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THE MARKET FOR COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES
Issue 552 Friday August 28 2009 £3.25
04 DS targets pirates Nintendo hires former Warner Bros man to head European anti-piracy efforts
20 The best of both worlds Sega West’s new boss Mike Hayes on managing both the US and UK offices
35 Retail Biz Microsoft’s Halo 3: ODST and EA’s Need For Speed: Shift previewed
WITH THIS ISSUE MCV previews Cooking Mama 3, the I Did It Mum range, Hair Salon and many more
EVERY BUYER EVERY BRANCH EVERY INDIE EVERY WEEK
INCORPORATING
Fresh Start for PS3… £18m UK warchest ready for heavy-duty PlayStation marketing PSP promo spend doubled to £6m for Q4 New campaign ‘The Game Is Just The Start’ starts charm offensive on ‘lapsed gamers’ and Wii owners by Michael French SONY SAYS it will win over lapsed gamers, Wii owners and former PlayStation 2 gamers with its mammoth marketing push for PS3. Earlier this week the format holder revealed plans to spend over £80m on European marketing efforts for the redesigned console, which arrives on Tuesday, September 1st priced at £249.99. MCV can reveal that £12m in total is to be spent in the UK on marketing, which includes a heavy-duty TV campaign and in-your-face outdoor ads. £6m of that is dedicated to a new brand initiative and SCEE’s ‘The Game Is Just The Start’ slogan. Key first party games EyePet, Uncharted 2 and Singstar Take That will be supported with up
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SCEE marketing director Alan Duncan and UK marketing manager Adam Boita have readied a farreaching marketing effort, dubbed ‘The Game Is Just The Start’, to reignite consumer interest in PS3
The target audience is PS2 owners who have moved away from gaming or own a Wii and now want to upgrade. Alan Duncan, SCEE
to £2m each, while a national sampling push will reach over 5m consumers. Now Sony thinks it can ‘convert’ Wii gamers into
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PlayStation 3 owners: “This campaign is the end of a two year journey for Sony in repositioning the PlayStation brand and making it more
open and inclusive,” SCEE marketing director Alan Duncan told MCV. “With this campaign we are being much more direct.” Sony also plans to promote music service VidZone, Blu-ray playback, iPlayer integration and its movie download service. UK marketing manager Adam Boita explained: “Last year was about proving to consumers the strength of
software; this year we are talking about both that and the wider proposition PS3 offers. “We’re reaching out to those not used to gaming – not just core male gamers.” Added Duncan: “Until now, the ‘buying journey’ for PS3 consumers was a long one – they would really consider what it entailed and why to buy. It was treated like buying a car. We’ve needed something that makes it much simpler. The lowered price and new PS3 helps make that statement. “For us the big audience is PS2 owners who have either lapsed and moved away from gaming altogether, or moved to Wii and now want to upgrade. There is a massive opportunity to appeal to those who still don’t have a next-gen console. That’s why we’ve gone for a very invitational campaign.”
HANDS ON MARKETING SONY IS ALSO SPENDING a further £6m on promoting the PSP 3000 and PSPgo. Sony has doubled its spend over 2008 as it hopes to reach multiple new audiences with the two devices. With the PSPgo aimed at more mature players, “the PSP 3000 is skewing younger, and that’s important as we grow,” said UK marketing manager Adam Boita. “We now have a range of PSPs that appeal to different parts of the marketplace. The two products complement each other and have appeal to different people.”
…as Xbox tries to scupper Slim launch with cut MCV EXPECTS Microsoft to finally announce a price cut for Xbox 360 today as a spoiler move ahead of the slim PS3’s arrival in stores next week, on Tuesday, September 1st.
According to our sources, allocations for the consoles are limited, with the Pro SKU expected to be phased out. The move supports retail speculation that Microsoft is
planning to clear the channel of current 360 stock before dropping its Elite SKU to a sub£200 price tag. The format-holder has allegedly already briefed
retailers about an upcoming new Xbox 360 SKU, although the specifications are unknown. However the format holder seems to be carefully managing inventory before announcing it.
Last week, sources told MCVUK.com that Microsoft was ready to cut the price during Gamescom, but held back at the last minute in a move to clear remaining stock.
PERSONNEL 30 RETAIL BIZ 35 NEW RELEASES 46 HIGH STREET 48 CHARTS 50