theceomagazine.com | 115gaming,” Takehito says. “It’s the content of the games
that’s attracting people. We knew that if we were
going to engage customers, we had to let them
experience the games before buying them.
“In some locations, we opened storefront
demonstrations where customers could come, pick
up a controller and play a game for 10 minutes to
get a feel for it. Then we had trade industry shows
that engaged businesses and customers, and they were
important for inviting new players to our consoles.
We rolled that into product demonstrations in
shopping malls on weekends, where we built small
stages in stores and let people have a go with the
games,” he says. “In doing that, we were accelerating
the evolution of the market. There are a lot of
customers who simply aren’t familiar with console
gaming, and this was our way of letting them know
the uniqueness and beauty behind it.”
Takehito’s efforts have yielded strong results for
the company, helping drive cumulative worldwide
sales of 91.6 million PS4s as of the end of 2018. Still,
with strict censoring reducing the number of gamesregionally available for the
console, growing that number
will be difficult. That’s why SIE
has focused on partnering with
local publishers to develop
games that appeal specifically
to the market.
“We’re only able to get
30 or 40 games out a year,
whereas everywhere else in
the world, we can reliably
release hundreds. We want
more content available in the
market. If the market grows,
more games will be developed,
and that in turn means more
opportunities for us.
“When we work with
local developers to make local
games, you can see a marked
difference. It’s like the
distinction between a locally
made film and a Hollywood
movie. Everyone loves a
blockbuster, but sometimes you want something with
which you are familiar and where you can recognise
a touch of your own culture.”
All of this is part of developing a workable
strategy for console gaming in the region. “In
the long-term, we need to reach new customers,”
Takehito says. “We need a sustainable and growing
market and we want customers to have more choices,
not only for mobile and PC games but also in the
console space,” he explains.
“China hasn’t had decades of console gaming
like everywhere else in the world, so we need to
work together to cultivate and grow the console
gaming segment.”
If SIE can build local relationships, Takehito
sees no reason why the Chinese market can’t catch
up with the West. “The PlayStation has only been
around for a few years in China,” he says.
“This is just the start for us. We’re on the right
track, with an international catalogue from which
to draw on, selling to a country whose economy
is opening and growing.”“CHINA HASN’T
HAD DECADES OF
CONSOLE GAMING
LIKE EVERYWHERE
ELSE IN THE WORLD,
SO WE NEED TO
WORK TOGETHER
TO CULTIVATE AND
GROW THE
CONSOLE GAMING
SEGMENT.”
Interview | INNOVATE