Sony: "our primary PSN audience is indeed more adult"
Journey maker Jenova Chen nods head vigorously.
Both Sony and Journey creator Jenova Chen believe, in a completely unbiased way of course, that PlayStation Network has more adult-minded users.
Chen told VentureBeat that, "Sony has a more artistic and adult-focused taste. They care about how grown-ups feel toward their games."
And lo and behold, Sony agreed.
"Our primary PSN audience is indeed more adult, and many of our best-selling titles appeal to this demographic," said Jack Buser, senior director of PlayStation digital platforms.
"Many PlayStation and PSN games have themes that require a user to think and feel about a deep, immersive gameplay experience, and we see that exemplified in the success of titles like Flower, Journey, and Heavy Rain.
"Titles like these can only be found on PlayStation, and our users enjoy the emotional and thematic sophistication of their games, especially with our digital offerings."
Continued Chen: "The player who owns a PlayStation 3 is more likely to be interested in artistic games compared to Wii and Xbox 360."
Verifying these claims without the appropriate statistical data at hand is impossible, which is probably why the statements exist.
Nevertheless, Thatgamecompany's Flow, Flower and Journey are unique experiences to PlayStation Network, and those tailored to a more art-appreciative mind.
That's not to say Xbox Live Arcade doesn't have it's own stand-out experiences like Fez and, at least to begin with, Limbo and Braid. VentureBeat singled out I Am Alive and Alan Wake's American Nightmare as more adult-orientated releases, too.
Jenova Chen's a forerunner in the games-as-art debate, both because of his stance and his creations. Simon Parkin tracked Jenova Chen down recently for Eurogamer, stuffed a burger in his mouth and picked his brains.