Sony and Microsoft square up for PS4 and Xbox One launch showdown
Sony has fired the starting gun at the European leg of its Playstation 4 (PS4) advertising campaign just days in advance of the console’s launch around the region. Meanwhile, Microsoft is putting the finishing touches to its own pan-European marketing effort for the Xbox One because the ongoing marketing battle between the 2 looks set to arrive new heights.
The console wars are set to erupt again within the coming days as Sony and Microsoft plough millions into supporting the following generation in their gaming brands earlier than the crucial festive season. It’s the first time both have opted to launch consoles simultaneously and that sets the stage for a spending blitz expected to overcome the $120m (£74.7m) the 2 spent collectively last year.
Appealing to a better generation user
PS4 is calling to construct hype sooner than its European launch on the end of the month (29 November) with a TV spot that brings together each of the viral videos it’s been teasing fans with in recent weeks. It includes a myriad of references to imminent titles akin to Killzone: Shadow Fall, Infamous: Second Son and Driveclub alongside more nostalgic references for keen-eyed gamers.
The campaign is being supported by a sequence of stunts and events, planned in partnership with Manning Gottlieb OMD and Fever PR, around the UK. The PR burst has up to now included decking out London’s Oxo Tower with the Playstation brand’s iconic shape symbols alongside social media activity asking fans for his or her reactions.
It reflects a much broader strategy Sony has adopted for its “For the Players” campaign, which has gone for a more tactical strategy to create promotions in accordance with feedback from the gaming community. The activity comes because the console goes on sale in North America.
Speaking to Marketing Week at a PS4 advert shoot in October, former head of product marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) Mark Bowles, who joined the BBC’s iPlayer earlier this month, says the corporate has tried to rectify the mistakes it made when marketing the PS3 by putting gamers “at the heart” of the PS4 brand.
He adds: “we’re very attentive to who’re audience are and what they wish and that i think that’s been listened to inside the development strategy of the console itself and the games and the campaign. i feel the market has progressed and there were other gaming devices that experience done things differently and had great success.”
Microsoft has decided to take a distinct approach with its launch strategy by positioning the Xbox One as an all-in-one entertainment platform. The corporate, which has priced its machine around $100 (£62) greater than its Japanese counterpart, is planning what it calls “one of the most important entertainment premieres of the year” to celebrate its launch on the end of the month (22 November).
It claims the launch would be the “biggest in Xbox history” and is hosting a world countdown on the way to see events happen in countries including the united kingdom, Spain, Brazil and the U.S.. The corporate is known to be developing native advertising content in partnership with probably the most UK’s biggest gaming sites in try and showcase the graphical power of its system.
Microsoft’s previous console, the Xbox 360, has sold around 80 million consoles worldwide because it launched in 2006, and the yankee technology maker is calling to top those figures by appealing to a more mass-market audience.
The battle for the connected living-room
Both consoles go on sale at crucial times for the firms as they give the impression of being to multimedia services to overcome off challenges from likes of Apple and Samsung. Sony is confident it would reach its target of promoting around 5 million PS4 consoles by the tip of March 2014 with the corporate claiming it’s going to have better profit margins than its PS3 predecessor. The business is pinning the most recent turnaround effort for its entertainment division at the initial take-up of the machine after it was forced to put in writing-off 30 billion yen (£186.1m) from its profit forecast for the year following a disappointing performance in its latest quarter.
Microsoft meanwhile, revealed revenue of its Entertainment and Devices division, which include the Xbox business, grew slightly to $2bn (£1.2bn) over an analogous period, while creating a lack of $15m (£9,3m), against a $21m (£13.1m) profit a year ago. The dip was as a result the business paying royalties to Android developers and absorbing operating losses round the launch of the Xbox One. The console is being positioned as a key platform within the company’s wider transformation right into a “devices and services” company.
Analysts are predicting that Sony’s lower price and higher launch title line up will push PS4 sales away from the Xbox One within the initial months. Marketing experts, however, say the genuine battle would be fought and won through how successfully each console is ready to work with advertisers to create sustainable revenue streams.
A new dawn for online game advertising
DuBose Cole, a strategist with gaming expertise at Mindshare UK, says: “The connected experience both Sony and Microsoft try to create around their respective machines poses an immeasurable opportunity for brands seeking to integrate their above-the-line campaigns with a more targeted experience for users. [Privacy concerns] due to this may be an engaging challenge. Brands might want to strike a careful balance in relation to how they approach that value exchange with gamers.”
Sony, in partnership with digital ad sales house Ad2One, has kicked off a roadshow touting the PS4’s sponsored content opportunities around connected devices, branded games, social content, etail and interactive campaigns. It’s already working with Warner Brothers around upcoming movie releases in addition to game studios similar to Ubisoft to support its launch titles. Deals with automotive firms and technology makers are currently within the works to support upcoming releases consisting of Driveclub.
The Japanese business wants future ad deals with brand partners to escalate so they span more countries around the region, in comparison to the “limited scope” similar tie-ups had during the PS3. While initial deals can be more geared around targeting gamers to mirror the PS4’s main business plan, the focal point will broaden out within the New Year to opportunities round the music and entertainment elements of the console.
Tom Briant, European ad sales manager at SCEE, says: “Advertising round the PS3 was more around high-impact opportunities like branded hubs and downloads, but with the PS4 we’re capable of accomplish that a lot more. Because we’re connected to more things it means users can experience relevant campaigns anywhere. A brand could feasibly create game and make it available to download at the PS4 for users to play and share.”
Meanwhile, Microsoft is encouraging advertisers to observe they gamify adverts in an try to drive more engagement from them. While it has no plans to focus on ads or content in keeping with any data its motion tracking Kinect tool collects, the technology maker desires to create a more seamless eco-system for advertisers that permits to deliver campaigns spanning several touchpoints equivalent to Bing and Smartglass with the Xbox acting because the point of interest.
