The PlayStation 4 recently crossed 9 million units sold worldwide, maintaining a pace that has thus far outperformed the PlayStation 2 during its first year. Speaking to Eurogamer, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House claims that the PS4's success presents a prime opportunity to attract Wii owners who never owned a PS3 or Xbox 360 during the last generation:
Our big opportunity is to welcome back an audience much earlier in the lifecycle that possibly bought into the Wii previously.
Whether it's based on this is a really good all-round entertainment device for a family in addition to having great games, our consumer data suggests some of those people are already coming in now and that's what's contributing to the really great sales we've had.
He further believes that the new audience that the PS4 has acquired are the types of consumers who would most appreciate Sony's PS3 remasters, considering they missed out on those games the first time around. He compares this type of content delivery to Disney's method of making its films relevant across multiple generations:
That bodes well for us as a platform, but it bodes well for developers and publishers as well. I've always looked with envy at the movie industry about what a great job they're able to do with taking content and making it work. Disney is the best example of this, right, of taking classic content and reintroducing it to audiences over time.
House's words will no doubt be dissected by pundits and casual readers who are similarly fascinated by the PS4's performance. The Wii became successful largely because it targeted lapsed and non-gamers, the types of players who enjoy quick pick-up-and-play experiences. The collapse of the Wii market and the absence of those consumers on Wii U indicates that they are now satisfied by other avenues, such as smartphone gaming.
The PlayStation 4 by and large does not provide those same kinds of experiences. Yes, the PS4 is selling at an unprecedented rate, but it's become successful for different reasons compared to the Wii. For that matter, why would people who only owned the Wii be interested in PS3 remasters? If they were interested in PS3 games, they would have bought PS3s to begin with.
You can read the rest of the House interview over on Eurogamer.
