Microsoft looking for gaming success right out of the box

By IRENE CHAPPLE

If the pundits are right, truckloads of XBox fans will be rubbing their tired eyes right about now.

They have been up all night, of course, after snaffling an XBox during late-night shopping, going on to celebrate at the gaming console's free launch, then settling on the couch at home to obliterate the screen baddies.

According to Microsoft, thousands of gaming fans ordered their XBoxes.

Now, the net will be widened. Xbox is officially available and the advertising will be everywhere - newspapers, television, magazines, radio, smothered all over the streets - as Microsoft launches a full-blown attack on Sony PlayStation's clutch on the gaming market.

Internationally, the money is big: when it was launched in the United States last year, the XBox marketing budget was said to be $1.2 billion, and New Zealand's launch has cost more than $1 million.

Those dollars have been creatively spread, from a launch that features young New Zealand acts Rhombus and Blindspott, among others, to ambient advertising, viral marketing, sponsorship and mainstream media outlets.

The XBox marketing manager in New Zealand, Wilf Robinson, said the campaign was cost-effective.

Marketing tactics took into account the springtime launch and a target market - males aged 16 to 26 who spend much of their time outdoors.

Potential customers were also able to test the XBox in shops, a move that unveiled the console for competitors' eyes but contributed hugely to pre-sales, said Robinson.

Trial runs will also be available through an XBox trailer, which will tour the country.

XBox's advertising has focused on a key line: that its games are the best and offered in the best format.

Details on other selling points - such as the inclusion of a computer hard drive and in-built internet access capability - would be promoted closer to the consumer, such as in retail advertising, said Robinson.

Meanwhile, Sony is bragging about a $3 million marketing budget over the next four months to support the entry of new games.

But Sony Computer Entertainment NZ managing director Steve Dykes said the company was unfazed by XBox's entry into the market.

PlayStation 2 held about 95 per cent of the market (of latest consoles) and people were familiar with the brand, he said.

As for the XBox, "it's healthy competition ... good luck to them. We've seen plenty of other competitors come and go".

Robinson is well aware of the challenge.

"We have very well-established competition and we are the new kid on the block," he said.

"We're aware it's a very difficult market but Sony haven't been tested before. They haven't had any real competition."