SCEA’s List of January’s Top Ten Most-Purchased Items
![playstation-home-logo[1]](../../../../img.hsmagazine.net/2011/02/playstation-home-logo1.jpg){kind=logo}
Information courtesy of SCEA Home Community Management
HomeStation magazine has just received the list of the top ten most-purchased virtual commodities in Home for the month of January:
Some interesting trends appear upon closer examination of the data.
1. Midway is still going strong! With the sustained success of the original Midway, it should come as no surprise that a sequel public space was released so soon afterwards. Not only will this space attract new users looking for games, but it has high replayability for veteran Home users just looking to have some fun. I think it’s safe to say that we’ll be seeing Mass Media in these top-ten lists for some time to come.
2. As we predicted over a month ago, the Lockwood Gift Machine appears to have done extremely well. As long as the catalogue of virtual gifts is periodically updated, we suspect that Lockwood “gifting” microtransactions will be a mainstay of Home for the foreseeable future. The big question is whether or not any other developers will attempt to duplicate this formula?
3. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Mansion personal space occupies a very high spot on the list. With add-on personal spaces (such as the pool deck, presently available for preview via the Home Community Volunteers) coming to market, all it takes is for a Home user to get hooked on one of them in order to lower the perceived cost of the core space. Given that this is the first attempt at modular add-on private spaces — and the acquisition cost is a bit higher — it’s a safe bet that Sony is watching this very, very carefully.
4. Let’s talk about acquisition cost for a moment. This list is sorted by number of units purchased, not by revenue. Which means that the Mansion, at fifteen dollars, likely produced quite a princely sum for Sony (although, as we have no idea what the development cost of the space was, we don’t know what the net margin is). And, again, we suspect that the modular add-ons will give the Mansion a surprising amount of staying power for a private space.
5. Speaking of staying power: the Hollywood Hills House is still on the list, and rather highly-placed at that! Both it and the Amaterasu offer EoD technology, but the Amaterasu isn’t on the top ten. Is this due to available content, personal space theme, or some combination thereof? Either way, it seems that EoD technology is something the community wants to see more of.
6. Lockwood is all over this top-ten list (in fact, Sony and Lockwood control 80% of it). Of particular note, women’s hairstyles and fashion, as well as virtual pets, once again seem to be driving sales. Given that Home’s population is reputedly 85% male, we once again must ask: is there really that much cross-dressing going on in Home, or are women simply more likely to spend money in Home?
7. Congratulations to Codename Games for making it onto the list. Music is good. 
February 4th, 2011 by NorseGamer | 14 comments
NorseGamer is the product manager for LOOT Entertainment at Sony Pictures, as well as the founder and publisher of HomeStation Magazine. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, he holds a B.A. in English/Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and presently lives in Los Angeles. All opinions expressed in HSM are solely his and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sony DADC.
LinkedIn
Twitter
It is the women who are spending the money. Women, not little teenage boys. Women 21 and older who have jobs, credit cards, and a great imagination. Sony, are you figuring this out yet? And you assumed that the average age of 43 and female meant that Mom’s were buying those PS3s for their kids? Wake up and smell the coffee. It’s the ladies buying consoles, games, and virtual items for themselves.
Right on Keara, you and I are the proof in the pudding lol
Now imagine this: the sales chart for items which would allow for the playing of music from the PS3 hard drive (or to stream movies from Netflix, for that matter) into your personal space.
My forecast: straight to number one with a bullet, with top ten staying power to spare.
Extreme customer happiness + a cash cow with large teets = VERY epic win. Ahhh Sony….why has thou forsaken me?
And as far as ‘da sisters’ spending money in Home, let us not forget that urinals are 50% universal. Us menfolk are laying down simoleans (at an alarming rate) for virtual goodness as well. Do not take the blame upon yourselves ladies…it’s ALL our faults.
By the way, i enjoy the top ten sales list (and your analysis as well, Norse)…please keep ‘em coming!
Ive heard this 85% male user figure used b 4 but honestly i think that # is off.In my dealings on home im guessing the split is more like 60%to40% male to female.Of course its likely my guess is wrong but i meet alot of women on home,yes im talking mic confirmed women,everyday.So unless im unusually lucky,doubtful,this # just seems off.Does any1 know how sony came up with this #?
I’m astonished that the Mansion is doing so well. That’s a major investment for most Home users, and it’s one I’m still not willing to make. This much success, so early, implies that we will be seeing more modular spaces in the future. And some of them will probably break down my sales resistance. I’m still rooting for a Final Fantasy airship, or a Medieval castle.
I’m not surprised that virtual pets are doing well. I hope we’ll see lots more of them, possibly moving in a Tamagotchi direction — pets that grow and change, based on the care and attention they receive. Pets that are another game in Home. (We need that “My Little Pony” space! Total winnage!)
Game-monetization seems to be alive and well in Home. Midway tickets, gift-machine tokens, and the Phonograph Music Box, which is the ticket to a game. So, I guess we’ll be seeing more of that as well.
Mixed blessing there. As long as there is significant free content, I won’t complain too loudly. I buy game upgrades as cheerfully as the next person, if it’s challenging and entertaining, like Salt Shooter. That’s still the standard to meet in Home games, in my opinion.
I agree that it is women that are buying a lot of the content on Home. Many male friends that I have refuse to buy anything and are satisfied with the free content. On the other hand, many of my female friends have to have the latest styles and home spaces. And those women friends that can’t afford to spend on Home wish they could. I have friends that cross dress (both male and female) or have multiple ID’s on Home, who undoubtedly spend the most on Home. I’m kind in the middle, I go on spending sprees but there is a limit to what I am willing to spend. From what I have seen of the mansion, the hype was much greater than the space and is not worth the expense. Although I do like the tiger that comes with the space. I have not purchased any pets, but if I could have a tiger follow me around on home, I would buy that in a heart beat.
Im not sold on this idea that women spend more,the 3 largest real estate holders i know r guys.1 of these 3 is a self-proclaimed”collector” and has every personal space sold and buys new 1s asap.The women i know seem 2 spend more on clothes and pets than the guys and the guys i know seem 2 spend more on personal spaces and furniture.While im still the biggest spender i know,over $1000 in 10 months,im sure thats chicken feed compared 2 some ppl.I seriously doubt that many 18yr olds have that kind of scratch 2 spend on home or even would if they did have it.This amount of cash is more than i paid 4 the ps3 and every game disc ive ever bought,4 the 1st 2 months i was on home i flat-out refused 2 spend anything on my avatar until i went 2 a friends villians lair and played the village griefer,then i had 2 have that place.I think having open houses is a great idea which is y i implemented the concept in my”fam”,i had all these empty places just sitting around so y not have get togethers at different 1s once a week i said 2 myself.Every1 that comes appreciates the sneak peak at a place they may have never seen b 4 and i know 4 a fact has resulted in some sales 4 sony.I would never have thought id become an unpaid virtual real estate agent 4 sony but wth,its the least i could do in thanks 2 them 4 creating home in the 1st place.
Interesting! So not so many people bought Slap Happy? I would be happy with the purchase if I could get people to cooperate! Everyone thinks you have an agenda when you ask them to attack you. I just wanna see the pie and the piano dangit!
My son bought Chairman Meow and I bought the Lockwood hair pack. And we both bought our share of green tickets and Lockwood tokens.
SlapHappy was indeed quite conspicuously absent from the top-ten list…
Well, duh. If we can’t try it out for free, how the heck are we supposed to know we want it?
I look at the list of all the Lockwood gifts I received and the messages and I know who spent beaucoup bucks on tokens: WOMEN! Same with Natalia hairstyle and Jennifer hairstyle and denim shorts and companion pets and music boxes. I am willing to concede that Mansions and HHHouses might be a 50/50 split. But I will also bet that the “marketers” in SCEA are all males under 30 who don’t have a clue who the big spenders are. At least the smart developers like Lockwood and CodeGlue are catching on fast.
I think its a stipulated fact that sony is kinda clueless when it comes 2 realising who has the money on home atm.No doubt at all that its the older gamers,but i just think the guys spend it on higher priced things while the ladies buy lower priced things at high quantities.This is based on nothing more than my own personal observations but would b curious 2 see the real figures but doubt sony will part with the info,great article btw keara as always.
lol i meant comment/opinion not article
But the article was great 2 btw.