Poll: Xbox one vs PS4? which had the best media campaign?

[exobook]

Here's what I want to know. Who out of the two new consoles had the best media campaign?

Microsoft appeared to be appealing to the 20/30 something who didn't consider themselves gamers in the stereotypical sense. That and people who want to what Netflix with motion controls.

Sony on the other hand seems to stick to the gamer image, games and its launch line up with the tag line for the gamers. Seem to be more aimed at people of multiple ages who consider themselves gamers.

Personally I'd go for Sony but that just because I find it connects to me more.

 

[Jessabi]

I've seen far more Xbox One advertisements on TV than I have PS4 adverts but in my area a PS4 is nigh impossible to get a hold of right now, whereas it's not too difficult to acquire the Xbone. My friend works in Maplin and they were sent one Xbox One - it's been sat at the front of the store for a week and no-one has shown interest. That kind of speaks for itself really in terms of campaign success, in my area at least. Not sure how it's going everywhere else.

Overall, I prefer the PS4 campaign too. It's much more game oriented, whereas the Xbox One adverts I've seen on TV are just focusing on the ability to switch from Forza to TV or Skype *yawn*.

 

[Andy Shandy]

In terms of PR, Sony by a mile. Didn't even need to say all the right things, because Microsoft fucked up that badly with the likes of Matrick.

In terms of actual advertising though, I'd say Microsoft's doing better in that regard than Sony. Mainly because their's actually shows people using the console, instead of going "Ooh look, nostalgia!" or, in their most recent one, simply "GAMING REFERENCES!". Yeah, it's good for people like me on the internet to masturbate to all the Easter eggs I can find, but it doesn't actually show what the console can do. And the "#4ThePlayers" hashtag just makes me cringe.

 

[tippy2k2]

I'm not even sure it's fair to compare the two for they seem to be targeting the exact opposite demographic.

Microsoft is targeting the non-gamers and casual gamer crowd with their advertising. "Look at everything you can do!" shouts Microsoft from their mountain. "Are you a soccer fan? Well you can switch between the match and your game seamlessly!"

Sony on the other hand seems to be targeting the gamers. Their "Perfect Day" commercial seems to be...well...perfect for that demographic. If I was not a gamer and saw that commercial, there's a good chance that I wouldn't even realize that that black box plays video games. Gamers recognize the Sony brand and Sony plays with this idea in their commercials.

I'm a gamer (obviously since I'm here) and I love the Sony ads. The Microsoft ads are not attempting to appeal to me so I'm not sure how well I could judge them.

 

[Vilagen]

Earlier this year Sony didn't even have to try for awhile. Microsoft just had to continue to keep screwing things up, while Sony just had to not be stupid. And generally, they did a good job on that.

When it comes to media coverage currently? Not sure, since I don't watch a lot of TV, but I do enjoy Sony's Greatness Awaits campaign of ads. They just seem to be a lot of fun, but I do understand that Microsoft is trying to hit a wider audience. Hiring sports stars and showing people what the Xbox One can do makes a lot of sense. Still, being a gamer who was well aware of Microsoft's original plans for the Xbox One, Sony certainly won me over.

 

[Jusey1]

Sony went too far with the video gaming thing or they support some extreme DRM so I might not even get a PS4 anymore...

My deal? I've read an article that the PS4 doesn't recognizes non-sony USBs. (This includes flash drives!) which is a major killer for me since I have everything I would like to play on my flash drive. (Music, digital videos, etc) and ye'h... I don't know about Xbox One though honestly so can't say much there.

Though most likely where will happen is... I'ma stick to Xbox 360 master-console-race type of deal and get a new system base on what new games I want that are console only... Otherwise, probably gonna stick to PC as much as possible for all newer stuff.

 

[Nouw]

Spoiler: Nintendo

Surprised this hasn't been covered by the Escapist yet. Come on lads, Wii and U can save it.

Based on the main console war however, you really have to hand it to Sony for taking advantage of Microsoft's slipups with a commercial like this [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWSIFh8ICaA]. It was an excellent short-term tactic.

 

[Lightknight]

Spoiler: Nintendo

Surprised this hasn't been covered by the Escapist yet. Come on lads, Wii and U can save it.

How would the company that continues to have problems with people not knowing that their console is a new console somehow be the winner here? Terrible sales aside (despite them usually being proportionate to marketing success), Nintendo readily admits their failures in this area.

 

[Ashadowpie]

even though i hate the gimmicks and bullshit Nintendo has been playing around these past years im going with Nintendo is the better console for GAMES

yah Xbone and PS4 are stronger and prettier, but thats all they got going for them, i can barely tell the different from AC4 for the PS4 and AC4 on a 360. why the hell would i be racing to get a console that looks a tiny bit better than my perfectly awesome 360/Ps3 i have already? its a waste of alot of money.

Nintendo on the other hand, yah its graphically better then the Wii and you can ACTUALLY SEE A DIFFERENCE! since the Wii sucked, it finally has HD AND they dumped the bloody waggle stick (sorta) they're up for new ideas, yah its still Mario and company. Mario 3d world Wii U -holy shit they need better names- is a breath of fresh air for the franchise, even though i agree Mario needs a break. what does the PS4/Xbone have? 2 major generic shooters with nothing but a pretty face, and games you can buy for the previous consoles.

Nintendo's winning, just not in the numbers, not yet anyways. its time people open their eyes and see that pretty graphics mean shit on a good solid FUN game. Minecraft is the greatest example of this.

 

[loc978]

...I'm going with Nintendo, simply because none of their ads have ever made me feel sick (though that unholy offspring of an iPad and a DS that they call a controller is still unforgivable). The reality TV angle Microsoft used (what would you do to win an Xbox One?) and the blatant pandering to ego Sony used (especially the ones with that goofy lookin' ************ asking "who are you not to be great?") were among the most transparent manipulation I've ever seen.

Worse than that is the fact that a lot of people actually bought into it.

I still blame Edward Bernays.

 

[Mocmocman]

I didn't really know what a Wii-U was until I found out about it on the Escapist. Weak marketing there.
Microsoft put a lot of effort into their ad campaigns, but really understated the games part, causing a big issue with gamers. Sony, on the other hand, just sat back and rode the "not Microsoft" wave. I really don't know anything about the PS4, so, uh, Microsoft for effort?

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

Are you fucking serious? PS4 had a media campaign that was ten million times better than the Xbone's. All Microsoft did the entire time was annoy their market while Sony rode the wave of their failures. As for the idea of the Xbone as the centre of content in the house, that could work for some people, but there are that many things trying to be a hub of everything that computers, TVs, etc. are going to get there sooner and cheaper, and at any rate, I think the need for content hubs is overestimated given most people are happy to use seperate things and/or have a computer/Apple products.

As for Nintendo, generally weak marketing. Most Wii owners didn't (and don't) even know it was the next console.

 

[BrotherRool]

I haven't actually seen any PS4 adverts in the UK lately. I guess they're cruising on their E3 victory or focusing on other parts of the world? (Or waiting for games to come out). But Sony won E3 which was plenty good enough to give them the opening they needed. I've never actually seen a Wii U advert

Nintendo's winning, just not in the numbers, not yet anyways. its time people open their eyes and see that pretty graphics mean shit on a good solid FUN game. Minecraft is the greatest example of this.

Mindcraft is an example of a good game that still requires fairly okay hardware to run. it might not look much, but all that processing power is going into keeping track of all those blocks. When it first came out, even with fog turned to maximum I was getting a lot of slowdown (it's better nowadays).

Processing power isn't just about the shiny (I'm sure New Vegas would have been more impressive and less annoying if they didn't have to stick a great big wall/loading screen down the centre to run all the AI. That's a problem with the PS3 that won't be true of the PS4)

 

[dystopiaINC]

See now I never get the whole lack of focus on the games issue. I mean it's a gaming console sure, and it should focus on games no doubt, but at this point I feel like the games point can almost be taken for granted. people have complained about the 360's dashboard having lots of ads but they never got in the way of the games. In fact they showed a few REALLY good deals on game sales and dlc that I snapped up because of it. At this point I KNOW just about any game I want is gonna be on it I know there will always be games. Games are the most important thing it's so important that it goes with out saying that the games are going to be at the same level as the competition. But the other stuff, the new features, the kinect, the skype, the new stuff that sets the console apart from the others. that what ads SHOULD focus on IMO.

 

[Nouw]

Spoiler: Nintendo

Surprised this hasn't been covered by the Escapist yet. Come on lads, Wii and U can save it.

How would the company that continues to have problems with people not knowing that their console is a new console somehow be the winner here? Terrible sales aside (despite them usually being proportionate to marketing success), Nintendo readily admits their failures in this area.

I was going for a joking tone, the last sentence claiming it can be saved really, but looking back on it it isn't clear enough and that's my fault. In hindsight I should have added 'on a more serious note,' to my next paragraph.

 

[exobook]

I haven't actually seen any PS4 adverts in the UK lately. I guess they're cruising on their E3 victory or focusing on other parts of the world? (Or waiting for games to come out). But Sony won E3 which was plenty good enough to give them the opening they needed. I've never actually seen a Wii U advert

I see the occasional ad but it is true that I'm seeing a Xbox one ad every other ad break. But at the same time they don't seem to be advertising the games per say, yes they feature but in truth some of the ads they're more focusing on the media centre aspect or the general 'gaming experience'. They do have the one were the giant robot breaks up a meeting but that not selling the game, that saying look at this cool stuff, you can do things like this if you buy are console. Instead of this is a game, look at what it does, you can get it on this console. At least the PS4's media campaign heavily focuses on the games.

 

[xPrometheusx]

Spoiler: Nintendo

Surprised this hasn't been covered by the Escapist yet. Come on lads, Wii and U can save it.

Wait, this is a thing that exists? Well... more power to them for tapping into their fanbase, I suppose. As a marketing tactic, it would be way more successful if they focused on getting attention to their console and then try it in about 6 months, though. Really, if they want to sell the Wii U, just spend a hundred million marketing a 3D Pokemon game for it. Kinda like the old Gamecube ones, except without turn-based combat. Seriously, you control the maneuvers with the sticks and you have a list of attacks on the touch screen. Classic pokemon adventure with a console-style twist. Why are they not doing this? That shit would FLY off the shelves, people have been asking for it for years... oh nintendo.

Otherwise, others pretty much nailed it: The Xbone screwed up early and it realized too late it was never going away, and then marketed to an audience segment that would've been more appropriate about 6 or 7 years ago, when it became "cool" to play call of duty. Sony just kinda did everything they DIDN'T do.

 

[CannibalCorpses]

The only advertising i've seen for either of them has come from other shops selling their overpriced bundles on the television. I've literally seen nothing from either company directly...but they don't need to market their shit, everyone here at the escapist seems to do their work for them. Shame xbone came out of it so badly...not that i could bring myself to purchase another microsoft product either way lol

 

[kasperbbs]

I haven't seen a single ad of either console anywhere, so i'll just go with sony, because it had a lot better reception from the public as far as i have seen. And having read about most of their pros and cons it just seems like an obvious choice.