Ben-DutkaMarketing and promotion are always crucial in any industry. But sometimes, it's all a matter of how you approach the selling of your products, combined with the depth of your pockets.
When it comes to Sony vs. Microsoft, it has always seemed as if Microsoft spends more on heavy promotion in multiple venues. Sony doesn't deny this; in fact, they've said in the past that they don't ever intend to "buy exclusives." Now, in a conversation summarized by the Seattle Times , SCEA Senior Vice President of Marketing, Peter Dille, has made it abundantly clear: in the realm of overall spending, Microsoft will remain unmatched. When asked if Sony intended to spend more promoting Move than Microsoft spends on Kinect, Dille replied:
"I don't think we'll ever outspend Microsoft."
There are a few other interesting info tidbits in there, like the comment that PlayStation Plus subscribing is "right in line with their expectations," and that the current $299 price point for the PlayStation 3 is the "true sweet spot." It certainly seems that way, as the PS3 has enjoyed 13 straight months of year-over-year growth after the PS3 Slim arrived with the new $299 price tag. But again it came back to spending when Dille was asked if Sony will "now start investing more in game development and maybe buying more studios."
Simply put, Dille said, "you can't buy a new studio every week." Well, that makes sense. Perhaps surprisingly, considering where the PS3 stands now – at about 38 million worldwide and 13 million in the US, along with 55 million Network accounts – Sony's inability to spend as much as Microsoft hasn't stopped them from catching up after a dismal start to the generation. …must say something about the product itself.