SCEA: 12- to 14-year-olds are the new target audience for PSP
PSPgoes to younger gamers
While Sony's PlayStation Portable has traditionally been positioned as a handheld for older gamers, the company is now targeting younger consumers to broaden the system's audience.
At launch, the average PSP owner was 28 years old, however, the device's poor performance - particularly in North America and Europe - has forced Sony to actively pursue new demographics. This is partially the reason Sony invented the smart-talking Marcus Rivers persona as a representative for the PSP.
"We saw the [new] prime target as 12- to-14-year-olds who are graduating from devices like the DS and even the Leapster, but before they're getting into console gaming or carrying smartphones," John Koller, president of hardware marketing at SCEA, told AdvertisingAge.
David Cole, an industry analyst, agrees that Sony's new position with the PSP may help boost sales. "These are consumers looking for a mobile device, and in many cases they don't have mobile phones or have very restricted mobile phones," he said.
Though the PSP is consistently one of the best-selling video game products in Japan, it is struggling to reach Western consumers. In July, Sony sold only 84,000 PSPs to American gamers.
