FAHIM AHMED BETHLEHEM DESTA KATE MUDD VJOLLCA NICKI

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Content-

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Slide Page-

I. Introduction II. Industry Trends III. Industry Competition IV. Internal Company Trends V. Target Audience Analysis VI. Media Issues VII. SWOT Analysis VIII.Product Positioning IX. Recommendations

3 4-14 15-18 19-28 29-35 36-41 42-47 48-50 51-52

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INTRODUCTION: Video Game Market & PlayStation SONY3

I. In the future the global video gaming market will be driven primarily by online gaming and mobile gaming. While console gaming will continue to be the largest

segment, its market share is expected to decline. However, there is a strong growth
in the number of casual gamers because the demographic profile of video gamers is changing as the content offered on video game consoles enhances. II. The Seventh Generation of consoles primarily focuses on the consoles released since 2005 Wireless Controllers Hi-Definition Graphics Online Network Sony Computer Entertainment launched the PlayStation 3 in the United States in 2006. Despite the fact that the PS3 has arguably the best raw computing power and the Blu-Ray feature in comparison to its competition, it is falling behind in the race for market share. An effective strategy would keep Sony from losing its leading role in the video game industry and our research and presentation offer such a strategy. Source: mcafee.cc 3 marketresearch.com

III.

INDUSTRY TRENDS

INDUSTRY TRENDS: Total Size

I. Total Size of Global Video Gaming Market:

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8.9% over the period 2008-2013 and is expected to reach $76.1 Billion by 2013
ExpectedCompound Annual Growth Rate of 2008 reached

II. Total Size of United States Market:

$21 Billion

III. Total Size of Global Video Gaming Console Market:

11% to $532.7 Million in February 2009 from $481.4 Million in February 2008
Current Climbed

IV. Total Size of United States Game Console Market:

$8.9 Billion The United States accounts for 34.3% of the global market's value Source: informationweek.com
2008 reached

Itfacts.com

INDUSTRY TRENDS: Sales

I. Game & Virtual World Company Growth:

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112 companies funding raised $936.8 Million 2007 62 companies funding raised $618 Million
2008

II. Game Console Hardware, Software & Accessories:

$18.1 Billion August 2008 $21.2 Billion Sales 18.2% in first 8 months
August 2009

Source: marketresearch.com 6 venturebeat.com

INDUSTRY TRENDS: Social

I. Social Game Platforms: Revolves around connecting players in multiplayer matches with access to instant messaging and simple communication methods Pioneer of social game platforms from seventh generation consoles was Xbox Live in 2005

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IV. Game Design for a Social Network:

II. Within the last 5 years Video Game Consoles have improved social gaming platforms: The services allow you to download games, game demos, trailers, TV shows, and movies
III. Social gaming is spreading beyond the borders of game platforms: 5,000 games on Facebook which has 200 Million users

Source: mygamestudies.com 7 venturebeat.com

INDUSTRY TRENDS: Economic

I. Production: Games are interactive, intuitive and realistic more than ever because of the advancement of technology Multiplayer Online Games- Allows you to play with people across the world simultaneously Music GamesDistribution: Game Fly- rent games with no late-fee for $15.95 a

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II.

month, over 7,000 titles Over 4,000 GameStop stores around the United States and they offer Trade-In
Distributing games direct to users over the internet, gaming platforms, and downloads

III. Consumption: The gamer is encouraged to become a part of the script Impacts-Improves dexterity and computer literacy Impacts-Some studies show violent games lead to an increased level of aggression Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)- Self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings by enforcing guidelines and ensures online privacy principles Source: pamf.org 8 venturebeat.com

INDUSTRY TRENDS: Political

I. Entertainment Software Association (ESA): Video Game Voter Network Exists to empower Americans to take action against threats to the video game entertainment medium Oppose efforts to regulate the content of entertainment media Proposals to criminalize the certain sale of video games to minors Enable gamers to stay educated about issues and contact federal, state, and local officials Family Protection Entertainment Act: Puts government regulation on the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors Instates federal checks and balances on the ESRB to make sure they are rating appropriately Investigates instances Authority to register complaints Has the right to conduct random, annual audits of retailers

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II.

Source: digitaltrends.com

INDUSTRY TRENDS: Lifestyle

I. Video Games are Addictive: A survey found that of US kids played video games at least occasionally, and on average children play about

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88%

13

Hours of video games a week

Those showing signs of addiction could log

26 Hours almost 1:10 kids

II. Interactive: Meet new people through social game platforms Create Avatar character and live a second life in the social game platform

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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INDUSTRY TRENDS: Area of Growth

I. Game Advertising Platform According to Park Associates in-game advertising spending will reach $800 Million by 2012 According to Yankee Group in-game advertising spending will reach $971 Million by 2011

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III. How Video Gamers exposed to In-game Advertising respond:

KEY METRIC
Brand Familiarity

% INCREASE
+64%

II.

Brand Rating +37% Massive Incorporated: Pioneer In-game Advertising Platform Purchase Consideration +41% Massive Network enables marketers to Ad Recall +41% reach and engage the millions of young adult males playing games everyday Ad Rating +69% Advertisers can utilize a broad range of ad Nielsen Entertainment executed study for Massive in January 2007. Data units available across titles in the Massive from surveys with 600+ gamers in North America who played Need For Speed Carbon on Xbox 360 & PC platforms. Game published by Electronic Arts. Network Ad campaigns can be targeted to meet specific geographic needs and timing needs The dynamic technology allows for creative to be updated and changed as needed

Source: massiveincorporated.com

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INDUSTRY TRENDS: Area of Growth

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Around Game Environment Ads

Display- banners, digital video ads

In Game Environment Ads

Display- banners, digital video ads, billboards, retail store front

In Game Immersive Ads

Interactive Elements- computer terminals, branded racing cars, cell phones

Source: iab.net

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INDUSTRY TRENDS: Seasonal

I. Sales of videogame software and consoles rose 1% yearover-year to $1.28 Billion in September, the monthly rise was the first since February II. The sales growth, which met expectations, came amid price cuts on the three major videogame consoles--Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3, Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 and Nintendo Co. Ltd.s Wii

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III. The stronger numbers suggest consumer spending on home entertainment is picking up in time for the crucial holiday shopping season
IV. "There's a dark cloud hanging over the industry because of

the recession, and people wonder if consumers are going

to be there this holiday season," Jesse Divnich, an analyst with research group EEDAR, told Reuters, adding that software holiday sales in the US from October through December could be down 1% compared to last years sales. Source: online.wsj.com 13 redorbit.com

INDUSTRY TRENDS: Consumers Relationship SONY

I.

II.

The consumers relationship with the video III. The social game platform allows for the game industry changed from product to service and product being offered by the service game console to directly reach the consumers they already have and often We saw was that our customers were reward their loyal customers really ahead of us in adopting the Internet Free Game Downloads and seeing the potential that the Internet Free Game Upgrades had for redefining the relationship Free Demos between content creators and gamers... Promotional Videos for Upcoming The new world will be very different. You Games will be connecting directly to the Hardware Themes for your Desktop customers, sell to them directly," Gabe Digital Magazines with Interactive 14 Newell, Co-founder of Valve Software Content Source: blogs.usatoday.com

INDUSTRY COMPETITION

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INDUSTRY COMPETITION

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Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Xbox 360

Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s (NTDOY) Wii

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SONY INDUSTRY COMPETITION: Market Shares & Sales

I. PS3 sales fell back 13% this week after the increase last week that was presumably attributable to Uncharted 2. But the big news is that finally the PS3 is able to show a year on year - year to date increase when compared to 2008 for the first time in 2009. Again this week we see a slight increase in Wii sales, but they are still down to the comparable period in 2008. The Wii still dominates the home console market and indeed this week it outsold the 360 and PS3 combined.

II.

III. The 360 continues to undersell corresponding 2008 weekly sales by quite a margin and it may fall below the 2008 number soon unless something significant happens to reverse the trend. Source: news.vgchartz.com
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INDUSTRY COMPETITION: Differences

Wii Consumers: Beginners Young Gamers Families Elders 955 titles available 791 titles E10+ & under $199.99 Wii Network $200 Million Xbox 360 Hardcore Gamers Sports Fans 388 titles E10+ & under PS3

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Hardcore Gamers Blue Ray Viewers 214 titles E10+ & under

Cost: Communicate: Ad Budget: I.

$199.99-$299.99 Xbox LIVE $944.9 Million

$299.99 PlayStation Network $150 Million

II.

Trends in Ad-Spending for Video Game Consoles: New Marketplace A place with different cost structures and different hardware models Software delivery methods change Consoles become truly Multi-Purpose Home Entertainment Platforms Direct delivery (streamed digital content or real-time game play) Source: joystiq.com Music, movie, digital video recording (DVR) libraryjournal.com 18 Gaming enabled devices metue.com

INTERNAL COMPANY TRENDS

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1988: In the early years of video games, Nintendo owned the market and had a over-whelming market share. Sony first

INTERNAL COMPANY TRENDS: PlayStation History SONY

entered the market in 1988 with a business deal between Nintendo and Sony, where Sony would develop a CD-ROM drive for the Super Nintendo. Through this business deal, Sony acquired the rights to start developing the originally Playstation, called at that time Super Disc. The Super Disc would be able to play both Super Nintendo cartridges, as well as, games developed as CD-ROMS.

1991: Sony and Nintendos partnership continued to grow, in fact, one of the original could -be names for the Playstation was Nintendo Play Station. It was during that 1991 that relationships between the two companies began to deteriorate. Nintendo started to resent having to rely on Sony and Sonys money in order to produce audio chips needed for the Super Nintendo. Sony, however, was drawing on support from their many company affiliates, such as Sony Music and Columbia Pictures to develop new software (other than video games) for the Playstation. Nintendo eventually broke their alliance completed with Sony during 1991 and announced that their company would begin partnering with Phillips (and American company) and Sonys largest rivals. 1992: The first proto-type of the Playstation was dumped after the production of just over 200 consoles. Sony has never
given a reason as to why they started production over.

1994: December 3, 1994, Sony launched the sales of their first Playstation in Japan, priced at $387 and sold closed to
300,000 units within the first 30 days.

1995: September 9, 1995, Sony launched the sale of their Playstation in the United States, priced at $299. There were only
17 games available at this time for the Playstation first generation console.

1996: Over 200 games were produced to be played on the Playstation, Sony began the market share holder in the video
game industry.

1999: Sony made public that they were developing the second generation of the PlayStation, to be called PS2. The newer
console would stand upright, have backwards compatibility to play the older games of Playstation, produce better graphics, and play video games in a DVD format.

2000: The PS2 was released for sale in Japan, the United States, and Europe at the price of $299. During the opening
weekend around the world, the PS2 sold 1 million units.

2003: Sony began production on the PS3. 2006: The PS3 was released on November 16th with two different models, one model was priced at $500 and the other
was priced at $600.

2009: Sony announces the release of the new PS3 slim priced at $349; a smaller model of the original PS3. Source:

psx.ign.com

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INTERNAL COMPANY TRENDS: Current Consoles SONY

Price: $349.99
In the Box: PlayStation3 250GB system DUALSHOCK3 wireless controller Free PlayStationNetwork membership AC power cord AV cable USB cable Dimensions: 290mm (W) x 65mm (H) x 290mm (D) Backwards Compatibility: Does not play Playstation 2 games, however, will still play the original Playstation titles.

Price: $299.99
In the Box: PlayStation3 120GB system DUALSHOCK3 wireless controller Free PlayStationNetwork membership AC power cord AV cable USB cable

Price: $399.99
In the Box: PlayStation3 160GB system DUALSHOCK3 wireless controller Free PlayStationNetwork membership AC power cord AV cable USB cable Uncharted: Drake's Fortune game PAIN downloadable game voucher

Price: $299.99
In the Box: PlayStation3 80GB system DUALSHOCK3 wireless controller Free PlayStationNetwork membership AC power cord AV cable USB cable Dimensions: 325mm (W) x 98mm (H) x 274mm (D) Backwards Compatibility: Does not play Playstation 2 games, however, will still play the original Playstation titles.

Dimensions: 290mm (W) x 65mm (H) x 290mm (D)

Backwards Compatibility: Does not play Playstation 2 games, Dimensions: 325mm (W) x however, will still play the original 98mm (H) x 274mm (D) Playstation titles. Backwards Compatibility: Does not play Playstation 2 games, however, will still play the original Playstation titles.

Source: playstation.com

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INTERNAL COMPANY TRENDS: Brand Positioning SONY

I. Nearly three years after the device launched and quickly fell behind its two major competitors, Sony is attempting to reposition its Playstation 3 video game console as an all-in-one entertainment device. Sonys new advertisement campaign for the PS3 will focus directly on the blue -ray capabilities of the device, as well as, the capabilities of downloading movies directly off the internet onto the PS3. II. Late in August of 2009, consumers noticed a vast price cut in the PS3 pricing structure. For the first time in the history of the existence of the PS3, Sony priced the PS3 (not as prestigious pricing) but as competitive pricing. At $299 the PS3 is now in direct competition with the price range of the XBOX 360 and the Nintendo Wii. (The XBOX 360 cost, depending on which make or model of the product, cost anywhere from $199-$299. The Nintendo Wii, on the other hand, is priced at $249.) III. "We have been a game company for years and we would never walk away from that, but research confirmed there is a larger proposition under our nose," said Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing for Sony Computer Entertainment America. "We wanted to reposition as a total entertainment solution. We felt like we can really own entertainment. IV. Sonys repositioning strategy will now focus on moms and families, an area in the gaming industry that the Nintendo Wii has excelled in gaining a large market share. Sonys goal is to promote in all -in-one access hub to all entertainment. For instance, Sony is still the only large console on the market that can play blue-ray DVDs, stream live videos over the internet, have a free wireless online network to every consumer who purchases a PS3, and have video game playing capabilities. V. "A year or two ago, the idea of an all-in-one media hub was kind of a foreign idea among the mass market," Divnich noted. "Today thanks to new technologies like the iPhone, we've warmed up to the idea of products that meet all our multimedia needs."

Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com

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INTERNAL COMPANY TRENDS: RepositioningSONY Fall 200

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyuqFTrkr Qw&feature=related

Source: youtube.com

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INTERNAL COMPANY TRENDS: Exchange Rates SONY

It is imperative for one to understand the exchange rates between countries! Due to the fact that Sony is not an American country, you must take note that all monetary value that we discuss during the internal company will be in the form of the YEN and not the DOLLAR. 1 USD=90.025 JPY 1 JPY= 0.010990 USD

JPY

100

250

500

1000

5000

10000

25000

USD

$ 1.11

$ 2.78

$ 5.55

$ 11.11

$ 55.54

$ 111.08

$ 277.7
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Source: finance.yahoo.com

INTERNAL COMPANY TRENDS: Consolidated Results F

Source: sony.net

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INTERNAL COMPANY TRENDS: Sales

A decline in sales is expected due to the negative impact from the appreciation of the yen and a decrease in sales for the PS2 business. We anticipate that the Game business will continue to record a loss due to the negative impact from the appreciation of the yen and a further decrease in sales of PS2 business despite our expectation that the profitability of the PS3 business will improve due to hardware cost reductions and an enhanced line-up of software titles.

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Source: sony.net

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Internal Trends INTERNAL COMPANY TRENDS: Game

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Source: sony.net

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INTERNAL COMPANY TRENDS: Forecasting for SONY Fiscal

I. This graph shows that during the fiscal year of 2008, 10.06 million PS3s were sold, this results in a 10% increase of sales from the previous fiscal year when only 9.12 million PS3s were sold. Sony forecasted that they would sale a total of 250 million software units in the fiscal year of 2008, however, in reality Sony only managed to sale 103.7 software in the PS3 division, 50.3 software in the PSP division, and 83.5 software in the PS2 division for a total of 237.5 million software units sold. Sony This means that Sony missed their forecasted sales by 6%.

II.

III. For the fiscal year of 2009 Sony has forecasted that the Sony company will sale 13 million PS3 consoles, 15 PSP hand-held consoles, and 5 PS2 consoles. Similarly Sony has predicted that the Sony company will sale 240 million pieces of software for the fiscal year of 2009.

Source: sony.net

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TARGET AUDIENCE ANALYSIS

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TARGET AUDIENCE ANALYSIS: Statistics

In 2012, the industry predicts 190 Over 148

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Million households will own next generation-type consoles

Million of these 190 Households will have consoles that connect to the internet

The average age of a video game player is 35 years old and has been playing games for over 13 years

40% of all gamers are women

From 2003 to 2006, the industry's yearly growth rate grew above 17% During this time the U.S. Economy grew less than 4% rate The top 5 states with video gamers are the following: California, Washington, Texas, New York and Massachusetts Game software sales totaled $6.6

Billion with 153.9 Million units sold in the year 2008

Source: grabstats.com
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38% of homes in America have a video game console

TARGET AUDIENCE ANALYSIS: Customers

I. Sony PlayStation 3: Hardcore Gamers People who largely devote their leisure time to playing or reading about video games Practice Games to become skilled players Customers Enjoy Playing Different Game Genres Racing Shooting Role-playing The target market is college students who could enjoy the consoles or the portable mini game pieces

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Source: news.cnet.com

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TARGET AUDIENCE ANALYSIS: Women

I.

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Number of Female Gamers is Increasing Studies show that 40% of average gamers are female

II.

Youth College Explorer surveyed 360 people between the ages of 18 to 30 Found that women average 2.7

Hours of gaming a week vs. male counterpart at 2.9 Hours per week
Women are generally viewed as casual gamers

III.

Games like Nintendos Wii Fitness, Guitar Hero and Pac-Man have been huge hits with the female demographic
Source: cnn.com
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TARGET AUDIENCE ANALYSIS: Women

Although this is an industry dominated by males being the main target, the video game industry wants to expand and find other audiences that will increase the bulk of their market. Recent inclinations suggest that a huge portion of their market is female The video game industry is leaning towards that image of not having a stereotypical gamer of being a male in their late teen years According to researcher in the industry, James Weaver suggests that women who play video games show signs of depression and poor eating habits in comparison to women who dont game Women who were surveyed reported that they play video games to get to relieve stress and tension

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Source: articles.latimes.com 33 reuters.com

TARGET AUDIENCE ANALYSIS: Males

In the video game industry the games are generally developed by and for men. A recent study revealed that 89% of game developers are male, tested by young men and marketed to

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young men anywhere from the ages of 12 to 39

A male dominated industry It is reported according to studies put together by a team at Stanford University, that males picked up on the rules of the video game worked quicker than females Males in college play violent video games more than any other genre of game Young males are two to three times more likely to become addicted to playing video games than females

Males have a reputation of being known as hardcore gamers

Source: arstechnica.com

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TARGET AUDIENCE ANALYSIS: Potential Audience SONY

I. Research shows that NEW Target Markets with Different Segments have Emerged Women make up 1/3 of game playing market

Target Age shift from 13-17 to 18-35

The NEW potential average age of gamers is 29

Source: Peter Lewis. (2005, June). Not just playing around. Review of medium_being_reviewed title_of_work_reviewed_in_italics. Fortune, 151(12), 126-128. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 850863851).

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MEDIA ISSUES

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MEDIA ISSUES: Integrated Marketing Opportunities SONY

Advertising
Sonys new advertising plan for Europe is set to $134,388,496.78 The 2007 campaign was called: This Is Living, using emotions as their key It since then gone very aggressive with their more conventional 2009 It Only Does Everything Campaign

Sales Promotion
There is a mini-site for almost every exclusive PS3 game released or set to be released In 2008, Sony offered a PlayStation-branded credit card for opportunities of financing. There was a $150 off your PS3 purchase if you signed up for the credit card before the end of December that year Sony is promoting their price cut to $299 heavily

Public Relations
Sony's response to complaints about the $600 price tag? "It's probably too cheap. As with the PS and PS2, we believe people who like games will, without question, purchase it. Ken Kutaragi, Sony Computer Entertainment chief, 2006 Sony is working their way up considering they did not live up Source: to the hype on launch. It was not as revolutionary and did not blog.us.playstation.com give the 4-d experience Kataragi promised it would in 2005, gamesradar.com 37 leaving them with broken promises tbwa-london.com

MEDIA ISSUES: Media Issues

Entitlement- A way to make used games function as inexpensive marketing.

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A console would offer an incentive to a user of a software product when this user shares the product with others, or when the user plays the product. It is a method of attracting buyers to future games.

Internet Teaser Trailers and Commericals Being runned on networks like Cartoon Network, G4, SyFy, and Spike, Sonys new campaign is capturing audiences through humor.

Blogging
Leaked game specs, new and upcoming buzz about the PS3 causes a frenzy among bloggers in forums and review sites.

Source: boardsus.playstation.com kokugamer.com 38 macnn.com

MEDIA ISSUES: Media Vehicles

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Qore Give PS3 users early access to game related content at a level of quality, interactivity and depth, such as exclusive news, developer interviews, in-depth game previews and behind-the-scenes looks at PlayStation games, special access to game demos, special beta invitations, game add-ons and other downloadable game-related content Magazine Ads According to bloggers, they feel magazines are most effective because you can actually see a main theme in a picture rather than a 30 second advertisement
Source: blog.us.playstation.com
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MEDIA ISSUES: Media Issues

The best way to expose the PS3 to the public is by the use of television, internet, and magazines. Sony needs to get their message out first before they can be creative with their ads PS3 needs to spend money on marketing games rather than just the system. Microsoft spent nearly a half billion dollars to create a big enough hype and quantify sales for Halo 3

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Source: boardsus.playstation.com

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MEDIA ISSUES: Potential Media Cures

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Emphasize and be aggressive on advertisements

Mimic the Iphone campaign Apple used. Show how this product can be used, the many different functions, rather than just stating the facts
Use the national press. Networks like CNN and the New York Times breaking news to any new products and software by Sony will grab attention to the many viewers and readers

Source: iphonehacks.com

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SWOT ANALYSIS

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SWOT ANALYSIS: Strengths

I.

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The company is an established and well known brand name of both Sony and PlayStation (PS) According to the customer loyalty engagement index by Brand Keys, Sony ranks in the top 5 for many different categories for 2009 (5th for computers, 4th for digital cameras, 2nd for DVD players, 2nd for HDTV, 5th for wireless handsets). Sony is starting to bring in more exclusive games to the system. Sony currently owns 159 exclusive game titles compared to the 117 games for Xbox 360 (Excludes console games, which are games exclusive to the relative system as well as the arcade)

II.

III.

PS3 has the best raw computing power and graphics compared to competitors with strong multimedia support. Sony is the only system to incorporate Blu-ray, a technology co-engineered by Sony, into the device. Blu-ray single-handed took HD-DVDs out of the Source: brandkeys.com market 43

en.wikipedia.org

SWOT ANALYSIS: Weaknesses

I.

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Game developers find PS3 too complicated to develop for. Game developer Valve states "The PC and the 360 are just more straightforward. We can focus on what we want to do, which is make game experiences, instead of sweating bullets over obscure architectural decisions they make with their platform. Square Enix's president and CEO, Yoichi Wada finds the system over-engineered and mismatched to gamer needs Sony decisions questioned by game developers. Sony implemented a 16 cents per Gigabyte fee to publishers for paid and free downloadable content, something that is free for the Xbox, the web, and anywhere else. This adds to the already pay cost for creating a demo, a process that can run six figures It is estimated that the Sony games divisions operating losses this year could come in at $400

II.

III.

Million to $1.5 Billion, leading to Sony announcing an Source: gamesindustry.biz overall operating loss of more than $1.2 Billion for 2009 gamespot.com
geek.com 44 multiplayerblog.mtv.com

SWOT ANALYSIS: Weaknesses

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Source: guardian.co.uk

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SWOT ANALYSIS: Opportunities

Sales of PlayStation 3 hardware have grown during the second quarter for 2009 to 3.2

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Million, compared to 2.4

With prices lowered by $100 as well as a redesigned slim version, Sony has the opportunity to increase sales as it becomes settled in a more competitive price range with the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii

Million in the previous year. Sony also sold 23.9 Million PlayStation 3 games during the period, up from the 21.2 Million in 2008 Nintendo posted a major 52% slip in fiscal first-half of 2009 profit, partly due to the competitive price cuts of the Xbox 360

and the PS3 Synergy opportunities are causing first party developers to excel and third party to keep in pace and increase game productivity First party studios such as Insomniac, Naughty Dog and Guerilla Games are starting to form close-knit relationships and offer each other advice and tech tips with their ongoing projects Third party developers are finding it easier to first develop on the PS3 and then bringing it together to port over to the Xbox 360 rather than trying to split up Xbox 360 code to port over to the PS3 Adding more content to the PS3 is key to attracting more PS3 buyers Sony is beefing up PlayStation Networks offerings of games, movies, music, comics, TV shows, social networking, and other online services.

With Xbox 360 the only system offering Netflix, Sony reached a deal with Netflix, offering unlimited streaming videos and movies to the estimated 9 Million PS3 users
The company is looking to take advantage of the high storage capacity of the media in Blu-ray and put both a full length high definition film and a PS3 game on the same disc by the time 2010 rings in On October 28, 2009, it was announced that the demo for the PS3 game, God of War III, will be included with the Blu-ray of District 9 on the same disc Opportunities to release add-on products to enhance the PlayStation experience The announcement of a motion controller set to be released in Spring 2010 provides competition for Nintendos motion controlled Wii. It was also announced that it will not be a peripheral but instead a standalone hardware platform compatible with the PS3 46

Source: businessweek.com gamasutra.com gamer.blorge.com gamesindustry.biz ps3news.ca

SWOT ANALYSIS: Threats

I. Nintendo Wii

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Nintendos $200 Million marketing campaign of the Wii as an anyone-can-play and a family-oriented system continue to steal sales from Sony and Microsoft. Until Sony releases its motion controller, the Wii will continue to be considered the exclusive system for interactive motion play

II.

Xbox 360 Exclusive Titles Much Larger Online User Base

III. Mod-chip development The 1st mod chip was rumored to be produced by Belzar, supporting PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 bootlegged games. This can further hinder sales for Sony as their strong effort to prevent piracy may go in vain IV. PlayStation 2 With backward-compatibility of PS2 games removed for the new slim PS3, consumers could possibly steal focus from the PlayStation 2 47 Source: ps3news.com

PRODUCT POSITIONING

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Product Positioning

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Sonys marketing campaign has deemed the newly released PS3 as the total entertainment solution. However Sony had switched their position for the PS3 "Sony first unveiled the PS3 as a mighty home electronics product. Then, after some badgering from game companies, it shifted the position of the console closer to a game machine. (The future of the PS3) would be tough if its marketing strategy is not straightened up. -Square Enix President Yoichi Wada, 2007 With the release of the slim version, Sony repositioned the PS3 as an all-purpose entertainment system once again

Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com

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Product Positioning

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PS3s changing focus between an all-in-one system and a core gaming console drew criticism from core gamers and analysts, claiming not to produce enough top notch games to satisfy their needs as is Xbox 360 According to NPD group, consumers in the U.S. have bought just over 8 PS3s through the end of July, compared with more than 15

Million

Million Xbox 360s

Xbox is clearly capturing the core gamer audience with their high-end games such as Halo and Gears of War Wii is capturing the family-oriented audience with their interactive system Sony does not need to reposition their market campaign, but it does need to stick with their main focus and that is to make it an all-in-one entertainment system
Source: gamedaily.com
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RECOMMENDATIONS

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RECOMMENDATIONS: PlayStation 3

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Sony should seek to maximize the value of the PS3 and to aggressively market it as not only a powerful video game console but also an affordable home entertainment hub
I. Effectively market the PS3 as an affordable home entertainment hub PlayStation Network should offer games, movies, music, comics, TV shows, social networking, and other online services II. Imitate Wiis motion sensing controller and offer it as an add-on for the PS3 III. Use the PS3 to fill different customer niches and encourage PS2 owners to gradually upgrade to the PS3 by eliminating PS2 productions

IV. Leverage its core capabilities and exploit synergies between the PS3 and other Sony products Blu-Ray
Source: mcafee.cc
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THANK YOU QUESTIONS & COMMENTS?

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