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If Eye Pet Was A Nintendo Wii Game, It Would Be Massive.

Eye Pet is a massive risk. It’s possible we could be playing Eight Days or The Getaway 3 this weekend. Sony pursued Eye Pet – an innovative implementation of augmented reality – instead. Given the platform, and its audience, Eight Days would probably sell better. And that shows just what a risk Eye Pet is. But could it expand the audience?

When Nintendogs launched on the Nintendo DS, it was the first real taste I had of Nintendo being a company for “everyone”. The so-called “casual gaming” fad had started. And it was brilliant. Nintendogs lacked longevity, but it still managed to blow me away. I had this living, breathing dog in my Nintendo DS. He reacted to everything I did, alive with animation and interesting AI. It was a breakthrough piece of software.

That, coupled with clever marketing from Nintendo became a breakthrough moment for Nintendo in making the DS a system aimed at everybody. It also spurned numerous copy-cat games trying to capitalise on Nintendo’s product.

Eye Pet delivers the same kind of reaction as Nintendogs. Innovative mechanics, genuinely phenomenal levels of interactivity. But one thing threw me off. The PS3 has, and never will be, marketed at everyone. Sony target the 20-something office worker with their system. Male, genuinely good income, a penchant for investing in expensive products. How could Eye Pet ever be a success?

As it happens, I don’t think it ever will be. It’s too niche for the platform. But that’s interesting in itself, because Eye Pet is inherently a mainstream game. This should be being put in front of every child around the world. But it’s not.

The PS3 genuinely can deliver a better family experience than the Wii. Where the Wii falls short with its “entertainment system” functionality, the PS3 delivers. Where the Wii falls short with “hardcore games”, the PS3 delivers. So it seems interesting to me that Sony never attempt to put the PS3 out there as a family system.

Eye Pet for kids, Singstar for family, Killzone 2 for Dad and teenager, blu-ray rom-coms for Mum. I’m stereotyping badly, but the PS3 has the potential to be everything for everyone. Yet while Sony’s marketing has come on strides for the Playstation 3’s image — I just can’t see Sony targeting the sub-crowd aswell. And with the motion controllers around the corner, they really should consider it. I’m not saying Sony should stop what they’re doing, they’re doing brilliantly at the moment and I wouldn’t want that to change. But when I really think about what the PS3 can do, I see a system that could do a little bit of everything for everyone. Yet I’m not sure the consumer is aware of that.

“Twiggy” is an anonymous PushSquare columnist who has been spotted in three major cities across the globe. It’s rumoured he’s on the run from the British monarchy who accused him of treason.

Previous entries in the “Twiggy” range:

• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Puts A Number Of Hollywood Movies To Shame
• Why Is Everyone So Angry About The PSPgo?
• Playstation 3 Provides More Diversity Than Any Other System Available
• This Is How You Make The Playstation Motion Controller A Success
• The Playstation 3 Is Everywhere These Days, Something’s Changed
• Playing PSone Classics On The PSP Is The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread
• Sony Must Be Feeling Bullish After An Excellent GamesCom
• I’ll Rue The Day The Singleplayer Dies
• Please Stop Extending Your Games With Annoying Treasure Hunts
• The Scope Of DLC Is Changing
• Why Do People Promote A Single System Future?
• The Digital Download vs. The Peripheral, Is The Video Game Industry Moving In Separate Directions?
• The Ideas Presented In Mirror’s Edge & Red Faction Guerrilla Will End Up Everywhere
• The Importance Of Exposure Against An E3 Splash: Which Is More Important?
• Sony’s Wand Technology Sent Out A Fierce Message To Competitors Hours After They Comfortably Assumed Victory
• Sony’s First, Second & Third Party Alliances Will Ensure A Thrilling E3 2009 Showcase
• Playstation 3 Is Platformed Out With Bionic Commando & inFamous This Week, And It Reminds Me How Much I Love Super Mario 64
• In A Year Dominated By Blockbuster Sequels, Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain Vision Could Be The Diamond In The Rough
• Here’s What I’d Request In The PSP Go! If I Had A Job At Sony & A Say In Such Things
• Does The Playstation 3 Need Motion-Control & How Will Sony Apply It?
• Why Did Guerilla’s Killzone 2 Force Me To Kill The More Interesting Good Guys? I Hate The ISA!
• Sony’s E3 2009 Press Conference Could Be The Biggest In History & A Turning Point In Software Perception
• A Playstation 3 Pricecut Could Cripple Sony So Stop Asking For It