Sony Talks About Marketing And Strategy

This generation’s console race is one of the most heated battles we’ve ever seen in video games – thanks in large part to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 rivalry. Because of that, it’s always interesting to hear Sony and Microsoft talk about one another and what their strategies are. Sony did exactly that in a recent interview with Industry Gamers. They spoke not only about their primary goal and how it pertains to the Xbox 360 but also about a new marketing campaign for this year that revolves around the insane amount of exclusive content they have.

Regarding the latter, this is what PlayStation Software Senior Brand Manager, Scott McCarthy, had to say.

“We obviously are very bullish on our platform. We do feel like we have a great message with Move… and we feel we have the strongest lineup we’ve ever had coming this year. PS3 has superior technology inside the box, and this is going to be the year where we make a lot of noise based on the exclusive titles you’re going to be able to play.

Those things together will give us a voice. We gained a lot of momentum with the ‘It Only Does Everything’ message, and that was a great hardware message, but this year we’re going to follow it up with another punch that is an ‘Only on PlayStation’ message. You know, LittleBigPlanet 2 led us off; then we’ve got Killzone 3, SOCOM, Infamous 2, Twisted Metal, Uncharted, Resistance… the list goes on. And that’s excluding Move specific software. For the gamer there’s a lot to look forward to, and for the Move consumer there’s also a lot to look forward to.”

Moving on to the touchy topic of sales and where each console-maker is positioned on the podium, Sony’s stance is very interesting.

“So do we pass Xbox 360? At the moment, I think we’re trying to just keep up with inventory and trying to move as many units as we can through the channel. It’s also one of those things where, do we notice what Microsoft is doing? Obviously, they are our competition. But is it like we surpass Microsoft or we fail? No. Our goal is to be profitable and we’re going to achieve that this year and do even better next year. That’s been Nintendo’s position for years. We have a very aggressive plan this year. And when we’re profitable we’re happy. If we happen to close the gap with Microsoft in the meantime, then that’s good too.”

It pleases me to hear Sony say this. Sometimes I think gaming fans forget that where each console ends up in the sales race isn’t really all that important as long as they’re profitable. Does each company want to be on top? Absolutely. Are they going to have close up shop and stop making consoles if they don’t best their main competitors? Certainly not. One of the greatest things about the gaming industry right now is how big it is. Big enough that, up to this point, three console platforms have survived in unison. I see no reason why they won’t continue to do so, regardless of what the yearly graphs say.

Source: Industry Gamers

16 Comments

  1. So many exclusive games are coming out for the PS3 this year. This year is looking very bright for playstation owners. Unfortunately the 360 is looking less than stellar this year.

    • The 360 line up is thread bare. I feel really sorry for 360 owners who are gunna have to put up with a few kinect titles and watch on the sidelines as ps3 owners power through Sonys brilliant exclusive line up for this year.

  2. Interesting read; it’s good to hear about Sony’s perspective on the current gen, though given how they’ve fared compared to back in the ps2 days they cant be that happy.

    Marketing wise I like this strategy, the exclusives are really starting to put Microsoft in their place. Though that said as long as I get to keep watching Kevin Butler (albeit only over the net) I’ll be happy.

  3. Sony have the right idea, they will reap the rewards.

    I lost interest in MS when I bought a spanking 360 and it RROD on its first turn on. I should have never bothered.

    I am having to invest in some new shelves simply for the 2011 exclusives!

    GO SONY :-D

    • That can happen with any product, though. You bring it back, they exchange it.

      • Yes it can happen to any product but to have such a high failure rate is disgusting.

        MS rushed the hardware out so they could launch first and yes it may have worked by giving them a sales lead but it’s caused their brand irrepairable damage as far as reliability goes.

        Ive never seen a failure rate so high for a product, knowone I know is still on their first 360. Some are on their seventh! You can’t justify that no matter how hard you try.

  4. Very modest reply from Sony there, of course it does help that this year couold actually be the one where Sony sees its sales of PS3 hardware surpass that of the 360, so its easy to be modest when you have this stance. But they are right, it’s profit that counts and this year, they will have plenty.

  5. For me, the XBOX360 seems to have run out of steam. Sony has many more exclusives last year and the current year too.

  6. Finally, hope there are more adverts that say ONLY ON PLAYSTATION 3, I’m sick of watching like 10 ads a day for a game to say ON XBOX 360 even though I know its for PS3 as well.

  7. Yeah it will be good to see those ads.
    Really glad to read the parts about profits. Looking forward to all the exclusives this year.

  8. Whilst its fantastic for us Playstation gamers and the amount of exclusives we’re getting this year 1st party wise, its been the same scenario for a couple of years now and it still hasnt really affected sales. Everyones said that the 360 lineup is poor yet it still manages to outsell the PS3 is the UK and USA even though the PS3 has many more exclusives. And those few 360 titles (such as Reach) manage to achieve sales that are far past what PS3 exclusives sell.

    Its a sad state of affairs really as I’d hope that Sony would be rewarded sales wise for the amount of stellar titles it puts out into the market whilst MS seem content to rely on brands and third party titles to sell its platform. Heavy Rain, LittleBigPlanet, Modnation Racers, inFamous, Ratchet and Clank, where are the 360 equivalents?

  9. Good reading and a healthy attitude I feel.

  10. I said this before and will say it again
    Sorry to say it but Fanboy’s are idiot’s. Consoles is business and it about making money.

    Put it this way:-
    Fanboy is intrested in hardware sales (sell hardware at lost then lose money)
    The Man is intrested in software sales (sell software and make money from others)

    Now there are more XBox 360 out there then PS3. But there is more software sales on PS3 then XBox 360.

    You sould realy use this sum
    Hardware Unit Sales/Software Unit Sales=Success Rate

    • Your reply is relevant but maybe not here (meant nicely). Surely, if you’re a fan of something then it’s great to see/read about how successful it’s been. That “success” can be measured in a variety of ways (think consumer, not business) and one of them is outselling the competition. With that in mind, it’s possibly to be a fan of something and not resort to throwing handfuls of poo at the screen the moment a competitor issues figures that show your own hardware not performing how you want it to.

      Weirdly, Sony have discussed the competition (a rare moment in itself) and equally looked to itself to make sure investors are looked after and forecasts are met. The only screamer is the Move controller mentions. I find Sony’s support for that bordering on pathetic!

Comments are now closed for this post.