Andrew House - Part Two
The SCEE president and CEO on PS3 momentum, updated marketing and the future of the PSPgo
In part one of this interview, SCEE president and CEO Andrew House talked about the launch of PlayStation's new Video Delivery Service and the ongoing impact of Blu-ray in the PS3's value proposition.
Here, in part two of this industry-exclusive interview, he looks at the momentum of the PS3 going into the Holiday season, the shift in marketing that's helped bring that about, and the strategy behind the PSPgo on a continuing basis.
Just anecdotally, it's been enormously positive. People have been telling us we've reached the price point they were hoping for, and as a result we've got the wind in our sales - that the market really is there for the PS3 to command.
I think at a time when we're seeing one of the major competitors somewhat losing a sense of momentum - at least in many of the markets I've looked at - it's gratifying to see a platform that's always had a very significant share of sales go to third party publishers capture that momentum again.
The knock-on effect can only be a positive one if publishers are making up 75 per cent of the sales on a particular platform, as opposed to a much smaller share elsewhere, then that's the platform I think it's in their interests to see succeed - and I think that's the dynamic we're seeing return right now.
From data that we're starting to see, in some of the publicly-released figures, we're seeing a significant year-on-year downturn for the Wii. I think that's just a factor of this Holiday season.
I think what I'll look back on is tied in with the launch of the new PS3. What it says to me, and what third party publishers have said to me, is that we've finally capitalised on inherent brand strength that you had in the market place - that people were ready to embrace your console and did have a long-standing affinity for the brand and offering, but it needed to be at a value proposition that people were comfortable with.
Seeing us be able to establish momentum not purely based on price, but I think with a sense of capitalising on internal brand strength, is really gratifying for me.
I'm also very proud of the marketing efforts, and the marketing position we've adopted this year - because we've been able to stake our ground out with 'The Game is Just the Start' and 'The Whole World in Your Hands'. It strikes the right balance between saying, yes, we are first and foremost a gaming company and that's at the heart of what we do - but on the other hand we are now about being a much broader entertainment company as well.
I think there's been considerable scepticism about whether you end up being neither fish nor fowl, but I think we're showing you can still remain true to the core of your gaming offering, while at the same time seamlessly introducing other services and ranges of content.
I think the final highlight for me is just really starting to see that network effect in the growth of PlayStation Network - there are really substantial numbers coming on board there. As you've heard me say before, a network adds more value the more it grows.
I think that's great for the long term validity of a platform, so I think that's really encouraging as well.
I think that's a great observation - it was a move that wasn't taken on without some considerable thought. The balance is, how do you stay true to the brand heritage? I for one - as someone who's been around PlayStation for 15 years and looked with admiration at some of the earlier brand campaigns we ran in Europe - how do you remain true to that spirit?
But it was deliberately one of the most direct product- and features-based communications I think we've done - but done in a way that still felt true to PlayStation, to the consumer and the brand. That's something I think we're particularly proud of.
So yes, it's quite deliberate, and we recognised that as you move into a somewhat more mass market, maybe family-oriented, then previously and you have a device that can do so much - that has so many features and benefits - there's probably a need to be a bit more direct about that communication.
It's interesting - if you look at what our colleagues have done in the States, they came to almost exactly the same conclusion, but as is appropriate within SCE, tonally a very different route. It's much more humorous and light-hearted, which works well there - speaking as somebody who marketed there.
We've adopted an approach which is easily identifiable as coming from PlayStation, but talks pretty directly as well to the consumer. The anecdotal feedback I get is that people are responding to that.