In our visit to the Identity Corp PSVR event in Madrid, in addition to testing some of the upcoming PSVR releases( soon the impressions), we have had the opportunity to make a small interview with Cristina Infante, Senior Platform Marketing Manager de PlayStation Spain, in which it has been clear the commitment that the company maintains with virtual reality.
Infante points out that, despite the feelings offered regarding PSVR Sony conference E3, the company continues to bet “butt” by the middle. In relation to games, expresses that we are at a time when they are trying to exploiting technology further, that is, explore the possibilities offered by VR. And in the face of the AAA, he points out that many of the available titles, as well as the exclusive ones that are coming, must be given a chance to build your own name in this market.
As for the growth of the PSVR user base, taking into account the recent promotion of the Days of Play that left the Sony viewer available for€ 250, he says that it has been a resounding successexceeding the goals they had. In addition, they are confident that they will reach and exceed their sales target for this year. A figure that they can not share at the moment, but that a few months ago they adjusted to make it more realistic. Currently, the known sales figure remains the more than 2 million units announced in December last year.
Below is the full interview, which includes a few more issues.
INTERVIEW
This year’s E3 left us the same number of titles presented as the previous one, has Sony slowed the accelerator with PSVR or is this situation normal? do you maintain the same commitment as since its launch?
Yes, I think PlayStation, since the origin of PSVR, has said that it is important, that it is a new technology that is here to stay and that continues to promote development by all the studios that are collaborating. It is true that in the conference the presence was not as important as other titles, but the RV does have a presence. The format of the presentation that was made there was completely different from that of other years, but it does not mean that you bet less on that technology, it means that the concept of the presentation was a little different.
We are still betting on VR technology, we are still working to have many titles, and we are currently above the 200 games and experiences that are already available. And in the coming months we will see many more releases.
Likewise, many users expected a great announcement of a known saga, as it was in its day Skyrim VR or Resident Evil 7,but there was not, can we expect more AAA of known sagas taking the leap? maybe a surprise for Christmas?
At the moment we are concentrating on presenting some of the exclusives that are being developed for VR, it is a work that is trying to exploit VR technology more and to solve certain aspects that are being polished more and more, and although at the moment we have nothing to announce in terms of AAA, well, we are going to see new games in the future.
How was the Days of Play offer for the PSVR sale? has it met your expectations?
Not only has he met expectations, he has been above them. We had goals that we far exceeded in the specific case of VR. The truth is that the whole promotion of Days of Play has gone fantastically well, always above the objectives we had set and VR has not been the exception. We are confident that there is an appetite for the VR device and we are confident that we will reach and exceed the goal we have for this year. I can’t give you the figure, but we are very happy with the results.
Today we have here more than 10 titles that will soon arrive to PSVR and many others announced that are not present, what would you say to those who comment that there is no quality content or that almost everything is indies? do you think there is any, among the games already announced and that have not yet come out, that can really be a venders?
Well, there are many, I think the difficulty that consumers are finding is to really identify all the amount of products that exist, because it is true that it is difficult to have on the table at a glance all the content that there is VR. Perhaps the fact that there are not so many franchises already so established and so known, with which you stay in the memory and in the retina in a second, makes it a little more complicated for consumers to identify these titles, but we have exclusive ones like The Persistence and Firewall Zero Hour.
There are games that are very different from each other, of different genres, and the truth is that there are contents for all kinds of players. You have to investigate and there are many, there is not a title that likes everyone, since we see it in the sales results that are distributed. Obviously, in the big titles like Gran Turismo, Skyrim, Resident Evil… they have been the names we are most used to hearing, but we have to allow these new exclusives to build their identities and become something more recognizable.
How is the evolution in this second year of life of PSVR? What can we expect in the short term from now on?
This year we are very focused on continuing to produce content and that is where we are going, to build and expand the catalog of available experiences, always improving all those technical aspects that are being polished and that are being built. We always have on the table the promise that this RV is going to be important and evolve, and we trust that the company will really do it for future generations.
PlayStation has been sending emails about PSVR usage to its customers, is there little activity on the part of users or is it a simple measure to know better what they are looking for?
No, emails asking questions are part of the survey programs we do with all our products, and they capture the essence of what our consumers like the most and the least. We try to take a little pulse from the community, trying to listen so that in the future the things we develop are responding to the demands they are asking us. It is not a one-off action nor is it just in VR.
What can you tell us about PlayStation Plus no longer including VR titles?
We will have to wait and see month by month what the program is thinking. We always keep our consumers in mind, and we try to offer them the best we can, so we will have to wait for news soon.
So much for the interview with Cristina Infante, whom we thank for her time and kindness.
