The video game market is a highly competitive world, with manufacturers trying to outdo their rivals by exploiting their weaknesses. In May 1995, SEGA Japan was sure to create a huge stir by announcing that its Saturn console would be available immediately. The Japanese company believed that by doing so, it would gain a significant lead over Sony and its new PlayStation, even if it meant deliberately disrupting commercial habits. This would also create quite a stir, due to the sheer number of consoles available and the sheer poverty of the series. At any rate, SEGA rushed in that direction and was convinced to hit it hard with its $399 Saturn.
It happened without counting About Sony’s creativity and marketing power backstage, just before going on stage, the person who decided to lower the price of his PlayStation. Steve Race, a new employee of Sony and former employee of SEGA (and therefore knowing the weaknesses of his rival), then approached his desk and issued a short and concise “299”. In the collective unconscious, this sequence has become a cult because it symbolizes Sony’s victory over SEGA. The PlayStation suddenly went up to $299 (according to reports, it was planned to be around $349 or $399 like the Saturn) and completely forgot about SEGA’s previous announcement. Microsoft may have learned from this mistake. In vain…
Conference on uncertainty
The date is May 21, 2013 and Microsoft is set to introduce its new console, the Xbox One, a few weeks before E3, the world’s biggest video game show. Following the success of the Xbox 360, the Redmond company is planning to show its teeth against Sony. but unfortunately he will make mistakes one after another. After a short video, Don Matrick, the head of the Xbox division, takes the stage and reveals the company’s plan for its future console: the All-in-One System. Behind this somewhat flashy name lies the principle of an entertainment machine capable of offering games, television, movies, music, etc. The concept is promising and everyone is fascinated when the curves of the brand new Xbox One take shape. The deliberately stripped-down console aims to be the media center of the living room and to adapt to the family environment. On this occasion, the American manufacturer has done its best to create a very beautiful machine and has presented it with a controller that is as beautiful as it is promising. The problem is that by the end of the conference, all good intentions will be shattered…
Players quickly understand that the manufacturer wants to control everything. If Kinect brings gaming without camera, controllers and voice interaction, the Xbox One will unfortunately carry loads that it will (almost) not be able to get rid of. Marketing Director Yusuf Mehdi reproduces what is being said on TV during his speech, so that players are careful. You get the unpleasant feeling of attending the presentation of a TV box. Some will even go so far as to create a parody video of the incident, compiling moments (and there are many) where the man throws around the term “TV”. The rest of the conference, which lasts about an hour, is of the same nature, and everything that comes out of the event revolves around the words TV, Sports, and Call of Duty. And that’s just the beginning…
Players’ hanger
At the time, various manufacturers and publishers were quietly talking about the end of the second-hand market. And to achieve this, countless concepts are being secretly introduced. So it is a matter of a unique code that prevents a game from being resold or even having to establish a mandatory Internet connection to play it. There is also the issue of online verification every 24 hours to continue playing. So Microsoft has been the first to step into this dish and it will not be long before the answer comes. If a few people try to explain in the forums that this completely connected philosophy is in line with the times, the vast majority of players are outraged and call for a boycott of the Xbox One. This is even more true since France is currently far from offering broadband on its territory. The discontent is equally deep in other countries, so much so that a real rebellion is emerging. The inability to resell a game, mandatory connection, online verification every 24 hours… The glass is full and Microsoft is faced with a flood of hatred fueled by social networks and forums. This is a new blessing for Sony…
Shepherd’s response to shepherd
Realizing that it had initially gone the wrong way, Microsoft tried to rethink its strategy for the E3 2013 conference. Focused largely on video games, it was an opportunity for the manufacturer to redeem itself, but Don Mattrick gave a strange answer to this question from a journalist that could be described as follows: ” No connection? Buy an Xbox 360. » A terrible mistake that will not be forgiven as Don Mattrick will be fired from Microsoft in July 2013. There is one more event, or rather a micro event, that will remain in everyone’s mind: Sony’s humorous yet brilliant response.
After Microsoft, Sony also had the chance to organize its conference in June 2013. PlayStation brand managers they are not fooled and intend to exploit the opponent’s repeated mistakes. One of Sony’s historic leaders, Jack Tretton (former Chairman and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America), says on stage: “ PlayStation 4 won’t introduce any new restrictions on the use of PS4 games, i… » He doesn’t even have time to finish his sentence before the audience bursts into joy. And he finishes, smiling, …I guess that’s a good thing. »
While Microsoft’s restrictions are rolled back one by one (possible opportunity, no mandatory link, no unique code, etc.), Sony will present a fatal ending with a video that is as funny as it is symbolic. We see Shuhei Yoshida (President of Sony Development Studios) and Adam Boyes (Vice President of Third Party Publisher Relations). The first person looking at the camera says: “ This is how you share your games on PS4 » Then the term appears Step 1 – Sharing the Game (Step 1 – Click on the Share Your Game) screen. Without saying a word, he turns to his interlocutor and gives him his game, the second is a simple “ THANKS. ” with a big smile.
Sony literally atomized Microsoft and the Xbox One in 21 seconds. Like almost twenty years ago, the Japanese manufacturer reacted immediately, taking advantage of its rival’s mistakes, hitting where it hurts. The scary thing is that this quick video symbolizes the success of the PS4 against the Xbox One. Sony sold twice as many PlayStation 4s as Xbox Ones, and Microsoft never caught up and caught up due to these communication and display errors. I promise that next time we will tell you about the opposite beginnings of the Wii U, which suffered from Nintendo’s repeated mistakes. It is also a textbook case…
