Posted Tue May 8, 2007 at 12:15 AM PDT by
Hoping to prime the PlayStation 3 sales pump for a blockbuster fourth quarter, Sony is launching an aggressive marketing campaign touting the console's Blu-ray capabilities.
Faced with PS3 sales lagging behind the Xbox 360 and the more family-friendly Nintendo Wii, Sony is focusing its next round of marketing might on hyping their next-gen console as the most comprehensive Blu-ray Disc player on the market.
In an upcoming marketing blitzkrieg, Sony will promote the console's cutting-edge high-def capabilities, including its extensive studio support, superior picture and sound, and web-enabled connectivity (despite the fact that no studio has yet released a Blu-ray title with online content).
"Our goal is to definitely widen our target base and not be so niche," Kim Nguyen, Sony PlayStation 3 Manager, told Video Business of the ad campaign, which is set to encompass multiple media including TV, print, radio and Internet.
"This is high-def entertainment messaging, where we have our exclusive software titles, and we are delivering a very powerful machine. On the movie side, you have beautiful movies that you can watch on the PS3. We are going for that larger audience," she added.
Sony has not yet announced an exact start date for its PS3 Blu-ray blitz, nor total marketing costs. However, the campaign is expected to begin sometime this summer, leading up to the fourth quarter.
As of March 31, current industry sales numbers for North America place the Wii at 2.1 million units sold; the Xbox 360 at 5.3 million; and the Playstation 3 at 1.2 million.
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