Marketing the Xbox in China

Home video games have progressed considerably since they were introduced a quarter century ago. Adventure games once relied on complicated text-based commands such as "go north" and "pick up crystal ball" with no graphics. Graphics-based games lacked plots and tended to focus on simple arcade games such as Pac-Man. Today's game consoles are capable of high-quality graphics with intricate story lines that can follow nearly limitless paths so that the gaming experience is different every time the game is played. Three companies dominate the video game console market: Microsoft, which markets the Xbox, Sony, which markets Playstation, and Nintendo, which markets the GameCube. This research considers a marketing plan for the Xbox in China, including a marketing analysis, competitive analysis and environmental analysis.

Product Policies. The Xbox requires few modifications in order to be marketed in China. Indeed, the product is already marketed in many countries without modification to the core product. Modifications occur with regard to the instructions, for example, to accommodate the various languages that are used, and certainly the documentation for the Chinese market would need to be written in Chinese�most likely Mandarin�for the market. However, one of the product's strong selling points is that it is essentially the same hardware regardless of the market in which it is sold. This makes it possible for software developers to c

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n and $30 more than the Nintendo GameCube. However, in August 2004, Microsoft reduced the price of the Xbox to match that of the GameCube, which has far fewer titles available, and to compete aggressively with Sony's offering. Sony has yet to reduce its price on the PlayStation. Microsoft would do well to maintain a competitive pricing strategy in new markets in order to gain market share as quickly as possible. Advertising Strategy. All three products are aggressively advertised using television and print ads targeting the market segment. Typically, the television ads feature a specific flagship game title, such as Halo2 for Xbox and Grand Theft Auto for PlayStation; these products are well represented on television. The end of the commercial features the hardware platform that supports the game. A similar advertising strategy would work well in China where, as in other parts of the world, software titles and their appeal are likely to drive the purchase of game consoles. Size and Type of Sales Force. Microsoft uses a direct sales force to sell to distributors; Sony and Nintendo do the same. All three companies also have subsidiaries around the world that support the international sales to local distributors and retail

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