Sony Online boss reaches out to retail

SOE boss John Smedley has outlined his company’s plan to target children and families – and retailers – with its new MMO Free Realms at the GamesBeat conference today.

Smedley told attendees at the the event, organised by VentureBeat, that Sony Online Entertainment – which is now a division of Sony Computer Entertainment, which runs the PlayStation business – that the new game is ‘our attempt to broaden our demographic’.

The firm is even working with creating a collectable card game to drive interest and gameplay engagement – and, crucially, help drive a link between MMOs and retail, Smedley added.

"We went our of our way to partner with retailers to let them participate in Free Relams money, not just through point cards but revenue shares," he said.

"This is a key way to stop the cycle of retailers and distributors from being at odds with online gaming."

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