The inclusion of dramatisation means nothing. It’s a CYA disclaimer so that people know that playing a game on the system isn’t exactly like what’s shown in the ad. The average person wouldn’t believe that’s how playing a game on the system is anyways.
None of this means anything is being overhyped, that part is a matter of opinion. Good marketing is supposed to grab the attention of the viewer and invoke a sense of wonder, curiosity, and interest in more information. They nailed that.
Let the product sell itself, like a trailer showing pre-rendered cars, soccer players, and a Spartan? Or an ad showing people playing jump rope that was also effective in the past?
We aren’t in any position to say what they should and shouldn’t highlight when trying to sell their console. It makes sense they aren’t going to highlight performance but that doesn’t make their strategy wrong.
My opinion is that while it’s obnoxious and it’s been funny seeing some tunes change on how important some features are or not. Considering the last few months of pushback and flack from advertising a system on power and not being accurately able to demonstrate it and the fact even amongst enthusiasts games aren’t looking “next gen” enough, Sony aiming to focus on things that aren’t just graphical improvements has become a wise move. Obviously that’s simply because they can’t lay claim to the power crown this time, but it still works out for them.
Personally I don’t mind the controller stuff, even if i also believe for accessibility and access reasons they shouldn’t focus on it to the detriment of allowing you to use different or existing controllers. The 3D audio stuff though is hilariously being laid on too thick. Would rather they get to the ads showing how an SSD means you can get right into the game with no hassle or whatever the next ad will be.
That aside the ad is no different than how Sony ads have been for the past decade now, they’ve always done the “This is your fantastic adventurous life on gaming where you are now IN the game”. A notable part of marketing electronics has always been selling on a lifestyle and not just the product, it’s why apple commercials play up becoming some active fitness person or a fancy artist and why surface commercials play up becoming the most productive business person on earth.
My point was that the inclusion of the word dramatization doesn’t mean they are overhyping anything.
I agree that it’s an opinion on whether the strategy is good or not. I also think it’s clear that the ad is not an accurate representative of the features. It’s meant to emphasis what it could be like in a dramatic way.
My focus is on the question posed in the thread and that’s on whether or not they are overhyping these features. I say they aren’t because it makes sense to highlight the strengths of your platform. Good marketing tactics don’t have to be overhyping something. This is especially true with sound which is sadly overlooked far too often. The same can be said for the controller. It does add to the experience when I can feel my tires lose their grip in Forza through the triggers on the XBO controller. No reason to believe it won’t add to the experience on PS5.
Those features are a highlight of this ad, that doesn’t mean they will be the main, or only, factors of their entire ad campaign. It just looks like you’re misconstruing the messaging of one ad and applying that to an entire marketing campaign when it’s barely started. I expect future ads to touch on the graphics, SSD, UI, and especially games.
I bring up previous Xbox ads because no one questioned anything about those ads, but those ads didn’t let the product sell itself. My point is that there are many, many different forms to advertise your product and quite frankly, rarely do we see the console sell itself in console ads. So it makes me question why we are asking them to do that now?
I agree it is good marketing highlighting new features but putting these features at the forefront I think is a mistake because they will be underwhelming to the majority of gamers.
Most fortnite, warzone, GTA5 etc players are happy with audio and rumble of current gen systems, how do I know this? Because its never been an issue at the forefront in the media,forums,social media etc, people care about games, crossplay etc. Audio and rumble improvements are not things gamers are demanding at anything more then a small minority level. These are nice improvements but not things which will sell people on next gen.
Also I never said anything about the entire marketing campaign, this thread is about the first PS5 ad.
I agree, these are nice improvements but not things which will sell people on next gen alone. That’s why they will have future ads.
People are also happy with the shit audio coming out of their flat screen TVs, doesn’t mean sound companies shouldn’t advertise soundbars, surround sound systems, or headphones. Most people won’t know or care there is better out there unless it’s communicated to them. Many of them can only go based off of what they know or have experienced. So the marketing can sell them on something better.
If you’re not talking about the campaign, then I’m even more confused because I don’t think even Sony expects to sell people on the PS5 with just one ad. Maybe it’s because their first ad highlights these features that leads you to believe they are overhyping them, I’m not sure. I think it was a good introduction to their system and I’m interested to see what they show next.
No matter what, it’s better than a crying baby doll.
Gonna go on record to say that I am in fact actually more interested in the PS5 for the controller, the quality of life improvements the SSD could bring, and of course the games than any power or performance improvements. But that this commercial does nothing for me cause when I see these types of commercials I am reminded of that meme that says 'I’m not a gamer cause I have no life but cause I have many".
I get where you are coming from, but part of marketing is convincing people they want things they previously didn’t realize they wanted and from observation many will go along with it when done right. Especially when it helps create the idea that it’s a worthy reason to spend hundreds of dollars on something new. That’s the point of this commercial’s tagline “Welcome to a New World” and making it aspirational. Just this year has proven how much this works, prior to earlier this year did not hear at all any previous overwhelming interest in the improvements or importance of an SSD or how game changing 3D audio was, and the appeal of certain controller features that other platforms have had for a while now.
I remember. It’s a HUGE reason I skipped the PS4 launch. The light cast a nasty glare on my plasma set! I had a light controlled theater room and it lit it up. Same with the PS3 glow stick motion controls with the camera. Almost reserved myself to electrical taping over it during the Pro launch, but skipped with the lack of UHD drive and following jet engine reports.
I wouldn’t say overhype, anything can be great if it is embraced by the developers. Unfortunately audio or niche features don’t really sell games. Graphics you can clearly see in a video or pictures, audio not so much. I bet we do see a few cool concepts using the new controller features and then it will be quickly forgotten. Without widespread support across multiple platforms, most third parties are going to skip the extras.
Your comparison with specific audio equipment is not comparable at all, audio equipments specific purpose is sound which is completely different to what this conversation is about. its also not a good comparison comparing dedicated audio equipment to shitty tv speakers to current gen audio + rumble caperbilities to PS5s.
Truth is sony are putting a large emphasis on audio and rumble/haptics.
Im unsure why you are going on a tangent about sony only doing one ad, it would be good if you could explain why you think my reasoning for why sony focusing on these things is not good, is incorrect.
*Fans reaction when audio and rumble is not that much different
They are marketing a consumer product, not enterprise one. Graphical power will get its spotlight, but that’s expected from a next gen console, nothing special about it. These things are something unique and of course they are marketing unique features. Imagine Nintendo marketing graphics for switch when it’s about unique features? I also think it’s going to be forgotten in few years, but they have to market it. Microsoft was marketing rumble triggers at the beginning of this gen, but they stopped mentioning it later on. That’s how it is.
It’s very much comparable. A sound system is supposed to improve the sound beyond what’s offered on a TV. A next gen system, including new features like better audio and more controller features, is supposed to improve on the experience over current gen. In both scenarios it’s selling consumers on something better even if they are ok with current standards.
I’m also not going on a tangent over anything. The thread would have been more constructive if it just asked for opinions instead of starting it with a negative slant of something possibly being overhyped. You are not incorrect in your opinion that performance and load times matters more to you than better audio and haptic feedback. However there are plenty of people who would find those features appealing and these features will never be known unless Sony markets them.
Sony will focus on the controller, audio, SSD, and games. MS will focus on Game Pass, performance, cross gen support, and also games. They are both just going in the directions that they feel help them stick out.
They’re just selling what they have, which is perfectly fine. Maybe I’ll feel like they’d overhyped those features once I’ve spent some time with them, but for now I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Audio equipments main purpose is AUDIO, games consoles main purpose is gaming, audio is a component of it but audio + rumble in gaming is already quite good.
I never said audio + haptics do not appeal to some people, my point is its not at the forefront of what is important to the majority of gamers, especially when we consider audio and rumble was good this gen and imo is not the best idea to have as a big part of there marketing, I think a YouTube video going through the features that combined with cernys talk would be adequate for these features, by focusing on these things to much they risk building expectations to big which may result in disappointment.
But there are people like yourself and others who disagree with this opinion and thats coolio.
I did the poll because its my opinion and it turns out the majority of people participating in this thread agree with me. Theres nothing wrong in discussing topics which are not completely positive as far as im aware this place is not an echo chamber of positive topics and opinions only.
Definitely overhyped me thinks. Look no further than the touch pad and 3D rumble on the Switch. 3D audio has potential with the overwhelming use of headsets, but haptic feedback and the triggers? I think we will see some cool stuff early on, but without it being industry standard I don’t see many devs committing to it.
