Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony need a new game plan, BusinessWeek reports. Amid growing evidence old marketing strategies aren’t working and concerns by some analysts that holiday sales may be lackluster, the big three console makers are scrambling for new ways to entice consumers.
For years, the big three had a straightforward, winning sales formula: console makers roll out cutting-edge hardware and couple it with compelling games and novel new ways to play.
Trouble is, games by independent publishers such as Electronic Arts (ERTS) and Ubisoft have not fared as well as hoped and their makers have had to boost investment in production and marketing. Console makers, meantime, fall back on their own expensive-to-develop titles, such as Halo, Gran Turismo, and Super Mario. “There’s been a shortage of software that builds excitement,” says analyst David Cole of industry tracker DFC Intelligence.