The Video Game Console Market Marketing Essay

The Video Game sympathize with merchandise Marketing EssayThe characterisation gamy locker foodstuff is a fast gro pull aheadg commercialise. Sonys trifleStation 3 competes to wedgeher with Nint closeos Wii and Microsofts Xbox 360 for the merchandise loss leader bunk. Comp atomic number 18d with these foes, Sonys PS3 includes the currentest technologies and erects the laid-backest mannikin of functionalities. Therefore, Sonys strategy is to propose customers who focus on high technologies and multimedia-entertainment. However, this involves that the PS3 competes non nonwithstanding with soothe manufacturers, restrained in addition with other multimedia producers such(prenominal) as PC manufacturers. Due to the fact, that the Sonys PS3 lead be quite expensive, the encourage leave behind be uncommitted in a reward discrepancy and in a cheaper basic edition.Considering the distri hardlyion of its PS3 p throne of grounds, Sony tries to change its traditi onal lend set up by providing an meshing platform, where rehearsers stick out download feebles. This results in salvage costs and a faster dissemination.Further much, the well-nigh important change brute is the Internet for promoting the PlayStation 3. Blogs, MySpace, YouTube and other kind of websites enable an argona-wide promotion of the plump for comfort and particularly, it is done by consumers. Another important tool is the formalized website, which offers among others training about the ease and about obtainable plunk fors.Additionally, Sony promotes its PlayStation 3 together with a meaningful slogan, which differs between Europe (This is living) and U.S. (Play Beyond).Finally, Sonys financing objectives be to sell 15 million exemplars in the first-year and to achieve total sales tax income enhancement of $8.25 billion. Its merchandising goals are to sell to a greater extent than cytosine million exemplars in the long-run and to become the food m arket leader.Table of ContentsExecutive heavyset 11 Situation Analysis 22.1 ongoing merchandising environment 22.2 Current harvest-time railway governing body 22.3 harvest-time Analysis 32.4 Target Markets 32.5 Competitive Analysis 52.6 product/Market Analysis Tools 52.7 gussy up Analysis 83 Objectives 84 Competition 94.1 Game sympathize with constancy 94.2 Direct competitors 94.3 Market concept of argument 115 Product Unique selling offer 126 Distribution 126.1 Supply chain 126.2 near multiplication leave chain 146.3 Business Models 157 Marketing Strategy 167.1 AIDA 178 Marketing miscellanea Strategy of 4 Ps 188.1 Product 188.2 scathe 188.3 Place 198.4 Promotion 199 fiscal projections 1910 Implementation controls 20Situation AnalysisCurrent selling environmentThe photo game condole with market is super bendd from its demographic and technological environment. The ecumenic population is growing and more and more batch pass water a strong need for entert ainment. Many people engage something against boredom in their free time. Furthermore, the technology environment countenances a variety of parvenu functionalities which are al virtually unlimited. According to Moores Law, accomplishor fixture and reposition capability reduplicate almost every 18 months by constant prices. Additionally, technologies such as High Definition TV provide a new(a) way of entertainment consumption. Finally, another important influence in peoples behavior is enabled by the Internet. Its introduction was a milestone of the new economy. It allows finding almost any required training and enables worldwide talk as well as int date of referencection and it simplifies doing business.Current Product LineBefore we describe the features and functionalities of Sonys new boob tube game soothe, the PlayStation 3, we would like to spring a short overview of the partys current home television remains game address linePlayStation (PS1)The Sony PlayStati on is the companys first video game console and was produced in the mid-1990s. It belongs to the fifth times of video game consoles and provides a 32-bit processor. Furthermore, the PlayStation was the first game console that celestial orbited the 100 million mark.PlayStation 2 (PS2)Sonys PlayStation 2 is part of the sixth multiplication era and was released in 2000. Besides its 128-bit processor, it was the fist video game console that provides videodisc bleedback functionality. It placed first in number of units sold in its sixth generation of video game consoles and it became the fastest selling and most everyday game console in history, with over 110 million units shipped worldwide by November 2006.1PlayStation Portable (PSP)Sonys PlayStation Portable was the companys first handheld game console released in 2004. Besides playing games, it also provides opposite functionalities such as playing music, watching videos, viewing fits and using Internet applications. Nowadays , the PSP is the main competitor of Nintendos Game Boy and Nintendo DS.Product AnalysisThe Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) is the seventh generation video game console and the third in Sonys PlayStation series. The console was launched in North America and Japan in November 2006 and is yet expected to be launched in Europe by inch 2007. The reason for its delay in Europe is a shortness of supplies with parts of the Blu-ray wedge.The console offers high-end technology and it has been exposit as an engineering masterpiece beca part of its promising specification and practice session of new technology.2Furthermore, the PS3 will be available in two contrary editions on the one hand, a basic edition with a 20 GB hard disk drive (HDD), and on the other hand a premium edition with 60 GB HDD. Nevertheless, both editions will have key elements such the Blu-Ray Disc for High Definition movies, the Cell chip, Giga-bit Ethernet for high speed Internet-connection, and an HDMI connection for optim um output on high-definition television. Compared with the basic edition, the premium edition will provide some extra features like hold for multiple outside memory storage devices (Memory stick, SD) and Wireless connectivity.More in fix upion about the specification washbasin you find in the Appendix.Furthermore, Sonys newest game console provides a Linux operating system and some Internet applications such as an Opera Web browser and multiplaying functionality.Finally, another feature of the PlayStation 3 is the retracted compatibility to Sonys previous video games for PS1 and PS2.Target MarketsThe following surgical incision should provide an overview of Sonys orient market and of its targeted customers.Target market approachIn our opinion, Sony should use a memberation approach as their general strategy to r for each one targeted customers. Although mass-marketing would create the strikingst capableness market, which leads to the lowest costs and results in lower prices or high margins, we propose segment marketing because it can create a more fine-tuned result offering and price for the target segment. Moreover, this approach enables to select more easily the top hat dispersion and communication channels, and to have a clearer picture of the main competitors.3Segmenting consumer marketsCultural distinctions, diverse needs and essentials of individuals, and diversities in customers buying behaviours require market segmentation of companies to satisfy their customers effectively. Thereby, the market can be divided up in geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioral segmentation variables and the company can focus on target segments which it wants to attract.4According to Sony, the main geographic segments of the PlayStation 3 consist of the Union America market, the Japanese market and the European market.When Sony released his first video game console PlayStation in 1994, the companys main focus was on the marketplace from 12- to 1 7-year-old boys. scarcely nowadays, Sonys demographic segmentation divides the market of the PS3 in male and female, old and materialisation players and expands its business vastly to a mainstream entertainment.5The PS3 offers a multifaceted repertoire of video games which includes something for everybody. Theres not merely one game to ultimately define the PS3 platform, but rather different must-have games for different segments of consumers. Additionally, an important and profitable demographic segment could be the college market because according to a study by Anderson Analytics GenX2Z solely 26 percent of students report card not playing video games.6Furthermore, Sony concentrates on a strong customer loyalty status in the behavioural segment. Besides its popular brand and the high reputation of its products, the company tries to win over its former consumers by the implementation of a backward compatibility which enables to play video games from its previous video game cons oles (PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2).Finally, one of the important target segments of the PS3 involves consumers who require high technology. The company is convinced that its consumers desire and want to get the best out of the best.Characteristics of the targeted customers / product usesAs already mentioned, Sonys targeted customers want to have the newest technologies and functionalities. Moreover, they need an entertainment system which provides functionalities such as viewing pictures, movies or listening music.The Playstation 3 can see all this particular requirements and reach therewith a lot of different customers. original of all, video game players can use the console, because it provides high technology and a lot of different available games. Furthermore, movie lovers can use the PS3 because it involves a videodisc drive and also allows watching movies in High Definition with its Blu-Ray drive. Moreover, customers can use the game console to see pictures from their net holidays easily by inserting their memory card in the included card-reader. Finally, customer can use the console to surf in the Internet or to use it instead of a computer, because its Linux operation system provides kindred functionalities.Summarized, all members of a family can use the PlayStation 3 for different needs. For instance, children play video games during the day and when the father arrives, he uses the PlayStation to read his emails. There by and by, the mother inserts the SD card in the PS3 and tells him the pictures from her trip to Stockholm closing curtain weekend. And at the evening, the whole family watch a movie together. This multimedia functionality provides the biggest gain for the PS3s consumers.Purchasing processSome customers make their decision which game console they want to buy dependent from the number of available games. Not that the functionality and technology, but also the variety of games can be important for the decision-making process of c ustomers. Therefore, the company has to offer information about the games which will be available for its game console. The primary channel for providing such information would be the official webpage.Furthermore, the final end-user of the game console is not always responsible for the buying process. For instance, sometimes parents purchase the game console for their children, and therewith another society is involved in the purchasing process.Market size estimationsThe number of consumers in the video game console intentness increased continuously during the remainder years. Due to the fact, that game consoles of the newest generation are similar with an entertainment system, we adjudicate a market size of 400 million potential users in Europe if everybody would buy the product. Considering that one product would be enough for a family, our final estimation of potential consumers will be 100 million in Europe.Furthermore, a forecast report of PricewaterhouseCoopers has shown that by 2010, the worldwide video game market will grow to $46.5 billion, at an average 11.4% sharpen annual rate.7Competitive AnalysisNintendo and Microsoft are the main competitors of Sony in the video game console industry. Considering the seventh generation, Sonys PlayStation 3 compete with Nintendos Wii and Microsofts Xbox 360. These two consoles were released world-wide in November 2006 and November 2005 respectively.8According to a study of the NPD Group about the popular video game consoles for December 2006, the Xbox 360 sold 1.1 million units, the Wii 604.2 thousand units and the PS3 490.7 thousand units. However, the PS3 sales go ins include nevertheless the U.S. and Japan market, where it is released already.More details about the contention situation will be discussed in chapter 4 Competition.Product/Market Analysis ToolsProduct Life CycleAccording to Sonys previous game consoles, the PlayStation 3 should have a 10-year product life-cycle. Its state-of-the-art techn ology involves that the drill of the PS3 resources and technology are just at the beginning and can fulfil all game requirements in the next years.9The product life-cycle consists of four different percen traile pointsIntroduction At this stage, the sales growth increase slowly when the product is introduced to the market.In Europe, the PS 3 is already dictated in the in-between of this stage, because many game-console lovers and fans have ordered the PS 3 in asseverate to become one of the first consumers aft(prenominal) its release in March 2007. For instance, a new PS 3 is pre-ordered almost each 20 seconds in Great Britain.10Growth At this period, a market credence of the product is recognizable and the number of sales units increases. First-users report about the product positively and other consumers are go curious.Maturity A stave in sales growth will be at this stage because the product has achieved acceptance by most of the buyers.Decline Most of the potential buye rs have already the product and therewith the number of sales turns. epitome 1 PlayStations Product Life-CycleDifferent marketing strategies are necessary for each stage of the product life-cycle. We will discuss our recommended strategies in7 Marketing Strategy.Due to the fact, that the PlayStation 3 was already released in Japan and U.S., fig 2 shows that the PlayStation 3 is located in a higher position compared with Europe. forecast 2 PS3s Product Life-Cycle in Japan and U.S.After shortness of supplies and an enormous rush demand in Japan and in the United States after the release in November 2006, a kind of stagnation is visible in these both markets today. Vendors report that a large contingent of the PlayStation 3 is still available in their shops.11Although Sony sees the reason for that in its optimized supply chain, the company has to consider new marketing strategies to increase its sales.The Boston Consulting Groups Growth-Share matrixIn the following section, we would like to discerp and classify Sonys game console product portfolio by profit potentials. Therefore, we employ the Boston Consulting Group approach presented by Kotler.12Due to the fact, that the PlayStation 1 is not be sold anymore, we didnt regard it in our analytic thinking.Figure 3 BCGs Growth-Share Matrix for Sonys game console product-lineFirst, we placed the PlayStation Portable in the research label empyrean, because the market of game handhelds is still growing and as the strongest competitor of the market leader Nintendo DS, the relative market share of the PSP increases. Therefore, Sony has to spend a lot of money in the buzz offment and advertising of the PSP to keep up with the fast-growing(prenominal) market, and to overtake the market leader.Additionally, we also placed the PlayStation 3 in the Question marks sector, because the market of the seventh generation video game consoles is still increasing and it is not visible already if the PS 3 will take the posit ion of the market leader.Finally, we located the PlayStation 2 in the hard currency cow sector. The PS2 has a falling market growth rate after the release of the next generation game console. Nevertheless, it is still the market leader in its generation and it achieved higher sales units (1.4 million) as the Xbox360 (1.1 million), Nintendo Wii (604.2 thousand), and the PlayStation 3 (490.7 thousand) in December 2006.13According to the 10-year product life-cycle, the PS2 is in the decline stage and will stay in the market for the next 3 years yet.SWOT AnalysisThe SWOT analysis is the overall evaluation of a companys strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.14It is apply as a framework to help an organization develop its marketing strategy. Thereby, strengths and weaknesses are internal factors which can be controlled by an organization, whereas opportunities and threats consist of external factors which are uncontrollable by an organization.Figure 4 SWOT analysis for Sonys PlayStation 3ObjectivesSonys financial objectives are to Achieve first-year total sales revenue of $8.25 billion, based on an average price of $550 per unit.Sonys PlayStation 3 marketing objectives are toAchieve a first-year unit sales deal of 15 million, which represent a projected market share of 25 percent.Increase second-year share to 40 percent and become the market leader.Sell more than 100 million units in the long-term.Arrange for distribution through the leading electric, video games and computer retailer in the whirligig 100 and establish an Internet platform.CompetitionGame console industryAccording to the industry concept of tilt presented by Kotler15, an industry is a group of firms that offer a product or class of products that are close substitutes for another product.The structure type of the video game console industry is an oligopoly, because the Japanese Nintendo and Sony, and the U.S. Microsoft dominate the market. Particularly, the structure is a differentia ted oligopoly, because solely few companies producing products partially differentiated along lines of price and features.Furthermore, the console industry is characterized by large cost of barriers to entry according to Porters model of five dollar bill competitive forces. It whitethorn cost up to $2 billion to develop a competitive console platform and returns on investment may take several years.16Furthermore, these three console manufacturers have a similar business model consisting of the following three income flows computer hardware salesgross revenue of own software/gamesLicences fees from other software/game developers that use the console platformFinally, Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony compete on a global basis with nerve centre markets in Japan, Europe and in the United States.Direct competitorsThe following section compares the direct competitors Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony with regard to their products, prices, sales units and game range.Product differentiationFirst o f all, the following table shows the particular specification of each game consoleNintendo WiiMicrosoft Xbox 360Sony PlayStation 3First publication19 November 2006 (USA)22 November 2005 (USA)11 November 2006 (Japan) central processorIBM Broadway PowerPC (729 MHz)Tri-Core Xenon PowerPC (3,2 GHz)PPC Cell PowerPC (3,2 GHz)Graphic chipATI Hollywood (243 MHz)ATI Xenos (500 MHz)nvidia RSX (550 MHz)DrivesOwn format (Wii and GameCube)CD, DVD (external HD-DVD drive available)CD, DVD, Blu-rayMaximal video qualitySDTV = 480p (NTSC) or 576p (PAL/SECAM)HDTV = 480p 720p 1080i/pHDTV = 480p 720p 1080i/p (supports HDMI)Back. compatibilityyesyesyesHDD20 GB20 GB / 60 GBI/OUSB 2.0 (x2), SDUSB 2.0 (x3)USB 2.0 (x4), PE MemoryStick, SD CompactFlashCommunicationIEEE 802.11b/gEthernet unnecessary feature Wlan-AdapterEthernet, Bluetooth 2.0, Wireless Controller, IEEE 802.11b/g (only premium edition)Furthermore, both competitors of Sonys PS3 provide an internet platformMicrosoft Xbox Live ArcadeXbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is an online service that is employ to distribute video games to Xbox 360 owners. Thereby, Microsoft offers an Xbox Live Marketplace, a virtual market place, where consumers can download movie and game trailers, game demos, Xbox Live Arcade games, gamer tag images, and Xbox 360 Dashboard themes.17The consumers can pay with Microsoft Points, which can be purchased by credit cards.Nintendo WiiConnect24It allows distributing content such as software patches and updated game contents go the Wii is on stand-bye.18Price strategyNintendo offers the cheapest price in the game console market. Therefore, the company dispense with some extra features such as DVD drives or HDTV quality. Contrary, Sonys PlayStation 3 offers the newest technology with a plenty of accessories, but also the highest price. The following list shows the current prices in January 200719Nintendo WiiMicrosoft Xbox 360Sony PlayStation 3Ca. 250 ccc 400 (HDD-drive costs 200 extra)Basic edition 500 tribu te edition 600 Market share in Japan and U.S.The following figures show how many game consoles each of the manufacturers has sold in Japan and U.S. during the last months2021Whereas Nintendos Wii was the market leader during the Christmas time in Japan, Microsofts Xbox 360 could sell the most units in the United States.GamesAn important criterion for buyers is the volume of games which are available for each game console. At the moment, Microsofts Xbox 360 consists of 82 exclusive games and 132 cross-platform games. In contrary, Nintendo offers 55 exclusive and 96 cross-platform games for its Wii. For Sonys PlayStation 3, 43 exclusive and 77 cross-platform games are planned.Figure 5 Available games for each console (Source GAMEZONE)22Market concept of competitionDue to the fact, that the PlayStation 3 is more a multimedia centre than only a game console, we have to consider more competitors as only game console manufacturers. Therefore, we used the approach of Rayport and Jaworski t o identify direct and verifying competitors by mapping the buyers steps in using the product.23The following figure shows the PS3s direct and indirect competitorsFigure 6 Competitor Map Sony PlayStation 3Summarized, Sonys PlayStation 3 competes not only with other video game console companies, but also with PC manufactures and other high technology producers.Sonys PS3 offers as well a Linux operating system a plenty of functionalities such as Internet to attract previous PC users and to expand its market. This approach is comparable with Coca-Cola which identifies milk, coffee, tea, and water products as its main competitors.24Finally, Figure 7 shows Sonys market position with regard to technology and price compared with its video game console competitorsFigure 7 Market position of the main video game consolesProduct Unique selling propositionThe unique selling proposition is a marketing approach to promote a products benefit and to convince customers that the company can deliv er it.For Sonys PlayStation 3, the main benefit, especially compared with its competitors, is its functionality as a multimedia centre and its state-of-the-art technology. Nevertheless, Sony has to consider that its targeted consumers are located in different market segments with different demands and wishes. Therefore, the company has to develop different unique selling propositions.First considering the video game hardcore fans segment, these costumers want to have the best and newest technology. Due to the fact, that the PS3 fulfil these requirements at best compared with its competitors, Sony should promote this in its advertisements, especially in game magazines.Furthermore, Sony wants to attract also middle-age consumers and families. The most benefit for these customers is to use the PlayStation 3 as a multimedia system which offers a variety of functionalities. Therefore, the company should focus on its multimedia range.Summarized, the companys unique selling proposition sho uld consist of newest technology and multimedia-functionality.To emphasize this, Sony uses a short slogan after every mention of its products. In the United States, Sony evokes the following slogan Play Beyond. People should associate therewith that the PS3 is not only a game console which enables playing video games, but also a system which allows playing in High Digital quality and getting a feeling of reality. Furthermore, the PS3 offers more than playing video games, it is a multimedia system that can be used for different pleasures such as Internet surfing or watching movies that can also be taken as a kind of playing.However, Sony uses a different slogan for the European market. The reason is that people with few English skills will not bring in the impact of Play Beyond or will be see wrongly. Therefore, Sony uses the following slogan in Europe This is living. The slogan is really sincere and uses words which can be understood by not English-speakers. Consumers can associ ate that the PS3 delivers a kind of living standard and ensures to enjoy living. Furthermore, its a relation to PS3s multimedia functionalities which are desired for every household these days. It emphasizes that the game console is the core of living room entertainment.DistributionSupply chainWith the video game industry being the fastest growing sector of the growing entertainment industry, the industrys revenue has now reached $26 billion in annual revenue and there is currently no indication of decline in the industry. So, in order to identify how the revenue is distributed, its essential to gestate at the supply chain of the entire PS3 business. As seen in the supply chain, there are opportunities in many aspects of the console business, coming from the literal console sales as well as extras such as games.Figure 8 Original supply chain for video games.25The customers, as identified by our segmentation analysis table, are at the end of the supply chain, and their consuming of video games are distributes across several actors.Additionally, the most known among the actors are of course the hardware manufacturers, which include Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft. Except for the revenue coming from the console sales, they also get about 20% of the market price for the games, which are mostly sold in the growth take aim of the product life-cycle. The additional revenue in the supply chain is let out among the other actors.Looking more closely at the publishers and developers, we realize that the publishers are likely to take a large portion of the revenue. Those are the large international companies that have sufficient funds to build a distribution network and employ developers to pull off new best-selling games for the consoles. Hardware manufacturers usually try to pull off deals with these companies when they identify potential best-selling games because the top 3.3% of the games bring in 55% of the sales revenue. For this reason, some hardware manufacturers , most notable Microsoft, tend to buy top-creative publishers to secure exclusive rights of new games for their console.Because of the complexity with world-wide game launches, there are almost always distribution partners in the chain, those accounts for an estimate of 10% of the shelf price.Next are the retail channels, which include online stores as well as retail stores. However, they are becoming increasingly bypassed in the supply chain, as discussed in the next generation supply chain (described in detail below). When they do exist in the supply chain though, they take an estimate of 30% of the shelf price.Developers are a mix of artists and engineers that create the actual games played on the console. Typically, they are funded by the publishers and together they take between 40 to 60% of the shelf price.Notably, in recent years another actor have also entered the supply chain as the industry have grow