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What Does Sony Have For The Holidays?

A bigger install base isn't always a reason for partnership.

This is true for both MS/Sony, but there's always games that are clearly treated more of a second-class-citizen in their marketing line-up compared to other games.

Shadow of Mordor had Sony-partnership, yet the amount of attention Sony gave that game was laughable compared to Destiny/Watch_Dogs/Far Cry 4.

DA:Inquisition had Xbox partnership, and it was laughable compared to AssCreed and CoD.

I'd say with the exception of bundle-deals and Asia-support, tier-1 marketed games are pretty much equal between Sony/MS. The question, is whether or not game X is going to get tier-1 marketing from either of the publishers.

So, games like MGS will always make more sense to go with Sony than MS. Both of these companies can afford to give MGS tier-1 treatment, but MS has no tier-1 marketing muscle in Asia/Japan, so if MGS went with MS, they would be stupid unless Sony themselves didn't want to give them tier-1 in the first place.

But otherwise, it's fair game. A game would be better served to go after that focused, tier-1 marketing of a smaller but healthy install base than if the bigger install base "shrugs" it off.
 

Boke1879

Member
So much emphasis being placed on which companies "have" a certain game... seems to be overblown to me. Yes it's a factor but it doesn't lend itself to these kinds of list wars IMO. Every marketing deal is different.

Hell, Xbox has put up mentions and ads for Battlefront up on Twitter and the dashboard today, it's not like one company bans the other from marketing the game. Maybe I'm off base.

Also where is this talk of CoD NOT being an Xbox marketed game coming from? I see no credible source.

Its strictly for the console manufacturer to move consoles. Everyone knew Destiny was coming to every platform but PC.

But that September it launched it helped the ps4 sell over 500k. That's a halo like push as far as console sales.

The bundles ms had plus price drop led to it having an amazing holiday
 
I can't imagine Microsoft being happy about losing that marketing deal. Maybe it was Activisions decision? Doubling down on the market leader with the success of the Destiny launch.

Anyway COD has always been a big pillar for Xbox and losing that will be a huge blow to Microsoft. But I think if Microsoft doubles down on Halo 5 this holiday and maybe even makes it a yearly release it wouldn't do much damage.

Microsoft would need to triple the size of 343i or hire two more studios to make yearly Halo games. Would be a good way to ruin it.
 

Fat4all

Banned
I dont get it, MS has more money than Sony why couldnt they get marketing deals for at least half the franchises that Sony got?

I doubt Microsoft is going to give their Xbox Division an endless supply of resources just to buy marketing rights. Microsoft is launching a new OS this year (and giving it away for free in most cases, at that), plus market it. They still have to operate as a corporation and spend money wisely.

From my point of view, at least.
 
I can't imagine Microsoft being happy about losing that marketing deal. Maybe it was Activisions decision? Doubling down on the market leader with the success of the Destiny launch.

Anyway COD has always been a big pillar for Xbox and losing that will be a huge blow to Microsoft. But I think if Microsoft doubles down on Halo 5 this holiday and maybe even makes it a yearly release it wouldn't do much damage.

Given MS increased XBL sub fees in the US because Activision demanded more dollar from it, if they stopped paying for COD marketing/DLC timed exclusive stuff they could drop the price again! (Or make more money from it and pay Activision less)
 

BriGuy

Member
wMcsjmr.jpg


Not unprecedented.
 
Because PS4 is selling twice as much. Why roll with the loser for a little more money (unless you are SE and Tomb Raider).

I have no source on this, but I also think the whole idea that "MS can & will pay more than Sony" thing is ridiculous.

At some point, MS must be looking at their own marketing budgets allocated for Halo, and other games, and think "man, we've already got a lot. Do we really need to spend so much more for what will be diminishing returns?"

They're a business. Businesses still need to be run efficiently. MS isn't running TV ads for Ori & Screamride, but are instead promoting Halo 5. That's a conscious decision.
 

EatMyFace

Banned
Marketing dollars doesn't equal exclusive games. They have nothing for me this year that is exclusive. They need all that money to stay afloat I guess, instead of releasing games.
I letting 3rd parties have the holidays to themselves while releasing 1st party games in the first half of the year is a pretty good strategy(if that's what they're doing). The Last Of Us sold really well with a June release date. I don't think it would have sold as well if it was competing with the big established franchises in the holidays. Same goes for Uncharted 4. it's a well known IP but releasing it in the summer with little to no competition would be the smart thing to do like they do with big Hollywood movies.
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
After 6 different Halos and 11 Tomb Raiders we're talking about "what does Sony have? I'm not big into racing games.

I'm not too worried about holiday 2015. I'm more interested in this summer's lineup and potentially playing Battlefront. I'd say 2016 will be more productive than 2015.

I dont get it, MS has more money than Sony why couldnt they get marketing deals for at least half the franchises that Sony got?

They spend all that money on their PC division and helping charities. I think there's a divided vision at MS. Those who want their games department to succeed and those who simply don't care at all. If their gaming division were to fail they'd still be multi-millionaires with computer software.
 

EatMyFace

Banned
So much emphasis being placed on which companies "have" a certain game... seems to be overblown to me. Yes it's a factor but it doesn't lend itself to these kinds of list wars IMO. Every marketing deal is different.

Hell, Xbox has put up mentions and ads for Battlefront up on Twitter and the dashboard today, it's not like one company bans the other from marketing the game. Maybe I'm off base.

Also where is this talk of CoD NOT being an Xbox marketed game coming from? I see no credible source.
Actually if Sony has the marketing deal for Battlefront, Microsoft isn't allowed to market it, as in they can't put Xbox logos on game trailers and stuff. They can't have TV ads with Xbox branding. No bundles, special controllers or really anything else. The only thing they DO have is early access with EA Access but that's a loophole that maybe Sony will close up at E3.
 
Didn't realize how people actually cared about marketing deals. lol
Have list wars gotten this desperate?
Seems like right now Sony has no big exclusive for the holiday... but hey, at least they got their logo on a Battlefront trailer!
 

Fat4all

Banned
Didn't realize how people actually cared about marketing deals. lol

Seems like right now Sony has no big exclusive for the holiday... but hey, at least they got their logo on a Battlefront trailer!

Trivializing the Battlefront marketing when a new Star Wars movie is about to come out is the only "lol" moment here.
 
Actually if Sony has the marketing deal for Battlefront, Microsoft isn't allowed to market it, as in they can't put Xbox logos on game trailers and stuff. They can't have TV ads with Xbox branding. No bundles, special controllers or really anything else. The only thing they DO have is early access with EA Access but that's a loophole that maybe Sony will close up at E3.

A PS4 only beta would be great for marketing if EA is confident enough in the game.
 
Didn't realize how people actually cared about marketing deals. lol
Have list wars gotten this desperate?
Seems like right now Sony has no big exclusive for the holiday... but hey, at least they got their logo on a Battlefront trailer!

See Destiny for why marketing can matter.
 

chubigans

y'all should be ashamed
Didn't realize how people actually cared about marketing deals. lol
Have list wars gotten this desperate?
Seems like right now Sony has no big exclusive for the holiday... but hey, at least they got their logo on a Battlefront trailer!
A few hours after its debut and the battlefront trailer has already gotten over three million views.

Methinks your downplaying the significance of this a tad.
 
Didn't realize how people actually cared about marketing deals. lol
Have list wars gotten this desperate?
Seems like right now Sony has no big exclusive for the holiday... but hey, at least they got their logo on a Battlefront trailer!

Are anyone listing any 'listz nonsense' in the past few post?

Marketing deals are a valid discussion in terms of how they help consoles from a business sense. If anything, last year only serves to prove these deals do matter, even if to us, it means fucking nothing.

And if you look back at my post where I listed tentative fall games, I have no non-exclusives like Battlefront listed. But that's a completely separate discussion from discussing business and marketing deals.
 
Isn't Persona 5 coming out this winter for NA/EU? Because that's good enough for me.

It's scheduled for 2015 for the US and Japan right now. No word on Europe at the moment. Atlus doesn't have a publisher arm there, so it changes things.

wMcsjmr.jpg


Not unprecedented.

Well, that wasn't really co-marketing. That bundle was released several months after the initial release of the game.

A CoD co-marketing deal would be extremely surprising for the reasons people have mentioned in this thread. The only reasons i'm thinking there's a slight possibility is because Sony were quick to post the Back in Black teaser (something I can't remember them doing for previous games) and because I don't think MS has made any mentions of the reveal being Present by Xbox, which they have done in the past.
 
I just don't think it's anything to get excited about.
There's nothing sexy about a marketing deal from a consumer's perspective.
I could care less how much money Microsoft throws at Activision for COD or Sony for Battlefront.

It's absolutely nothing sexy.

But we're simply discussing it. From a business sense.

No one's ( I hope so) using this as console war fodder so far.
 

EatMyFace

Banned
I dont get it, MS has more money than Sony why couldnt they get marketing deals for at least half the franchises that Sony got?
Unless you are a struggling publisher in need of funding, it's not a smart move to partner with the loser, even if the give you shit-load of money. But then again, even Microsoft sets budgets for the Xbox division.

Given MS increased XBL sub fees in the US because Activision demanded more dollar from it, if they stopped paying for COD marketing/DLC timed exclusive stuff they could drop the price again! (Or make more money from it and pay Activision less)
I don't see the price of Live EVER going back down. They'd rather pocket the extra revenue.

wMcsjmr.jpg


Not unprecedented.
Pretty sure that bundle wasn't available at launch. A quick search turned up the bundle at Amazon which says the bundle was released in May.
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
Trivializing the Battlefront marketing when a new Star Wars movie is about to come out is the only "lol" moment here.

It makes perfect sense. They have the right team and the assets to do it. No one spends $100 on Star Wars unless the public starts to make it trend again. Granted that doesn't include sales of toys, comics, movies, etc. etc bought throughout the year. The digital releases just came out, a new group of films are being made, and they have a huge game to release for those not wanting to get pwned in the next CoD.

It's beautiful marketing. I don't think a lot of us get to celebrate Star Wars unless its something big, at least where I live. The thing about Star Wars is, is that it can please everyone. From the gamer, to the hardcore fan, to the person just looking to watch a popular film, and etc. It can generate something much larger than a lot of other brands.

Super Hero movies do well, but did we see all the games trend in the market? Did we see these amazing Iron Man games? They were there, but they didn't do much IMO.

I'd love to see 2015 be the year that Star Wars comes back. I talk to people younger than me and they don't even know Star Wars from Star Trek. It feels like you disappeared over night. =(

Some things also take the place of others. I mean, Star Wars and Halo are hard to choose from IMO. One brand satisfies more than the other in some areas, but both have a legacy to them.
 
As an XB1 only console owner, I would have said MS had Holiday 2015 in the bag. After today, I'm not so sure. I think the marketing deal Sony inked for Battlefront is a megaton for them.
 

EatMyFace

Banned
Didn't realize how people actually cared about marketing deals. lol
Have list wars gotten this desperate?
Seems like right now Sony has no big exclusive for the holiday... but hey, at least they got their logo on a Battlefront trailer!
You don't care for sales discussions, that's fine. But a lot of us find these kinds of things interesting.

I just don't think it's anything to get excited about.
There's nothing sexy about a marketing deal from a consumer's perspective.
I could care less how much money Microsoft throws at Activision for COD or Sony for Battlefront.
Some people are interested in the business-side of the video game industry. Why do you think NPD threads get a lot of comments?
 
I just don't think it's anything to get excited about.
There's nothing sexy about a marketing deal from a consumer's perspective.
I could care less how much money Microsoft throws at Activision for COD or Sony for Battlefront.

I'm no English major to put it lightly but get it right mate, it's my one pet peeve because it makes the entire sentence confusing. :p

I've also never understood why people that own a console don't care at all about how it does. This PS4 cost me money and I want the fucking thing supported for many years to come, that will continue with good sales for it. If sales for the console is bad, there is no incentive for publishers to put their games on there. Logic says that with the PS4 doing well, there is more chance there won't be more deals like Titanfall or Tomb Raider happening as the PS4 is the market leader.
I don't buy any games though but that's another story about no publisher deserving my money and renting being a gift from above
 

Bgamer90

Banned
As an XB1 only console owner, I would have said MS had Holiday 2015 in the bag. After today, I'm not so sure. I think the marketing deal Sony inked for Battlefront is a megaton for them.

They need to push it similar to Destiny especially due to EA giving some attention to the Xbox One version due to Access. If they don't give it a really special bundle then I think the deal will pretty much be wasted (at least in NA) as Battlefront will more than likely do very well on both consoles.
 
To be fair, the customers don't see it as "marketing".

They see a limited edition Sony PS4 sporting Star Wars.

That's the sexy.

Exactly! I see a lot of Xbox guys saying, "Well, we still get it first", but when Mom & Dad are looking for a X-Mas gift for little Tommy, that PS4 / Star Wars bundle looks damn good.

Brilliant move by Sony
 

Bgamer90

Banned
Exactly! I see a lot of Xbox guys saying, "Well, we still get it first", but when Mom & Dad are looking for a X-Mas gift for little Tommy, that PS4 / Star Wars bundle looks damn good.

Brilliant move by Sony

So there will be a bundle sold in stores for it? All I saw was news about a contest for an "ultra-rare" PS4 Battlefront bundle.
 
They need to push it similar to Destiny especially due to EA giving some attention to the Xbox One version due to Access. If they don't give it a really special bundle then I think the deal will pretty much be wasted (at least in NA) as Battlefront will more than likely do very well on both consoles.

Bundle is just about guaranteed.
 

prwxv3

Member
Marketing dollars doesn't equal exclusive games. They have nothing for me this year that is exclusive. They need all that money to stay afloat I guess, instead of releasing games.

One publisher has released more games this year so far then then other. I will give you a guess at which publisher it is.
 

aly

Member
I just don't think it's anything to get excited about.
There's nothing sexy about a marketing deal from a consumer's perspective.
I could care less how much money Microsoft throws at Activision for COD or Sony for Battlefront.

Are we discussing it from a what we want to play perspective, and only if you want exclusives, or a what is Sony doing to make their console attractive to consumers looking to buy this Holiday perspective? The latter seems to be the case and Battlefront marketing will do a lot for them there.
 
They need to push it similar to Destiny especially due to EA giving some attention to the Xbox One version due to Access. If they don't give it a really special bundle then I think the deal will pretty much be wasted (at least in NA) as Battlefront will more than likely do very well on both consoles.

I don't think Sony will have spent what is probably a stupid amount of money on Star Wars Battlefront co-advertising to cheap out with bundles. E3 is quite obviously where Sony will tell DICE to come up, play the game for a few minutes, then show a couple bundles for the game. This is not an NPD thread so going to mention WW which is what really matters, I see going absolutely insane along with EA to push Battefront. In NA it probably will be close in sales, WW though I can't PS4 Sony not being very far ahead of XB1. A lot more than last year for sure.
 
They need to push it similar to Destiny especially due to EA giving some attention to the Xbox One version due to Access. If they don't give it a really special bundle then I think the deal will pretty much be wasted (at least in NA) as Battlefront will more than likely do very well on both consoles.

I think Sony will definitely give the hard push on the marketing for Battlefront. Especially given the apparent lack of content for Holiday 2015. I agree that the game will do very well on both consoles, but I think Sony's deal will keep them much closer to MS this coming holiday season or possibly keep them on top sales wise.
 

statham

Member
To be fair, the customers don't see it as "marketing".

They see a limited edition Sony PS4 sporting Star Wars.

That's the sexy.

do we have a custom console yet? It will be dumb if they don't do it, but I think MS will push heavy the exclusive Tomb Raider and Halo 5 games & consoles(if they are custom) this fall, plus the rumored Gears game, Banjo if it make it this year, Forza 6, I can see all of them being bundled somehow. They lose on starwars as its going to be huge, but will most likely counteract like destiny and give the game away with xbox purchases that week. Didn't Destiny outsell with the freebies on xbox compared to PS4, on NPD? A nice counter for Microsoft.
 

prwxv3

Member
do we have a custom console yet? It will be dumb if they don't do it, but I think MS will push heavy the exclusive Tomb Raider and Halo 5 games & consoles(if they are custom) this fall, plus the rumored Gears game, Banjo if it make it this year, Forza 6, I can see all of them being bundled somehow. They lose on starwars as its going to be huge, but will most likely counteract like destiny and give the game away with xbox purchases that week. Didn't Destiny outsell with the freebies on xbox compared to PS4, on NPD? A nice counter for Microsoft.

That is not a nice counter if you have to give away free copies.
 
do we have a custom console yet? It will be dumb if they don't do it, but I think MS will push heavy the exclusive Tomb Raider and Halo 5 games & consoles(if they are custom) this fall, plus the rumored Gears game, Banjo if it make it this year, Forza 6, I can see all of them being bundled somehow. They lose on starwars as its going to be huge, but will most likely counteract like destiny and give the game away with xbox purchases that week. Didn't Destiny outsell with the freebies on xbox compared to PS4, on NPD? A nice counter for Microsoft.

NPD was a slaughter for PS4 that month.
 
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