14 DAY TRIAL // Just as Microsoft was focusing on an E3 2012 line-up full of sequels, Sony was making an impression via two new properties, Beyond: Two Souls and The Last of Us, something that one company leader believes is crucial to the future of the publisher and hardware maker.
Andrew House, who is the chief executive officer in charge of the PlayStation brand, has told MCV that, “It is absolutely critical. We’ve always felt that the strength of our platform has been a kind of symbiotic relationship between the platform being created and strengthened by new experiences.
“And then that reinforcing the strength and one hopes the longevity of the platform overall.”
For a long time the big publishers have thought that it will be hard for new intellectual properties to gain a foothold in the market, but House believes that this entire idea relies on a faulty understanding of gamers and their needs.
He added, “I’ve heard conventional wisdom in the industry that says – and it is kind of like an American presidency – that the first two years in a lifecycle is the only chance to innovate with a new audience. We take a different view.”
Sony is the creator of the PlayStation 3, which means that the company should be able to push the hardware far enough to surprise players even later during its life cycle.
At the moment, the PlayStation 3 is selling fewer devices in the United States than the Xbox 360 and it has done so for the last year and a half.
The launch of The Last of Us and Beyond: Two Souls might change the overall dynamic and might create a solid momentum for the PlayStation brand going into the next generation of hardware.
Neither of the two developers has officially announced their new devices, but they are expected to do so before the end of 2012.