How to sell next-gen consoles, Marketing, Positioning, and Pricing [2020]

Yeah i understand, i don't think 499 should be a problem but 599 seems abit high for what you get. On the other hand, 600 dollars at a one time investment, if you have the console for 7 years, it's not so expensive. Compare that to pc's costing double that.

 

PS3 redux pricing seems a bad move so unless there is some crazy amount of something in the PS5 to justify it ( I don't see a heat sink costing $80 or whathaveyou ) I can't imagine why they would go there.
Over in the MS thread folks are suggesting 399.99 for the Series X and 199.99 for Lockhart so if Sony is expecting to charge 600 while a more powerful Series X sticks to 400 then anyone associated with any decision that creates such an outcome will be out of a job fairly quickly.
Somehow survival instincts in Sony leadership will kick into gear before this kind of thing happens I would assume.
Mind you if MS wants to cough up that kind of cash up front to make a big splash that would be great for everyone but Sony.

 

I am so excited...

Empower something something...

So excited...

Did I tell you how excited I am?

Please be excited!

....Just show us the games. Sony failed to clearly show what next-gen truly is and left the paint wide open for a tomahawk dunk, yet MS doesn't even seem to be able to make a lay-up. Those PR outings are awful.

 

Is it a hit though? I mean Xbox haven't shown any proper next-gen games and the past three years have been promising to show games at E3 and that never materialized. I suppose we will see in July if next-gen games will actually show up and i'm not talking Halo/Forca here. Show us new IP's using next-gen graphics. Hellblade 2 should hopefully be good.

 

Microsoft has absolutely zero self awareness about how PRish and Salespersonish they sound 90% of the time.

 

The only time they've ever been able to ditch that in the last 15 years was with that awkward weirdo J. Allard, he ended up kinda charming somehow and it probably helped the 360 to get the sales numbers it did.

So much for that.

 

I did not know who Allard was from the name, but as you said weirdo I had that guy in mind hahahha. But you are right, that was a good time for MS communication, although a little "broey" but those were the times...

 

It's telling that not being a stuck-up corporate mouthpiece gets you labelled as a weirdo nowadays. Signs of the times.

 

Allard was unnecessary broey even at the time. Hoody and jacket? Hey, I'm exec and just like you too!

 

His image was a fit for the product he was trying to sell and the people he was trying to sell it to.

 

'Weirdo' effectively means 'different', so yes, being different gets you labelled a weirdo. Nothing to do with signs of the times; it's always been that way. I'd say people are likely to be more tolerant now than ever.

It was the fact it came across as an image rather than who he was that was unsettling, I think. Execs pretending to be homey is worse than execs who are true to their Suits nature. If Allard was genuine, the framing of his personality among the Suits didn't help with interpretation.

 

Suits of high-tech are actually never found in suits nowadays. They project the image of the bourgeois bohemian talking about nothing of consequence and "engaging" fanboys on twitter. Is that authentic?
Also, the western world is becoming less tolerant by the day. Many apostles of tolerance have suddenly found themselves outside of the overton window lately. Saint-Just would have been proud. So happy that I don't actually live there.
But ya...Microsoft's marketing campaign was far better when it was talking and showing what the console is about. Having the DF guys actually tear down the console gives unmatched authenticity. Jason Ronald spewing platitudes and non-answers (to the despair of McCaffrey) does not.

 

I think the problem with this statement is that perhaps your expectations of what Sony and MS need to do to "clearly show what next gen is" is a bit too high. Sony had a great showing, everything considered, and some of the games they showed definitely had that "next gen feel and look", and if that was not enough in your opinion, then I believe it is highly unlikely that MS will be able to please you.

 

He was a weirdo in a good way though. And it was a separate thing from him not being an up-tight exec. He felt like a cool dude that was pretty genuine that was in an executive position. Aside from that, he also happened to have a weird vibe to him, hard to put the finger on what it waa, but since it is reaonating with multiple people here, it sure is there, but again, a weirdo in a cool way. And I say that from the position of a dude that also gets called a weirdo all the time, and in fact I am the first to admit that even I'd call myself a weirdo if I were not me.
And then there was the suit and hoodie. Yeah, that was was a little over-done, maybe that has to do with the weirdo aura hahaha. Guy did seem legit though.
On the topic, I'd say Spencer also feels genuine in fact, but he tries so hard to be a typical PR man like everybody else. Shows how strong the culture of lame business bs is at MS.

 

...
J Allard was the fucking EPITOME of a computer/engineering nerd who decided(or it was decided for him by Microsoft...) that he was going to try to be the "cool young hip" exec.

The BBC documentary Game Wars captured a bit of him at the early stages of it happening:



It's hilarious.

 

Exactly! He was hilarious, you remembered THAT dude. Now all MS has in its gaming division is a bunch of people that feel like underlings too terrified to try anything and too terrified to do nothing.

 

Sony couldn’t deliver that but so wont MS. Some had too high expectations, that we would see another true jump like previous generations.
With those expectations in mind, sonys show would be underwhelming, with games looking more like cross platform projects that take advantage of the next gen one.

 

Nope. Sony had a poor showing after all the hype going into the show only to show Spiderman DLC and Horizon Zero Dawn 2 cut-scenes. Massive disappointment when it came to showing why they invested so much into a revolutionary SSD. They are right there for the taking.
As far as I am concerned, MS is the only one who has shown a glimpse of next-gen with it's "in-engine" footage of Hellblade. If this too turns out to be bullshit, then double yikes. PC it will be for the duration of this gen. Again.

 

meh, PC's are getting very expensive at the high end. The consoles will do fine at their respective price points.

 

When were they not? An I9 coupled with a 2080S should see anyone through this gen comfortably.