Table Of Index
Microsoft: Entering the Gaming Industry 3
Microsoft Xbox 3
The Strategy 4
Positioning 4
Pricing 4
The Result of the 1st Round 5
The Next-Gen Gaming War Announced 6
The Economies of scale What it has Learned 6
The Timing - Being the first on the market, an advantage? 7
Securing the Production Chain 8
Securing the Market Microsoft Innovation Breaking Through 9
Securing the Market Product Segmentation 10
Securing the Market Japanese Game Developer 11
Launching The XBOX 360 13
Conclusion 15
References 16
Abstract
People start hearing the words "video games" 1970s, but it actually it already began 30 years before. The idea originally came from the imaginations of scientists in research lab in the
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The Result of the 1st Round
In the early stages of sales, videogame consoles typically sell at a loss. As sales and production volumes grow, console makers expect to get economies of scale that will allow them to lower costs and reduce their losses. But economies of scale were slow coming to Microsoft: Miscalculations about the cost of the original Xbox's hard drive and main microprocessor have led to some $4 billion in operating losses since 2001, analysts estimate this over the management estimate mentioned before ($2 billion)
While Microsoft grappled with its growing losses, rival Sony extended its already strong lead. As previous gaming heavyweights like Nintendo and Sega lost ground, Sony was able to grab a 70% share of the videogame console market. Microsoft still holds a smaller than 20% share, according to analysts..
Not giving up yet, Microsoft promptly prepares the 2nd Xbox, and announces that they are in the stage of development for the new XBOX.
The Next-Gen Gaming War Announced
Learning from its mistakes in 2004 Microsoft announces its plan developing a new Xbox, a whole new console made from the inputs and the unsatisfied demand of the market.
Capturing all gamers around the world to be involved on the project creating the ultimate Next-Gen Gaming experience. Without a doubt Sony announces their Sony PlayStation2 successor, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo with Nintendo Wii. Let the Next War Begins.
The Economies of scale What it has
If you've never touched a video game controller in your life, but do have avid players in your household, you may be in for a bewildering month. That's because we're on the verge of what the gaming industry excitedly calls 'a new console generation'. In short, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, once the most powerful games machines on the planet are being replaced – the former by the Xbox One, the latter by the PlayStation 4 (PS4).
Relatively speaking, Microsoft uses many of the same strategies for its promotions as Sony and Nintendo.
Through the years of all the generations consoles Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation both prove to be, arguably, number one. The flames of the console war since the release of the latest generation of consoles back in 2013 have been set ablaze by fans and gamers alike. Microsoft had a weak start with the Xbox One and with nonstop updates and quick releases they crushed their competition. What exactly makes Xbox better?
After Sega went out of business with their last console, the Sega Dreamcast, there were only two developers creating consoles which was Nintendo and Sony. Microsoft saw an opportunity to make money and they had already had some experience in the video game industry with their help at Sega.
As sales of Nintendo’s Wii and DS dominate the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and PlayStation Portable, respectively, the pressure continues to mount on Sony and Microsoft to move to the next level in the ongoing console wars. Sales of the Wii in 2008
Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo have been competing for a decade with Sony dominating the market throughout most of the years because of their superior technological products. The video games industry faces an entirely new rivalry situation. In 2008, Sony lost its strong position on the market, because of Nintendo’s success with their dynamic Wii over Sony’s high-tech PlayStation 3 and Windows’ Xbox 360. Although the Wii was technologically much less advanced than PS3 and Xbox 360, the Wii's cheaper price, ease of use, innovative motion-sensitive controller, and simple but fun games, made the console a hit all demographics from 9 to 65 years old, male and female. All these factors resulted in Nintendo’s Wii dominating sales and surpassing Sony’s by an impressive ratio of 2:1.
The XBOX is now a 6th generation video game console that is manufactured by Microsoft. The machine itself was released in November of 2001, just in time for the 2001 Holiday Season in the United States, then subsequently worldwide. The decision to manufacture and release the system was Microsoft's first plunge into the gaming console market and designed to compete with the Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo's GameCUbe, and Sega's Dreamcast. By November of 2002, Microsoft launched the Xbox Live service that allowed players to play interactive games online (Gamer's Catch, 2006). Looking at the evolution of the system, however, we now know that the Xbox began to be discontinued in late 2005 (in Japan) and then in early 2007 in North America. The last game was released in August 2007, and even support for out-of-warranty consoles was discontinued in 2009, with all new faulty consoles replaced with Xbox 360. Xbox Live support was discontinued in April 2010 (Whitten, 2010).
In July 1999, Microsoft legitimized its expansion beyond its core competencies, to invade the gaming hardware market with Xbox and made its impression on the thrill and action seeking needs of the sophisticated video gamers. It aimed at
The Xbox One has many strengths that can be used in order for it to become a profitable product.
Microsoft is trying to establish the Xbox One as the video game console leader in the Video Game Industry. The Xbox One is a third generation video game console for Microsoft. The video game industry continues to have steady growth. However,
Microsoft introduced the new console (Xbox 360) one year before Sony, the industry leader, unleashed the PS3. Microsoft with the first mover advantage built a large customer base and has the largest library of games. The PS3 console has the best raw power and blue-ray capabilities. Nintendo, although with the less advanced console (Nintendo Wii), has successfully distinguished itself from their competitors with an innovative controller whith motion-sensor capabilities.
Microsoft Xbox is a company that makes games, gaming systems and accessories. The use of these systems has risen dramatically over the years and the people that use them are always looking for a new great game or accessory to go with it. Also, Microsoft Xbox has launched the new Xbox 360 Elite, the most elite gaming system available today. Back in November 2005, when Xbox 360 first hit the shelves, it was just the beginning. Although the console itself has not changed, the number of games available for it has risen exponentially. You can also play many regular Xbox games, designed for the first Xbox, that have backward compatibility with Xbox 360. More than 200 Xbox games work well on Xbox 360. That
By the end of 2006, two game console industry giants, Nintendo and Sony had launched their respective new products; the Wii and PS3. Various marketing strategies were implemented by both rivals and this writing attempt to analyse common and differing elements.
However, when Microsoft started the development of its next generation console- the Xbox 360- it recognized the deficits and problems related to its initial strategy: the company was operating under too high costs in order to assure high product availability which was not the critical factor in this business. The nature of the console business is about providing the customer with a cheap hardware and a variety of games, in order to generate profits from games sales. Additionally, the first Xbox was released one year behind Sony’s PS2, Microsoft’s biggest competitor in the market. This delay resulted in a substantial loss of sales and consequently reduced game sales. Therefore, Microsoft learned that the Xbox 360 had to be launched ahead of Sony’s PS3. Accordingly, one relevant part of Microsoft’s new strategy was the “first-to-market” approach. Another essential change in Microsoft’s business strategy concerned its cost structure in the Xbox supply chain. Whereas the initial strategy focused heavily on reliability, Microsoft changed its strategy to achieving reduced costs and increased profitability. Additionally, the company insisted on owning the design of critical components, such as the microprocessor and the graphics chip, in order to “control its own destiny”. Therefore, the supply chain network needed to be redesigned in order to support Microsoft’s strategic shift. So as to reach the desired cost
Herman et all (2002) points out that history of video games begins from 1971 year, when Nutting association released 1500 machines with Spacewar video game. At the beginning it was too difficult to control the game process and playing machines had huge dimensions. But by the time with new technologies they become more compact and easier to play. According to the information given by Herman et all (2002), the period between the years of 1978-1981 is called ‘golden age’ of video game industry. In this period the arcade games ‘Football’ and ‘Space Invaders’ were released. All previously known sale records were broken by these two games with nearly equal wages. In this time interval great breakthroughs in the field of graphics were achieved,