Xbox brand doesn't carry "as much sway" as PlayStation internationally, says EA

[PaulGo]

Electronic Arts big cheese John Riccitiello reckons that while Microsoft has achieved considerable brand awareness in the United States, Sony ultimately holds more pulling power on an international scale.
.
Speaking during a chinwag with IndustryGamers, Riccitiello sprinkled praise over both platform holders’ efforts in the on-going console brawl, highlighting Microsoft’s achievements with its online infrastructure, while bigging up Sony for its improved marketing.

Full article at:
http://www.psu.com/Xbox-brand-doesnt...a010297-p0.php

[DonRSD]

good post

Electronic Arts big cheese John Riccitiello reckons that while Microsoft has achieved considerable brand awareness in the United States, Sony ultimately holds more pulling power on an international scale.

"At the same time, the Xbox brand, the Microsoft brand, doesn't carry anywhere near as much sway as the Sony and PlayStation brand do outside the United States, and so I think the reality is the international marketplace is just so important and it's a natural advantage that no matter how good Microsoft is at growing their business, Sony has an almost-impossible-to-supersede head start."

[BluStation 3]

I dunno. Xbox does pretty well in Europe also. The only place it suffers really is in Japan. Also with Kinect selling the way its been, I'm not quite so sure that the PS3 will surpass Xbox 360 in 2011. Either way I could care less. I love both systems for different reasons.

[BlackMamba]

The meaning of brands change if its owner does not manage it carefully. Traditionally, the "Playstation" brand has been strong in terms of recognition and quality, but then again Dell used to be the same way. Samsung never used to have good brand equity, but now I'd argue they do.

[dereksworl]

Originally Posted by BluStation 3

Either way I could care less. I love both systems for different reasons.

you care then?

Originally Posted by BlackMamba

The meaning of brands change if its owner does not manage it carefully. Traditionally, the "Playstation" brand has been strong in terms of recognition and quality, but then again Dell used to be the same way. Samsung never used to have good brand equity, but now I'd argue they do.

microsoft fans have displayed loyalty that is far beyond what i can understand. with a failure rate as high as the 360 had(or still does??) im amazed its selling as well as it is. i've seen people swear off a brand after one failure, let alone 4 or 5. but as stated, i really dont care. as long as the PS brand is profitable and there will be a PS4, im happy.

[Gamma_Winstead]

I've had failures from both systems. That means nothing to me. Both are great systems with great games.

[dereksworl]

Originally Posted by gamma626

I've had failures from both systems. That means nothing to me. Both are great systems with great games.

yeah, i had a failure as well. that was on my launch 60Gb after 2 years. 1 failure in going on 4 1/2 years. peanuts compared to my cousin's 3 in the same period of time on the other system. maybe its just me but i couldnt do it. is it free to have it fixed or replaced?

[joeorc]

Originally Posted by BluStation 3

I dunno. Xbox does pretty well in Europe also. The only place it suffers really is in Japan. Also with Kinect selling the way its been, I'm not quite so sure that the PS3 will surpass Xbox 360 in 2011. Either way I could care less. I love both systems for different reasons.

here you go this may be what EA was mainly talking about:

PlayStation® Launches New Latin American Campaign Through Saatchi & Saatchi

10 NOV 2010

Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (SCEA) today announced the debut of its first official regional advertising campaign for the Latin America region to coincide with the company's most exciting holiday seasons which include the debut of customized product offerings for the region and groundbreaking product releases such as PlayStation®Move and Gran Turismo® 5. Today, SCEA's presence in Latin America has expanded into 19 countries across the region including, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Brazil*, Peru, Honduras, Belize, Paraguay, Uruguay, Guatemala, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Bolivia.



http://www.saatchi.com/news/archive/...atchi__saatchi

[FinalEvangelion]

Originally Posted by dereksworl

microsoft fans have displayed loyalty that is far beyond what i can understand. with a failure rate as high as the 360 had(or still does??) im amazed its selling as well as it is. i've seen people swear off a brand after one failure, let alone 4 or 5. but as stated, i really dont care. as long as the PS brand is profitable and there will be a PS4, im happy.

I have to say this is true. It wasn't until the reviews of FF13 came in that I realized how much the press was trying to promote MS this gen unconditionally.

Sony is going to have to work hard to gain the respect from America again. The loyalty many Americans have to MS is far more than I have seen to any other console in history. This is really the first generation that I have been criticized IRL for my console choice. This includes the SNES vs. Genesis era as well. I did own an Xbox 360 before I sold it mainly to play Lost Odyssey, but the fact that I had a PS3 still made me an "enemy of the state." Even still, people are very uncomfortable with the fact that I own a PS3 this day.

[BlackMamba]

Originally Posted by FinalEvangelion

I have to say this is true. It wasn't until the reviews of FF13 came in that I realized how much the press was trying to promote MS this gen unconditionally.

Sony is going to have to work hard to gain the respect from America again. The loyalty many Americans have to MS is far more than I have seen to any other console in history. This is really the first generation that I have been criticized IRL for my console choice. This includes the SNES vs. Genesis era as well. I did own an Xbox 360 before I sold it mainly to play Lost Odyssey, but the fact that I had a PS3 still made me an "enemy of the state." Even still, people are very uncomfortable with the fact that I own a PS3 this day.

However, you do have to remember that (as a marketing rule) personal experience should not be used to make assumptions about the market as a whole. You and your friends are not representative of the general population (otherwise, I could argue that the Sega Saturn and the original XBOX had it much worse than the PS3). I will caveat this by saying that the internet has given us a good deal more insight into national trends/attitudes. But, even so, judgments made without the support of hard data that tries to answer specific question(s) is often folly.

This is not to say I don't believe there is truth in what you say (especially with the U.S. gaming press, although the cynicism has subsided as of late), but the bias may be overstated. Even in the United States, Playstation remains an enormously popular brand, just not as dominant it was over the past two generations.

[Psx0005]

Originally Posted by FinalEvangelion

Sony is going to have to work hard to gain the respect from America again. The loyalty many Americans have to MS is far more than I have seen to any other console in history.

Is it honestly loyalty, or merely impatience on our part that most of us flocked to the MS banner due to the delay of the PS3's launch? The hefty pricetag definitely deflated the PS3 balloon upon release, paving the way for the Nintendo Wii to practically take over the #1 spot that the 360 formerly had due to the Wii's cheaper price.

Originally Posted by FinalEvangelion

This is really the first generation that I have been criticized IRL for my console choice. This includes the SNES vs. Genesis era as well. I did own an Xbox 360 before I sold it mainly to play Lost Odyssey, but the fact that I had a PS3 still made me an "enemy of the state." Even still, people are very uncomfortable with the fact that I own a PS3 this day.

I could care less what others think of my console preference. Its my money, my choice. I wanted something innovative with the PS3 (Blu-ray), easy upgradability (ability to swap out PS3's HDD with standard laptop drives), and ready to go right out of the box (free PSN service, built-in wifi). The 360 didn't fit those needs with its reliance on the PS2-era DVD format, proprietary HDD, and nicely structured but have-to-pay-for Live service so I stuck with Sony for the long haul. And I don't regret that decision one bit. I still place Sony higher on the quality and reliability chart than I would ever do with Microsoft.

In the end, the Internet anymore is just a lot of noise with millions of people wanting to have their voices heard and their opinions rationalized, looking for others to share their same opinion. Being ostracized for your console preference is no different from being singled out for your religious, ethical, moral, etc. etc. opinions and values on the Internet nowadays. That will never change. I appreciate reading friendly debate between the 360-Wii-PS3 owners, but when it comes to the extreme diabtribe-spouting hate-talk is when I tune out.

[SilverFireshot]

Meanwhile, the Wii sells a ton everywhere. Or they did, things are starting to slow down for them which was expected. It wouldn't surprise me to hear of a new Wii in the next couple of years.

Personally, I think this will be my last console generation I'll invest in. I have a PC again that can play just about anything and there aren't enough exclusives on either console anymore that would justify the $300+ pricetag.

I'm actually considering selling my PS3 and getting a standalone player now because the PS3 doesn't play one of my favorite movies now, and it's a frustrating console to use. Microsoft is focused on Kinect which doesn't interest me, so I really have no reason to keep that around either.

[richieb1971]

I've always said Sony has the hardware of choice but Microsoft to some extent have the sales of the games. I am not sure of current day but about 18 months ago a 3rd party title sold a lot more on the 360. Every single person I know bought the 360 version of RE5, I was the only PS3 customer and that was because I don't own a 360.

[Post Prod]

both sides have their raving fanboys and I have a hard time saying one group is less insane than the either. Same sickness, different strain.


I own both, love both. No one stays king forever, ask Atari or Nintendo that.

I love that both exist and are thriving in their own right, it makes both sides work their ass off to bring their best to the table for consumers. The second we have only one console on the market, that's when we will see quality and innovation turn to crap.

I think for a lot of long time gamers, consoles arer like milk, you gravitate towards what you are sued to. I'm more used to the xbox controllers, so that's what I prefer.

You'd have to be a fan boy to poo-poo the market strength of the Sony brand, it's a superpower like no other. and they've got a great product.
You'd also have to be a fan boy to poo-poo what the Kinect could mean for Xbox. It has tons of potential to be HUGE. As far as an answer to the Wii, Xbox has won that round.

Proof will be in staying power and the game lin-ups. But red-rings of death aside, the main power behind the Xbox brand is the sheer volume and quality of it's games. I doubt it will pull a Nintendo and have offering come up short.
But only time will tell.

Again, thank goodness we as consumer have options. and thank goodness both brands are doing well enough to be forcing all of the key players to shoot for the fences.

It's a lot like the format war. while a lot of people complained and we're left holding their peeners in the wind, it was a great thing for consumers and in the end a great thing for the blu-ray format.

[papaholmz]

Originally Posted by richieb1971

Every single person I know bought the 360 version of RE5, I was the only PS3 customer and that was because I don't own a 360.

I have both systems (and a Wii) and don't consider myself a fanboy of either system. But, when a third party game comes out for both the X360 and the PS3, I undoubtedly buy the X360 version and there is one reason and one reason only for that: Xbox Live beats PSN hands down, any day of the week. Any game I have for the PS3 is an exclusive.

I love my PS3, and it gets used more than my X360; I just tend to use it more for non-gaming functions like BD, Netflix, Media Server, etc...

-papaholmz

[Snake_XRS]

Originally Posted by SilverFireshot

Meanwhile, the Wii sells a ton everywhere. Or they did, things are starting to slow down for them which was expected. It wouldn't surprise me to hear of a new Wii in the next couple of years.

Personally, I think this will be my last console generation I'll invest in. I have a PC again that can play just about anything and there aren't enough exclusives on either console anymore that would justify the $300+ pricetag.

I'm actually considering selling my PS3 and getting a standalone player now because the PS3 doesn't play one of my favorite movies now, and it's a frustrating console to use. Microsoft is focused on Kinect which doesn't interest me, so I really have no reason to keep that around either.

This argument really makes little to no sense as a gamer. Not because of the whole console fanboy war, but because a good 80% or more of new release games don't come out on PC (especially 1st party PS3 titles).

I love great PC games like Half LIfe 2, Crysis, etc as much as anybody, but the PC is nowhere near the forefront of gaming. Look at the entire Games for Windows mess and how that turned out. Also, as a developer, PC games are the most pirated media out there, and bring in the least amount of legitimate sales. Crysis Warhead was pirated even more than Crysis, if you can believe that.

The other thing IMO that is killing PC gaming is the ridiculous amounts of patches, driver updates, etc for every new release. I don't want this thread to turn into a PC versus thread but too many games that are released aren't even offered on PC which IMO is the worst part if you consider going PC only.

[OG Pooh]

Originally Posted by Post Prod

both sides have their raving fanboys and I have a hard time saying one group is less insane than the either. Same sickness, different strain.


I own both, love both. No one stays king forever, ask Atari or Nintendo that.

I love that both exist and are thriving in their own right, it makes both sides work their ass off to bring their best to the table for consumers. The second we have only one console on the market, that's when we will see quality and innovation turn to crap.

I think for a lot of long time gamers, consoles arer like milk, you gravitate towards what you are sued to. I'm more used to the xbox controllers, so that's what I prefer.

You'd have to be a fan boy to poo-poo the market strength of the Sony brand, it's a superpower like no other. and they've got a great product.
You'd also have to be a fan boy to poo-poo what the Kinect could mean for Xbox. It has tons of potential to be HUGE. As far as an answer to the Wii, Xbox has won that round.

Proof will be in staying power and the game lin-ups. But red-rings of death aside, the main power behind the Xbox brand is the sheer volume and quality of it's games. I doubt it will pull a Nintendo and have offering come up short.
But only time will tell.

Again, thank goodness we as consumer have options. and thank goodness both brands are doing well enough to be forcing all of the key players to shoot for the fences.

It's a lot like the format war. while a lot of people complained and we're left holding their peeners in the wind, it was a great thing for consumers and in the end a great thing for the blu-ray format.

While I agree whole-heartedly with (most of) what you have said, I must say that (IMHO) innovation has already gone out the window, along with variety. I blame it on a few factors, with the main ones being...

Multi-Platform Titles: Just as if there were only one console, having the majority of games available across different platforms is like having only one console. Multi-platform titles cut down on innovation because rather than having competing titles or entire libraries, you have the same titles & essentially the same libraries. Where is the innovation or variety in that? The days of Mario Vs. Sonic Vs. Crash are (very sadly) over. Just look at the 360 & PS3 catalogs... They are virtually identical. In the past, for every Final Fantasy, there was a Phantasy Star... For every Tekken there was a Toshinden. Today, for every Madden there is a... Madden.

The Cost in Time & Money in Making a Game: Today's games are so sophisticated with such huge budgets and manpower going into them that nobody is willing to take a risk on anything new, different or simply not already hot at the time. It has gotten to the point where only a few select genres are being truly represented. And within those genres, the games are all extremely similar. This has directly led to my third factor...

Hybrid Genres: Not only are most games within genres starting to look alike, but different genres are starting to homogenize into one genre. Take a game like Resident Evil or even the original Blood Omen: The Legacy of Kain. They were both unique titles that were well loved and were their own games. Both evolved into cookie-cutter action titles, and have done so (sadly) in a popular fashion. It's almost as though today's players can't deal with anything that's not like everything else. And any game that comes along that isn't exactly like every other game is usually treated as second rate or releases as a budget title. It's almost as if developers are saying different games are second class games.

I really miss the "old" days when there was actual innovation, and there was actual variety. The days when you walked in a game store, and for every AAA shooter there was a AAA RPG and a AAA point-n-click and a AAA something like nothing else. You know, titles like Tecmo's Deception, Tale of the Sun, Shenmue, Treasures of the Deep, Seaman, Space Channel 5, Jet Grind Radio, Jumping Flash, etc, etc, etc. Probably the most innovative title I've seen in a long while is Mirror's Edge. While that game was hot for a minute, gamer's quickly moved on to the next Call of Duty, the next Rainbow Six, the next etc, etc.

All that said... I don't much listen to EA anymore. They've become one of the biggest jokes in the industry.