Sony Playstation Marketing: a quiet place in days gone?

[Shifty Geezer]

As for the PS5, people have come up with 1 + 2 + 3 registered patents from Sony that relate to backwards compatibility.
At this point it would be a really longshot to assume the PS5 isn't bringing BC from the PS4 at least, even in the very small chance they're not going with another full AMD CPU+GPU solution.

Lots I could argue against, but I'm going to leave it at this - you're basically doing Sony's job of marketing for them. You're having to explain to me why I should trust in a future for PlayStation, and how I should perceive BC (although your argument for BC only looked at PS3 and not PS1 and PS2 BC). Isn't that exactly the point, that Sony themselves should be doing this? If BC is a cert, why not come out and say it? Why leave it to people to dig up patents and present arguments on forums?

If you can't see the difference between doing stuff and telling people about the stuff your doing, there's no future in this discussion, because this discussion isn't about business strategies but visibility and PR. It doesn't matter whether everything MS does it shite and they'll never make a popular ecosystem - they are telling people that that's their future and that's why we should watch them (if we like the sound of that future). What are the arguments in favour of Sony not telling people about their grand visions? (So not arguments against what the opposition are doing, but arguments as to why Sony shouldn't talk about their vision)

 

[iroboto]

Sorry Gamepass is similar to Playstation Now, Games with Gold is similar to Plus.
Plus is bringing 2 new games every month. PS Now has 275 PS4 games (according to the latest news), plus the ~400 streamable PS3 games.
They're pretty comparable, with Now having the advantage of being able to stream on PC/PS4 (PS4 + PS3 + PS2 titles) and download to play locally on PS4 (PS4 + PS2 titles) within the same service.
Two slightly different approaches with Now being more expensive because it includes the streaming aspect.

Yes I agree. When we compare the services I totally agree that they are comparable. I don't have an explanation for you why MS and Google have the spotlight on streaming but Sony does not.

Just Cause 4 hit game pass soon after release because Microsoft offered Square Enix enough money for it.
That's the part that may not be sustainable in the long term.

I would need to see a link for that. https://kotaku.com/just-cause-4-hits-xbox-game-pass-only-three-months-afte-1833109635

So?
If the PS5 does PS4 BC (as heavily suggested by all those patent registrations and reports of Sony going with AMD again), how much more of an advantage does Microsoft have over Sony?

Then if it does, that's great. Right now you don't know. Which is the problem we're discussing.

Crossplay is much more important for Microsoft than it is for Sony, for the simple reasons that you're more 2x likely to have friends with PS4 than ones with XBone, and PS4 multiplayer servers will have 2x more players than similar XBone servers, for any given 3rd party multiplayer game.

Right, so then it's agreed they also don't have a cross platform strategy.

This is what the discussion is about. it's not about comparing platforms or services. It's just a matter of really knowing if people have enough data points today, (with all the information availlable) to infer what is a reasonable direction/future for the Playstation Platform.

That exists for MS, at least we've been trying to establish that. Nesh asked himself if this was the case with Playstation, and he doesn't think so. This is what I understand the thread to be about.

 

[PSman1700]

See above my response to shifty

The generation between PS2 and PS3 clearly showed that Sony users could opt to choose another platform or none at all. No matter the reason. MS basicly handed Sony the win this gen, this might not happen again im afraid.

It's not the only reason but it is a big reason. And not necessarily specific titles, more we know Sony will give us some good new IPs and a big variety of games as they always do/have done.

It was a reason for myself to buy a PS4, non Pro though. That's just for Ghost of Tsuhima, maybe Dreams as that seems interesting. But how many of those nearly 100 million users bought a PS4 for the exclusives? Just looking around (north america), i'm seeing most people playing CoD, FiFa and GTA, Fortnite and Apex on their PS4's. The occasional Spiderman and GoW to some extend here and there. Just relying on about 15 to 20 exclusives for a whole generation seems risky. Those exclusives aren't either that good anymore, there seems to be a shift going on, have been reading polls and forums, it's all i can go after for now.
https://www.neogaf.com/threads/are-playstation-exclusives-the-best-games-in-the-industry.1475354/

Many seem to dislike the cinematic approaches those games are taking. Most are 3rd person action/adventure games too.
I can agree that, like in my case i bought it for a exclusive, i might use my PS4 for other things too. After almost one year that hasn't been much more then PlanetSide 2 and Apex though.
What i mean is, i hope Sony isn't just sitting back and expecting people to go all in PS5 because they had some exclusives played by max 30% of it's userbase?
We should not forget either that 3rd party developers like Rockstar are competing nicely with Sony's first party.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/halo-infinite-most-expensive-video-game-project/

MS seems to be investing heavily in their software, if true that is.

it actually outsold X360

360 even being close was impressive with in mind that Xbox/MS was kinda new to the console market by then. OG Xbox sold a fraction of the PS2, it didn't have any real exclusives either.
If there is a time to market and PR your stuff, this close to a new generation, it's time do it now, appear at E3 when your competitors do. Yet it has been pretty much silent from Sony's side since.... 2017? PS5 wasn't close in 2017, so it is no excuse there. Their last E3 was kinde dull, showing nothing really new. Only a few exclusives a year, that are singleplayer based for the most. Are people going to play a couple of games a year long, year in year out? No people don't buy their consoles just for the exclusives, and therefore i think there is more to it.

Remakes and remasters shouldn't be the only thing either, of what it seems to exist the most of.

https://www.unilad.co.uk/gaming/more-ratchet-clank-ps4-adventures-teased/?source=gaming

 

[mrcorbo]

An outliner example where Sony still sold the same as MS? PS3 was a car crash starting a year after X360 with a significantly higher price, lacked many of the X360 features and the big 3rd party games ran better. Yet still it sold more with launches aligned. What are the odds of Sony pulling another PS3!?

Matching MS isn't their bar. Their bar is the success of the PS1, 2 and 4. The fact that they didn't reach this bar during the PS3 generation reinforces the point Shifty is trying to make. PlayStation can underperform if the business isn't being managed correctly.

 

[MrFox]

I still have no idea what you guys want.

I give up and I just eat my popcorn now.

 

[lefantome]

Sony is doing enough because there is not competition anymore and I guess that they are busy saving resources for PS5.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Again, it actually outsold X360 launches aligned...unless you're talking in just the US of course.

I'm talking sales relative to what Sony's own narrative predicted given sales of the original PlayStation and PS2. PS3 demonstrated that people just not buy a hundreds million boxes just because they are branded PlayStation.

 

[Nesh]

I still have no idea what you guys want.

I give up and I just eat my popcorn now.

Is the question about our own personal preference or the state of affairs regarding Sony's communication and execution to keep the consumer delighted in general and lay out clear foundations for PS5?

 

[Cyan]

Oh man. I feel like they made 180 degree turn from the first few years of PS4. They are doing spasmodic moves as if the department went over the hands of a different kind of management that is disconnected from the PS market

there might be some industrial espionage going on, that's why they are calm..., or not.

I mean, Microsoft is going to show the new Xbox at E3, and the thing is...., they seem to be pretty sure about the PS5 specs in order to show their machine first, as if the new Xbox has something to it Sony isnt achieving.

That's what Sony did back in the day when they rushed a PS4 presentation in february 2013, a long time before the E3 where the XB1 was shown.

 

[MrFox]

Is the question about our own personal preference or the state of affairs regarding Sony's communication and execution to keep the consumer delighted in general and lay out clear foundations for PS5?

I don't know it keeps changing into massive arguments from armchair marketing directors and stock investors... Seems useless to point out sony are currently revamping their worldwide playstation marketing plans with 3-4 separate marketing firms, expected to be $250 million worth of contracts, which should be up to full speed at ps5 unveiling. But what do I know, I'm not an armchair marketing director.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I don't know it keeps changing into massive arguments from armchair marketing directors and stock investors... Seems useless to point out sony are currently revamping their worldwide playstation marketing plans with 3-4 separate marketing firms, expected to be $250 million worth of contracts, which should be up to full speed at ps5 unveiling. But what do I know, I'm not an armchair marketing director.

that's an answer to the debate though. "Are Sony strangely quiet?" "Yes, and they are fixing that by spending."

It's not hard!

The main issue for the mess is some tangential discussions about business, not marketing. The main points to be considered, that have been raised in discussion, are:
1) Are Sony being quiet, or are people just missing their marketing?
2) How does their messaging compare to their rivals?
3) If you accept Sony are being quiet, what are the reasons?

a) Lull before PS5, nothing to say
b) Lack of marketing leadership as the company works through heads
c) Lack of vision and PlayStation is a brand that's somewhat lost its way at the moment​

This discussion has yielded info such as Sony looking for new marketing firms, and the state of Sony's services hasn't been significantly broadcast and they're in better health than some realise. It's also provided personal feedback as to what individuals understand Sony message (or lack thereof) to be. eg. Totz considers it a shoe-in that BC is coming for PS5 based on patent links etc, whereas others are uncertain because Sony hasn't been transparent about that.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

that's an answer to the debate though. "Are Sony strangely quiet?" "Yes, and they are fixing that by spending."

It's not hard!

And yet many people in this thread are seeing plenty of Sony and/or PlayStation marketing, myself included.

Are Sony strangely quiet? I personally see only an increase in Sony's continuous PlayStation marketing with the emphasis now being on Days Gone which releases in a few weeks. It's nowhere near the level of marketing we saw for Spider-Man or even God of War but one of those is a brand that transcends cultures, generations and entertainment markets, but for a new IP. I'm seeing as much marketing for Days Gone as for The Last of Us, which is really quite surprising. But the TLoU was released six years ago and things change.

The question and answer really is "Are Sony strangely quiet?" And the truthful is, "Perhaps depending on who you are, where you are, what you watch and how you watch it, and what you expect. Or not, see above."

Which could apply to any person's expectations and experiences about any company or product.

 

[Globalisateur]

And yet many people in this thread are seeing plenty of Sony and/or PlayStation marketing, myself included.

Are Sony strangely quiet? I personally see only an increase in Sony's continuous PlayStation marketing with the emphasis now being on Days Gone which releases in a few weeks. It's nowhere near the level of marketing we saw for Spider-Man or even God of War but one of those is a brand that transcends cultures, generations and entertainment markets, but for a new IP. I'm seeing as much marketing for Days Gone as for The Last of Us, which is really quite surprising. But the TLoU was released six years ago and things change.

The question and answer really is "Are Sony strangely quiet?" And the truthful is, "Perhaps depending on who you are, where you are, what you watch and how you watch it. Or not, see above."

The problem is that they seem to only market their actual soon to be released games ! How dare they ?

They should market services, features, and promises of superior services and games to be released for the next gen.

 

[AlNom]

whereas others are uncertain because Sony hasn't been transparent about that.

Transparency is a pain with Deferred Marketing Engines. :V

 

[MrFox]

It looks like many gamers want answers about the ps5 (is it BC), the upcoming games during and after ps5 unveiling (2020 and up), and the next phase of psnow. All of which obviously can only happen when they are closer to the announcement and would be planned in a big press event as usual. So it's logical to be quiet about that.

Many gamers reaction to 2018 E3 is that for any game already known to be in development, they might as well show nothing at all (not me, but, you know who you are). But what's left to talk about other than upcoming ps4 games, as they do?

What other generation had anything massive the year leading to next gen?

Who has ever announced BC at any moment other than during the next gen unveiling?

 

[Deleted member 11852]

The problem is that they seem to only market their actual soon to be released games ! How dare they ?

I assume there are people in Sony's PR departments who are both in charge of collecting dues for the tea/biscuit club and understand that money isn't an infinite resource along with the widely accepted principle in marketing that the curve to diminishing returns ramps up very steeply indeed. It's likely the same reason that Google aren't advertising their search engine much these days, even though they have tons of money and that Google's search engine is a key portal for data collection that allows them to monetise users of their services.

They should market services, features, and promises of superior services and games to be released for the next gen.

They should, if only it didn't defy convention of not marketing products you haven't announced yet. Not only convention, there are market trading requirements that strictly regulate this. Something about manipulating the market and investors. Sounds like hogwash I know, but it's an actual thing that apparently has real consequences. What a crazy world, huh.

 

[iroboto]

This thread seems like a summary of Shrodinger's Marketing if such a thing existed.

1) There are announcements under these boxes here
2) When the box is opened the announcement will be revealed to you
3) We will not tell you when we're revealing them, and we won't give you any ideas what's inside it
4) If you don't get what you want, please wait for the next box to be revealed (see 3)

I'm not saying this is bad. To each their own, I hope that you can recognize that some of the members have expressed not enjoying this (thus this thread). On the flip side some of you have expressed it's the way it has to be, and that there are no other solutions for Sony, this is clearly the absolute best strategy for marketing that Sony should employ. Other's have expressed that it doesn't matter what's in the box, because whatever it is or isn't, you're 100% bought in already and these concerns are largely an overreaction. And lastly, Sony is currently in progress of making changes to their marketing which is why they are quiet.

I'm curious to see what E3 2019 thread will be like wrt to this thread, it will be interesting to see how the thread/community of gamers play out when undoubtedly some will feel like Sony will need to respond to E3 2019 without the stage of something as large of E3.

It's a hell of an announcement sitting under one of those boxes that we don't know exists or when it will be opened.

 

[PSman1700]

Sony is doing enough because there is not competition anymore and I guess that they are busy saving resources for PS5.

That's a very strange assumption. Coca-Cola is doing very well, but they are investing in PR like madness anyway. Sony probably has nothing to PR or to show like last E3/years.

I mean, Microsoft is going to show the new Xbox at E3, and the thing is...., they seem to be pretty sure about the PS5 specs in order to shown their machine first, as if the new Xbox has something to it Sony isnt achieving.

It's what i was thinking too. It makes no sense to be silent just before a new generation of console, on the biggest gaming event, when the others are having their show.

I don't know it keeps changing into massive arguments from armchair marketing directors and stock investors... Seems useless to point out sony are currently revamping their worldwide playstation marketing plans with 3-4 separate marketing firms, expected to be $250 million worth of contracts, which should be up to full speed at ps5 unveiling. But what do I know, I'm not an armchair marketing director.

Trust me, $250 million dollar is not much for a corporation like that. Do you have any idea what markering, PR and ads cost these days? It also depends on how you market.
Being silent since 2017 isn't really the way to go.

I personally see only an increase in Sony's continuous PlayStation marketing with the emphasis now being on Days Gone which releases in a few weeks.

Yes but that's about their exclusives, like i said before that seems to be the only thing going on for Sony, again that won't be enough with a few exclusives a year.
That is if MS doesn't hand a win to Sony again which i highly doubt.

So it's logical to be quiet about that.

It's anything but logical to be quiet about it when your rivals are not. Unless they have nothing (new) to show like last time, just some trailers of known titles.

 

[MrFox]

It's logical to be quiet when your rival really wants to see your hand, and has to go first. The next gen have not been unveiled yet.

Gamers will decide when the cards are on the table.

 

[BRiT]

Gamers will decide when the cards are on the table.

Okay Kenny Rogers...