Sony Playstation Marketing: a quiet place in days gone?

[MrFox]

I see people talking about future releases, we don't even know how great those will be, it's like some people automaticly assume everything will be gold.

Well yeah, it's expectations based on track record. The reception of all previous AAA games from these studios are shaping expectation for the next ones. It also slowly change the type of gamer buying the console with expected genres. It took them decades to solidify this sort of expectation. It doesn't happen overnight.

They only have a couple duds out of the last dozen AAA releases. Anyone who loved TLoU expects TLoU2 to be an absolute masterpiece.

I expect one dud out of the next six first party AAA.

New IPs are the most difficult to sell and they need to ramp up developers interviews and trailers and previews. Myself I don't care about PR, but if it helps selling more copies they should do that. Last E3 had many interviews creating potent hype.

Should they talk about upcoming games early or late?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

That's from me. I think "Are Sony doing enough?" is vague, since it doesn't really specify what the standard is to determine that. Is it are they doing enough to keep their fans happy or is it are they doing enough to not suffer decreased sales or is it are they doing enough to meet each individual's expectations or ???

That's really the discussion. It's people sharing whether they feel Sony are doing enough for them, with some arguing that it's about earnings, and some arguing it's more about sentiment. It's just a good old sharing. There's no specific question being answered or right and wrong as a result.

Personally, I feel PS4 is a bit 'empty', but some points raised in this thread make me feel that's perhaps inevitable with the way the industry has gone. The contrast with MS shows, in my mind, MS doing more, but then I stop and wonder if some of that stuff is anything I'd care about anyway.

 

[mrcorbo]

That's really the discussion. It's people sharing whether they feel Sony are doing enough for them, with some arguing that it's about earnings, and some arguing it's more about sentiment. It's just a good old sharing. There's no specific question being answered or right and wrong as a result.

Personally, I feel PS4 is a bit 'empty', but some points raised in this thread make me feel that's perhaps inevitable with the way the industry has gone. The contrast with MS shows, in my mind, MS doing more, but then I stop and wonder if some of that stuff is anything I'd care about anyway.

Which is where I came in at the start. I get why Sony are doing what they are doing from their perspective and I don't think in the long run this (relatively) quiet period will matter, but I also understand why some are personally disappointed. So the answer to the question posed is, "Yes, No and Maybe."

 

[Shifty Geezer]

What does more marketing offer Sony?

I'm still lamenting the lack of positive suggestions here. It'd be nice to hear opinions on what else Sony could/should be doing, from someone other than myself!

Already mentioned BC. That's been a great PR move by MS, and seems to have made a decent bit of coin. Sony's effort is actually worse than if they hadn't bothered because we know the emulate is on the console - so close and yet so far. Some moves on studio acquisitions? Sony closed Evolution, Liverpool and Guerilla Cambridge. Looking at Wiki, there's actually a little quiet growth on that front. How about more proactive PSNow endorsement, so giving a free two week trial and whatnot?

It may be Sony are doing plenty but just aren't being seen/heard.

 

[manux]

Sony is in middle of some layoffs though not on console side. They might be in a position where also console division has to be careful on spending

Sony is set to halve the workforce at its struggling mobile division in a bid to make it profitable from 2020.

According to Nikkei, as many as 2,000 roles will be cut in the restructure. Some Japanese employees will be transferred to other divisions but workers in Europe and China will be offered voluntary redundancy.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.te...set-to-halve-workforce-in-profitability-drive

 

[MrFox]

Sony is in middle of some layoffs though not on console side. They might be in a position where also console division has to be careful on spending



https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.te...set-to-halve-workforce-in-profitability-drive

Wut.

Overachieving divisions get more investment (playstation). Unprofitable division get cuts (to rebalance the lower production targets)

Playstation is being invested into. Moar. Fer growth targets.

 

[manux]

Wut.

Overachieving divisions get more investment (playstation). Unprofitable division get cuts (to rebalance the lower production targets)

Playstation is being invested into. Moar. Fer growth targets.

Difficult to say from outside. It's easy to argue for both invest more&growth or keep steady and optimize cost making more money out of what already exists.

 

[Nesh]

I was talking about the signs Sony is giving. They didn't just appear this year. They have been accumulating for some years.
The fact is, we know that currently the major competitive advantage they have that is executed well to a point, is the few AAA exclusive titles that come each year.
And that's it.
They didn't handle equally well other features of the console even those that have existed for quite some time.
Nobody is saying Sony will die or that they suck. But its its valid to point their negligence or lack of visible indicators of what's in store for the future. We aren't sure what they are capable of or willing to do. Was it deliberate or an in ability to execute?
Maybe they will come with a bang when PS5 will be shown. Maybe
And this is where things are going to get interesting next gen.
What about BC? Its becoming increasingly important. They showed us some PS2 games on PSN and abandoned it ages ago. Are they going to expand it?
What about PS Now? It has not improved for ages. Would it be able to compete Stadia? Will we ever see proper support on other devices? Would the streaming and accessibility improve?
What about remote play on any device? Why did they not open it up all these years? Are they using it as a trojan horse to sell more XPERIAs,?
The XBOX is becoming platform agnostic and MS is expanding the XBOX experience even on Nintendo.
Is Sony capable at taking it against all alone?
What's the state of Cross Platform play and account sharing across multiple devices(see Fortnite and Minecraft)? Sony pissed off a lot of gamers with that. MS and Nintendo had no issues with it.
Will Sony be able to maintain the current competitive advantage of exclusives considering MS's preparations for next gen exclusives?
If MS succeeds next gen would MS's Gamepass be considered an additional reason to purchase XBOX is Sony doesn't provide something similar?

 

[Xbat]

What about PS Now? It has not improved for ages. Would it be able to compete Stadia? Will we ever see proper support on other devices? Would the streaming and accessibility improve?

PS Now just recently launched in new European territories. Sony just released an app for streaming to iOS from your PS4 but for some reason these things don't count? Actual things that's launched and can be used?

will Sony be able to maintain the current competitive advantage of exclusives considering MS's preparations for next gen exclusives?

It's tough to know but Sony's first party didn't all of a sudden become as good as they are. It took time and Faith to build them up. Lots of there first party games didn't sell very well, they probably just sold enough.
A lot of big publishers would of closed studios if there games sold like Killzone, Infamous and maybe even uncharted 1.
So what I'm trying to say is it would be brilliant if the new studios Microsoft have bought hit the ground running but it's unlikely, these things take time.

 

[Picao84]

What about PS Now? It has not improved for ages. Would it be able to compete Stadia? Will we ever see proper support on other devices? Would the streaming and accessibility improve?

It has not improved most likely because it's not profitable. Funny that you talk about PSVR as a niche market (which it is for now), but raise concerns about PSNow, which is another niche with its own set of issues. Have Sony ever released data about how many users subscribe to PSNow and how much income it generates?

I don't believe Stadia presents any kind of threat to the Playstation / Xbox / Nintendo business model in the medium term. It heavily relies on something Google does not control: quality of the user's internet access, which is anything but standard across the world in both capabilities and prices.

Game Streaming is also something that users have even less control and knowledge of. If something bad happens with a PS4 / XBox they can try to reboot it, recover it, etc. If something bad happens with game streaming and a simply opening and closing of the browser does not really fix it because there is a problem with cookies or whatever, or it requires the user to logoff and log back in, the user will see this as just a nuisance to go through, compared to the usual plug and play of a Console. Sure, PC users are used to all that but not Console users. Game Streaming needs to be seamless and effortless to really compete with Consoles and I don't see something that heavily relies on internet access being like that anytime soon.

It's not just because it's supported by Google that it suddenly will succeed. Google projects have failed in the past.

 

[Rootax]

(And Google is the king at shutting down projects/products, even interesting ones)

 

[Nesh]

It has not improved most likely because it's not profitable. Funny that you talk about PSVR as a niche market (which it is for now), but raise concerns about PSNow, which is another niche with its own set of issues. Have Sony ever released data about how many users subscribe to PSNow and how much income it generates?
.

I don't think we will ever have a productive discussion if you continue making assumptions that I am ranting about VR or that I have a personal infatuation with PS Now. I am not expressing my personal preferences in this discussion. This is not your typical gaming forum.

PS Now just recently launched in new European territories. Sony just released an app for streaming to iOS from your PS4 but for some reason these things don't count? Actual things that's launched and can be used?

PS Now has launched in the US in 2014 and other territories in 2015. These are tiny steps and too slow. Sony also discontinued PS Now on multiple other platforms. The service still hasn't evolved much if at all.

Also it doesnt communicate value very well. Thing is, it comes with a set of problems due to it's nature on one hand and implementation on another.
https://www.engadget.com/2019/02/18/playstation-now-re-review/

 

[Picao84]

I don't think we will ever have a productive discussion if you continue making assumptions that I am ranting about VR or that I have a personal infatuation with PS Now. I am not expressing my personal preferences in this discussion. This is not your typical gaming forum.

I'm not making any assumptions, just comparing two products that are niche markets. The first one you dismissed immediately when I initially mentioned it with a vague "No" and then asked me to provide evidence of it being relevant. You mention the second one as being under threat of competition from Stadia as something that should be relevant to Sony. I asked you to show me evidence of PSNow being so relevant for Sony for it to be concerned with Stadia. I also presented my opinion on why I think Game Streaming will be irrelevant to Sony's gaming business for a long while. I'm simply holding you to the same standard you imposed on my own arguments.

 

[Nesh]

I'm not making any assumptions, just comparing two products that are niche markets. The first one you dismissed immediately when I initially mentioned it with a vague "No" and then asked me to provide evidence of it being relevant. You mention the second one as being under threat of competition from Stadia as something that should be relevant to Sony. I asked you to show me evidence of PSNow being so relevant for Sony for it to be concerned with Stadia. I also presented my opinion on why I think Game Streaming will be irrelevant to Sony's gaming business for a long while. I'm simply holding you to the same standard you imposed on my own arguments.

We are at different wave lengths. You are not in touch with where I am coming from or what I said and I dont want to go through a needless process of explaining myself. So I will leave it as such.

 

[Picao84]

You are making assumptions. You are not in touch with where I am coming from or what I said. So I will leave it as such.

Stating a fact is making assumptions? How about you address my points instead of making vague considerations about me being out of touch? Why is PSNow that relevant to Sony?

 

[Nesh]

Stating a fact is making assumptions? How about you address my points instead of making vague considerations about me being out of touch? Why is PSNow that relevant to Sony?

Your points are irrelevant to mine. Your directing the discussion to what you think is being discussed.
Also you are turning it back to the old VR discussion that Shifty moderated. Get over it.

 

[Picao84]

Your points are irrelevant to mine. Your directing the discussion to what you think is being discussed.

So one of the points you raised is how is Sony going to react, or not, to Stadia as a competitor to its gaming streaming business, but when someone discusses that point, it is not relevant?

Alright, whatever rocks your boat...

 

[Nesh]

So one of the points you raised is how is Sony going to react, or not, to Stadia as a competitor to its gaming streaming business, but when someone discusses that point, it is not relevant?

Alright, whatever rocks your boat...

First of all the discussion is not about the greater importance of PS Now. Secondly you brought up again and compared the subject about the importance of VR which was irrelevant even during the discussion that Shifty moderated.

 

[Picao84]

First of all the discussion is not about the greater importance of PS Now. Secondly you brought up again and compared the subject about the importance of VR which was irrelevant even during the discussion that Shifty moderated.

*sigh*

I'm going to quote you again:

What about PS Now? It has not improved for ages. Would it be able to compete Stadia? Will we ever see proper support on other devices? Would the streaming and accessibility improve?

You questioned Sony's performance on PSNow, among other things. You believe that PSNow has been underperforming (which is actually not true at all, as of last year it was the most successful games streaming platform - https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2018/11/09/ps-now-streaming-service-service-highest-earning/) and is/might be under threat from Stadia. Still, PS Now only represents 6% of their revenue. I question if these 6% justify Sony doing more (as the thread title asks if they are doing enough) with PS Now than what they are already doing (and working apparently).

How is this outside of the scope of this discussion I don't understand. You were basically asking why Sony is not doing more on PS Now. The answer to that has to lie on hard data like ROI and how well Sony is doing compared to competitors.

Edit - Meh, tired of this. I will not make any further considerations.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

PS Now just recently launched in new European territories. Sony just released an app for streaming to iOS from your PS4 but for some reason these things don't count?

The question is Sony's marketing. Seems lots of people are completely unaware of things Sony is doing because they aren't communicating it effectively. and Nesh's point about being daft with Xperia still stands - PSNow works on very PC and iOS device and every Android phone except they won't support any but Xperia Android phones. And BC exists but you can't really use it. From fans' POV, it's all a bit ragtag. Even if just coming out and explaining why, such as not being able to guarantee support for millions of different Android devices, and what went wrong with BC, it'll at least be something. The 'say nothing' strategy is never good for PR. Look at No Man's Sky - the lack of feedback from Murray meant loads of vocal outrage. In the end, the product is great and the company has done okay, but that doesn't change the marketing mess of it. PS5 may be awesome, and Sony's services may be the best in the world in reality, and PlayStation may be one of the strongest brands in the world, but their current public relations isn't all that great.