PS3 gamers appreciate art more than Xbox 360, Wii users - Journey dev
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Jenova Chen says PlayStation 3 users more likely to be interested in artistic titles than Microsoft and Nintendo supporters.
PlayStation 3 gamers have a deeper proclivity for artistic games than Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii users, according to Journey developer and thatgamecompany co-founder Jenova Chen. Speaking to VentureBeat, Chen plainly stated, "The player who owns a PlayStation 3 is more likely to be interested in artistic games compared to Wii and Xbox 360."
Expanding on his claim, Chen said titles offered on Sony platforms are aimed at an older crowd, and suggested the publisher seeks to promote titles that users can emotionally connect with.
"Sony has a more artistic and adult-focused taste," he said. "They care about how grown-ups feel toward their games."
In a statement provided to VentureBeat, PlayStation senior director of digital platforms Jack Buser agreed with Chen's assessment.
"Our primary PSN audience is indeed more adult, and many of our best-selling titles appeal to this demographic," reads a line from the statement. "Many PlayStation and PSN games have themes that require a user to think and feel about a deep, immersive gameplay experience, and we see that exemplified in the success of titles like Flower, Journey, and Heavy Rain. Titles like these can only be found on PlayStation, and our users enjoy the emotional and thematic sophistication of their games, especially with our digital offerings."
Chen's latest project was Journey, which became the PlayStation Network's fastest-selling title of all time following its release in March, though Sony did not parse specific sales figures. A not-so-traditional title, the game casts players as a robed adventurer, wandering through an expansive desert world, journeying toward a distant mountain.
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
766 comments
What an arrogant statement... Heavy Rain would do just as well on the 360 and so would Flower and Journey. In fact, Flower could have done extremely well on the Wii during its gimmicky early days if Nintendo had backed it.
Sounds like he is just trying to play to promote his game to the sony fanbase by saying "yeah Sony owners are more refined and more artistically inclined"
btw I only own a Ps3
2 Like I fully agree.
Now it's time to scroll down and laugh at all the fanboy hate that UNDOUBTABLY populates this comment section.
1 Like I agree a game like Heavy Rain would've never sold as much as it did on the PS3. Look at Alan Wake it was even more mainstream than Heavy Rain and sold like crap.
1 Like @kuraimen don't know why everybody considers heavy rain as 'art'. I'd say more an interactive movie.
If any game defines art it must be zelda ocarina of time
@beuneus12 Because it was trying to experiment out of familiar game mechanic to make some new idea. In the end, the story failed to deliver on the hype, still it was a refreshing idea since every game companies seem to abuse the cutscenes with the excuses like deep storyline like Activision doing to COD.
Unfortunately based on game sales of previous generation console I observed I have to concur with the sentiment. Given Indie gamer's position, going to the Sony Console has to be safer bet to see any kind of profits. I mean games like Fez and Braid are as big as they are now because they have the familiar game mechanics we grew to love and pretty much designed to appeal to western demographics. One thing I disagree Sony isn't the only one that appreciate arty games In Nintendo I see a lot of arty games.
If Xbox gamers say they appreciate the arty games as they do, Sega would've made an exclusive Xbox games by now. Seeing they only now stick to Wii and Sony is enough proof for me.
That is a generalization and I'm sure Journey would have sold just as well on XBLA than it did for PS3. There is hardly any difference at all between PS3 and 360 gamers. Games that sell well on one system sell pretty much the same as on the other. There is little discrepancy between the two demographics.
The Wii is a different case since it targets a younger audience, yet more games on Wii have much more appealing artstyIes than most PS3/360 games. Take a look at games such as Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Epic Mickey, or Skyward Sword. Those games all have fantastic art direction and are appreciated games on the Wii.
1 Like Lost in Shadow, Fragile Dreams Farewell Ruins............WII
Kinectimats, Mincraft...........XBOX 360
It's possible, but this is really just his opinion. I dont see any particular evidence supporting his claim other than anecdotal.
1 Like I don't even get inbox notifications any more. How the hell am I supposed to reply to people If I am not informed that they have replied to me? Terrible.
1 Like @WasTeDMinD86 It's a bug that's currently being sorted out. Also you may want to make sure that your profiles settings have all the right fields selected.
@Synthia I've checked my profile settings. Thanks for the reply that I just happened to find.
Ever notice everyone is an "editor" these days? What ever happened to the title "staff writer"?
I guess we're the Everybody Gets a Trophy generation.
Wait, I get it now, when he says 'artsy', he means the boring ass games that he makes. I can only tilt my controller back and forth controlling a flower petal for so long. And I'm not a hater, I own all 3 games that he has developed only to play them for a half hour and then watch them take up space on my PS3. Flow is somewhat entertaining at least.
2 Like One of the most ridiculous things I have ever read, especially when you take into consideration that he develops exclusively for the PS3. If anything, the reason that the PS3 has more of an adult audience is the fact that the frickin' thing cost $600 when it released. I sure wouldn't buy something that expensive for a child. I think the blu-ray aspect also plays into that because of adult male tendencies to drift toward new and exciting technology. It's like saying that X360 owners appreciate indie developers more because of the indie games channel.
3 Like Ha! The PS3 draws a more mature audience than the Xbox 360 does in the same way the expensive 3DO drew a more mature audience than the SNES did.
2 Like I don't think the success of these games because of art, but the unique experience. Just because some games on the PS3 are artsy and people play them doesn't mean that X360 and Wii gamers wouldn't appreciate them either.
I agree with this, the core of the games I play are M rated so there is not much artistic value to the splash of blood from your enemy's as you gun them down. But when it comes to games like flower it was moving.
1 Like There is part of me that agrees. They have had a lot more 'artsy' games on the PS3 that seem to make the news. Unfortunately I just haven't seemed to care enough to drop $300 for those few one-offs. Another problem with 'artistic' games are people think sex and vulgar = mature. I would like some more adult oriented games I just don't think the same thing as developers do when they think that. Developers think "adult oriented" = Duke Nukem and F-bomb FPS. I think "adult oriented" = stories and themes that I can think about after the game is over.
3 Like I call bullcrap. Clearly Jenova Chen is only saying this because he makes games for PSN. However, it's a stupid remark. I find Journey to be a beautiful game, I loved every second of it. However, I find the art in Nintendo's game's just as breathtaking and far more iconic. That's not to mention how defiant and independent Nintendo is of industry expectations. Xbox has some genuinely artistic games as well (uh, Limbo, anyone?). In fact, it could reasonably be argued that the XBL Arcade has FAR more indie artwork than either Sony's PSN or Nintendo's online store.
Taking it to a bit of a personal level, I find Nintendo's Retro Studios and EAD far more artistic and beautiful than thatgamecompany. Naughty Dog might be a comparable art house to Retro Studios.
I will defer to the following comment made by craigprime in the comments below: "if the people that use a PS3 are more artistic, Sony should actually make some decent "art" games for it."
Least surprising development today- article that combines games vs art and 360 vs Ps3 vs Wii is magnet for angry people in comments. In other news, they're making a sequel to the Avengers and water is still wet.
Give me a break. Video games are toys, and toys attract children and menchildren. Sony might want to market its system as more upscale or whatever, but give a Sony exclusive such as Starhawk a 7.5 out of 10 (a GOOD score), and you'll witness you'll witness the kind of people video games actually attract.
I can't say that the PS3 isn't meant for the most artistic people, but I haven't seen many actual games that are meant to draw with. I mean, Nintendo has a wide array of art focused games: Art Style, Art Academy, Colors! 3D, and if music counts as art, Bit Trip, Electroplankton, Rhymtek, the list is huge in Nintendo's "art" category. But hey, if the people that use a PS3 are more artistic, Sony should actually make some decent "art" games for it.
3 Like This is one of the silliest statements I've ever seen from a developer. It almost beats Casey Hudson's attempted explanation of ME3's horrible ending involving "Artistic Integrity."There's people that appreciate art on all platforms; PS3, Xbox, Wii, PC... Saying that "one platform's fanbase appreciates art more" is just flat out wrong.
@MalckeorI didn't play ME beyond half of the first game but, as a writer, I have to defend the 'Artistic Integrity' line. A writer has the right to select the ending that best fits his or her vision. Just because games are an interactive medium doesn't mean that a writer loses his ability to guide the story. The problem is that Karpyshyn isn't a very good writer and he created an ending(s) that dissatisfied the VAST majority of his audience. Still though, his right.
Makes sense. PS3 is home to more Japanese games and players of Japanese games are used to having no idea what the &#$% is going on. Coherent narrative? Pfft. Who needs it?
I own a PS3 and a Wii, and I have played the 360, but I think all audiences have an artistic taste somehow.
1 Like I own all three systems, and I don't care for any art.
True Art = Nature and Beautiful Woman
1 Like Of course. The PS3 was built to produce better graphics than either of the other two consoles, and Microsoft just buys out any studio that makes games with good gameplay.
LMAO!! No. Graphics are pretty much the same on the PS3 and XBox 360. Just about every none 1st party developer have said this and proved it. Good try fanboy. EA & Activision are the companies who buy out the studios. Even Sony has purchased move game studios then Microsoft.
As for Chen's comments. He obviously doesn't own an XBox 360. Games like Braid, Bastion, Limbo & Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet are all artsy immersive games that have sold well. The average age of gamers on the Xbox 360 are in their 20's. I think he needs to do more research on what's on the XBox 360.
1 Like Speaking that these non first party developers are the very same ones that get paid to hold back dlc for the other system or don't make a game even built off the system its on, that holds no water.
To add to that, nearly every ps3 exclusive to date is superior graphics wise entirely.
This is not being a fan boy, it is just fact.As for microsoft's questionable business practices, i don't care what they do.But they aren't doing what Dedaxys says for sure.
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