Microsoft Overturned Gaming Conventions

Microsoft, a forerunner in the computer industry, is a new entrant to the gaming industry and determined to make an impact on its audiences. In 2005, Microsoft unveiled its new Xbox 360 console four days before the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), directly to the consumer in an MTV special. This marketing approach has overturned the usual gaming industry’s conventions and left other companies seeking to catch up.

The key elements of Microsoft’s marketing strategy for the Xbox 360 are to:

1. Create a “gamers first” ideal through nontraditional means and timelines. (News.com, 2007)

2. Appeal to “switchers”, consumer with weak loyalties, by bringing out the new console long before other competitors. (News.com, 2007)

3. Use viral marketing to support the exclusivity of the console to “keen-eyed consumers” and hardcore gamers. (News.com, 2007)

4. Bring gaming out of the “gaming ghetto” and into the “new world of HDTV.” (News.com, 2007)

In the past Microsoft has marketed through traditional measures, using E3 as a major promotional tool just as other competitors have. The “I love bees” and Ourcolony.net of Microsoft’s viral marketing strategy has also been effective in the past. However, in an attempt to take the Number #1 slot in the gaming industry, Microsoft is using more than just traditional and viral marketing. Microsoft is talking directly to potential consumers, reducing the “classic five-year game console cycle,” and attempting to build a frenzy