PS3 Fanboy

A survey sent out by SCEE today indicates that they are weighing up peoples' interest in the Siren franchise. The survey asks questions about Siren Blood Curse and asks people to rate various aspects out of 10. It also asks you whether you'd be willing to buy more games in the franchise in the future and how you'd like to receive them (either in one bunch, like Blood Curse or episodically.)

Did you receive this survey? Even if you didn't, what are your thoughts on the game? Would you like to see more? As far as downloadable titles go, we thought it was a fairly entertaining survival horror experience. We just wish it wasnt pegged as "episodic" when it was all released on the same day. And still having to download each episode individually? Rubbish.

A new study out today by Experian Consumer Research concluded there are differences between consumers who purchased the PS3 and those who purchased the Xbox 360. The biggest difference being that while the Xbox 360 appeals the most to gamers who are 35-44, the PS3 appeals to the more senior demographic of 45 and up. The study also finds that youngsters ages 18-24 prefer the Nintendo Wii. Finally, the study uses "new media respondents" as a control group, defined as those who spend more than one hour online per week.

This study doesn't tell us anything we don't already know; they don't state any specific numbers in their press release and the presentation you can download basically concludes that there are no differences between PS3 owners and 360 owners except for age. After seeing a sample of their rudimentary research, if we were a company looking for statistics to help us market to gamers, we'd stay away from them.

It's not surprising to see Sony top the list of a "most innovative brand" survey. With creations such as the Walkman, CDs, and Blu-ray, there hasn't been any other company that has left such a footprint in our media-driven pop culture. Consumers haven't forgotten these achievements, as a recent survey revealed that Sony was perceived the most innovative brand beating out the likes of Apple, Microsoft, and Nintendo.

The survey was conducted by branding consultancy Incite. 500 people between the ages of 18 and 65 took part in the British led poll. There were a lot of other big names on the list. Do you want to know what other companies Sony beat out? Check out the top 20 list after the break.

[Via CVG]

It looks like game developers and publishers are trying to think up of new peripherals to put in our households. Surveys have revealed possible gameplay features, and the most recent comes from Activision. A marketing survey asked if users were interested in a new Tony Hawk game that will use a "new motion sensing board controller." The title, Tony Hawk's Adrenaline, will be available on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. A motion sensing board reminds us quite a bit of NIntendo's Wii Fit board. Implementing such a design for a skateboarding game would certainly be interesting.

Surveys aren't necessarily indicative of products that are actually in development. Instead, Activision may simply be testing the waters to see if such ideas would do well in the marketplace. Considering how much fun Wii Fit is, we wouldn't say no to such a peripheral for PS3.

[Via Joystiq]

Update: Nielsen Games corrected their figures. The usage for PS3/360 was switched for the "above 26" crowd.

Nielsen Games recently conducted a study to see how two different age groups used their home consoles. Surveyed people were split into two groups: those 10-26 years old and those above 26. The younger group (10-26) resonated most with Microsoft's Xbox 360, with the console being played 63% of the time. PS3, in comparison, was only played 12%.

The older crowd, those above the age of 26, was Sony's strongest demographic. Instead of being the least used console, it becomes the most. PS3 is used 52% of the time, while Xbox 360 is used only 20%. Amongst the older crowd, PS3 is still the least used console, with only 20% of those surveyed using the system. The Xbox 360, in comparison, has 52%.

In light of these updated figures, it looks like Sony may have something to worry about. The older crowd may play PS3 more than the younger crowd, but it looks like Sony has a real fight on their hands for the rest of this generation.

[Via GameDaily]

A survey of teens from youth-oriented social networking site Habbo shows that PS3 is the most desirable console of the three current-gen systems. Nearly 60,000 teens, between the ages of 11 and 18, took part of a site-wide survey. Of the three systems, PS3 topped out with 69% of voters describing the system as "great" or "good." In comparison, the Wii earned a 64% vote of confidence, and the Xbox 360 earned 58%.

It's good to hear that today's youth finds the PlayStation brand just as attractive as ever. According to the survey, 20% of responders say that they plan on getting a new console in the next 12 months. Hopefully, its desirability will help outweigh the PS3's slightly higher cost of entry -- but from what we hear, kids are pretty rich these days.

[Thanks, Andy!]

Nintendo's success with the Wii is undeniable. Sales of the little white console have been phenomenal in Japan. In the console world, nothing is seemingly able to touch it (except handhelds, such as the DS and PSP).

But, what does the future bear for Sony's PS3? It looks like it may have a successful year in store, as a survey of Japanese gamers show interest in Sony's new system to match Nintendo's. "[When] asked which console they hoped to buy next, 28% chose the Wii and 27% picked the PlayStation 3." A single percentage point separates the two. (For comparison, Xbox 360 was chosen by 3% of survey takers.)

Sony's machine is doing fairly well, especially considering its significantly higher cost. In fact, only 6% of gamers surveyed thought price mattered. 49.2% said their top concern for picking a console was "because it's compatible with the games they absolutely want to play." Let's hope titles like Final Fantasy XIII will keep Japanese gamers interested.

[Via GameDaily; Photo Source]

One of our readers has emailed us to let us know that Sony has sent each member of the Home closed beta a simple survey. Consisting of only a single "question", the survey asks testers to rate the importance of a list of features from 1 to 5. Here are our top rated features, the rest are after the jump.

• Purchasable private spaces for clans/groups (5)
• Community events (movies/concerts/developer chats/other events) (5)
  
• Ability to customize avatars with unique items based on game accomplishments and ownership (5)
  
• The ability to acquire (find/learn/buy) collectible/limited edition items (5)
  
• Additional avatar customization (non-human enhancements, e.g. robots, animal heads) (5)
  
• A means of displaying a user's personal gaming history (5)
  
• Hall of Fame/trophy display (5)
  

We know we weren't invited to join the beta, but we've rated these ourselves anyway (the number in the brackets after each list item). We hope that Sony will eventually add all of these features to Home and that this is just a means of choosing which to work on first. The open beta is due to open sometime this month and this looks very much to us like Sony is attempting to get the final opinions of the closed beta players before the influx of new users occurs. Hopefully within the next week or so.

[Thanks Hunter!]

Polls and surveys, in their ever-accurate representation of market share, can at least show how certain audiences are reacting to what companies are offering. Take this latest chart for example. Amazon of Japan has some numbers which show the next-gen Sony console climbing past the Nintendo Wii in popularity. To be specific, we're talking about the 60GB version as the 20GB PS3 was the least popular.

Yes, this does in fact contradict a Famitsu poll that showed quite the opposite (with the Wii taking 73% and the PS3 pulling out 17%). What readers need to understand is that this is coming from Amazon's vantage point and doesn't take into consideration the opinions of retailers or developers. It's a relative poll showing some positive feedback, which is always welcome, but it's not definitive (and as Sony fanboys, we know about over-reacting and how to avoid it).

In the end, this does show some good news for Amazon of Japan though. However we're still waiting on those scientifically proven surveys to come out (should be any minute now...).

[Via Joystiq]

We decided it was time to take the Blu-ray inquiry out of limbo and officially close the poll. As you can see, over 1,400 readers had something to say about it. So, what do you think about Blu-ray? More than half of you embrace the strategic move by Sony to include the next-generation format in the new console. This speaks a lot to the kind of people we have interested in the system: those who opted for the first choice are willing to take the price spike for the new medium.

On the other end, over 30% said they should have the right to decide for themselves. Two versions of the console would cut the cost considerably, but leave Sony more vulnerable to HD-DVD by not smuggling Blu-ray in with every PS3.

At any rate, thanks for voting! And if you harbor a burning desire to know what the community here thinks and have an interesting question to ask the audience, let us know.

We wanna know! Tell us about your thoughts concerning the PlayStation 3 and Blu-ray. It's hard to go a week without having someone say something about the issue, so here's your chance to finally throw down. Check out the poll below and see what's up. And no, you won't find an "Other" option for those of you not interested in purchasing the system. So what are you waiting for? Cast your vote and leave a comment!

[The poll is officially closed! Check the results here.]

According to one community, fans looking forward to the PlayStation 3 say that bundling a Blu-ray player with the new console was a good move by Sony. A resounding 67% said they agree with the inclusion (granted it was only out of 1,120 votes). However the other third that voted thinks it would have been wise to have the option to choose it with or without Blu-ray.

Whether Sony should have had two version of the console is neither here nor there. What really matters is what the gaming community thinks as a whole. Should Blu-ray have been optional or not? We've tackled this one before, but it would be very interesting to see the results played out on a wider poll. Expect one addressing this question to pop up next week and we'll get some formal numbers from our own community to see what you think.