FAHIM AHMED

BETHLEHEM DESTA
KATE MUDD
VJOLLCA NICKI
1

BLE OF CONTENTS:
ContentI. Introduction
II. Industry Trends
III. Industry
Competition
IV. Internal Company
Trends
V. Target Audience
Analysis
VI. Media Issues
VII.SWOT Analysis
VIII.Product Positioning

SONY
Slide
Page3
4-14
15-18
19-28
29-35
36-41
42-47
48-50
51-52
2

CTION: Video Game Market & PlaySta

SONY
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

III.

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
Source: mcafee.cc
3
the video
marketresearch.com

INDUSTRY TRENDS

USTRY TRENDS: Total Size

I.

SONY

Total Size of Global Video Gaming Market:

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

II. Total Size of United States Market:

2008 reached

$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
Current Climbed
2008

IV. Total Size of United States Game Console Market:

2008 reached

$8.9 Billion

Source: informationweek.com
5
Itfacts.co

USTRY TRENDS: Sales

SONY

I. Game & Virtual World Company Growth:

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

USTRY TRENDS: Social

I.

Social Game Platforms:

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

SONY

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

Source: mygamestudies.com
7
venturebeat.co

USTRY TRENDS: Economic

I.

SONY

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 Games-

II. Distribution:
Game Fly- rent games with no late-fee for

$15.95 a 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

Source: pamf.org
8

Impacts-Some studies show violent games lead to an increased

venturebeat.com

USTRY TRENDS: Political

I.

SONY

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

II. 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

Source: digitaltrends.com

USTRY TRENDS: Lifestyle

I.

SONY

Video Games are Addictive:

88%

A survey found that

of
US kids played video games at
least occasionally, and on
average children play about

Hours

13

of video games a

week
Those showing signs of addiction

26 Hours
almost 1:10 kids
could log

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

10

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.co

STRY TRENDS: Area of Growth SONY

I.

Game Advertising Platform

According to Park Associates ingame advertising spending will
reach $800 Million by 2012
According to Yankee Group ingame advertising spending will
reach $971 Million by 2011

III. How Video Gamers

exposed to
In-game Advertising
KEY METRIC
%
INCREASE
respond:
Brand Familiarity

+64%

II. Massive Incorporated:

Brand Rating
+37%
Pioneer In-game Advertising
Platform
Purchase Consideration+41%
Massive Network enables
marketers to reach and engage the
Ad Recall
+41%
millions of young adult males
Nielsen Entertainment executed study for Massive in January
playing games everyday
2007. Data from surveys with 600+ gamers in North America
who played Need For Speed Carbon on Xbox 360 & PC
Advertisers can utilize a broad
Ad Rating
platforms.
Game published by Electronic+69%
Arts.
range of ad units available across
titles in the Massive Network
Ad campaigns can be targeted to
meet specific geographic needs
11
and timing needs
Source: massiveincorporated.co

STRY TRENDS: Area of Growth SONY

Around Game
Environment Ads

In Game
Environment Ads

In Game Immersive
Ads

Display- banners,
digital video ads

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

Interactive Elementscomputer terminals,

branded racing cars,
cell phones

12

Source: iab.net

USTRY TRENDS: Seasonal

I.

SONY

Sales of videogame software and consoles rose

1%

year-over-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
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

recession, and people wonder

if consumers are going to be there this holiday
season," Jesse Divnich, an analyst with
because of the

research group EEDAR, told Reuters, adding that

software holiday sales in the US from October

Source: online.wsj.com
13
redorbit.com

SONY
RY TRENDS: Consumers Relationship

I.

The consumers relationship with the video game industry changed from
product to service

II. We saw was that our customers were really ahead of us in adopting the
Internet and seeing the potential that the Internet had for redefining the
relationship between content creators and gamers... The new world will
be very different. You will be connecting directly to the customers, sell to
them directly," Gabe Newell, Co-founder of Valve Software

III. The social game platform allows for the service and product being offered
by the game console to directly reach the consumers they already have
and often reward their loyal customers
14
Free Game Downloads
Source: blogs.usatoday.com

INDUSTRY
COMPETITION

15

DUSTRY COMPETITION

Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Xbox 360

SONY

Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s (NTDOY) Wii

16

Y COMPETITION: Market SharesSONY

& Sa
I.

PS3 sales fell back13% this

weekafter 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.

II. 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.

III. The 360 continues toundersell

corresponding 2008 weekly sales
17
by quite a Source:
margin and
it
may
fall
news.vgchartz.com

SONY
STRY COMPETITION: Differences
Wii

Xbox 360

PS3

Consumers:

Beginners
Young Gamers
Families
Elders
955 titles
available
791 titles E10+ &
under

Hardcore Gamers
Sports Fans
388 titles E10+ &
under

Hardcore Gamers
Blue Ray Viewers
214 titles E10+ &
under

Cost:

$199.99

$199.99-$299.99

$299.99

Communicate:

Wii Network

Xbox LIVE

PlayStation
Network

I. Trends in Ad-Spending for Video Game Consoles:

Ad Budget:
$200 Million
Million
$150 Million
New Marketplace
A place with$944.9
different
cost structures
and
different hardware models
Software delivery methods change
II. 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

19

L COMPANY TRENDS: PlayStation

SONY
Hist

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

market share. Sony first 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.

20
Source:
psx.ign.com
2006: The PS3 was released on November 16th with two different models, one model was priced

L COMPANY TRENDS: Current Consol

SONY
Playstation3
New Playstation3New Playstation3
Limited Edition:
250GB Slim
120GB Slim
Uncharted Bundle

Playstation3
80GB

Price:
$349.99

Price:
$299.99

Price:
$399.99

Price:
$299.99

In the Box:

In the Box:

In the Box:

In the Box:

PlayStation3 160GB
PlayStation3 80GB
system
system
DUALSHOCK3 wireless
DUALSHOCK3 wireless
controller
controller
Free PlayStationNetwork Free PlayStationNetwork
membership
membership
AC power cord
AC power cord
AV cable
AV cable
USB cable
USB cable
Uncharted: Drake's
Dimensions: 325mm (W) x
Fortune game
Dimensions: 290mm (W) x Dimensions: 290mm (W) x PAIN downloadable game 98mm (H) x 274mm (D)
65mm (H) x 290mm (D)
Backwards Compatibility:
65mm (H) x 290mm (D)
voucher
Does not play Playstation 2
Backwards Compatibility: Backwards Compatibility:
Does not play Playstation 2 Does not play Playstation 2 Dimensions: 325mm (W) x games, however, will still
play the original
games, however, will still
games, however, will still
98mm (H) x 274mm (D)
Playstation titles.
play the original
play the original
21

Backwards
Compatibility:
Playstation titles.
Playstation titles.
Does not play Playstation 2Source: playstation.com
PlayStation3 250GB
system
DUALSHOCK3 wireless
controller
Free PlayStationNetwork
membership
AC power cord
AV cable
USB cable

PlayStation3 120GB
system
DUALSHOCK3 wireless
controller
Free PlayStationNetwork
membership
AC power cord
AV cable
USB cable

L COMPANY TRENDS: Brand Positioni

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
22
every consumer who purchases a PS3, and have video game playing capabilities.

Source: latimesblogs.latimes.co

COMPANY TRENDS: Repositioning

SONY
Fa

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

23

Source: youtube.com

L COMPANY TRENDS: Exchange

SONY
Rate
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
24

Source: finance.yahoo.com

OMPANY TRENDS: Consolidated Resu

25

Source: sony.net

NAL COMPANY TRENDS: Sales SONY

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.

26

Source: sony.net

Internal Trends

NAL COMPANY TRENDS: GameSONY

27

Source: sony.ne

COMPANY TRENDS: Forecasting

SONY
for F
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.

II. 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%.
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.

28

Source: sony.net

TARGET AUDIENCE
ANALYSIS

29

T AUDIENCE ANALYSIS: Statistics

SONY
190 Million

In 2012, the industry predicts

generation-type consoles

Over 148 Million of these

connect to the internet

The average age of a video game player is

games for over

40%

households will own next

190 Households

will have consoles that

35 years old and has been playing

13 years

of all gamers are women

17%

From 2003 to 2006, the industry's yearly growth rate grew above

During this time the U.S. Economy grew less than

The top 5 states with video gamers are the following: California, Washington,
Texas, New York and Massachusetts

4%

rate

30

Source: grabstats.com

T AUDIENCE ANALYSIS: Customers

SONY
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

31

Source: news.cnet.com

T AUDIENCE ANALYSIS: WomenSONY

I.

Number of Female Gamers is

Increasing

II.

Studies show that 40% of

average gamers are female

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

32
III. Games like Nintendos Source:
Wii Fitness,
cnn.com

T AUDIENCE ANALYSIS: Women

SONY

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

Source: articles.latimes.com
33
reuters.com

ET AUDIENCE ANALYSIS: Males SONY

In the video game industry the games are

generally developed by and for men. A recent
study revealed that89% of game developers
are male, tested by young men and marketed to
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

34

Source: arstechnica.com

AUDIENCE ANALYSIS: Potential SONY

Audien
I.

Research shows that NEW Target Markets with Different

Segments have Emerged

1/3 of game playing market

Target Age shift from 13-17 to 18-35
The NEW potential average age of gamers is 29
Women make up

Source: Peter Lewis. (2005,June). Not just playing around.Review of medium_being_reviewed

35
title_of_work_reviewed_in_italics. Fortune,151(12),126-128. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global.

MEDIA ISSUES

36

SUES: Integrated Marketing Opportun

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 Source
Entertainment chief, 2006
blog.us.playstation.com
Sony is working their way up considering they did not live gamesradar.com
up
37
to the hype on launch. It was not as revolutionary and did
not
tbwa-london.com

IA ISSUES: Media Issues

SONY

Entitlement- A way to make used games function as

inexpensive marketing.
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 onnetworks 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.co
kokugamer.co
38
macnn.co

IA ISSUES: Media Vehicles

SONY

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
39

Source: blog.us.playstation.co

IA ISSUES: Media Issues

SONY

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

40

Source: boardsus.playstation.co

ISSUES: Potential Media CuresSONY

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

41

Source: iphonehacks.com

SWOT ANALYSIS

42

OT ANALYSIS: Strengths

SONY

I.

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).

II.

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)

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

Source:
brandkeys.com
co-engineered by Sony, into the device. Blu-ray
single43
en.wikipedia.or
handed took HD-DVDs out of the market

T ANALYSIS: Weaknesses

SONY

I.

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 overengineered and mismatched to gamer needs

II.

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

III.

It is estimated that the Sony games divisions operating losses this year
could
Source: gamesindustry.b
come in at $400 Million to $1.5 Billion, leading gamespot.com
to Sony
geek.com
announcing an overall operating loss of more than $1.2 Billion
for
44
multiplayerblog.mtv.com
2009

T ANALYSIS: Weaknesses

SONY

45

Source: guardian.co.u

T ANALYSIS: Opportunities

SONY

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

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

3.2 Million,

2.4 Million in the previous year.

Sony also sold 23.9 Million PlayStation 3 games during the period, up from the 21.2 Million
compared to

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
46

Opportunities to release add-on products to enhance the PlayStation experience

Source:
businessweek.com
gamasutra.com
gamer.blorge.com
The announcement of a motion controller set to be released in Spring 2010 provides competition for

OT ANALYSIS: Threats
I.

SONY

Nintendo Wii

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 47
Source: ps3news.com

PRODUCT
POSITIONING

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oduct Positioning

SONY

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

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Source: latimesblogs.latimes.co

oduct Positioning

SONY

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

8 Million PS3s through the end of July, comparedwith

more than 15 Million Xbox 360s
over

Xbox is clearly capturing the core gamer audience with their highend games such as Halo and Gears of War

Wii is capturing the family-oriented audience with their interactive

system
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Source: gamedaily.com

RECOMMENDATIONS

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MMENDATIONS: PlayStation 3 SONY

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
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mcafee.cc
IV. Leverage its core capabilities and exploit synergiesSource:
between
the

THANK YOU
QUESTIONS &
COMMENTS?

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