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Forums - Sales - The Crux of Sony's Strategy Problem

Dallinor on 18 October 2007

Borkachev said:

This attitude, I think, is a prime example of what's wrong with Sony's strategy: instead of convincing consumers to support the PS3, they try to trick them into supporting it. Instead of giving consumers something they want, they give them something they don't want and tell them they do.

They trick people into supporting/buying the PS3?

5 million PS3's do not get sold because consumers simply got 'tricked'. 5 million PS3's were sold because Sony sucessfully generated the need/desire in the consumer to own one. Your also obliquely saying that people do not need a PS3, which is also not the case.

This pattern goes back to the beginning. "The PS3 is too cheap," they said before release. "BluRay is necessary for HD games," "Rumble is incompatible with motion controls." "Rumble is a last-gen feature." When the first price drop came, they claimed the new 80 gig model would be the only version available soon, and that it would have no price drop. When the 40gb came to Europe, they claimed the other, BC-enabled, models would be phased out so people would run out and buy them. And so it goes on.

The PS3 was sold at a loss to begin with, so technically it was cheap. The rest of the quotes are Sony hyping their own product. Very understandable. Take their rivals Microsoft for example: "1080p at 60fps is not possible" and "HDMI isn't needed". Business's make fradulent statements like this all the time, it's all about putting your product in the best light possible and making it look the best.

 


 



 

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madskillz on 18 October 2007
rocketpig said:
FishyJoe said:

First they say the 20gb version isn't selling because consumers want a fully featured PS3.

The solution? Make a a stripped down PS3.

Does not compute.


Sony's marketing department stopped making sense quite some time ago.

It helps to play the theme from Benny Hill whenever reading any of their press releases. Things tend to become clearer that way.

For those of you too young to know what the hell I'm talking about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spz8_rpE0e0


Unfortunately, the Chancellor Sutton TV skit on "V for Vendetta" has tainted the Benny Hill 'Run' song for me for life ... but you are correct, RP ...



andrewpeirce on 18 October 2007

they should discountue the ps3 and just focus on PS2/PSP, with an $100 pirice cut for PSP
/JK



Taz42 on 18 October 2007

Hyperbole is different from fraud.

Telling people that prerendered movies are real-time, in-game captures from a PS3 is fraud, but unfortunately there is no equivalent to SEC when it comes to marketing.



fkusumot on 18 October 2007
madskillz said:
Sony's main problem is their long-term memory. They should quit living in the past. And analysts are worse because they talk of Sony's successes with the PS1 and PS2 and assume the PS3 will win in the end. That is not the case this time. Unfortunately, Sony's tactic of 'Take what we give you because you'll buy it anyhow' is not working as expected. What I find laughable is - how Sony is going in circles with the PS3. They initially had the 20gb model that was stripped down - and took it off life support almost immediately. Then, the 60gb wasn't moving as fast as they liked and they axed it. Now, the 80gb without hardware emulation is here but at a high price point - hence why they *added* the 40gb crippled. And what's really sad? The 20gb has more features! Correct me if I am wrong but ...

The Wii has showed two things that can't be overlooked - that gameplay, not graphics (as always known) sells consoles - and that price DOES matter. The 360 proved that, like the PS2, reability doesn't matter if the system has awesome games. Gamers are forgiving if they have something to look forward to - but lack of games? Look out.

Right now, Sony is trying to find a winning formula and will do anything, even drop *core values* (Phi Harrison, May 2006) to make a quick buck. What will they get in the end? A lot of folks will be even more likely to avoid them in the next gen fight. Don't think folks aren't still peeved by the disk read drama.

Oh yeah - gamers have long memories. And pissing them off with hollow promises will only hurt them in the long run.

 You should be a writer! That little tropus about the 20GB -> 60GB -> 80GB -> 40GB was very nice.



I Blame Wii Fit!

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Borkachev on 18 October 2007
Dallinor said:

Borkachev said:

This attitude, I think, is a prime example of what's wrong with Sony's strategy: instead of convincing consumers to support the PS3, they try to trick them into supporting it. Instead of giving consumers something they want, they give them something they don't want and tell them they do.

They trick people into supporting/buying the PS3?

5 million PS3's do not get sold because consumers simply got 'tricked'. 5 million PS3's were sold because Sony sucessfully generated the need/desire in the consumer to own one. Your also obliquely saying that people do not need a PS3, which is also not the case.

This pattern goes back to the beginning. "The PS3 is too cheap," they said before release. "BluRay is necessary for HD games," "Rumble is incompatible with motion controls." "Rumble is a last-gen feature." When the first price drop came, they claimed the new 80 gig model would be the only version available soon, and that it would have no price drop. When the 40gb came to Europe, they claimed the other, BC-enabled, models would be phased out so people would run out and buy them. And so it goes on.

The PS3 was sold at a loss to begin with, so technically it was cheap. The rest of the quotes are Sony hyping their own product. Very understandable. Take their rivals Microsoft for example: "1080p at 60fps is not possible" and "HDMI isn't needed". Business's make fradulent statements like this all the time, it's all about putting your product in the best light possible and making it look the best.

 


 


 I didn't say anyone who bought a PS3 was tricked: I said that trickery has been a major part of Sony's strategy for selling them. My problem with this scheme is that it insults the consumer and buries the genuine merits of the platform under mountains of lies and distrust.

 

Hyperbole is different from fraud.

Telling people that prerendered movies are real-time, in-game captures from a PS3 is fraud, but unfortunately there is no equivalent to SEC when it comes to marketing.

Some of those quotations can be viewed as hyperbole, but the most damning are these three, which cannot:

-Claiming in NA that the more expensive 80gb model would be the only one available after the 60gb was sold out.

-Claiming in Europe that all future models of the PS3 would not include backwards compatibility, and that the ones that did were stock-limited.

-Cutting backwards compatibility from the 40 gig to artificially create demand for upper-model PS3s and PS3 games.

These three moves were designed to force consumers into buying things they didn't want. Because they were all based on deceptive business practices or straight-out lies, I think "trickery" is definitely the right word. 



Mars on 18 October 2007

Just think a little.

If the can lose the same $ on a $400 PS3 as a $500 they will do it, since duhhh it lowers the entry price and more people become possible customers.

Its very basic thinking, its not rocket science.



Neos on 18 October 2007
Mars said:
Just think a little.

If the can lose the same $ on a $400 PS3 as a $500 they will do it, since duhhh it lowers the entry price and more people become possible customers.

Its very basic thinking, its not rocket science.

 So basically, everyone can become a PR guy at Sony?? 



Neos - "If I'm posting in this thread it's just for the lulz."
Tag by the one and only Fkusumot!

 

Words Of Wisdom on 18 October 2007
Mars said:
Just think a little.

If the can lose the same $ on a $400 PS3 as a $500 they will do it, since duhhh it lowers the entry price and more people become possible customers.

Its very basic thinking, its not rocket science.

If Sony loses too much money, they die.  Also very basic thinking.



cansan on 18 October 2007

For me, all this scrambling by sony is just making me wait. It looks like the price drops are frequent, why should I buy now? Additionally, I want rumble, so if I buy now, I will be forced to buy the Dual Shock 3 later and eat the cost of that. All this makes it just so easy to put off buying a PS3.

The turning point for me: a not-gimped 300 euro PS3 (with dualshock 3) and GT5.