provided it with.
Now it seems Sony is interested in taking some of the candy from the hands of Nintendo babies, as it launches a new campaign intended to encourage younger gamers to come over to the PSP.
“PSP is going for a younger market, which isn’t something we’ve really done before,” says SCE UK product manager Claire Backhouse.
To help this new angle, Sony is launching an online PSP community portal, www.pspinyourhands.com.
“Our heartland is 16-24 year old men and always will be - they won’t be neglected in the slightest. But the summer’s game releases, such as Harry Potter and Petz, as well as the launch new PSP colours, are certainly appealing to an 8-15 year old audience.
“The hook of the campaign will be to encourage kids to come to the site, build their own world and create a community."
Whether Sony is hoping to create something of a hand-me-down console of the PSP when it launches the PSP 2 remains to be seen, but this is a tactic that's worked before and has kept the PS2 alive to this day.
