Sony - The Confusion

[Just_Ben]

In my opinion the current gen can roughly cut in 5 markets:

Hard Casual (e.g. Brain Training, "Wii Sports", Nintedogs, Singstar, Home)

Casual (e.g. Mario Party. VP, "Wii Sports")

Core (e.g. Mario, Striker Charged, Kart Wii, Madden)

Hard Core (Zelda, MP3, Bioshock, etc.)

Multimedia (Blue Ray, FreeView, Online Videos,etc.)

 

As i see it, the Big three concentrating on each market that way:

-	Nintendo	Microsoft	Sony
Hard Casual	20%	2%	15%
Casual	25%	8%	20%
Core	30%	30%	20%
Hardcore	25%	50%	20%
Multimedia	0%	10%	25%

 

Nintendo: Doesn't concentrate on one gamer market in the moment so much. Through its low price and different control it has success in all of those 4 market, together that makes a great success.

Microsoft: Is concentrating on the core and hardcore market. It has good success in that segment, but the market begins to be satisfied, so you can expect MS to concentrate go more and more to the casual market where it has currently nearly no success, the first sings are already here. As for the multimedia, i think MS does not this market so much as Sony, and for that is has a good success in that market.

Sony: Sony is aiming nearly for everything. It has motion control (Bowling is comming), Singstar, Buz, Eye and home. That would cover real good the Hard Casual and Casual market. But Sony has a big problem: The price. I don't think many (hard) casuals can justify $500 for games, so no success in that market. In the (Hard) Core market it has maybe some success. But here either the price the problem or the current leak of great games. I can see that changing through the holiday season. $500 is not a low price, but core and hardcore gamer would pay that, if Sony had a great lineup, say like the 360 at the moment. In the Multimedia market Sony has good success. Ok Blue Ray has not yet won the format war, but it is looking good at the moment. Without the PS3 Blue ray had been dead, before the war even started.

Sonys problem is, that is fighting to much wars with its console and therefore need more time on each market to have success. I can see it put up a fight for the (hard) core market, once really good games arrive. I can see it put up a fight on the casual market if the price goes down and Blue ray has one. I can see it winning more on the multimedia market with the free view, because more PS3 sold means more Blue ray player are getting used.

If you look at another perspective, Sony is fighting against 3 other companies with the PS3 at the moment. Nintendo, Microsoft and Toshiba. These 3 other don't have that big problem, they can somehow coexist and would still have at least one market were they could do just fine.

Well, that was just a short version of my 2 cents. ;)