Ben-DutkaMarketing and promotion are always crucial in any industry. But sometimes, it's all a matter of how you approach the selling of your products, combined with the depth of your pockets.
When it comes to Sony vs. Microsoft, it has always seemed as if Microsoft spends more on heavy promotion in multiple venues. Sony doesn't deny this; in fact, they've said in the past that they don't ever intend to "buy exclusives." Now, in a conversation summarized by the Seattle Times , SCEA Senior Vice President of Marketing, Peter Dille, has made it abundantly clear: in the realm of overall spending, Microsoft will remain unmatched. When asked if Sony intended to spend more promoting Move than Microsoft spends on Kinect, Dille replied:
"I don't think we'll ever outspend Microsoft."
There are a few other interesting info tidbits in there, like the comment that PlayStation Plus subscribing is "right in line with their expectations," and that the current $299 price point for the PlayStation 3 is the "true sweet spot." It certainly seems that way, as the PS3 has enjoyed 13 straight months of year-over-year growth after the PS3 Slim arrived with the new $299 price tag. But again it came back to spending when Dille was asked if Sony will "now start investing more in game development and maybe buying more studios."
Simply put, Dille said, "you can't buy a new studio every week." Well, that makes sense. Perhaps surprisingly, considering where the PS3 stands now – at about 38 million worldwide and 13 million in the US, along with 55 million Network accounts – Sony's inability to spend as much as Microsoft hasn't stopped them from catching up after a dismal start to the generation. …must say something about the product itself.
Strength of Sony's exclusives have helped Sony "catch-up", however a few features people really want are still missing.
Nevertheless, Sony has done a very good job considering they were a year behind on launch. Considering too that PS3 multi-plats, on a like for like "technical" basis, have suffered somewhat to their 360 counter parts.
Anyway, we will see now, with the new raft of AAA exclusives if Sony can continue this "catch-up" trend and do something special over the holiday season…
Dilly Dille has surely had to fight a tough fight… no doubts there.
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
Last edited by Qubex on 9/10/2010 10:44:33 AM
sounding a bit like a fanboy (perish the thought!) the move will sell its self when the word gets out how accurate it is.
Money may do Microsoft's talking, but Sony's products does theirs….and much louder too.
Then again, didn't MS dip into gamers' pockets for an extra $10 a month recently? Looks like talking with money is getting expensive.
Last edited by Hezzron on 9/10/2010 11:10:28 AM
I have 3 of those network accounts =p
Tbh, Microsoft seem to just big up there products so much that the average consumer just asumes thats the best and buys it.
But Sony have always made great products which you can rely on, and since they've been around for so long now, people also know sony build quility.
Its great the ps3 is selling so well after releasing a year late, im sure deep down, microsoft know they cant compete unless they upgrade.
I wonder if the sales numbers for Sony's top exclusives are a direct result of the marketing budget. I can't really think of any other reason myself. It's kind of upsetting to see how some of these titles perform when you also take into account the response from gamers/media who actually have played them. You'd think word of mouth would've achieved more….
It's strange though, and I can't really figure out why games like Uncharted 1/2, or LBP (all 3 combined, barely crack 10 million units), haven't sold more, when you're talking an install base of 37-8million at this point. Doesn't that seem strange to anyone else?
I'm still vastly in favor of Sony's projects than Microsoft's. I simply enjoy the diversity they provide on a continuous basis.
i know several people who have ps3's and dont play games or only play everyonce in a while. to some people the ps3 didnt get sold to them for the games it was the everything else it does.
Just to bolster frylock's case, I recently bought a PS3 for my dad for is birthday. He absolutely loves it and I see him using it almost every day, yet he does not play video games. The high end blu-ray player, the internet access on his TV, and the netflicks keep him occupied. As a gamer all of those things just seem like icing to the cake that is a gaming machine, but I actually believe that the PS3 is slowly becoming more of a multimedia-entertainment device more than just a "video game system." I also think Sony knows that, which is why their marketing campaign is about how much it can really do.
I won't disagree with either of you, although, I will say that Sony's been pushing it as a Multimedia machine more than just a gaming console for quite awhile, part of the Blu Ray push.
The problem with that is that multimedia machines don't sell games, which doesn't make money for Sony. They need to move hardware and software to be able to keep their internal devs happy, and that's really my only concern.
I'm definitely glad there are people out there who have PS3's that they use for multiple purposes, but, on the same token, I'd really love to see the top tier games from Sony devs, get the sales they deserve.
Most of the top-tier games on 360 (excluding COD and Halo) don't sell any better than the PS3 games: 10-15% of the install base at most. That's just the way the market works and always has worked.
The only real exceptions are the aforementioned games and games that came as pack-ins, like Wii Sports.
I think that Uncharted 1/2 and LBP didn't sell as much simply because of the timing of release and the status of PS3's console base at the time.
If these games were released right now with the PS3 in the status that it is in now, we may have seen these games sell in the millions.
Well, they did sell in the millions (~3 millionish) no doubt, but they simply undersold when compared to their 360 brethren. Gears of War, for example sold over 6 million.
Guess I just wish they'd push more units, and was simply wondering if maybe the lack of marketing budget is a factor with the sales differences.
microsoft seems to like to just dump money down the toilet. i guess when you have a legion of idiots unloading their wallets at you no matter how horrible your product, keep shoveling poop.
Seeing a picture of the Move and reading about sweet spots kinda made me uncomfortable. Just another reason I'm not getting it I guess.
I'm not so sure that it's a case of Sony being unable to spend the money on marketing, I think it's more a case of then being unwilling to, or unable to justify it. Microsoft is so cash rich, that if it wants to force a product, it can do so. Despite the Xbox program (original, plus the 360) being a sea of red ink, Microsoft continue to chuck money at it.
Do they really need to match M$'s spending? Seems a bulk of their expenses come from snatching up exclusives.
Someone made a good point on another website, M$ will spend a fortune advertising Halo Reacharound, when it clearly isnt needed because Xbots lap up anything with Halo in the title, yet M$ will do this simply because they can.
I think its a little more than just because they can. I believe its so they can attempt to overshadow killer games on the PS3 like Killzone2/3. Like how with multiplats they pay to have just their logo at the end of the commercial.
I think Sony is doing good with what they are doing right now. They have the best commercials. Kevin Butler even gets my wife laughing and she doesn't like video games. Hell I got switched over from seeing and hearing about the great games and and getting tired of dealing with faulty systems. I went through 6 360s.
Why would you went through 6 system?
I used to work with a guy that talked about buying 2 or 3 to have back ups if one went down. Some people just don't care when their parents will buy them whatever.
I've been through 3 360s within 2 months no lie. RROD then got it back. Then account got hacked and RROD again (apparently they sent me a faulty machine) So they sent me one more and i sold it a month later haha. But i missed games like Splinter Cell Gears Halo etc so i got one for like 40 bucks from a friend so oh well. BUT I am NEVER EVER EVER going to pay 60 a year to play online when PS3 is free.
@Snaaaake: I had the extended warranty so when one went out I would bring it in and then pay $50 for another year on the new one. The final one actually lasted about 2 years before I got rid of it. I'm now only a PS3/PSP gamer. I don't miss the 360 one bit.
My buddy owns a gaming center. He has about 20 360's total, and he says he loses 3-5 a month. Some months are obviously better than others, but when its bad its bad I guess.
He doesn't have a 360 in his home, in fact he has a PS3 and has migrated towards the console, from his PC. Which was a little surprising to me considering hes a huge pc guy.
Last edited by bigrailer19 on 9/11/2010 2:15:02 AM
I say let MS win this console "war," it won't help their bottom line since all their money goes into scamming people… er advertising their products, and Sony makes more cashola by delivering the best experience possible.
Lmao, the "slip" of scamming people gave me a good chuckle. Thanks for that. And that chuckle is because its so true, not because I don't believe it.
i agree with most of this but you do have to admit if games like the original uncharted were advertised more maybe more people would have bought it. God of War was advertised quite a bit and look how well it did. And uncharted 2 etc. I have an 360 also but i do have to admit that even though their promoting black ops for the 360 many ps3 buyers will also see that and go oh look i can get that for my ps3 as well. So in a way microsoft promoting 3rd party games is putting unchecked money in Sonys pocket haha
In a slightly different market – that of the smartphones – microsoft has launched the most ridiculous campaign to launch their new mobile platform….
They are performing a funeral parade for their competitor (BlackBerry, iPhone) platforms!
I'm speechless….!!!
Last edited by swapnilgyani on 9/10/2010 6:05:07 PM
Here's the link to the madness!
http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/10/microsoft-celebrates-windows-phone-7-rtm-with-funeral-parade-for/
That sound was my jaw hitting the floor.
Spend all you want Microsoft, but I'll never buy your product. I want quality and that's one thing I'll never receive with your product. Dream on.
PS3 rocks. Now they need to market the life back into the PSP so all these sweet exclusives can get some much needed support.
it does not take 5 brains in your head to figure that one out!
Simply said … Sony does NOT need to outspend Microsoft to gain PlayStation market share … the quality of their hardware speaks for itself
That's it … Sony don't need that extra dollars for any unnecessary promotion for their gaming console
I'm not a fanboy here .. i have both of them, and honestly, i appreciate my ps3 much more than my xbox
Xbox360 Dashboard/online experience is far beyond that of ps3.
Ps3 is for cheap gamers. I always here complains on how shitty the online experience is with ps3. The lagg and the way the screen freezes when to much is going on.
I own both ps3/xbox360 and i vote for the 360
Ps3 just sits there collecting dust all its good for is playing bluray movies.
Ps3 is a shitty console. get a xbox360 so you can experience a real online community join xbox live today !
No, the 360 is for cheap gamers, if you have actual money the PC is where it's at, with regards to heavy spending.
PS3 is where the bulk of the exclusives are this gen, or the Wii, if you want to go that route. Neither company is typically known for releasing on PC, which is the biggest nail in the 360's coffin, right next to reliability.
The 360, is really the awful console this gen, there's just a ton of American's who love to drink Microsoft's koolaid.
Ps3 is for cheap gamers??
Isn't the ps3 the most expensive…..
I equate buying the xbox 360 ss the down payment for a car, except a car actually does something useful.
Here is a useful link to a review that proves the PS3 is the best.
http://reviews.cnet.com/2722-9020_7-743.html
Last edited by pillz81 on 9/11/2010 2:39:16 PM
Franknitty, I disagree with your reasonings, but agree on what you mentioned that PS3 owners are "cheap". But more correct term is economical. See, PS3 owners only get to buy 1 system. XBOX fanboys procure dozens of their zombie RROD machine. So, in that sense, I guess you can call us "cheap" 🙂
Well, it takes a lot of money to buy the loyalty of every GameStop/EB employee and (almost) every gaming journalist. 😉
I enjoy quality the most so i'll stick with Sony 🙂
@spiderboi. nice!
Well, of course Sony won't ever outspend M$.
Only M$ is stupid enough to waste perfectly good running armored cash trucks by, throwing them into trees.