Eric Johnson

Recent Posts by Eric Johnson

Sony’s First TV Ad for the PlayStation 4 Is Basically “Testosterone, the Musical!”

Who is going to buy the PlayStation 4 when it launches on Nov. 15? Sony’s first TV ad for the next-gen gaming console, which aired tonight during “Monday Night Football,” makes the safe bet that it’s young dudes:

Maybe not all the young dudes can sing Lou Reed this well, but let’s have some suspension of disbelief.

“Perfect Day” is couched in three mock-multiplayer games: A sword-fighting game, a car racer and a war/sci-fi shooter. The commercial doesn’t say exactly which games these are supposed to be, but some rough analogues in the PS4’s launch catalog for the latter two are DriveClub and Killzone Shadow Fall. Hat tip to commenter GavinLacouette for noticing Imperial City from the Elder Scrolls series in the background of the first game.

Focusing on the games in this first ad, which was produced by BBH New York, is right in line with Sony’s larger marketing around the console. They’re catering to the hard-core gamers (again, traditionally, young dudes) who are willing to shell out $60 for a deep and “pure” gaming experience. As before, it’s distinct from Microsoft’s broader strategy with the Xbox One, which got its TV debut last month in a football-centric ad that didn’t mention games at all.

The PS4 will cost $399 in the U.S. at launch, versus $499 for the Xbox One, which launches a week later, on Nov. 22.

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The problem with the Billionaire Savior phase of the newspaper collapse has always been that billionaires don’t tend to like the kind of authority-questioning journalism that upsets the status quo.

— Ryan Chittum, writing in the Columbia Journalism Review about the promise of Pierre Omidyar’s new media venture with Glenn Greenwald