Video Games Go Boom Part 3
From LoveToKnow VideoGames
Video Games Go Boom is a series of opinion articles focused on various aspects of video game culture and the future of video games as entertainment. If you came here from a search engine, be sure to read the previous installments before continuing.
Video gamers make up a small portion of the consumers in the world. But still they manage to spend millions of dollars each year on games, systems and accessories. The market is so lucrative that two giant corporations -- Microsoft and Sony -- couldn't resist tossing in their goods to see how much money could be wrung out. Video games guru Nintendo, who practically pioneered home video gaming, meanwhile sits quietly at the side. How will these three fare in the years to come? If you've read the first articles in Video Games Go Boom, the answer should be painfully clear.
Sony: My System is Bigger Than Your System
Sony was founded as an electronics manufacturer way back in 1946. It quickly became the largest and most popular distributer of electronic devices. Sony made itself a household name with the Walkman and continues to produce electronics of almost every kind.
The PlayStation console was originally intended as an add-on to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The deal didn't quite work out, however, and Sony instead released it as a stand-alone. Due to strong support from game developers and several exclusive titles, the PlayStation line took off and is still going strong today. Now, Sony is at the helm of the video games industry with more system sales in almost every region.
With an enormous bankroll and distribution/manufacturing plants across the globe, Sony is in a prime position to develop and produce video game hardware. Their systems are often touted as the most powerful on the market. This push for power is what has kept Sony on top for the past few years. But with a growing (and eventually dividing) market, this push could alienate it from the bulk of consumers.
Sony's Strategy
Sony's public strategy has been made very clear: out-muscle the competition and offer a system with more features, more power, and more choices. For most areas of electronics, this is a great business strategy. In video games it works almost just as well. Almost.
Hardcore gamers will very likely snatch up any Sony product the minute it comes out. Their systems offer the technological possibilities for developers to go wild. This encourages game makers to focus on the technology aspect of the games rather than the "game" aspect of them. There are wonderful exceptions, of course, but by and large this is the pattern. Sony caters to the avid gamer, the person who grew up playing video games and can do a speedrun of Metroid Prime in an hour and a half. For now, this is the group to chase after.
Sony's Future
As the great rift of gamers vs. non-gamers grows and the middle ground becomes fertile, Sony could be left out. With serious gamers being their target audience, only these people will continue to follow Sony's expensive hardware. The percentage of avid gamers will marginally increase over the next decades, but not nearly enough to support Sony's grand habits.
Other snags in Sony's plan center around the concept of an all-in-one entertainment console. The release of the PlayStation Portable (PSP) packaged movies, music, the web and a lot more into one sleek little handheld. Oh, and it plays video games too. Sony doesn't want to be king of the video game world, Sony wants to be king of the electronics world. The same group of people that buy electronic gadgets just happen to be avid video gamers as well. Sony knows this, which is why they entered the video games business.
If Sony wants to stick around, they'll need to soften their strategy a bit. Between themselves, Microsoft and Nintendo, Sony falls second in gross profit. They spend an enormous amount of money to make just a bit more. Sony is on the fast treadmill in the industry, but after some time of running at full-speed, they'll tire and flop to the ground. If Sony doesn't tweak their strategy and open their arms to a wider audience of gamers, they'll vanish from the top three very quickly.
Next Article
We will continue looking at the big three hardware producers in our next article on Microsoft.
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