Sony Speaks to the Challenges of Launching the PS5, Says Launch Lineup “Best in the History of PlayStation”

This morning, Sony released a new video ad for the PlayStation 5 which is really aimed at promoting the new DualSense controller.

However, thanks to an interview/article from Gamesindustry.biz, we also gained further insight from the PlayStation team as to the challenges in launching the PS5 in 2020 given the state of the world at the moment. This is particularly challenging for Sony as it attempts to promote the DualSense, as it’s really something they want players to feel for themselves.

Eric Lempel, SVP and head of global marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment, had the following to say:

“It’s a massive challenge on every front, not just for the parts of the organisation that I oversee, but for all parts of the organisation. The nice thing is that we’re pulling it together. We will launch this year — that will happen — and from my end we will absolutely make sure that we will bring all of the magic and all of the excitement of launches that we have had in the past.

“We are still committed to doing that. It’s more challenging than ever, but our gamers expect a lot from us. It’s a chance to celebrate the beginning of a new generation. This spot kicks off PlayStation 5 marketing efforts, and this is just the beginning. So you can see this as the initial entry. Hopefully it looks high quality, hopefully it captures the imagination of the viewer, and from here, it just gets bigger and better.”

He continues: “If the world was in a normal place, we would be out there with demo stations at different events, with the ability for consumers to touch the product and interact with it, and really understand what we are talking about. The challenge, early on, became how do we try to express this with a spot, and at the same time, how do we create a spot given the current limitations presented by the global pandemic? So this was a challenge on all fronts for us.

With regard to concerns over the launch window lineup, Lempel certainly indicates this shouldn’t be a concern and feels it’s the best ever for PlayStation:

“Once you get beyond all of the features of the PlayStation 5, which makes it a true next-generation product, It’s about the content,” Lempel concludes. “The content that will be in the launch window and beyond is incredibly exciting. I would say that this is the best line-up that we’ve ever seen in the history of PlayStation, between our Worldwide Studios groups and our partners from all the different publishers around the world. We’ve revealed some of that content, and naturally there will be more to come, but the way that the developers can engage with this platform, and create these new experiences with known IP as well as unknown IP, is incredibly exciting.”

Our Take

It’s nice to hear from PlayStation directly on the challenges with launch and what they are focused on in the short-term. They are generally more guarded with information than Microsoft so we always enjoy when we do hear from them.

Whether or not this will be the “best lineup in PlayStation history” is another matter entirely. As we discussed on last week’s Bitcast, we’re concerned about the launch lineups for both the PS5 and Xbox Series X. We also believe that Sony is over-marketing the DualSense and we’ll be keeping our eyes to see what developers make use of the new features beyond launch. Regardless, we continue to be overly anxious for the PS5 and Series X to arrive. Not long now!